The UK's seas have had their warmest start to the year since records began, helping to drive some dramatic changes in marine life and for its fishing communities.

The average surface temperature of UK waters in the seven months to the end of July was more than 0.2C higher than any year since 1980, BBC analysis of provisional Met Office data suggests.

That might not sound much, but the UK's seas are now considerably warmer than even a few decades ago, a trend driven by humanity's burning of fossil fuels.

That is contributing to major changes in the UK's marine ecosystems, with some new species entering our seas and others struggling to cope with the heat.

Scientists and amateur naturalists have observed a remarkable range of species not usually widespread in UK waters, including octopus, bluefin tuna and mauve stinger jellyfish.

The abundance of these creatures can be affected by natural cycles and fishing practices, but many researchers point to the warming seas as a crucial part of their rise.

"Things like jellyfish, like octopus... they are the sorts of things that you expect to respond quickly to climate change," said Dr Bryce Stewart, a senior research fellow at the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth.

"It's a bit like the canary in the coal mine - the sorts of quite extraordinary changes we've seen over the last few years really do indicate an ecosystem under flux," he added.

Harry Polkinghorne, a keen 19-year-old angler, described how he regularly sees bluefin tuna now, including large schools of the fish in frantic feeding frenzies.

"It's just like watching a washing machine in the water," he said. "You can just see loads of white water, and then tuna fins and tuna jumping out."

Bluefin tuna numbers have been building over the past decade in south-west England for a number of reasons, including warmer waters and better management of their populations, Dr Stewart explained.

Heather Hamilton, who snorkels off the coast of Cornwall virtually every week with her father David, has swum through large blooms of salps, a species that looks a bit like a jellyfish.

They are rare in the UK, but the Hamiltons have seen more and more of these creatures in the last couple of years.

"You're seeing these big chains almost glowing slightly like fairy lights", she said.

"It just felt very kind of out of this world, something I've never seen before."

But extreme heat, combined with historical overfishing, is pushing some of the UK's cold-adapted species like cod and wolf-fish to their limits.

"We're definitely seeing this shift of cooler water species moving north in general," said Dr Stewart.

Marine heatwave conditions - prolonged periods of unusually high sea surface temperatures - have been present around parts of the UK virtually all year.

Some exceptional sea temperatures have also been detected by measurement buoys off the UK coast, known as WaveNet and run by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas).

And the record 2025 warmth comes after very high sea temperatures in 2023 and 2024 too.

The Met Office says its data from the end of June 2024 to now is provisional and will be finalised in the coming months, but this usually results in only very minor changes.

"All the way through the year, on average it's been warmer than we've really ever seen [for the UK's seas]," said Prof John Pinnegar, the lead adviser on climate change at Cefas.

"[The seas] have been warming for over a century and we're also seeing heatwaves coming through now," he added.

"What used to be quite a rare phenomenon is now becoming very, very common."

Like heatwaves on land, sea temperatures are affected by natural variability and short-term weather. Clear, sunny skies with low winds – like much of the UK had in early July - can heat up the sea surface more quickly.

But the world's oceans have taken up about 90% of the Earth's excess heat from humanity's emissions of planet-warming gases like carbon dioxide.

That is making marine heatwaves more likely and more intense.

"The main contributor to the marine heatwaves around the UK is the buildup of heat in the ocean," said Dr Caroline Rowland, head of oceans, cryosphere and climate change at the Met Office.

"We predict that these events are going to become more frequent and more intense in the future" due to climate change, she added.

With less of a cooling sea breeze, these warmer waters can amplify land heatwaves, and they also have the potential to bring heavier rainfall.

Hotter seas are also less able to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which could mean that our planet heats up more quickly.

The sea warmth is already posing challenges to fishing communities.

Ben Cooper has been a fisherman in Whitstable on the north Kent coast since 1997, and relies heavily on the common whelk, a type of sea snail.

But the whelk is a cold-water species, and a marine heatwave in 2022 triggered a mass die-off of these snails in the Thames Estuary.

"Pretty much 75% of our earnings is through whelks, so you take that away and all of a sudden you're struggling," explained Mr Cooper.

Before the latest heatwave, the whelks had started to recover but he said the losses had forced him to scale back his business.

Mr Cooper recalled fishing trips with his father in the 1980s. Back then, they would rely on cod.

"We lost the cod because basically the sea just got too warm. They headed further north," he said.

The precise distribution of marine species varies from year to year, but researchers expect the UK's marine life to keep changing as humans continue to heat up the Earth.

"The fishers might in the long term have to change the species that they target and that they catch," suggested Dr Pinnegar.

"And we as consumers might have to change the species that we eat."

Additional reporting by Becky Dale and Miho Tanaka

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Four Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in an Israeli strike near Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, the broadcaster has said.

Correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal were in a tent for journalists at the hospital's main gate when it was targeted, Al Jazeera reported.

A fortnight ago, it condemned the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for what it called a "campaign of incitement" against its reporters in Gaza, including al-Sharif.

Shortly after the strike, the IDF confirmed that it had struck Anas al-Sharif, posting on Telegram that he had "served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas".

The IDF did not mention any of the other journalists who were killed. The BBC has contacted Al Jazeera for comment.

Al-Sharif, 28, appeared to be posting on X in the moments before his death, warning of intense Israeli bombardment within Gaza City.

A post which was published after he was reported to have died appears to have been pre-written and published by a friend.

In two graphic videos of the aftermath of the strike, which have been confirmed by BBC Verify, men can be seen carrying the bodies of those who were killed. Some shout out Mohammed Qreiqeh's name, and a man wearing a press vest says that one of the bodies is that of Anas Al-Sharif.

In July, the Al Jazeera Media Network issued a statement denouncing "relentless efforts" by the IDF for an "ongoing campaign of incitement targeting Al Jazeera's correspondents and journalists in the Gaza Strip".

"The Network considers this incitement a dangerous attempt to justify the targeting of its journalists in the field," it added.

The IDF statement accused al-Sharif of posing as a journalist, and being "responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops"

It said it had previously "disclosed intelligence" confirming his military affiliation, which included "lists of terrorist training courses".

"Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munition, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence," the statement added.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 186 journalists have been confirmed killed since the start of Israel's military offensive in Gaza in October 2023.

Additional reporting by Shayan Sardarizadeh, BBC Verify

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Chip giants Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the US government 15% of their semiconductor sales in China, the BBC has been told by a source close to the matter.

The agreement is part of a deal to secure export licences to the world's second biggest economy.

"We follow rules the US government sets for our participation in worldwide markets. While we haven't shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide," Nvidia told the BBC.

AMD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under the agreement, Nvidia will pay 15% of its revenues from H20 chip sales in China to the US government, while AMD will give the same percentage from its MI308 chip revenues, which was first reported by the Financial Times.

Washington has previously banned the sale of Nvidia's H20 chips to Beijing over security concerns, although the firm recently announced that this would be reversed.

The H20 chip was developed specifically for the Chinese market after US export restrictions were imposed by the Biden administration in 2023. Its sale was effectively banned by the Trump administration in April this year.

Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang has spent months lobbying both sides for a resumption of sales of the chips in China.

New measures to make it easier for NHS employers in England to take on newly qualified nurses and midwives have been announced by the government.

The move comes after warnings there are up to three times more graduates than vacancies in some areas of the health service.

The aim is to free up trusts in England to recruit more easily by cutting red tape and simplifying regulations, including allowing them to employ staff based on what they think they might need and before vacancies formally arise.

The Royal College of Nursing welcomed the move but said the test would be if students could actually find jobs. Employers said it was not clear how the new measures would be fully funded.

Health officials said there were 4,000 more nursing and midwifery graduates than vacancies. This is out of a total of 24,870 who have already graduated or are due to over the next six months.

New measures would also see some support worker posts be temporarily converted to midwifery roles to create new openings for graduates.

The Department of Health said the changes would tackle concerns about jobs after record numbers chose to train for NHS professions during the pandemic – with fewer nurses and midwives quitting.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "It is absurd that we are training thousands of nurses and midwives every year, only to leave them without a job before their career has started.

"I am sending a clear message to every newly qualified nurse and midwife. We're here to support you from day one so you can provide the best care for patients and cut waiting lists."

The Royal College of Nursing general secretary Prof Nicola Ranger said she welcomed the news, noting it should "provide hope to students", but added a note of caution.

"When the health service urgently needs nursing staff, it was absurd to leave people in limbo," she said. "The test of this will be if students can find jobs, vacant posts are filled, and patients receive the care they deserve."

Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: "We're pleased that the government has listened to the voices of student midwives who are desperate to start their career, only to find those opportunities blocked.

"I know today's announcement will come as a relief to student midwife members."

But it was not clear in the announcement what extra money there might be for employers already under pressure to cut costs.

Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers which represents trusts, said it was good that staff concerns were being addressed - but added that there were questions over the finances.

He said: "It's not clear how this will be fully funded, nor what it could mean for other staff groups facing similar challenges.

"Trust budgets are already under enormous pressure. There is no spare money."

The health union Unison said ministers should also deal with a lack of opportunities for new graduates in occupational therapy as well as paramedics and other professions.

The attempts to make it easier for newly qualified nurses and midwives to get jobs comes at a time of a growing row with the government over NHS pay in England.

The Royal College of Nursing is calling for talks with ministers over pay issues after a consultative ballot of members showed a large majority opposing the 3.6% pay award. Future strike action has not been ruled out.

Another health union, the GMB, has said there will be talks on Monday at the Department of Health after its members also came out against the wage award in a ballot.

Four Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in an Israeli strike near Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, the broadcaster has said.

Correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal were in a tent for journalists at the hospital's main gate when it was targeted, Al Jazeera reported.

