Israeli strike kills nine of Gaza doctor's children, hospital says

17 minutes ago Share Save Mallory Moench BBC News Share Save

Getty Images Civil defence teams carry a body after the strike in Khan Younis

An Israeli air strike on Gaza hit the home of a doctor and killed nine of her 10 children, the hospital where she works in the city of Khan Younis says. Nasser hospital said one of Dr Alaa al-Najjar's children and her husband were injured, but survived. Graeme Groom, a British surgeon working in the hospital, said he had operated on her surviving 11-year-old boy. A video shared by the director of the Hamas-run health ministry and verified by the BBC showed small burned bodies being lifted from the rubble of a strike in Khan Younis on Friday. The BBC has approached Israel's military for comment.

More than 70 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Friday, with at least another six killed so far on Saturday, the Hamas-run civil defence agency told AFP. Dr Muneer Alboursh, director of the health ministry, said on X that the family house was hit minutes after Dr al-Najjar's husband Hamdi had returned home after driving his wife to work. Dr Alboursh said the eldest of Dr al-Najjar's children was aged 12. Mr Groom said that the children's father was "very badly injured", in a video posted on the Instagram account of another British surgeon working at Nasser hospital, Victoria Rose. He said he had asked about the father, also a doctor at the hospital, and had been told he had "no political and no military connections and doesn't seem to be prominent on social media". He described it as an "unimaginable" situation for Dr al-Najjar. Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defence agency, said on Telegram on Friday afternoon that his teams had recovered eight bodies and several injured from the al-Najjar house near a petrol station in Khan Younis. The hospital initially posted on Facebook that eight children had been killed, then two hours later updated that number to nine. In an interview recorded by AFP news agency, relative Youssef al-Najjar said: "Enough! Have mercy on us! We plead to all countries, the international community, the people, Hamas, and all factions to have mercy on us. "We are exhausted from the displacement and the hunger, enough!"

Getty Images Palestinians try to get bread at a bakery window in Gaza on 22 May

Singers in tribute to Hillsborough victims

23 minutes ago Share Save Share Save

PA Media Tom Grennan was joined by Melanie C on the main stage at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend

Singer Tom Grennan paid tribute to the victims of 1989's Hillsborough disaster during his set at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Liverpool on Friday. The Little Bit of Love singer was joined on stage by the Spice Girls star Mel C. She wore a Liverpool FC shirt with the number nine on the back, while Tom's Everton top had the number seven. Together they stood side by side to make the number 97 - a tribute to the 97 Liverpool fans who lost their lives at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final.

Announcing his special guest, Tom told the crowd: "Liverpool is her manor, so make sure you make the biggest noise when I say this name."

PA Media The pair shared the spotlight as Mel C performed her 1998 hit When You're Gone, originally a duet with Bryan Adams.

The pair shared the spotlight as Mel C performed her 1998 hit When You're Gone, originally a duet with Bryan Adams. Taking a pause from the music, Grennan addressed the crowd about "uniting the city". Speaking to BBC Newsbeat ahead of his set, the Higher singer described "headlining the biggest weekend of the summer" as "pretty crazy". "It's been such a mad journey," he said. And on the collaboration with Mel C, he described her as "a superstar". "I've been friends with Mel for a while now and I just felt like we should do something special. "Thank God she said yes."

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Stricken North Sea tanker gives food banks a boost

4 hours ago Share Save Neve Gordon-Farleigh BBC News, Norfolk Share Save

Reuters The Stena Immaculate was towed to Great Yarmouth in April for inspection

A church-run food bank said it had one of its "craziest" donations to date after receiving food from a cargo vessel at the centre of a North Sea collision. Volunteers from the St Mary Magdalene Church food bank in Gorleston, Norfolk, were invited to the Stena Immaculate cargo vessel, which is docked at the Port of Great Yarmouth, to collect frozen meat and fish. The vessel was towed into the port on 11 April after it was involved in a collision in the North Sea. The Reverend Matthew Price, from St Mary Magdalene Church, said: "This has to rank up there with one of the craziest donations. It's not often someone rings you up to say they have a cubic metre of meat."

The vessel, which had been transporting jet fuel for the US military, had been travelling to Hull from a Greek port when it was struck by Portuguese-flagged Solong on 10 March. It was towed to Great Yarmouth in April for inspection, where it has remained ever since.

