they are and at the same time, they are sending a delegation to cairo to get a deal with hamas. here, we will bring you breaking news over major datalink over the ministry of defence. scotland's first minister. a judge in new york threatens donald trump with jail if he continues to defy a gag order in his hush money trial. and boeing boldly prepares to go into space for its first crewed mission. good evening. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says he is willing to send a delegation to discuss the latest ceasefire proposals over the war in gaza. hamas leaders tonight said

they accept the plans brokered by egypt and qatar, which it's believed could involve the exchange of palestinian prisoners for 33 israeli hostages held since the october 7th attacks. a ceasefire would be welcome respite for many tens of thousands of palestinians sheltering in southern gaza, and would be the first pause in the seven—month war since a week—long truce back in november. but israel has been making plans for a full scale attack on the southern city of rafah, and tonight continued to bomb the area. we'll get the very latest live from jerusalem and america. and we'll report on the continuing dire humanitarian situation on the ground in gaza. but first, let's hearfrom jeremy bowen, who's here with me. palestinians woke up this morning with a sense of dread, the usual sense of dread. peace talks seemed to have hit the buffers. and all of a sudden in the last three or four hours everything changed. what

happened? hours everything changed. what ha--ened? hours everything changed. what ha - ened? ., , hours everything changed. what ha ened? . , ., happened? there was the extra feature, happened? there was the extra feature. the — happened? there was the extra feature, the israelis _ happened? there was the extra feature, the israelis told - happened? there was the extra feature, the israelis told them l happened? there was the extra l feature, the israelis told them to get out of rafah, the eastern side of it anyway, because of an impending military operation. i think what hamas has done by accepting this rather unexpectedly as end all of the israeli expectations about the way this would go. there was plenty of evidence that mr netanyahu actually wanted to extend the war for own political reasons. that is certainly the criticism made of him by many of his opponents inside israel. but i think they are expecting hamas will almost take that decision for them by not going for a ceasefire. but what hamas has now done is put the ball back in his court. in a sense they have called his bluff. the israelis have said hamas have tried to vary the deal but their presence in all these talks today off the head of the cia, william burns, in qatar, and he knows exactly what all the different versions of this are.

so i think now we see netanyahu under a lot of pressure, first of all from his own right—wing allies who have said, you have to go in there and destroy hamas in rafah, no ceasefire. you have hostage families saying to do the deal and get our people back. and joe biden might be the most crucial person in all of this. joe biden wants to have a deal because in an election year he is losing votes because of all this. there are a lot of forces looming over mr netanyahu and hamas and over the next couple of days i think we will have more diplomatic negotiations and some tough decisions. negotiations and some tough decisions-_ decisions. fascinating. international _ decisions. fascinating. international editor - decisions. fascinating. - international editorjeremy decisions. fascinating. _ international editorjeremy bowen, international editorjeremy bowen, thank you. there were celebrations in gaza as the news of the potential breakthrough reached palestinians. earlier in the day, israel had ordered people sheltering in eastern rafah to evacute ahead of what the israeli military said would be a "limited" operation against hamas. this evening, that offensive began.

100,000 refugees have been told to move to what israel is calling an expanded "humanitarian zone" near khan younis, but gazans say the area is already overcrowded. fergal keane has more details. they haven't had reason to dance for a long time. but they haven't forgotten how. even amid uncertainty about israel's position, hope springs. across gaza, bbc journalists captured the reaction. of those convinced, perhaps of those convinced, perhaps prematurely, that a ceasefire will happen. translation: the prematurely, that a ceasefire will happen. translation: the feeling is indescribable. _ happen. translation: the feeling is indescribable. we _ happen. translation: the feeling is indescribable. we are _ happen. translation: the feeling is indescribable. we are so _ happen. translation: the feeling is indescribable. we are so happy - happen. translation: the feeling is indescribable. we are so happy we . indescribable. we are so happy we are going back to our home in gaza city. are going back to our home in gaza ci . ~ . , ., ., city. we are refugees from the north mp fled here, _ city. we are refugees from the north mp fled here, this _ city. we are refugees from the north mp fled here, this young _ city. we are refugees from the north mp fled here, this young man - city. we are refugees from the north mp fled here, this young man says. | mp fled here, this young man says. we are so happy there is a