A fortnight ago, it condemned the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for what it called a "campaign of incitement" against its reporters in Gaza, including al-Sharif.

Shortly after the strike, the IDF confirmed that it had struck Anas al-Sharif, posting on Telegram that he had "served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas".

The IDF did not mention any of the other journalists who were killed. The BBC has contacted Al Jazeera for comment.

Al-Sharif, 28, appeared to be posting on X in the moments before his death, warning of intense Israeli bombardment within Gaza City.

A post which was published after he was reported to have died appears to have been pre-written and published by a friend.

In two graphic videos of the aftermath of the strike, which have been confirmed by BBC Verify, men can be seen carrying the bodies of those who were killed. Some shout out Mohammed Qreiqeh's name, and a man wearing a press vest says that one of the bodies is that of Anas Al-Sharif.

In July, the Al Jazeera Media Network issued a statement denouncing "relentless efforts" by the IDF for an "ongoing campaign of incitement targeting Al Jazeera's correspondents and journalists in the Gaza Strip".

"The Network considers this incitement a dangerous attempt to justify the targeting of its journalists in the field," it added.

The IDF statement accused al-Sharif of posing as a journalist, and being "responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops"

It said it had previously "disclosed intelligence" confirming his military affiliation, which included "lists of terrorist training courses".

"Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munition, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence," the statement added.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 186 journalists have been confirmed killed since the start of Israel's military offensive in Gaza in October 2023.

Additional reporting by Shayan Sardarizadeh, BBC Verify

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Meir Simcha agreed to talk, but he wanted to do it somewhere special, because for him, this is a special time. In a place where nation, religion and war are linked inextricably with politics and the possession of land, Simcha chose a patch of shade under a fig tree next to a spring of fresh water.

From his dusty car, a small Toyota fitted with off road tyres, he produced a bottle of juice made from fruit and vegetables.

"Don't worry, there's no extra sugar," he said as he poured it into plastic cups.

Simcha is the leader of a group of Jewish settlers steadily transforming a big stretch of the rolling terrain south of Hebron in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since it was captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

He moved two large flat stones into the shade as seats, and we sat down in a patch of lush grass, kept alive in the harsh summer heat by water dripping from a pipe coming out of the spring. It was a small oasis at the foot of a steep, arid, rocky slope and the location, if not our conversation, felt peaceful in a way that the West Bank rarely does these days.

The conflict between Arabs and Jews for control of the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea started well over a century ago when Zionists from Europe began to buy land to set up communities in Palestine.

It has been shaped by significant turning points.

The latest has come from the deadly 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas and Israel's devastating response.

The consequences of the last 22 months of war, and however more months are left before a ceasefire, threaten to spread across years and generations, just like the Middle East war in 1967, when Israel captured Gaza from Egypt and East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan.

The scale of destruction and killing in the Gaza war obscures what is happening in the West Bank, which smoulders with tension and violence.

Since October 2023, Israel's pressure on West Bank Palestinians has increased sharply, justified as legitimate security measures.

Evidence based on statements by ministers, influential local leaders like Simcha and accounts by witnesses on the ground reveal that the pressure is part of a wider agenda, to accelerate the spread of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories and to extinguish any lingering hopes of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Palestinians and human rights groups also accuse the Israeli security forces of failing in their legal duty as occupiers to protect Palestinians as well as their own citizens - not just turning a blind eye to settler attacks, but even joining in.

Violence by ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers in the West Bank has risen sharply since 7 October 2023.

Ocha, the UN's humanitarian office, estimates an average of four settler attacks every day.

The International Court of Justice has issued an advisory opinion that the entire occupation of Palestinian territory captured in 1967 is illegal.

Israel's rejects the ICJ's view and claims that the Geneva Conventions forbidding settlement in occupied territories do not apply - a view disputed by many of its own allies as well as international lawyers.

In the shade of the fig tree, Simcha denied all suggestions he had attacked Palestinians, as he celebrated the fact that most of the Arab farmers who used to graze their animals on the hills he has seized and tend their olives in the valleys had gone.

He looks back to the Hamas October attacks, and Israel's response ever since, as a turning point.

"I think that a lot has changed, that the enemy in our land lost hope. He's beginning to understand that he's on his way out; that's what has changed in the last year or year and a half.

"Today you can walk around here in the land in the desert, and nobody will jump on you and try to kill you. There are still attempts to oppose our presence here in this land, but the enemy is starting to understand this slowly. They have no future here.

"The reality has changed. I ask you and the people of the world, why are you so interested in those Palestinians so much? Why do you care about them? It's just another small nation.

"The Palestinians don't interest me. I care about my people."

Simcha says the Palestinians who left villages and farms near the hilltops he has claimed simply realised that God intended the land for Jews, not for them.

On 24 July this year, a panel of UN experts came to a different conclusion. A statement issued by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said: "We are deeply troubled by alleged widespread intimidation, violence, land dispossession, destruction of livelihoods and the resulting forcible displacement of communities, and we fear this is severing Palestinians from their land and undermining their food security.

"The alleged acts of violence, destruction of property, and denial of access to land and resources appear to constitute a systemic pattern of human rights violations."

Simcha has a plan to dig a swimming pool at the base of the spring where we sat to talk. Like many others who are leading the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, he is full of plans. When I met him first, not long after Hamas burst through Israel's border defences on 7 October 2023, he lived in a small group of isolated caravans on a hilltop overlooking the Judean desert as it sweeps down to the Dead Sea.

Since then, Simcha says his community has expanded into around 200 people on three hilltops. He was part of the faction of the settler movement known as hilltop youth, a radical fringe that became notorious for the violent harassment of Palestinians. Most Israelis who have settled in the occupied territories are not like Simcha. They went there not for ideological and religious reasons, but because property was cheaper.

But now men like Simcha are at the centre of events, with their leaders in the cabinet, leading the charge, married, older, thinking not just about swimming pools for their children but of victory over the Palestinians, once and for all, and everlasting Jewish possession of the land.

Simcha comes across as a happy man. He believes his mission - to implement the will of God by turning the West Bank into a land for Jews, and not for Palestinians - is progressing nicely.

Israel's decades-old project

Israel's project to settle Jewish citizens in the newly occupied territories started within days of its victory in 1967. Over the last almost 60 years, successive Israeli governments and some wealthy sympathisers have invested vast amounts of money and energy to get to the point where around 700,000 Israeli Jews live in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

I have been watching the settlements grow for about half of the lifetime of the project, since I first reported from the occupied Palestinian territories in 1991. In that time, the terrain of much of the West Bank has been transformed. The bigger settlements look like small towns, and the West Bank is carved into sections by a network of roads and tunnels built by Israel that are as much about staking an immovable claim to the land as they are about traffic management.

On remote hilltops at night, you can see the lights coming from the caravans of settlers who see themselves as Jewish pioneers. Olive groves, orchards and vineyards owned by Palestinian farmers along the road network are often overgrown, sometimes dotted with piles of rubble left from buildings Israel has demolished.

Controlling the land around the roads is necessary, Israel says, to stop attacks on Jews in the West Bank.

Farmers in areas under settler pressure often need military permission to visit their land, sometimes just once a year.

Palestinian farmers going about their business in vans or on donkeys used to be a common sight. In many parts of the West Bank, you just do not see them anymore, especially in places like the settlements east of Shiloh on the road to Nablus, where small groups of shacks and caravans on hilltops have connected up into sprawling residential hubs linked by sinuous road networks.

When first I reported on settlements, Israeli leaders would often say that national security depended on them. Enemies lurked across the Jordan valley, and pushing out the frontier, building the land, was a Zionist imperative.

Just like the kibbutz movement of collective farms in the 1920s and 1930s inside present-day Israel, settlements in the occupied territories after 1967 were strategically placed as a first line of defence.

In this conflict, land is a vital commodity.

Trading land taken by Israel in 1967 for peace with Palestinians who wanted it for a state was at the heart of the Oslo peace process that ended in violence but provided a false dawn of hope in the 1990s.

There were headlines around the world when, after months of secret negotiations in Norway in 1993, there was a handshake on the White House lawn between Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. They had signed a declaration of principles that was hoped would lead to the end of the conflict. Israel would relinquish occupied land to Palestinians. In return, they would drop their claim to territory they had lost when Israel declared independence in 1948.

The argument at the heart of their conflict across the 20th Century, about who controlled land they both wanted, would be solved by splitting it.

After a final disastrous summit at Camp David in 2000, the hopes of 1993 were replaced by the deadly violence of a Palestinian uprising and a massive military response from Israel.

Part of the reason why the peace process failed was that other forces, outside the talks, were at work.

Hamas never dropped its belief that the entire land of Palestine was an Islamic possession and used suicide attacks to discredit the notion that peace was possible.

Among religious Zionists in Israel, the victory in 1967 had supercharged a wave of messianism - the belief that a divine being was coming who would redeem the Jewish people.

It electrified the settler movement.

Rabin was assassinated in November 1995 by a Jewish extremist brought up in Herzliya on the Mediterranean coast who spent weekends at settlements in the West Bank. During his first interrogation by the Israeli security service, Shin Bet, he asked for a drink so he could toast the fact that he had saved the Jewish people from a disastrous path that denied the will of God.

Warning: This section contains an image some people might find upsetting

Today, the messianic idea grips settlers like Simcha more powerfully than ever.

They believe the victory in 1967 was a miracle granted by God, that restored to the Jewish people the ancestral lands that he had given them in the mountain heartland of Judea and Samaria - the area that much of the rest of the world calls the West Bank. Some believe events since 7 October have extended the miracle.

Last summer, the Minister for Settlements and National Missions, Orit Strock, put it like this to a sympathetic audience at an outpost in the Hebron hills, the area where Simcha operates.