St Mary Magdalene Church The donations are said to be able to sustain the church food bank for "several months"

Mr Price said he received a call from the crew on the ship who wanted to offload food that was meant to sustain them while at sea. "We had no clue what it was going to be," he said. The food bank said the donation of meat and fish will sustain it for several months. The organisation runs a weekly community meal on Tuesday for about 60 adults and Mr Price said attendees will see beef and oxtail soup become part of the menu. "One of the biggest costs for sustaining our meal is meat... that will keep us going for a long time... it's completely random but we were extremely grateful," he added.

St Mary Magdalene Church Mr Price said he had "no clue" the donation was about to be a cubic metre of frozen meat and fish

Two volunteers and the food bank's chef transported the donations off the ship's gang plank on 15 May. Mr Price said: "It was tragic what happened to that ship and it's great some good can come from it. "It's really touching to think all the various connections that were made to make this happen. It makes it more special." He added the Norwich Foodbank had first received items from the boat and it had put the vessel's master in contact with the church. The master of the Stena Immaculate has been contacted for comment.

Getty Images The Stena Immaculate had been transporting jet fuel for the US military when it was struck by the Solong

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Zoos told to bring in 'long overdue' welfare reforms

4 hours ago Share Save Jonny Humphries & Esme Stallard BBC News Share Save

BBC Chester Zoo has welcomed the changes and already developed plans to increase the size of its elephant enclosure

Zoos will be legally required to give animals more enclosure space as "long overdue" animal welfare reforms come into force. The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said new standards published on Saturday would modernise British zoo practices for the first time in over a decade. Under the changes, elephants must be given larger habitats and the legislation will bring an end to practices like the long-term tethering of birds of prey and letting visitors touch fish and cephalopods such as rays and octopuses. Jamie Christon, chief executive of Chester Zoo, told the BBC he welcomed the changes, and the process of rolling them out had already begun.

Zoos and aquariums will face a two-year timeline to adapt to the changes, which will also require them to improve conservation standards and safety measures when keeping dangerous animals. Mr Christon said the zoo had been working with Defra to develop the reforms and they were not a "major surprise".

Jamie Christon, chief executive of Chester Zoo, said the reforms had been delayed for years

"These standards have been delayed for the last two years, really, as a result of changing governments", Mr Christon said. "That's meant that zoos haven't been able to invest, and now that we'll be able to get the standards out there, all 196 pages of them."

'First step'

Chester Zoo has already planned to increase the size of its elephant enclosure. Animal welfare minister Baroness Hayman said the move was the "first step" in the government's plan to deliver the "most ambitious welfare reforms in a generation". She said: "We are a nation of animal lovers, and our best zoos and aquariums are truly world leaders in setting the standard for how wild animals should be kept. "Today's long-overdue reforms lay the foundation for an even stronger, even more compassionate future for all zoos and aquariums - and the animals they protect." Dr Jo Judge, CEO of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which represents over 130 zoos and aquariums, said its members have been "working closely" with Defra officials to meet the updated standards. "The new standards are a significant step up in legal requirements and cement Britain's position as a global leader for zoos and aquariums", she said.

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More on this story Zoo receives £4m grant for conservation projects

Mother of murdered teen fears justice reforms

15 hours ago Share Save Gwyn Loader Chief correspondent, Newyddion S4C Matt Lloyd BBC News Share Save

'His face was just a mass of bruising'

A mother whose teenage son was murdered by a convicted offender on probation says she fears proposed changes to the justice system. Conner Marshall, 18, of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, was beaten to death by David Braddon in March 2015 in a case of mistaken identity. But plans to deal with prison overcrowding would see more prisoners in Wales and England, including some serious offenders, eligible for early release after serving a third of their sentence. Mr Marshall's mother, Nadine Marshall, is concerned reforms announced by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, including increased use of tagging and home detention, will put even more strain on the probation service

"The problems are going to be magnified because the system isn't fit for purpose as it is," she said. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said the UK government inherited a criminal justice system "in crisis" but would include £700 million to fund "intensive supervision" of released prisoners by the Probation Service. Mrs Marshall responded: "I'm not confident in the slightest. "That money is just going to plug holes. "The staffing isn't there, the processes aren't there, the systems aren't there for probation to actively be able to deal with the workload they have."