ceasefire. —— and we fled here. israelis are still absorbing the news. it came late on of this society's most important days, when across the country sirens bring the nation to a halt in the memory of the dead of the holocaust. a day of reflection in a country traumatised by the hamas attack last october. chanting tonight, on the streets of tel aviv, those who believe healing that trauma can begin with a ceasefire deal and the release of israel's hostages. we deal and the release of israel's hostaues. ~ , . , ., hostages. we expect the israeli government _ hostages. we expect the israeli government to _ hostages. we expect the israeli government to take _ hostages. we expect the israeli government to take this - hostages. we expect the israeli government to take this deal, l hostages. we expect the israeli| government to take this deal, to save all the remaining hostages who are still alive. but save all the remaining hostages who are still alive.— are still alive. but after seven months of _ are still alive. but after seven months of a _ are still alive. but after seven months of a war— are still alive. but after seven months of a war in _ are still alive. but after seven months of a war in which - are still alive. but after seven i months of a war in which israel's army pledged to destroy hamas, a ceasefire deal that fails to accomplish that risks breaking israel's wartime coalition

government. israel will send negotiators to talks but will not stop fighting yet. translation: we stop fighting yet. translation: - examine every proposal very seriously and we review every possibility on the issue of negotiations and the return of the hostages to their homes as quickly as possible and as a central task. at the same time we carry on with our operations in the gaza strip and will continue to do so. this morning the --eole will continue to do so. this morning the people of— will continue to do so. this morning the people of eastern _ will continue to do so. this morning the people of eastern rafah - will continue to do so. this morning the people of eastern rafah awokel will continue to do so. this morning i the people of eastern rafah awoke to leaflets telling them to evacuate. many have been displaced before, but still they were told to leave. everyone, no matter how old, how young, or how vulnerable. to al—mawasi, israel says, and other

desolate places beyond rafah. the so—called humanitarian zones were to be expanded. but they have never been safe from sickness, hunger, orwar. this is the aftermath of raids on rafah last night. people hope these may have been some of the last air strikes if the ceasefire can be made to work. news of the hamas announcement was still hours away. nisreen rajah, mother and refugee. for seven months this has been the daily reality. this orphan, grieved by his relative. his family was killed

during the war, she says. even he was killed. so many here are grieving and exhausted. late tonight israel attacked eastern rafah, where they told people to leave. celebration had turned to fear. and the hope that tomorrow might bring peace. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. frank gardner is injerusalem and gary o'donoghue's in new york. frank, as we speak, israel still hasn't signed on to this possible deal. no, they haven't, but they have at least agreed to do what they didn't do at the weekend, which is to send a delegation of mediators, experts in their view, to try to thrash out a deal. they have said the terms hamas have agreed to are very far from what meets their needs but they are not ruling it out. so i think

there is a degree of optimism here. but at the same time they are continuing their military push against the wishes of the americans in rafah, and that is controversial because all the aid agencies are saying this could be a catastrophic result for the civilians there. essentially, if i think you had to sum up the israeli position it would be, keep talking, but keep fighting. frank gardner, thank you. gary o'donoghue is at the white house. joe biden and his team are very anxious over israel's planned attack on rafah. they don't want it to go ahead but tonight they are still planning to push on. the administration here believes we are at a really critical stage in this whole process.— at a really critical stage in this whole process. at a really critical stage in this whole rocess. , . ,_ , whole process. they are saying they are lookin: whole process. they are saying they are looking at _ whole process. they are saying they are looking at the _ whole process. they are saying they are looking at the details _ whole process. they are saying they are looking at the details of - whole process. they are saying they are looking at the details of the - are looking at the details of the deal that hamas have said they will accept, talking to their partners in

the region. and also the cia director bill burns is shuttling between qatar and cairo trying to work out what to do next. they are saying they will look at that in great detail. one thing they have been very clear on is the question of rafah. they say they see no credible way of how to protect humanitarian needs in rafah if there were any kind of incursion there. they have been opposed to that all along. i think one thing today from the national security council spokesman sums it up. he said, i don't think there has been a more sensitive stage than right now. gare; sensitive stage than right now. gary o'donoghue — sensitive stage than right now. gary o'donoghue in _ sensitive stage than right now. gary o'donoghue in new york and franconia injerusalem, thank you. now to that breaking story tonight — news of a significant data breach involving the ministry of defence. alex forsyth is here. take us through it. what we know so far is that there _