"From my point of view, this is like a miracle period," she said. "I feel like someone standing at a traffic light, and then it turns green."

Minisyer Strock was speaking a few days before the ICJ issued its opinion.

She made her remarks at a settlement in the Hebron hills that the government had just "legalised".

Israeli law distinguishes between "legal" settlements and "illegal" outposts - a distinction that is in practice being blurred by the government's actions.

Outposts rebranded as "young settlements" are being retrospectively legalised as the government directs funds towards them.

At a ceremony in one of them in the south Hebron Hills in April this year, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose powers over the running of the occupation also make him something like the governor of the West Bank, donated 19 all-terrain vehicles to the settlers. He praised them for "grabbing massive territories".

A sharp-eyed reporter at the Times of Israel pointed out that one of the settlers at the ceremony, Yinon Levi, had been filmed harassing Palestinians from an all-terrain vehicle. Levi is sanctioned by the UK and the European Union for using violence to drive Palestinians off their land, though President Trump lifted similar sanctions imposed by Joe Biden.

Levi is radical settler royalty, married to the daughter of Noam Federman - a notorious extremist. Federman is a former leader of the Kach party, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US, the European Union and others.

On 28 July this year, Yinon Levi fired a bullet that killed Odeh Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist and journalist, during a disturbance in the West Bank village of Umm al-Khair. Levi pleaded self-defence and was released after three days of house arrest.

When we went to Umm al-Khair, Hathaleen's dried blood was still at the place where he was killed.

His brother, Khalil, told me the dead man was holding his five-year-old son, Watan, and filming the violent scenes on his phone when he was killed.

The settlement movement in the West Bank has powered ahead since 7 October, under the direction of hardline Jewish nationalists in the cabinet, men like Itamar Ben Gvir, the national security minister, and Bezalel Smotrich, who is Strock's leader in the Religious Zionist Party.

Ben Gvir was not drafted by the IDF when he turned 18, because of his extreme beliefs. He claims he campaigned to serve.

The two ministers are very different people to the secular politicians - retired generals like Yigal Allon from the Israeli left and Ariel Sharon from the right - two men who drove the settlement movement forward in its first two decades after 1967.

Just like Allon and Sharon, they believe that security requires power.

But for Smotrich, Ben Gvir and their followers, that is underpinned by the certainty of religious belief.

The influence they have acquired in return for supporting Netanyahu and keeping him in power continues to frustrate and enrage secular Israel.

Smotrich's Israeli opponents use the word "messianic" as term of abuse when they talk about him.

Allon and Sharon could be ruthless. After the 1967 war, Allon advocated the annexation of large parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley. Neither man believed they were doing the will of God.

Hamas uses religion to justify its violent opposition to the existence of Israel. Religious Zionists in the settler movement believe they are doing God's will.

Belief in a direct connection with God does not guarantee war. But it makes the compromises necessary for peace hard to achieve.

'Now the settlers are the military'

We arranged to meet Yehuda Shaul at the road junction next to Sinjel. He is one of Israel's most prominent opponents of the occupation.

Shaul founded an organisation called Breaking the Silence after, as a soldier, he saw first-hand the inherently brutal realities of a military occupation that has lasted almost 60 years.

Fellow Israelis have branded supporters of Breaking the Silence, which he no longer leads, as traitors many times.

Israeli military crackdowns since the October attacks have reduced Palestinian violence against settlers, while settler attacks on Palestinians have grown sharply.

Shaul says that the line between settlers and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has become blurred.

The war in Gaza has required the longest mobilisation of military reservists - the backbone of the IDF - in Israel's history. To get more Israelis into uniform, brigades in the West Bank have formed regional defence units made up of settlers.

"Now the settlers are the military. In the military are the settlers. So that settler on the hilltop nearby a Palestinian herding community that was beating them up and throwing stones for the past two three or four years, trying to get him out, now is the soldier or the officer in uniform with a gun responsible for the area.

"So when he comes to a Palestinian and says, 'you have 24 hours to pack up and leave or I'm going to shoot you,' the Palestinian knows there is nothing to protect him."

Shaul believes Israel has two choices left. One direction, he argues, is "the vector that this government is writing, displacement, abuse, killing, destroying Palestinian life, ultimately, writing a vector to mass population transfer".

"Or, it is two states where Palestine resides besides Israel and both peoples here have rights and dignity. These are the only two options in our cards. Now you and anyone who watches us, need to choose which one you support."

He uses language about Netanyahu's conduct of the Gaza war since 7 October that is rare in Israel but common among Palestinians and increasingly heard among Israel's critics in Europe.

This is part of our conversation, in the shadow of the steel and razor wire between the village of Sinjel and Road 60 - the West Bank's main highway.

He says: "I think while we see a war of extermination in Gaza... we see a massive campaign by the state and the settlers... to basically ethnically cleanse as much land of the West Bank from Palestinians."

I reply: "Of course, if Netanyahu was here, any of his supporters, they'd say, 'what a load of rubbish. This is about Israeli security against terrorism and attacks on Jews.' What do you make of that?"

He responds: "I actually believe that if 7 October taught us one thing it is, if you really care about protecting Israelis and Palestinian life, you need to take care of the root causes of the violence: decades of brutal military occupation, displacement of Palestinians and a conflict that is going on for about 100 years.

"Ultimately, the security protection, the sustainability of Jewish self-determination in this land, is interlinked and intertwined with achieving self-determination rights and equality for Palestinians."

UN ambassadors have condemned Israel's plans to "take control" of Gaza City as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted it was the "best way" to end the war.

During a press conference, which Netanyahu said was intended to "puncture the lies", the Israeli leader said the planned offensive would move "fairly quickly" and would "free Gaza from Hamas".

He also claimed Israeli hostages held in Gaza were "the only ones being deliberately starved" and denied Israel was starving Gazans.

Meanwhile, Israel came under heavy criticism at an emergency meeting of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, with the UK, France and others warning the plan risked "violating international humanitarian law".

Along with Denmark, Greece and Slovenia, they called for the plan to be reversed, adding it would "do nothing to secure the return of hostages and risks further endangering their lives".

Other council members expressed similar alarm. China called the "collective punishment" of people in Gaza unacceptable, while Russia warned against a "reckless intensification of hostilities".

UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca told the meeting: "If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction."

Thousands of protesters have also taken to the streets across Israel to oppose the government's plan, fearing it puts the lives of hostages at risk.

In his presser, Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had been instructed to dismantle the "two remaining Hamas strongholds" in Gaza City and a central area around al-Mawasi.

He also outlined a three-step plan to increase aid in Gaza, including designating safe corridors for humanitarian aid distribution and more air drops by Israeli forces and other partners.

It would also include increasing the number of safe distribution points managed by the controversial US and Israeli-backed Gazan Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The UN reported earlier this month that 1,373 Palestinians had been killed seeking food since late May, when GHF set up aid distribution sites.

Netanyahu claimed Hamas had "violently looted the aid trucks", and, when asked about Palestinians killed at GHF sites, said "a lot of firing was done by Hamas".

Asked about the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza - 20 of whom are still thought to be alive - Netanyahu said "if we don't do anything, we are not going to get them out".

The Israeli leader also took aim at the international press, saying it had bought into Hamas propaganda. He labelled some of the photos of malnourished children in Gaza that have run on newspaper front pages across the world as "fake".

Throughout the war, Israel has not allowed international journalists into Gaza to report freely. But Netanyahu said a directive telling the military to bring in foreign journalists had been in place for two days.

Since Saturday, five people have died as a result of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza, bringing the total number to 217 deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

It also said that in total more than 61,000 people have been killed as a result of Israel's military campaign since 2023.

Israel launched its offensive in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October that year, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

In the past, figures from the Hamas-run health ministry were widely used in times of conflict and seen as reliable by the UN and other international organisations.

Firefighters are tackling a large fire on Arthur's Seat in the centre of Edinburgh.

The blaze was seen spreading rapidly across the hill in the city's Holyrood Park and police have urged people to stay away from the area.

Supporters at the Hibernian v Kilmarnock match have been told to avoid the Willowbrae, Duddingston and Holyrood areas when leaving the Easter Road stadium.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have been contacted for comment.

It follows a recent spate of wildfires in the Highlands, considered "the biggest Scotland has ever seen", during a particularly warm and dry summer.

Hundreds of pro-Israel demonstrators marched through central London on Sunday to demand the release of hostages still held in Gaza and to show their support for the country.

Protesters led by the UK's chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and the Jewish direct action group Stop The Hate held Israeli flags and placards showing the faces of hostages.

Some expressed anger at the UK's intention to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions, with several people telling the BBC that this was a "reward for Hamas".

One man, who was not part of the march, was arrested for common assault and a racially aggravated public order offence, the Metropolitan Police said.

Small scuffles briefly broke out near Trafalgar Square with a handful of people chanting pro-Palestinian slogans. Some were led away by police.

Adam Ma'anit, who lost several family members in the Hamas-led cross-border attacks on 7 October 2023, said the UK government had not "exhausted all possibilities" to free the remaining hostages.

"The freedom of the hostages unlocks new pathways, and it's the swiftest way to break the crisis in the Middle East," he told the BBC.

"I want the UK government to stop messing things up," he said, adding that its "bungled" announcement regarding a Palestinian state left Hamas "sitting pretty" and knowing "they had won an advantage".

It is thought 20, of the remaining 50 hostages held in Gaza, are believed to be alive.

Some protesters held pictures of Evyatar David - the 24-year-old who was shown looking emaciated and weak in a Hamas video released earlier this month, prompting outrage both in Israel and internationally.