Mr Marshall was killed at Trecco Bay caravan park in Porthcawl, Bridgend county, in a drink and drug-fuelled attack. At the time, Braddon, 26, of Caerphilly, was subject to two community orders following his conviction for drug offences and assaulting a police officer, but was classified as a low-risk offender. He was among 244 criminals on probation who were charged with murder in Wales and England between January 2020 and March 2024 - an average of one a week - according to statistics shared with BBC Wales-produced Newyddion S4C. At the inquest into Mr Marshall's death, the coroner heavily criticised the Probation Service, particularly the "woefully inadequate" management of Braddon's inexperienced new case worker. An MOJ spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the victims of these horrific crimes and their families. "A 45% uplift in funding for the service will allow us to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community. And we are on track to have recruited 2,300 probation officers by March next year."

South Wales Police David Braddon is serving a life sentence

But an independent sentencing review has suggested wider use of probation services and the third sector in managing offenders after release from prison. It was carried out by the former Conservative Lord Chancellor David Gauke after prisons across Wales and England almost reached capacity last summer. It acknowledged the probation service is also currently "under great strain". Mahmood told the Commons on Thursday she accepted most of the proposals but stopped short of allowing the most serious offenders from being released early and said nobody jailed for terror offences would be eligible.

Woman and three children die in Brent house fire

The blaze broke out in Tillett Close in the early hours of Saturday

Four people, a 43-year-old woman and three boys, aged 15, eight and four, have been killed in a house fire in Brent, north-west London.

The emergency services were called to the blaze in Tillett Close, Stonebridge, at about 01:20 BST.

A 41-year-old man was arrested at the scene in connection with the fire and remains in custody, the Met Police said.

A further two people were taken to hospital by the London Ambulance Service, the Met said. Their conditions have not been disclosed.

Play-off rail disruption due to 'train faults'

Disruptions, potential cancellations and "extremely busy" trains are expected all day

Football supporters travelling to and from Wembley for the Championship play-off final have been warned of delays or cancellations due to a series of train faults.

LNER said it was experiencing "major disruption" to services due to several trains requiring repairs on the East Coast Main Line.

Sheffield United and Sunderland compete for a place in the Premier League this afternoon, with the game kicking off at Wembley at 15:01 BST.

The travel problems could impact supporters of both sides, with disruption expected until the end of the day.

School evacuated as grenade brought to show-and-tell

8 days ago Share Save Dan Martin BBC News, East Midlands Share Save

Supplied Head teacher Jeanette Hart put the grenade behind a "substantial" tree and called the police

A school was evacuated and Army explosives experts called after a pupil unexpectedly produced a grenade from his pocket in a show-and-tell assembly. Staff at Osmaston CofE Primary School, in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, said they had not been expecting the boy to bring the World War Two weapon in for the assembly on Friday morning. Head teacher Jeanette Hart said she was unsure if the device was live, so she took it from the boy and slowly placed it behind a "substantial" tree in the car park as the school was cleared and emergency services were called. Army experts later established the grenade had been safe but police praised the "quick-thinking" staff.

"It was quite an eventful assembly," Mrs Hart told the BBC. "It was going fine and there was a boy who brought an old bullet case in, which I knew about, but then his friend produced a hand grenade from his pocket. "That, I was not expecting."

Matlock, Cromford, Wirksworth and Darley Dale Police SNT Pupils were said to be excited by the sight of police arriving at the school

Mrs Hart said she had not wanted to cause a panic when she realised he was holding the grenade - a family heirloom the boy had picked up without telling his parents. "It looked old and I thought it might be safe but I didn't want to take the risk," she said. "I ended the assembly, took it off him and slowly carried it outside and put it behind a far tree in the car park. I wasn't 100% happy carrying it to be honest." Mrs Hart said the children were moved to safety while police and Army explosive experts were called to the scene. "The children didn't really know what was going on but they knew something was different and they were excited because they saw the police and because they were playing out when they would have been in school," she said.

Osmaston CoE Primary School Mrs Hart said the boy had brought the grenade in entirely innocently

Derbyshire Police said Army explosives experts determined the grenade was safe using X-ray equipment. Officers praised the school staff for their quick thinking. A spokesman for the Matlock, Cromford, Wirksworth and Darley Dale Police Safer Neighbourhood Team said: "We even got to see those [X-ray] images and [were] told a detailed analysis of how there was nothing that would set the grenade off. "Just a word of guidance for parents and guardians - double check what your kids are taking to show-and-tell, especially when they are family heirlooms."

Family 'taken aback'

Mrs Hart said she had had "a little chat" with the boy after the drama. "It was entirely innocent," she said. "I don't think he ever really knew what it was. "We'd been talking about VE Day and he knew it was from the war and just thought it was an interesting thing. "His family didn't know [he took it] and they were a little taken aback."

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