take us through it. what we know so far is that there has _ take us through it. what we know so far is that there has been _ take us through it. what we know so far is that there has been an - far is that there has been an unauthorised access of a payroll system, effectively a hack. this system, effectively a hack. this system is run by an external company, not the ministry of defence's main computer, therefore it doesn't involve any operational data. what it does involve are mostly names and bank account details of current serving military personnel in the raf, royal navy and in the army. and also some former military personnel. i am told this dates back a few recent years for in a very small number of cases only it involves some addresses as well. at this stage it is not clear what the information has been accessed for but it is clearly a significant data breach. the mod have taken action, taking this system off—line and investigations are under way. they are also in the process of offering assurance and assistance. and i understand mps may be updated on this tomorrow. it is clearly a developing situation.- this tomorrow. it is clearly a

developing situation. alex forsyth, thank ou. john swinney was the only candidate for the role of scottish national party leader, and now he's been elected to the top job. he's set to become scotland's new first minister, as james cook reports. ll'm delighted to confirm that our| new party leader is john swinney. in the end, it was the coronation of king john. no other candidates, no contest, but straight to work as snp leader. my focus will be the economy, jobs, the cost of living. it will be the national health service, our schools and our public services. it will be addressing the climate crisis. whenjohn swinney first led his party, he was in his 30s. hello, there. john swinney. 0h, hello. in opposition, he struggled to break through, despite an occasional sprinkling of stardust. but in the cabinets of alex salmond and nicola sturgeon, he rebuilt his reputation — charming in private, tribal in public. do you take some responsibility, personally, for the polarisation of politics which you have described?

i have obviously contributed to that, james, yes, of course i have. and i look at politics today and i think politics is in the worst state i have ever seen it in my lengthy involvement in politics, so i am here to do something about that. the first step of his plan is to persuade msps to elect him as first minister. john swinney has been the heart of the snp leadership for the last 40 years, he's been at the heart of this government for the last 17 years, and this isjust a more of the same kind of approach when our country needs change. john swinney's own campaign slogan was "uniting for independence". - i think the focus has to be - on improving our public services, on growing our economy, on creating more jobs - here in scotland. the scottish national party needs to be brought back together. it has been a tough year for the snp, with rows about gender, climate, and economic policy, so is the party now changing direction? john swinney says he will write a new chapter in his party's history. but with polls suggesting

the labour party are resurgent, he might need to get started on that story sooner rather than later. james cook, bbc news, glasgow. rishi sunak insists the result of the upcoming general election isn't a foregone conclusion and that he'll "fight hard for what he believes in". he was speaking for the first time since the full extent of tory losses in the local elections was revealed over the weekend. here's nick eardley. what is rishi sunak offering his pessimistic party? the conservatives took a thumping at the local elections and, with a general election looming, the picture for him is pretty bleak. but he's not backing down. whilst, of course, this was a disappointing weekend for us, the result of the next general election isn't a foregone conclusion and, indeed, actually, this situation is closer than many people are saying. i am absolutely determined to fight incredibly hard for what i believe. but it's an argument that's getting harder to make.

i've spent the afternoon on the phone to conservative mps before they return here tomorrow and although they won't do interviews, the conversations are interesting because they paint an incredibly gloomy picture. one mp talked about the next few months being managed decline. some talk about 200 seats being a good result for the conservatives in the general election. and even among optimists, the talk is about limiting losses rather than necessarily winning the election. it does though seem that the prime minister's position is safe. rebels talk about influencing policy, maybe forcing a cabinet reshuffle, and that in itself is interesting because it feels that even rishi sunak�*s biggest critics have given up on removing him. wins like here in rushmoor have given labour extra confidence that they could be heading for power. is there a view in the labour party that the local election results suggest that it's in the bag for you? we are really encouraged by the local election results. they show us winning

in all the places that we would need to win to win a majority, but we will never be complacent or take the outcome of the general election for granted. rishi sunak seems safe for now but finding a recipe for electoral success is proving difficult. nick eardley, bbc news. thejudge presiding over donald trump's hush money trial, has threatened the former president with jail, if he continues to violate a gag order. he's pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of falsifying business records to cover up payments to a pawn star. nada tawfik, is live in new york. nada, mr trump is skating on thin ice isn't he? he is in danger of going to prison. yes, this is the tenth time that donald trump has been found in contempt of court, this time for comments he made aboutjurors that are unsubstantiated and the judge said it is a direct attack on the rule of law but the judge is doing

everything he can to avoid sending donald trump to prison, but he will do so if necessary he says and that would be an unprecedented move in an unprecedented trial. thejudge unprecedented trial. the judge noting unprecedented trial. thejudge noting the implication on the presidential election, on security challenges given this is a former president with a secret service detail. donald trump said he thought the day went well and thought going to jail would be willing to make but after that ruling from the judge, we heard from two trump organisation employees, one a formal one, the long—time controller geoff macaulay. he said michael cohen was reimbursed $130,000, donald trump's team says that was for legitimate legal expenses. he says he never saw a legal retainer from michael cohen so the question is is that evidence enough to paint donald trump as the architect of falsifying business

records? jurors will have to hear from other witnesses, including michael cohen himself.- from other witnesses, including michael cohen himself. fans have lined the streets of ipswich, cheering on the town's footballers, during a parade celebrating their promotion to the premier league. it's been more than two decades since they played in football's top flight. they secured promotion on saturday with a 2—0 win over huddersfield. this is the starliner, a brand new spacecraft that, in the early hours of tomorrow, will make its first crewed test flight. two nasa astronauts will be heading to the international space station, as pallab ghosh explains. ready for launch. right on top is boeing's starliner spacecraft. it's the latest private sector launch to the international space station. this is starliner�*s first test flight with a crew. it's five metres high and four and a half metres wide. it can carry up to seven astronauts into low earth orbit, but this time it'll be

carrying just two. during the mission, the crew will test the spacesuits and seats, assess the onboard life support and navigation systems, and evaluate the system that moves cargo to the international space station. if all goes to plan, starliner will be certified for regular supply missions. and lift—off! its first uncrewed test flight in 2019 didn't make it to the space station because of a software fault. a second attempt in 2022 did make it, but there were issues with some of the thrusters and the craft�*s cooling system. and on earth, it's been facing growing scrutiny because of faults with some of its aircraft. this is the big one. this is the first test flight with humans on board. they've had a few problems on earlier test flights, i think it's fair to say. so there's a lot riding on this one. the astronauts, in their new, blue, lightweight suits, have reassured those close to them

that the faults have been fixed and the spacecraft is safe to fly. we're here because we're all ready. and, you know, ourfamilies and friends have heard about it along the way. you know, we've talked about all the issues that we've encountered. and i think they're happy and proud that we've been part of the process to fix it all. the astronauts will dock 2a hours after lift—off and return after ten days. they'll experience starliner�*s landing system, which will touch down on land in the deserts of the southwestern united states. pallab ghosh, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's chris. chances are if you've been out and about today, your bank holiday will have been interrupted by rain. look at this beauty, a thundercloud into devon. there are two thunderstorms at the moment, one is in devon and another working across the south

west midlands. still a week weather front continues to bring rain across parts of south—east england, about 30 millimetres from that in parts of surrey. high pressure is eventually going to build in from the west and that will tend to settle with the weather down. the last of the day's shower slowly easing away, the rain pulling away overnight so gradually becoming drier. around eight to 10 degrees but one or two spots could get down to five where we keep the longest of the clear breaks. tomorrow a lot of cloud to start the day, around the north sea coast, mist and fog. otherwise the cloud wore thin and break. ok, one or two showers, hills of wales, south—west england the likely spots but nowhere nearas england the likely spots but nowhere near as many as we have seen in recent days. and more sunshine coming through, it will feel warmer. that high pressure builds in for wednesday but it's not strong enough

to keep these atlantic fronts at bay. some rain getting into the hebrides, islands, orkney and shetland. away from that feature, most of the day, northern ireland, england, wales, dry, hazy sunshine. up england, wales, dry, hazy sunshine. up to 20 in newcastle, 22 across east anglia and to be honest more of the same for the rest of the week. warm weather and in the may sunshine it will feel warm. that's it. good evening. i'm meghan owen. the boss of eurotunnel has insisted there will not be long queues of cars at its terminals when a new eu travel system starts in october. brits heading to and from europe will need to register fingerprints and a photo at the border, which has prompted

warnings of delays. today marks 30 years since the opening of the channel tunnel, a mammoth engineering project which connected england with france, and it remains the world's longest undersea tunnel. here's our transport correspondent katy austin. a moment in history. 30 years ago today, queen elizabeth and french president mitterrand officially opened the new connection between their two countries, which made an idea dreamed up centuries earlier a reality. since the queen made herjourney through the channel tunnel, 480 million passengers have done the same. these days, 400 trains speed through it each day. we're now going at about 120 kilometres per hour, which is roughly 75 miles per hour. and we're coming up to the middle of what is still the world's longest undersea tunnel. driver martin has been here since the beginning. people have this concept that it's just straight through to france,

and it's totally not. the tunnel itself is up, down, round the corners and everything. it's no straight lines at all. so you sort of know this tunnel like the back of your hand? absolutely, yeah. it's like a second home, really. building it was an exceptional feat of engineering. there are actually three tunnels. the one i'm standing in right now with my high—vis and my hard hat isn't for trains. it's used for ventilation, access for maintenance and evacuating people in an emergency. we're now on the france side, and the uk is 32 miles that way. the tunnel carries a quarter of trade between the uk and the eu, plus plenty of holiday—makers, whether on the eurostar to paris and beyond, or using the car shuttle to reach somewhere like le touquet, an hour's drive from eurotunnel�*s calais terminal. drove down to folkestone, jumped on the tunnel, half an hour, calais, 40 minutes down the coast. perfect.

nice and easy. no problems at all. have you done that before? yep. we've been to le touquet sort of three times, so we've always come through the tunnel. tunnel tourists help keep the wheels moving for small businesses, including this one. translation: i drive the little train. - lots of english people come at the weekend in cars, in the shuttle. it's very good. plenty of brits swing by the town's golf course. every year we've got 45,000 visitors. - and basically 20,000 of those visitors are english people. . charles thinks the shorter journey compared to ferries means a longer holiday. which is an extra round of golf. so that's more fun for them and more business for us. l the tunnel�*s financial journey hasn't always been smooth. it opened £2 billion over budget. at one point, the company which runs it nearly went bust. predicted passenger numbers were never reached, but eurotunnel became profitable. more recently, new challenges — the pandemic and brexit meant putting millions into new systems

to deal with additional customs rules. what's next? well, the boss here wants more trains running. that could include for the first time rivals to eurostar running passenger services. three new companies have said that they want to launch new services within the five next years in the tunnel. we are very confident that within the ten next years there will be a doubling of the direct connection between london and europe. before then, change is on the way for people crossing the channel. eurotunnel is building an area to cope with the eu's new border system, starting this october. we were the first to film the machine that passengers will use at calais and folkestone to register fingerprints and a photo instead of having their passport stamped. the crossing time will be extended by five to maximum seven minutes for each customer, and as we have extended the number of lanes, there will be no delay

on the highway. nothing. the cost of all this — £70 million. the tunnel�*s 30—year history has already proved eventful, and it's far from the end of the story. katy austin, bbc news. the final of this year's eurovision song contest is coming up next weekend, but contestants have already been putting on the style for the event's official opening in malmo. as many as 100,000 visitors are set to descend on the swedish city for the world's largest live music contest. poppyjeffery reports. in eurovision, you don't get a red carpet. you get a turquoise one. # ooh, see that girl # watch that scene # digging the dancing queen...# this year's contest has been officially opened in the swedish city of malmo, ahead of what is a very busy week for the 37 representatives taking part. from the refined to the quirky...

hello! my name is windows 95! # she's unforgettable. ..# tomorrow is the first semifinal, with half of the acts performing in the hopes of making it to the grand final on saturday. the uk is part of the big five, the countries that contribute the most to the ebu, and they automatically get a place in the final. but for the first time, they will perform live in the semis. and it's fair to say that olly alexander isn't doing things by halves. # take me back to the beginning # again...# but this year's contest has an undertone of tension, with calls for some acts, including the uk, to boycott the event over the israel—gaza war. i think it's really important that people are able to protest and people voice their opinions. also myself, i think it's really important to... to not stay silent.

# every day i'm losing my mind...# # every day i'm losing my mind... # israel is competing. eden golan's song hurricane is a rewritten version of her first entry, october rain, which was thought to reference the hamas attacks of october the 7th. the tension means security is a real focus, but police in malmo say they are ready. we have high security around the israeli delegation, but we also have a high security for the other delegations from the other countries. so i think it's important for us that all of them feel safe when they are coming to malmo. so even if they are not from israel, we try to keep them in a good mood and feel safe no matter what country they're from. and they are definitely in a good mood. chicken noises

the permanent slogan of eurovision is "united by music", something that's not lost on those taking part. it boils down to those three minutes of music, really. people should boycott. but for us... ..it boils down to those three minutes of music, really. that's a completely non—intellectual experience. and when you don't think any more, you just experience, you don'tjudge, you don't divide. that stuff goes away. and we need to foster those moments where we experience that together. and with that, the eurovision song contest 2024 is good to go. peppyjeffrey, bbc news. the time is 10:31pm.