Julie, who did not want to give her second name, told the BBC that "we need to carry on remembering" the hostages.

"We need to get them home. We need more people here. There's a lot of moral confusion going on at the moment."

Many protesters said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer should be prioritising the release of the hostages.

"The hostages have been rotting in the tunnels and the British government haven't been putting pressure on Hamas," said Daniel, another protester.

"It's outrageous."

A large security presence was in place for the march, including police and Jewish safety groups.

Many of the protesters held signs saying 'end Jew hatred', with several attendees telling the BBC they were concerned for their safety in the UK.

Jewish groups say there has been a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in Britain since 7 October 2023, the date of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Since then, 61,430 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli military operations, the health ministry says.

Sunday's protest came a day after a demonstration in London in support of banned group Palestine Action, which saw 532 people arrested.

Hundreds of pro-Israel demonstrators marched through central London on Sunday to demand the release of hostages still held in Gaza and to show their support for the country.

Protesters led by the UK's chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and the Jewish direct action group Stop The Hate held Israeli flags and placards showing the faces of hostages.

Some expressed anger at the UK's intention to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions, with several people telling the BBC that this was a "reward for Hamas".

One man, who was not part of the march, was arrested for common assault and a racially aggravated public order offence, the Metropolitan Police said.

Small scuffles briefly broke out near Trafalgar Square with a handful of people chanting pro-Palestinian slogans. Some were led away by police.

Adam Ma'anit, who lost several family members in the Hamas-led cross-border attacks on 7 October 2023, said the UK government had not "exhausted all possibilities" to free the remaining hostages.

"The freedom of the hostages unlocks new pathways, and it's the swiftest way to break the crisis in the Middle East," he told the BBC.

"I want the UK government to stop messing things up," he said, adding that its "bungled" announcement regarding a Palestinian state left Hamas "sitting pretty" and knowing "they had won an advantage".

It is thought 20, of the remaining 50 hostages held in Gaza, are believed to be alive.

Some protesters held pictures of Evyatar David - the 24-year-old who was shown looking emaciated and weak in a Hamas video released earlier this month, prompting outrage both in Israel and internationally.

Julie, who did not want to give her second name, told the BBC that "we need to carry on remembering" the hostages.

"We need to get them home. We need more people here. There's a lot of moral confusion going on at the moment."

Many protesters said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer should be prioritising the release of the hostages.

"The hostages have been rotting in the tunnels and the British government haven't been putting pressure on Hamas," said Daniel, another protester.

"It's outrageous."

A large security presence was in place for the march, including police and Jewish safety groups.

Many of the protesters held signs saying 'end Jew hatred', with several attendees telling the BBC they were concerned for their safety in the UK.

Jewish groups say there has been a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in Britain since 7 October 2023, the date of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Since then, 61,430 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli military operations, the health ministry says.

Sunday's protest came a day after a demonstration in London in support of banned group Palestine Action, which saw 532 people arrested.

Firefighters are tackling a large fire on Arthur's Seat in the centre of Edinburgh.

The blaze was seen spreading rapidly across the hill in the city's Holyrood Park and police have urged people to stay away from the area.

Supporters at the Hibernian v Kilmarnock match have been told to avoid the Willowbrae, Duddingston and Holyrood areas when leaving the Easter Road stadium.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have been contacted for comment.

It follows a recent spate of wildfires in the Highlands, considered "the biggest Scotland has ever seen", during a particularly warm and dry summer.

The number of arrests at Saturday's demonstration in London in support of banned group Palestine Action has risen to 532.

The Metropolitan Police said the majority of arrests - 521 - were for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action at Westminster's Parliament Square, and one at a Palestine Coalition march.

Six arrests were for assaulting police officers, two for breaching Public Order Act conditions, one for obstructing a constable and one for a racially aggravated public order offence.

It was the biggest protest since the government proscribed the group in July under the Terrorism Act, making membership of or support for it a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The force previously said that the number of arrests was the largest made by the force on a single day in the last 10 years.

On Sunday the Metropolitan Police said the average age of those arrested was 54, and the most arrests - 147 of them - were of people aged between 60 and 69.

It said its counter terrorism team was now working on bringing charges against those accused of supporting Palestine Action.

The force said: "Over the coming days and weeks, officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command will work to put together the case files required to secure charges against those arrested as part of this operation."

Protesters whose details could be confirmed at temporary prisoner processing points nearby were released on bail to appear at a police station at a future date, under condition not to attend future demonstrations related to Palestine Action.

But 212 protesters who refused to provide their details or were found to have been arrested while already on bail were taken into custody.

Police said as of 13:00 BST on Sunday, 18 of them remained in custody but were expected to be released during the day.

Security expert Lizzie Dearden told the BBC that the laws the protesters were arrested under "were not designed for a group of this nature or a group of this size".

"When [the Terrorism Act] was drafted in the late Nineties, the kind of terrorist group that was really being envisaged were groups like the IRA, al-Qaeda, armed militant groups that were operating often abroad.

"So the law is being applied in a completely new way."

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper thanked police for their response following the demonstration, and said the banning of Palestine Action was based on "strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed" as well as "plans and ideas for further attacks".

"Many people may not yet know the reality of this organisation, but the assessments are very clear - this is not a non-violent organisation," she said.

But charity Amnesty International's chief executive Sacha Deshmukh described the mass arrests as "deeply concerning".

He said: "We have long criticised UK terrorism law for being excessively broad and vaguely worded and a threat to freedom of expression. These arrests demonstrate that our concerns were justified."

Tributes have been made to a family who died in a car crash while on holiday.

Two days of mourning were announced in Mourao, Portugal, after the death of four relatives reported as Domingos Serrano, 55, Maria Serrano, 51, and their twin sons Domingos and Afonso, 20, as well as a young woman who had been with them.

The family, who were living in Thetford, Norfolk, were driving in Faro, in the Algarve, when their car collided with another vehicle on the IP2 main road in Castro Verde. A man in the other car also died, the Municipal Council of Mourao said.

Thetford Town Football Club paid tribute to the family and said the twins had been "integral" parts of their U18 team in recent years.

On Facebook, a spokesperson from the football club said it passed "sincere condolences to the Serrano family and the local Portuguese community after the recent tragedy while on holiday".

"Afonso and Domingos were both an integral part of our U18's team in recent years, both brothers sadly passed away in Portugal with their parents and friends in a tragic car accident," they added.

"The loss of this lovely family will leave a massive void in the local community. Partiram, mas numca serao esquecidos."

The Serrano family were living in Thetford, but were not believed to be British nationals, the UK Foreign Office said.

A spokesperson from the Municipal Council of Mourão decreed two days of mourning from Sunday, following the incident.

It said all activities and events promoted by the municipality would be cancelled throughout the weekend.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

TV actor Ray Brooks, who starred in some of the UK's best-known programmes in a career spanning five decades, has died aged 86.

Brooks narrated the classic 1970s children's show Mr Benn and played the male lead in the ground-breaking 1960s BBC drama Cathy Come Home.

He also starred in primetime 1980s programmes Big Deal, in which he played loveable rogue gambler Robbie Box, and Running Wild, as the comic lead Max Wild.

Brooks also became one of few actors to appear in both Coronation Street and EastEnders. He played Norman Philips in the ITV soap in the 1960s, and arrived in Albert Square 40 years later to portray Joe Macer, who infamously murdered his wife Pauline Fowler.

He died on Saturday after a short illness, his family told the BBC.

In a statement, the actor's sons Will and Tom said their dad thought he was best known for Mr Benn, "with people continually asking him to say the catchphrase 'as if by magic!'".

"Although only 13 episodes were made, they were repeated twice a year for 21 years," they added.

The list of TV shows in which Brooks appeared in the 1960s and 1970s reads like a run-down of the British small screen's biggest hits of the era.

They included roles in Danger Man, Dixon of Dock Green, Emergency-Ward 10, The Avengers, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Z Cars.

He also had a number of film successes, including in the 1965 film The Knack... and How to Get It, which won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

He played Georgio, the waiter in the crumbling hotel, in Carry On Abroad in 1972, and also killed daleks and cybermen in the 1966 Dr Who movie Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.

Brooks also enjoyed appearances in the theatre, including Alan Ayckbourn's Absent Friends alongside Richard Briers, Peter Bowles and Phyllida Law. He also starred opposite Felicity Kendal in Tom Stoppard's On The Razzle.

His most acclaimed role came early in his career when he played Reg in the gritty BBC TV play Cathy Come Home, which chronicled Britain's housing shortage in the late 1960s.

Directed by Ken Loach and filmed in a documentary style, it followed a young couple's struggle with homelessness. It is regularly cited as one of the most influential TV broadcasts of all time.

But arguably Brooks's biggest mainstream successes came in the 1980s, with two successive primetime leading roles.

In Big Deal, his character Robbie Box seeks to make a living playing poker and betting on horses and dogs - while trying to keep his relationship together with his partner Jan, played by Sharon Duce.

The fast-talking Londoner became one of TV's best-loved working-class characters in an era of Del Boy Trotter and Arthur Daley

Duce went on to appear in an episode of Running Wild, Brooks's next big hit - where he switched channels to ITV for a sitcom about a former Teddy Boy going through a mid-life crisis.

Throughout his career his unmistakeable voice saw him land several roles as narrator, including th,e beloved children's show Mr Benn, The Pickwick Papers and 30 episodes reading the stories to young viewers in Jackanory.

He also voiced thousands of adverts for companies including Guinness, Whiskas, Marmite and R Whites Lemonade.

Nonetheless, his sons said Brooks "shunned the limelight" in real life.

They said: "His three true loves were family [he also had a daughter Emma, who died in 2003], Fulham Football Club, and spending time in Brighton, where he was born.

He was among the celebrity Fulham fans who fought against the club's proposed merger with QPR in the 1980s - and son Will recalled that Brooks even wore a "Save Fulham" badge during an interview on Wogan at the time.

The family revealed that he had spent the last few years living with dementia but died peacefully on Saturday with his family at his bedside.

Allies of Alex Salmond have dismissed Nicola Sturgeon's suggestion that he leaked details about an investigation into sexual misconduct claims made against him.

Salmond was cleared of 13 sexual offence charges in 2020, including attempted rape, but during the trial his lawyer admitted his client could "have been a better man."

In her upcoming memoir, Frankly, Sturgeon denied releasing details about the investigation, or any having any knowledge of who did. But she added it would have been "classic Alex" to have been behind the leak.

Alba party leader Kenny MacAskill called her a "hypocrite" while the party's former general secretary, Chris McEleny, described the ex-SNP leader's claim as a "fabrication".

Sturgeon succeeded Salmond as first minister in 2014 until she resigned in March 2023.

In 2019, a judicial review concluded that the Scottish government's investigation into Salmond's alleged misconduct was unlawful, unfair and tainted by apparent bias.

Salmond, who died of a heart attack last October, was later awarded more than £500,000 in legal expenses.

He left the SNP in 2018 and formed the pro-independence Alba party in 2021.

MacAskill recently called for a public inquiry into the handling of sexual misconduct complaints against Salmond, who he succeeded as Alba leader.

The former SNP minister posted on social media: "It's one thing to be supposedly candid in your autobiography.

"Quite another to block openness and transparency when in office and by those you continue to support.

"This hypocrisy is yet another reason for an inquiry into the Scottish government's actions relating to Alex Salmond."

Meanwhile, Chris McEleny claimed the investigation was a "stitch up" and that several public bodies had "conspired to jail Salmond".

He added: "Alex Salmond delivered an SNP government, an SNP majority and an independence referendum whereas Nicola Sturgeon delivered nothing whatsoever for the national cause.

"Nicola might think she can fabricate her own version of the truth now that Alex is no longer here but the reality is her book will end up in a bargain basket whilst Alex Salmond will reside in the pages of the Scottish history books."

Journalist David Clegg broke the story about the Salmond investigation when he was political editor of the Daily Record.

He told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show that he did not believe there was any truth in Sturgeon's leak claims.

Clegg, now editor of The Courier, said: "I find that a conspiracy theory too far.

"But I think it shows the level of suspicion and the deep rift that had formed between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon prior to his death."

He said the "factual account" of what happened when the story emerged was laid out in his book, Break-Up, which he co-wrote with journalist Kieran Andrews.

Clegg recalled: "A document turned up in the post at the Record offices.

"It had these claims summarised and over the course of that evening we had to authenticate them and work out whether they were legitimate.

"There is obviously some mystery and speculation about what went on seven years ago and how that happened.

"But if it was Alex Salmond who had leaked it, when I phoned him up that night to put the claims to him, he did an incredible acting job of seeming surprised and shocked.

"I have heard this from people close to Nicola Sturgeon before and it's always struck me as not credible and I would be very surprised if it was the case."

When asked if he knew the source of the leak, Clegg said: "I have had many nights thinking about who may have sent that in and I've had some suspicions over the years and guesses - but the truth is I'm not even sure who it was."

In her book extract, published in The Sunday Times, Nicola Sturgeon also dismissed suggestions of a "conspiracy" between the Scottish government, civil service, the complainants and the Crown Office against Salmond.

"I think that's fanciful as well," said Clegg.

"In general, I'm always of the view that the simplest explanation is probably the most likely one.

"And that would be that somebody thought this information was in the public interest and was concerned that it was going to be covered up so tried to get it out."

Sturgeon previously spoke about Salmond in a Financial Times interview in January, where she said he "would be really rough on people."

Salmond's widow, Moira, later said comments about her husband had caused the family "great distress".

At the time, she added: "Attacks by the living on the dead will seem to many as deeply unfair.

"My wish, and sincere hope, is that these attacks will now stop."

The extract is the second to be published from Sturgeon's memoir.

In the first, published in The Times on Saturday, the former first minister described her arrest by police investigating the SNP's finances as the worst day of her life.

Sturgeon describes being questioned by detectives as part of Operation Branchform.

She also writes about her "utter disbelief" about police raiding the home she shared with her husband Peter Murrell in April 2023.

The former first minister was later exonerated and has since separated from Mr Murrell who has been charged with embezzlement.

Elsewhere in the extracts, the former SNP leader describes the pain of suffering a miscarriage and sets out her views on sexuality, which she says she does not consider "to be binary".

Frankly will be published on Thursday 14 August.

Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon once formed a formidable partnership which dominated the SNP and then Scottish politics itself.

They brought Scotland within touching distance of independence in 2014.

This was something which even some supporters of independence would not have believed to have been possible so quickly a few years earlier.

The latest extracts from Nicola Sturgeon's memoirs serve as a reminder of the spectacular implosion of their relationship.

It also reignites the question of Alex Salmond's legacy.

His friends and political allies have wanted his public reputation restored since his acquittal in 2020.

Many - but not all - of those who were closest to him are no longer prominent within the SNP but are still powerful voices within the independence movement or the Alba party, which Salmond founded.

First Minister John Swinney - who was also a key figure in Salmond's administration as finance secretary - wants to move the SNP forward and chart the road ahead.

But nine months from the Scottish election, some will wonder what such an explosive account of the end of the relationship at the heart of the SNP will do to the party's prospects of securing re-election.

The findings of a year-long undercover investigation into a violent migrant-smuggling gang were published by BBC News on 5 August - and, as a result, one person has now been arrested in Birmingham.

Here, one of our reporters who assumed a false identity and posed as a migrant, describes how he met one of the gang's senior members in a secret forest hideout.

I am walking towards the forest near Dunkirk, thinking about the battery in my pocket. I've hidden the wires under two T-shirts, but is anything still showing? Is my secret camera working? Is it pointing at the right angle? I have, at most, three hours of battery life left, and I need to get to the smuggler's secret camp, meet him, and get out safely.

This is perhaps the most dangerous and most important moment for me, the culmination of many months working on this investigation with the team.

There is a small team of high-risk advisors watching my back. With gang members monitoring everyone who enters the forest, I worry my advisors may end up exposing me rather than protecting me. But they play it perfectly and keep a low profile.

I'm using a false name. My clothes are similar to those worn by other people trying to get a ride on a small boat to England. Scuffed, old shoes. A big, warm, dirty, jacket. A backpack that I've spent time trying to make look worn, as if I have travelled long, hard miles to get here.

I keep going over my cover story in my head. The excuses I might need to get away quickly. The possible scenarios. We have planned and planned, but I know nothing ever goes exactly as expected in the field.

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I am an Arabic-speaking man and have gone undercover before - but each time is different, and carries different risks.

Over the past couple of years, I've spent a long time in northern France, trying to understand and expose the people smugglers' complicated and shadowy operations. It was not an easy decision to infiltrate a violent criminal network.

I'm entering a world ruled by money, power and silence. But I'm not just curious - I also believe the gangs are not as untouchable as they seem and that I can play a role in exposing them and perhaps helping to stop them.

Inside the forest, my nervousness fades. I am "Abu Ahmed" now - my false identity. I don't even feel like I'm acting a part.

I'm new in town, a Syrian refugee whose asylum bid was rejected by Germany. I'm scared, desperate, a little lost and at the beginning of an uncertain journey.

I walk down a path to the smugglers' camp trying to remember the way I came in.

When the smuggler, Abdullah, meets me, he is friendly but he says he needs to leave immediately. I try to sound weary. I must persuade him to wait, to talk to me quickly, while my battery is still working. Then, I can get out of there.

Abdullah suspects nothing and seems entirely at ease. But I know the smugglers have guns and knives and there is only one path that leads in and out of the camp.

A day later, away from the forest, I see online that there has been another fatal shooting there.

One of the most difficult things during my time undercover, in the weeks before I meet Abdullah, is keeping track of the phone numbers. Gang members change them often, and sometimes you can lose months of work in a second. At times I've lost hope, seeing everything fall apart. But I keep learning.

I spend a lot of time meeting people waiting for small boats around Calais or Boulogne, asking them which gang they are using, which phone numbers they have. Early mornings are spent at train stations, food distribution centres, or on the edge of forests and beaches. Sometimes I just watch, trying to melt into a crowd, to overhear conversations, to spot glances and gestures and to see who leads and who follows.

I must be careful. I move from place to place in different cars over the weeks, and generally try to disappear into the background. I don't want to do or say anything that could bring me to the attention of the smugglers. They have so many eyes and ears here, and if they become suspicious, it could be dangerous for me.

Am I scared? Not too often. I have engaged with even more dangerous groups in the past. But I am worried I could make a mistake, forget a detail, and blow my cover. Or at least one of my covers.

I switch phones too, contacting smugglers using different names and back stories to try to piece together who works where and what they do. I label each phone. I have French, German, Turkish and Syrian numbers. It is slow work. I'm careful to make sure I'm in the right place whenever I make a call, in case the smuggler asks me to turn on my video or send a pin showing my location.

The smugglers always ask me, "Where did you get the number?" And, "Who is with you? Where are you staying? How did you get to France?"

Now Abdullah does the same, asking me to send photos showing my journey to the forest from a bus stop in Dunkirk.

Does he suspect me?

In person in the forest, Abdullah appears friendlier than most of the smugglers I have encountered. I notice he seems keen to make all his passengers feel at ease, always responding to calls. He strikes me as ambitious.

Over time, I learn some of the gang's vocabulary. Migrants are "nafar". The junior smugglers are "rebari". The forest is always "the jungle".

And now it is time for me to leave the jungle and to head back towards my team who are waiting, anxiously, at a nearby supermarket.

As I leave the forest and get to the road, I'm no longer "Abu Ahmed". I'm a journalist again, tortured by questions.

Did the camera work? Did I manage to film Abdullah confirming his role as a smuggler? Is anyone following me now?

The walk back seems even longer.

US fashion designer Willy Chavarria has apologised after a shoe he created in collaboration with Adidas Originals was criticised for "cultural appropriation".

The Oaxaca Slip-On was inspired by traditional leather sandals known as huaraches made by Indigenous artisans in Mexico.

The Mexican president was among those who spoke out against the footwear, which was reportedly made in China without consultation or credit to the communities who originated the design.

Chavarria said in a statement sent to the BBC: "I am deeply sorry that the shoe was appropriated in this design and not developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan community." The BBC has contacted Adidas for comment.

Cultural appropriation is defined as "the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, of one people or society by members of a typically more dominant people or society".

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum told a press conference: "Big companies often take products, ideas and designs from Indigenous communities."

She added: "We are looking at the legal part to be able to support them."

Adidas had contacted Oaxacan officials to discuss "restitution to the people who were plagiarised", Mexico's deputy culture minister Marina Nunez added.

Promotional images of the black moulded open-toe footwear have been taken down from the brand's social media accounts as well as Chavarria's.

In his statement, the designer said he wanted "to speak from the heart about the Oaxaca slip-on I created with Adidas".

"The intention was always to honor the powerful cultural and artistic spirit of Oaxaca and its creative communities - a place whose beauty and resistance have inspired me. The name Oaxaca is not just a word - its living culture, its people, and its history."

He went on to say he was "deeply sorry" he did not work with the Oaxacan community on the design.

"This falls short of the respect and collaborative approach that Oaxaca, the Zapotec community of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, and its people deserve," he added.

"I know love is not just given - it is earned through action."

Adidas has not responded to the BBC's request for a comment.

The Associated Press reported that Adidas responded to Mexican authorities in a letter on Friday.

The company reportedly said it "deeply values the cultural wealth of Mexico's Indigenous people and recognizes the relevance" of criticisms, and requesting a sit-down to talk about how to "repair the damage" to Indigenous communities.

Heat builds from Sunday

How warm will it get?

What will the rest of August bring?

Calm in a can. Relaxation after a few sips.

That's what some drinks companies are promising with beverages formulated specifically to help you chill out.

Lucy and Serena swear by them. They're good friends who, like many, are juggling careers, the chaos of having small children, trying to stay fit, and everything else in between.

"These drinks aren't going to get rid of all my worries and anxieties," Serena says, "but if they give me a little boost - then I'll take it."

Lucy finds them really useful too, especially when she's feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"If I get that low-level panic, then with a drink of Trip or something like it, I can bring it back round."

But after an advert by one of the industry's best-known brands was banned for suggesting its drinks helped with stress and anxiety, there have been questions about whether drinks of this kind are quite as effective as they make out.

BBC News has spoken to nutritionists and dietitians who are sceptical the small amounts of supplements the drinks contain could really bring about that sense of zen.

One psychologist has suggested that we might actually "create our own calm" when we set aside time for ourselves with something that feels like a treat.

The "functional beverage" market - that's drinks with additional health benefits - is booming, with British supermarkets seeing sales jump by 24.5% in the last 12 months, according to one market research firm. Almost 30% of UK households now buy these functional drinks, Worldpanel by Numerator says.

So, what's actually in them that's supposed to help you feel more mellow or give your health a boost? Well, that's where things can get complicated, as each brand takes a different approach.

Along with Trip's Mindful Blend, other companies like Rheal, Grass&Co, Goodrays and supermarket own-brands, advertise that their drinks contain supplements including:

• Lion's Mane extract – a type of mushroom found in east Asian countries
• L-theanine – an amino acid found primarily in green and black tea
• Ashwagandha – a herb cultivated in areas of Asia, Africa, and Europe
• Magnesium – a mineral the human body needs to function properly

These supplements are all commonly found in many health and wellbeing products and are associated with enhancing mood, boosting energy, supporting cognition, and helping with stress.

But how robust is the evidence for that? It's tricky because there are many studies of varying credibility each suggesting different levels of efficacy.

Trip's advert, which suggested its ingredients were stress and anxiety busters, breached the Advertising Standards Agency's (ASA) code, with the ASA ruling that Trip's claims their drinks could "prevent, treat or cure disease" were a step too far.

Trip told BBC News the ruling related to "a single page on the website" and it has made the "changes requested". It says it's confident it's ingredients permit the use of the word "calm" which is "widely and lawfully used by many brands".

Dietitian Reema Patel is concerned the amount of supplement in these drinks may not give consumers the emotional balance, feelings of calm, or stress relief that is advertised across the industry. She highlights a growing body of evidence around the funghi Lion's Mane, but says there are no conclusive findings about whether it can have any impact - as yet.

"The research is still very much in its infancy," she says. "In one of the more advanced clinical trials, a small number of participants were given 1800mg - that's at least four times more than what is in some of these drinks."

Studies suggest women are more likely to consume these kinds of supplements, but they're not always front and centre in the research.

The lack of research that includes female participants is partly down to menstrual cycles and fluctuating hormones, making it more "complicated to track", Ms Patel explains.

But these drinks can make a good alternative to drinking alcohol she says, and she has clients who have made the switch from having a wine or a gin and tonic every night to opening a can of one of these drinks to help them unwind.

"I think you can take a lot of the claims with a pinch of salt, but they are definitely giving people that other option."

Dr Sinead Roberts, a performance nutritionist, says supplements can make a difference, but they tend to work for certain groups of people in specific circumstances - such as high-performing athletes who want that extra edge, or people who are deficient in a certain nutrient - not necessarily for the general population.

If you enjoy the taste, "crack on", Dr Roberts says, but if you want to reduce stress and anxiety you're probably best saving your £2 or £3 and putting it towards a "therapy session or a massage at the end of the month".

"A trace of Lion's Mane or Ashgawanda in a fizzy drink is not going to make any difference," she adds.

Emily May, 25, first discovered these drinks at Glastonbury a couple of years ago. She's not overly bothered about trying to reach a state of zen through them - she just likes the taste.

"I'm ADHD," Emily says, "so I would definitely need a lot more than one of those drinks to calm me down."

There is a fine line between advertising that a product will give you a feeling of calm and quiet, and claiming these kinds of drinks will help with mental health problems.

Psychologist Natasha Tiwari says mental health and well-being are "increasingly conflated" in the wellness sector, creating a "toxic mix".

There can be a positive - yet temporary - change in mood and consumers might feel a buzz, she says, not because of the ingredients necessarily, but because "everything around the experience of the product is real".

"So you've bought a drink which, let's say, is a little bit pricier than the alternatives in the market. Therefore you make a commitment to sit down quietly and enjoy it nicely," she says. "You look at the branding - which is lovely and calming - you're processing your environment in the moment, and then actually what you're experiencing truly is a calm moment in your otherwise busy day. That's not fake."

And it's that little window of peace that Lucy and Serena yearn for - and for a few minutes a fizzy drink in a can gives them that, whether the science really agrees, or not.

BBC News contacted all the brands mentioned in this article. Grass&Co told us it's their mission "to deliver high-strength natural adaptogen and vitamin-packed blends formulated by experts... which are supported by approved health claims."

Film critics have delivered a verdict: the new version of War of the Worlds – which stars Ice Cube as a man who must save humanity from an alien invasion without leaving his desk – is bad.

But how bad? Is it just "the worst possible adaptation of HG Wells's work"? Is it "one of the worst movies of the decade so far"? Or might it actually be "one of the worst movies ever made"?

When the reviews started coming in this week, the internet soon took delight in the film's 0% critic score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

While some gleefully joined in the mauling, others were attracted to the film like moths to a flame.

"I feel like I have to watch this now," wrote The White Lotus actor Patrick Schwarzenegger, who, as the son of Arnold, has perhaps encountered the odd low-ranking movie.

He's not the only person to feel the lure of a film with savage reviews - some terrible movies have built cult followings for being so bad they're good.

'Verges on parody'

Lon Harris, executive producer of the This Week in Startups podcast, stoked the conversation this week when he posted: "Dipping below like 5% on Rotten Tomatoes has basically the same appeal to me as breaking 90%.

"That's some[thing] I need to experience right there."

A film with a rock bottom rating is bound to be interesting, Harris tells BBC News.

"A very low score indicates universal agreement. This movie is bad. Now I want to know more... Why does everyone agree? Suddenly, I'm intrigued.

"I watch a lot of movies, there's so much content coming out, and most of it is bland and forgettable."

Harris was intrigued enough to watch War of the Worlds, and it duly lived down to his expectations.

"It's very silly, Ice Cube's solo performance just reacting to things on his laptop screen verges at times on parody and frequently made me laugh, and there's a whole subplot involving Amazon drone deliveries that's so on-the-nose it's almost unbelievable that they included it," he says.

The crucial role an Amazon drone plays in saving the world is indeed ham-fisted.

It's not a subtle film. Ice Cube's government surveillance agent must save both the world and his family from afar, as he watches the alien invasion unfold on his computer screen, a set-up explained by the fact it was made during the pandemic.

It had been sitting on the shelf ever since – until now.

Harris adds: "There's a charm to watching a movie that's not slick and polished like most other films you see, where you can sort of see the artists' hands at work trying their best to cover for their budget issues and production setbacks.

"That's more interesting than just 'another alien invasion movie' to me."

After its initial battering, one critic has now taken pity on War of the Worlds, having enjoyed watching it.

"Is this movie really that bad?" wrote Entertainment Weekly's Jordan Hoffman on Thursday.

"The answer is... absolutely not. It's certainly stupid, but it's also a great deal of fun."

That write-up, which concluded that the "movie is a mess, but an uproarious one", was deemed positive by Rotten Tomatoes so has nudged the film's Tomatometer score up from 0% to the giddy heights of 4% at the time of writing.

Truly atrocious movies are preferable to those that are simply forgettable, according to Timon Singh, who set up the Bristol Bad Film Club a decade ago.

"I've seen films where the shot is not even in focus, the crew are walking into frame, the actor's wig has fallen off - and it's still an incredibly entertaining film," he says.

Blockbusters can be "bloated" and "boring", he adds, plucking out 2017's Transformers: The Last Knight as an example.

"In comparison, Samurai Cop is technically a terrible film, but it's 90 minutes of pure enjoyable terrible acting, awful fight scenes, and once you've seen it, you're never going to forget it.

"Whereas you'll probably forget Transformers: The Last Knight while you're watching it."

Other films to have gained cult followings include 2003's The Room , described as "a trash masterpiece", in the Daily Beast.

However The Room, made by "bad film auteur" Tommy Wiseau, is awarded a relatively respectable 24% on Rotten Tomatoes because it is deemed perversely enjoyable.

Katharine Coldiron, author of Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter, says it's better to watch a film-maker like Wiseau try hard and fall short, rather than someone going through the motions.

"When a film is earnestly made, and it fails, that's terrific to watch," she says.

She says her favourite terrible film is 1983's Staying Alive, the sequel to disco classic Saturday Night Fever, directed by Sylvester Stallone, which was critically panned despite commercial success.

"All but one of the characters is a sociopath, so the movie works on almost no levels. I love to put it on and yell at it."

The worst films ever (maybe)

Rotten Tomatoes has its own list of the worst films of all time.

It's skewed to movies from the past 25 years, because those have the most online reviews, and is of course subject to the flaws of the RT scores.

But here are its top five, all of which have 0% critic ratings.

1. Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever (2002)

A cliché-crammed moody action thriller, slated for it script, acting and fight sequences.

Starring: Lucy Liu is unconvincing as a sort-of-superhero and Antonio Banderas is a grizzled ex-FBI agent.

Sample review: "An ungainly mess, submerged in mayhem, occasionally surfacing for cliches." Roger Ebert

2. One Missed Call (2008)

A ridiculous (but competent) remake of a Japanese horror film about teenage friends who get voicemail messages sent by their future selves at their moments of death.

Starring: A random assortment including Shannyn Sossamon, who went on to join US band Warpaint; Meagan Good, now actor Jonathan Majors' wife; comedian Margaret Cho; future Modern Family star Ariel Winter; and Ray Wise from Twin Peaks.

Sample review: "A brow-furrowing blend of child abuse and adult trauma." New York Times

3. Left Behind (2014)

A mixture of Hallmark-style schmaltz, Biblical-themed supernatural mystery and aeroplane disaster drama. And not in a good way.

Starring: Nicolas Cage stuck in his post-Oscar-winning rut.

Sample review: "Left Behind takes the end of the world and turns it not into a nightmare, but a nice long nap." Washington Post

4. A Thousand Words (2012)

A motormouth book agent mustn't speak, otherwise a magical tree will die, and so will he. For some reason.

Starring: Eddie Murphy being over-the-top and underwhelming at the same time.

Sample review: "Remember Eddie Murphy? He used to be hilarious." Movieline

5. Gotti (2018)

This mob misfire was criticised for, among many other things, its sympathetic portrayal of real-life crime boss John Gotti.

Starring: John Travolta showed he's no Marlon Brando. His wife Kelly Preston played Gotti's wife.

Sample review: "I'd rather wake up next to a severed horse head than ever watch Gotti again." New York Post

A meteorite that crashed into a home in the US is older than planet Earth, scientists have said.

The object flew through the skies in broad daylight before exploding across the state of Georgia on 26 June, Nasa confirmed.

Researchers at the University of Georgia examined a fragment of the rock that pierced the roof of a home in the city of McDonough.

They found that, based on the type of meteorite, it is expected to have formed more than four billion years ago, making it older than Earth.

Residents in Georgia and Atlanta reported hundreds of sightings and a loud booming noise when the fireball tore through the skies.

The rock quickly diminished in size and speed, but still travelled at least 1 km per second, going through a man's roof in Henry County.

Multiple fragments that struck the building were handed over to scientists, who analysed their origins.

"This particular meteor that entered the atmosphere has a long history before it made it to the ground of McDonough," Scott Harris, a geologist at the University of Georgia, said.

Using optical and electron microscopy, Harris and his team determined the rock was a chondrite - the most abundant type of stony meteorite, according to Nasa - which meant that it was approximately 4.5 billion years old.

The home's resident said he is still finding pieces of space dust around his home from the hit.

The object, which has been named the McDonough meteorite, is the 27th to have been recovered from Georgia.

"This is something that used to be expected once every few decades and not multiple times within 20 years," Harris said.

"Modern technology, in addition to an attentive public, is going to help us recover more and more meteorites."

Harris is hoping to publish his findings on the composition and speed of the asteroid, which will help to understand the threat of further asteroids.

"One day there will be an opportunity, and we never know when it's going to be, for something large to hit and create a catastrophic situation. If we can guard against that, we want to," he said.

As American as apple pie, Kentucky bourbon was booming after the last Great Recession ended. But as the economy has waned post-Pandemic - and with multiple trade wars on the horizon - the market may be drying up.

Although the whiskey, which is traditionally made with corn and aged in charred oak barrels, has roots going all the way back to the 18th century, it wasn't until 1964 that it became an iconic piece of Americana, when Congress passed a law declaring it a "distinctive product of the United States".

But drinking trends come and go, and by the end of the 20th century, bourbon was considered a bit old fashioned - pun intended.

"You often see these kind of generational shifts where people don't want to drink what their parents drink," said Marten Lodewijks, the US president of IWSR, which collects alcoholic beverage data and provides industry analysis.

Then, as the world recovered from the 2008 recession, drinkers seemed to rediscover this classic spirit, for a few different reasons.

For starters, the price point was good, which made it attractive for bar managers to purchase and incorporate into cocktails and for younger drinkers to sample. Then, in 2013, a law was passed in Kentucky that made it easier for companies to purchase and resell vintage bottles, opening up a high-end collectible market. Add to that the rise in mid-century nostalgia fuelled by shows like Mad Men, and bourbon was due for a full-blown Renaissance.

Sales of bourbon grew by 7% worldwide between 2011-2020, which is more than three times the growth of the decade prior, according to industry data company ISWR.

Soon, some bourbon distillers were becoming quasi-celebrities, and people were starting to buy up bourbon bottles not to drink, but as an investment.

"Everyone was going crazy over the bourbon market, and treating like a commodity, like a stock," recalls Robin Wynne, a general manager and beverage director for Little Sister in Toronto, Canada, who has been a bar manager for about 25 years.

"People would go in as a prospector, to flip bottles for two to three times the value."

But like most market bubbles, this one was bound to burst. The pandemic's lockdowns tanked bar sales, and inflation has made many would-be bourbon drinkers choose less expensive options - or forgo drinking all together. Amongst Gen-Z, many 20-somethings are drinking less than their older siblings and parents did at their age.

Those factors have contributed to declining alcohol sales, with bourbon sales specifically slowing down to just 2% between 2021-2024, according to ISWR data.

President Donald Trump's global tariffs have been the final straw. The EU has announced retaliatory tariffs against US goods, including Kentucky bourbon and Californian wine, although implementation has been delayed for six months.

Meanwhile, most provinces in Canada have stopped importing American alcoholic beverages in retaliation. The country accounts for about 10% of Kentucky's $9bn (£6.7bn) whiskey and bourbon business.

"That's worse than a tariff, because it's literally taking your sales away, completely removing our products from the shelves ... that's a very disproportionate response," Lawson Whiting, the CEO of Brown-Forman, which produces Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester, said back in March when Canadian provinces announced their plan to stop buying US booze.

Trump has said that tariffs will boost made-in-American businesses.

But Republican Senator Rand Paul, who represents Kentucky, said the tariffs will hurt local businesses and consumers in his home state.

"Well, tariffs are taxes, and when you put a tax on a business, it's always passed through as a cost. So, there will be higher prices," he told ABC's "This Week" in May.

These economic pressures have created a growing list of casualties.

Liquor giant Diageo, reported that sales of Bulleit, a Kentucky distillery that makes bourbon, rye and whiskey, where down 7.3% this fiscal year.

Wild Turkey - a Kentucky bourbon owned by Campari - sales were down 8.1% over the past six months.

While big, international brands will likely be able to weather the storm, the sales hit has led to a growing list of casualties.

In July, LMD Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy - just one month after opening the Luca Mariano Distillery in Danville, Kentucky.

This spring, Garrard County Distilling went into receivership.

And in January, Jack Daniel's parent company closed a barrel-making plant in Kentucky.

The bottom of the barrel has not yet been reached, warned Mr Lodewijks.

"I'd be extraordinarily surprised if there weren't more bankruptcies and more consolidation," he said.

In part, bourbon has become a victim of its own success - the rise in bourbon sales, and the growth of the premium market, helped fuel many small distilleries. Because bourbon must age in barrels for years, what's on the market today was predicted a few years ago, which means that there is currently an oversupply, which is driving down prices.

But while these economic conditions are harsh, Mr Lodewijks said that history has shown how tough times can create innovation. Scotch whisky used to be fairly simple, a blend of middle-of-the road tipples. But when sales declined in the second part of the 20th centuries, distillers started aging their excess bottles, which helped create the market we have now for premium, aged Scotch whisky.

In Canada, where bourbon imports have slowed to a trickle, local distilleries have started experimenting with bourbon-making methods to give Canadian whiskey a similar taste.

"The tariff war has really done a positive for the Canadian spirits business," noted Mr Wynne.

"We've got lots of grains to make these whiskeys without having to rely on the States."

Scores of foreign Transport for London (TfL) staff could be deported because of rule changes which mean they no longer qualify for visa sponsorship.

More than 60 employees who came to the UK on skilled worker visas may have to leave because salary thresholds have gone up and key transport roles have been taken off the eligible list.

TfL said it was "working with all colleagues affected by the changes... to understand whether they have other routes to work in the UK available to them and to support them where possible".

Some London Assembly members called the move "unfair and short-sighted", but the Home Office said its immigration white paper was designed to "restore order" to immigration.

It added: "Under this approach, every sector will be required to implement a workforce strategy focused on training British workers, or risk losing access to the immigration system, as part of wider efforts to reinforce the integrity of the points-based system and end dependence on lower-skilled international recruitment."

TfL is obliged to comply with the changes, which took effect on 22 July and will remain until at least the end of 2026.

It is believed many of the workers took jobs on two-year graduate visa schemes thinking they could later move into skilled worker positions, according to the RMT union.

The transport body currently pays a £31,000 starting salary for graduates and advises candidates who need sponsorship to see if they can get this before applying.

Trainee station staff are believed to earn between £35,300 and £41,800, the latter of which is only £100 above the new £41,700 per year minimum salary threshold.

RMT general secretary, Eddie Dempsey, said: "Our members took these jobs in good faith, on the understanding that they could progress and continue building their futures here.

"Now the new government rules risk shattering these workers' lives and leaving gaps in employment for London Underground."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, an anonymous at-risk employee said they just wanted a fair chance to work and loved their job.

They added: "What did I do wrong? What did any of my 60 colleagues facing the same fate, do wrong? I have seen them go above and beyond their normal work duties, even preventing vulnerable members of the travelling public from committing suicide on the network.

"Getting the news that my job was now not on a list which would make me eligible to stay in the country, has taken an enormous toll on me and my family. It was like a nuclear bomb going off in our household."

The leader of London Assembly's Liberal Democrat group, Hina Bokhari, said: "Deporting vital Tube staff because of sudden last-minute rule changes is unfair and short-sighted.

"London relies on the skills and commitment of these people."

Green Party Assembly member Caroline Russell said: "The government should withdraw these cruel changes that are going to ruin lives by sending away the workers London depends upon."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across Israel to oppose the government's plan to expand its military operation in Gaza.

On Friday, Israel's security cabinet approved five principles to end the war that included 'taking security control' over the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli military saying it would "prepare for taking control" of Gaza City.

Protesters, including family members of 50 hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are still thought to be alive, fear the plan puts the lives of hostages at risk, and urged the government to secure their release.

Israeli leaders have rejected criticism of its plan, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying "this will help free our hostages".

A group representing families of the hostages said on X: "Expanding the fighting endangers the hostages and the soldiers - the people of Israel are not willing to risk them!"

One protester Shakha, rallying in Jerusalem on Saturday, told the BBC: "We want the war to end because our hostages are dying there, and we need them all to be home now."

"Whatever it takes to do, we need to do it. And if it needs to stop the war, we'll stop the war."

Among the protesters in Jerusalem was a former soldier who told the BBC he is now refusing to serve. Max Kresch said he was a combat soldier at the beginning of the war and "has since refused."

"We're over 350 soldiers who served during the war and we're refusing to continue to serve in Netanyahu's political war that endangers the hostages (and) starving innocent Palestinians in Gaza," he said.

The Times of Israel reported that family members of hostages and soldiers at a protest in Tel Aviv near the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) headquarters called on other soldiers to refuse to serve in the expanded military operation to protect hostages.

The mother of one of the hostages has called for a general strike in Israel, although the country's main labour union will not back it, according to the Times of Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also faced strong opposition from the army's Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir who, according to Israeli media, had warned the prime minister that a full occupation of Gaza was "tantamount to walking into a trap" and would endanger the living hostages.

Polls suggest most of the Israeli public favour a deal with Hamas for the release of the hostages and the end of the war.

Netanyahu had told Fox News earlier this week that Israel planned to occupy of the entire Gaza Strip and eventually "hand it over to Arab forces".

"We are not going to occupy Gaza - we are going to free Gaza from Hamas," Netanyahu said on X on Friday. "This will help free our hostages and ensure Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future."

The Israeli security cabinet's plan lists five "principles" for ending the war: disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarising the Gaza Strip, taking security control of the territory, and establishing "an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority".

The United Nations has warned that a complete military takeover of Gaza City would risk "catastrophic consequences" for Palestinians civilians and hostages.

Up to one million Palestinians live in Gaza City in the north of the Gaza Strip, which was the enclave's most populous city before the war.

The UK, France, Canada and several other countries have condemned Israel's decision and Germany announced that it would halt its military exports to Israel in response.

The United Nations Security Council will meet on Sunday to discuss Israel's plan.

Israel began its military offensive in Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Since then, more than 61,300 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli military operations, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

Heat builds from Sunday

How warm will it get?

What will the rest of August bring?

A man was wrongly issued with a parking charge after his car was mixed up with another vehicle with a nearly identical number plate.

Richard Lynn said that on 18 March 2024, he paid £1.70 to park for about 30 minutes in Rushton's Yard car park in Ashby, Leicestershire, but later received a demand for £165 from solicitors representing private firm Horizon Parking.

The 53-year-old said photographic evidence, provided by the company, showed his Hyundai entering the car park - but a Kia with an identical number plate bar one letter leaving nine hours later.

Horizon Parking said it wrote to Mr Lynn on 25 July to say the issue was rectified, but he said he had not received confirmation of this.

Reflecting on the situation, Mr Lynn said: "It's ridiculous. They have clearly different cars with similar but different plates but they just haven't checked properly.

"The result of this is that I received a pretty nasty letter, threatening me with legal action if I didn't pay a fine I should not have been issued with in the first place."

On 25 March 2024, Mr Lynn was sent a letter demanding £85 - £51 if he paid within 14 days.

However, he said he only became aware of the matter in July this year - when he received a letter from solicitors acting on behalf of Horizon Parking demanding £165.

Mr Lynn said he moved house in December 2022 but said he had, in error, not notified the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) of his change of address until some time in "early 2024".

He said his address had subsequently been updated, but believed earlier correspondence could have been sent to his old house.

Horizon Parking said it originally wrote to Mr Lynn, to the address provided by the DVLA, on 25 March 2024, then sent reminder letters on 24 April and 24 May last year.

'I'm pretty angry'

Mr Lynn added: "The fact remains none of those letters should have been sent in the first place.

"There has been no humanity in the way this has been dealt with, either in terms of having a person look at those number plates and spot the mistake - or in the aggressive letter they sent.

"I almost paid them to make them go away, but I pushed back because it was a clear mistake.

"All they had was ANPR [automatic number plate recognition] evidence and they had not spotted the plates - while alike - were different. It beggars belief nobody checked.

"My fear is that lots of errors like this get made but that most people just pay up because they are scared about being dragged to court and having to pay huge legal fees even if they haven't committed the offence.

"I'm pretty angry about the whole thing."

A Horizon Parking spokesperson told the BBC the matter had been rectified when it was brought to their attention.

The BBC asked the firm to clarify if that meant the charge had been cancelled, and that potential legal proceedings had been halted, but it declined to say.

It said it had written to Mr Lynn, from Ashby, to inform him, but he said he had not received a letter from the company.

"We do make every effort with our processes to issue correct parking charges," a statement from Horizon Parking said.

"We'll investigate to see how we can improve, but would encourage drivers to appeal in circumstances where the parking charge may be incorrect, to enable the matter to be resolved at an early stage.

"Unfortunately, we didn't receive an appeal and the parking charge therefore proceeded via our recovery methods.

"Once the matter was brought to our attention, it was rectified."

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Police are arresting protesters in London at a demonstration in support of proscribed group Palestine Action.

More than 100 people simultaneously unveiled placards with the same message "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action" at the protest, organised by Defend Our Juries at Westminster's Parliament Square.

The government proscribed the Palestine Action group in July under the Terrorism Act of 2000, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

In the hours before the protest, the Metropolitan Police had issued a statement saying: "Anyone showing support for the group can expect to be arrested."

Footage from the square showed officers moving among the protesters, who were mainly seated on the ground, and speaking to them before leading them away.

On X, the Met Police issued a statement saying a "significant number of people are displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action.

"Officers have moved in and are making arrests."

The protest comes just days after the first three people to be charged with supporting the group in England and Wales were named.

The Metropolitan Police said it had drawn officers in from other forces to help form a "significant policing presence" in the capital as it faces a busy weekend.

As well as the protest by Palestine Action, two marches have been organised by Palestine Coalition and pro-Israeli group Stop the Hate and will be held on consecutive days in central London.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan warned ahead of Saturday's protest that "anyone showing support for Palestine Action can expect to be arrested" and urged people to "consider the seriousness of that outcome."

More than 200 people have been arrested across the country for similar reasons since the ban was implemented by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last month.

Last week, two women and a man were also charged with showing support for a proscribed terror group. They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 16 September, the Metropolitan Police said.

MPs voted to proscribe the group after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in June, spraying two Voyager aircraft with red paint and causing £7m worth of damage. Palestine Action took responsibility for the incident at the time.

A Home Office spokesperson said the decision to proscribe the group was based on "strong security advice" following "serious attacks the group had committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage".