Global News Podcast - Netanyahu: Israel plans to take over all of Gaza

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

Israel vows to 'take control of all' of Gaza to prevent Hamas from looting aid. Also: a BBC investigation finds evidence that children are being trafficked into illegal mines in South Africa and sexually abused.

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jackie Leonard and at 13H's GMT on Monday the 19th of May these are our main stories. Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will take control of all of Gaza to prevent Hamas looting aid after agreeing to allow food supplies in again following heavy pressure from the US. The UK and the European Union are announcing a series of deals to improve post-Brexit relations. Also in this podcast, a BBC investigation finds evidence that children are being trafficked into illegal mines

in South Africa and sexually abused. The trauma that they had gone through, they start by grooming them, they start by acting start by grooming them. They start by acting like they like them. Israel imposed an aid blockade on Gaza in March, saying Hamas was stealing the aid that had been going in. Foreign journalists aren't free to go into Gaza so we can't check for ourselves, but reports are coming out of rising levels of hunger and associated deaths. After international pressure,

Israel says it will now allow a limited amount of food into Gaza. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it's all part of the plan and Israel still intends to take control of the entire Gaza Strip. From the beginning of the war we said that in order to complete the victory, defeat Hamas and free all our hostages, tasks that are intertwined, there is one necessary condition. We must not reach a state of starvation, both from a practical and a political point of view. We simply won't get support.

We won't be able to complete the mission of victory. The United Nations will be involved in distributing the aid. Here's the UN's Olga Cherovka. The entry of aid is extremely urgent and the needs here are beyond immense. I mean they are catastrophic levels. Our Middle East regional editor is Mike Thompson. So what else did Mr Netanyahu have to say? Well he gave more details, Jackie, on what he calls his war and victory plan and basically

this involves avoiding starvation in Gaza for the reasons he was given, the international condemnation of this and stopping Hamas getting hold of the aid. And this is also partly to reassure some members, right-wing members of his cabinet that don't want aid sent in and want this 11-week blockade to continue and basically he said it'll involve setting up special areas which will be safeguarded by the IDF but American companies will distribute aid to people there and the idea is that these will be set up within the next few days and then expanded to an entire area of Gaza and he said this will mean that in this area only the local population will be able to access the aid and not Hamas. So it's fair to say that foreign political pressure is bearing fruit here?

Absolutely, I mean if you look at the way he has said that the images of mass hunger are disturbing the US and the US is Israel's strongest ally and supplies much of the weaponry it needs to continue this war. So aside from European condemnation and that from elsewhere, it seems extremely important for them. So how much aid will be going in and when? Well we don't know for sure. There's been talk of maybe nine or it could be 20 trucks getting in possibly later today. I mean that is of course a very minimal number when you think of something like five, six hundred a day went in before the war but it's thought as I said that could be later on today. And what's the

latest on the fighting just briefly? Well there's been 20 people killed overnight, 100 over the last 24 hours and we've just had an evacuation order issued by the Israeli military to the people of Chagunis in the south, that's the south's biggest city and two other surrounding areas and Israel claims to have carried out about 160 targeted strikes. That was Mike Thompson. Well, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says all three public hospitals in the north of the territory have been put out of service. Claire Manera is Emergency Coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF.

She spoke to the BBC from southern Gaza, close to Nasser Hospital. Nasser Hospital was attacked just a few hours ago and this is the third time that this has happened in the past few months. We're so lucky that none of the MSF staff were injured last night because normally we have more than 30 staff there present running the operating theaters and the inpatient departments but now we're only able to work on a very skeleton staff in the hospital and the needs are massive. Of course Israel has launched this new offensive involving those airstrikes but crucially troops on the ground. What's your assessment of the impact this could have on the medical situation and humanitarian situation in Gaza at the moment? Well, the space that we have to work in is reducing day by day, and the attacks are

intensifying. We can hear everything from airstrikes and shelling to gunfire that is getting worse and worse day by day. And then the population are being displaced repeatedly. There's something like approximately 63,000 reportedly displaced between the 15th and 18th of May. And this means the medical needs are getting higher and higher. The Israeli government has now announced that it will allow some food, basic food, into Gaza after this blockade that it's put in place. As MSF, what's your reaction to that? We don't accept this plan because we are supporting and we are advocating for impartial humanitarian

aid that is not being used as a tool of the military offensive. We've been asking for food, medical supplies and fuel to come in unhindered for the last few months and beyond that. And we need to be able to distribute this aid impartially to the population who need it. So at least one of those proposals would mean for aid to get into Gaza would mean that people would have to travel to certain points to be able to access aid. When we hear about those comments from international leaders saying that they will have meetings in Gaza, in New York to

try to resolve the humanitarian situation, do people there in the territory feel that there is a sense of urgency in terms of getting this resolved? There is absolute urgency. There has not been any food, medical supplies or fuel for our hospitals and ambulances coming in since the 2nd of March. So the people are in a state of desperation and the spaces that they're being forced into are smaller and smaller. We're seeing mass casualties from airstrikes every night and hospitals are not functional because they're also being targeted. So this is why we need something immediately to help save more lives otherwise the people here they're facing a death sentence.

Claire Minera who was speaking to Catherine Bjarahanga. A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence that children as young as 15 are being trafficked into illegal mines and sexually abused across South Africa. Several eyewitnesses have described repeated instances of sexual abuse of children in at least three illegal mines, including in Stilfontaine, the scene of a stand-off between miners and the police that ended with the deaths of at least 78 people. Our Africa correspondent Mayeni Jones sent this report from Johannesburg and I should warn you that some listeners may find the testimony it contains distressing.

I'm in a township called Kuma and it's just a 10 minute drive from the Stilfontaine mine. There are kids here playing football after school, neighbours look out for each other, but it's also an incredibly poor community. All of the roads that we've seen have been untarred, a lot of the houses here are just mere shacks. There's been mining in this region since the late 19th century, but members of this community say none of this wealth has made it down here and that's why many of their brothers and fathers have had to go down mines to try and make a living. We are already dead. The situation is stopping. Please help us. Last year a nearby mine bordering the town of Stilfontaine became the scene of a months-long standoff between thousands of illegal miners and police. The authorities limited the miners supply of food and water in order to force them out.

Months later, footage from inside the mine emerged showing hundreds of emaciated men and rows of body bags. The miners claimed they'd been unable to escape because the police sealed some of the exits. The BBC was able to confirm that at least 30 of the trapped miners were children and rights groups have told us some of them were abused whilst on the ground. Children find themselves with no choice. Gugu Kaba is the CEO of Save the Children South Africa. Her staff interviewed some of the children rescued from the Stilfontein shaft.

The children that we spoke to did report sexual exploitation. The trauma that they had gone through, because some of them saw others being sexually exploited. She describes the abuse in greater detail, some of which we've chosen not to broadcast due to its graphic nature. They start by grooming them. They start by acting like they like them. And then, obviously, the adult will do it today.

And because they showed you as a child that they like you, they would want to do it again the next day and the other day. This abuse isn't limited to Stilfontaine. Workers in at least two other illegal mines witnessed the sexual abuse of children. I've seen elderly men forcing young boys to have sex with them underground, against their will. Tsepo worked in a mine 150 kilometres south of Stalefontaine. We've changed his name at his request as he fears retaliation from other miners. And can you tell me what impact this abuse had on the children?

They change their behaviour pattern and have trust issues. They no longer want you to get any closer to them because they feel that they no longer trust anyone around them. Jonathan worked in a mine in another region. He says older miners would frequently exchange gold for sex with children. Sometimes I used to see kids entering mining, teenagers actually. They used to take advantage of them sometimes.

And what was being done to them? Sexual abuse whenever they get a chance. Tell me a little bit about the relationship between these children that were being abused and the adults. Sometimes it's by force, sometimes those kids are carried away with the money. Those people promised those kids money. If that kid makes a choice, they come out to become a couple. But most, it's abuse. They are forced to do it. All of the children in Stalefontaine were from Mozambique.

The illegal miners we spoke to from other mines also said the children they saw were from neighbouring countries. The kids are easily manipulated. When they get here under false pretenses of formal employment in the mines, their passports are being confiscated when they get to South Africa. Mahot Lassifuli is a researcher and works with former illegal miners. He says powerful gangs run the industry in South Africa. There's a lot of money with the risks that are involved.

That is why it is easy for them to recruit and attract young boys to come and work illegally. A source working on the Stilfontaine miners' case said that many of the children didn't want to testify. Most of the victims have already been deported. The illegal mining industry continues to thrive and with an estimated 6,000 vacant mines potentially available to explore, it's a business that's unlikely to end anytime soon, leaving thousands of vulnerable children at risk. That was Mayani Jones. The BBC did ask the police and the Government of South Africa,

its Department of Social Development, whether anyone would be charged over the sexual abuse allegations. They did not respond to our questions. The BBC has announced that one of its most highly paid presenters, the former England football player Gary Lineker, is leaving the corporation sooner than planned. He had been expected to anchor the BBC's coverage of the Men's World Cup next year but will instead do his last broadcast this coming Sunday. Its understood bosses had considered his position untenable after he shared a post on social media about Zionism last week which included an illustration of a rat, historically used as an anti-Semitic

insult. Linneke has presented a popular football highlights programme, Match of the Day, for many years. Lucy Hocking spoke to our correspondent Liso Mazimba. The BBC have just posted a statement on the BBC Press Office website saying Gary Linneke will leave his presenting role following the conclusion of Match of the day for the 2024-25 season. He will not be part of the BBC's coverage of the 2026 World Cup or next season's FA Cup coverage. And there's a statement from Tim Davie, the BBC's Director General, says, Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made. Accordingly, we've agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season.

Gary has been a defining voice in football coverage for the BBC for over two decades. His passion and knowledge have shaped our sports journalism and harmed the respect of sports fans across the UK and beyond. We want to thank him for the contribution he's made and Gary Lineker said football has been at the heart of my life for as long as I can remember both on the pitch and in the studio. I care deeply about the pitch and in the studio. I care deeply about the game and about the work I've done with the BBC over many years. As I've said, I would never consciously repost anything anti-Semitic.

It goes against everything I stand for. However, I recognise the error and upset that I caused and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action." That statement from the BBC. Just remind us of how we got to this point though. Last week he reshared a post on social media which referred to Zionism and also which included an image of a rat. Now the rodent has historically been used as an anti-Semitic insult.

He quickly deleted the post and later apologised, saying he hadn't realised the significance of that and he would never knowingly post anything anti-Semitic. But of course, this is the latest in a long line of social media clashes, if you like, with the BBC. He was originally supposed to do the 2026 World Cup and the next FA Cup. Now his final broadcast will be on Sunday, the final day of the Premier League season. Can you explain what Gary Lineker has meant to many football fans in the country?

How important he's been to so much of the BBC's coverage of the sport? He's been a huge figure in the world of sport, in the world of football. It's harder to think of many people apart from the likes of David Beckham who've made a bigger impact both in the UK and internationally and he made the transition from being a successful England striker and footballer to becoming a successful sports broadcaster. He's presented Match of the Day, the BBC's flagship football program for more than 25 years. He's seen as an extremely able presenter who, of course, because of his unique position as a former professional and international footballer,

brought an insight that most other people couldn't bring to sports broadcasting. Lies Oma Zimba. Still to come in this podcast, investigating the mystery of a dinosaur mass grave at the River of death. It's not one animal, it's not one skeleton, it's tens or hundreds or maybe even thousands of animals and they've all been jumbled up together into a big bone pile. It's one of the trickiest topics in British politics. How far should Britain attempt to improve its relations with the European Union following the very rancorous Brexit in 2020?

Well, the new-ish Labour government has been tiptoeing towards some new agreements and in London today, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke about the agreement at a news conference. Britain is back on the world stage, working with our partners, doing deals that will grow our economy and putting more money in the pockets of working people. Today we have struck this landmark deal with the EU, a new partnership between an independent Britain and our allies in Europe. The European Commission president is Ursula von der Leyen. This is a historic moment because it is the first ever EU-UK summit and it is a success.

Our political correspondent Rob Watson told us more about what's been agreed. What they do is to make it easier in terms of trade in food and agriculture and travel for ordinary people. So if you like it's softening Brexit at the edges and essentially in return for that what is Britain giving up? Well it's giving up some of its autonomy to make its own rules and regulations on food and agriculture safety and it's also ensuring that European fishermen get continued access to British waters. There'd also been talk about freedom of movement for young people, what's happened there? So if you like this is about two baskets, I've told you what

they've agreed on, still to work on things like youth mobility schemes, so freedom of movement for people between 18 and 30 to go to Europe or Europeans to come to the UK. Other things that they'll be working on are cooperation on sharing energy links, working on carbon trading emissions. So there's a sort of basket of things where they said, right, we couldn't quite get there yet, more details to be done, but we're working on that and then of course the third thing is that they have agreed a security and defense pact. So how significant is what's been happening today? Great question Jackie it is very significant but

limited I mean significant in the sense if you think about the incredible bad blood for the last nine years between Britain and the European Union since Brexit particularly under previous conservative government somewhat less so for the last nine years between Britain and the European Union since Brexit, particularly under previous Conservative governments, somewhat less so under Rishi Sunak to be fair. This is a whole different mood change. I mean, the atmosphere is very, very different. Both sides keen to get on in what they see as a changed world, a world where you couldn't rely on the United States. There are threats everywhere and that those countries in Europe with the same values should stick together.

But, and you knew there was a but coming, it is limited in the sense that this is not a renegotiation of Brexit. Britain will still have a very distant relationship from Brussels. This isn't membership, it's not in the European Union Single Market or Customs Union so closer, but like members again, absolutely not. What's the reaction been like? Well you can imagine can't you? So those who are great supporters of Brexit and the European Union and leaving the European Union are screaming betrayal, surrender, secure Stammerers has given it all away and then of course there are those on the other side of the spectrum who say this is pretty limited, this wasn't ambitious enough, we would have preferred a much, much deeper reset of

relations with the European Union and so they're disappointed. What Sakir Starmer is hoping is that the majority of voters will say you know what we just hate all that talk about Brexit and all those details, we just want life to be a bit easier when we go on holiday and when we go to the shops and he's hoping to deliver on that. That was Rob Watson. China has issued new regulations to rein in excessive spending by government officials on themselves. The country's faltering economy makes the battle against waste and corruption more urgent. Our Asia Pacific editor, Mickey Bristow, reports. The rules detail how public money can be spent on items such as travel buildings and food,

banning cigarettes and alcohol at work meals. Tourism disguised as a business trip is forbidden. Waste is shameful, saving is glorious, officials have been told. These rules were an updated version of regulations released when Xi Jinping first became China's top leader more than a decade ago. Their reissue suggests his signature battle against corruption and extravagance has not yet been won. Vicky Bristo. He spent years on the run after faking his death and fleeing to Bolivia. Now the alleged leader of Brazil's biggest criminal organisation has been expelled from Bolivia. Now the alleged leader of Brazil's biggest criminal organisation has been expelled

from Bolivia two days after being arrested there. Marcos Roberto de Almeida, known as Tuta, is believed to be the de facto leader of the PCC gang, which smuggles huge amounts of cocaine into Europe. Our Americas regional editor Leonardo Rocha told Jeanette Jalil Moore about Tuta and the PCC. I can't really overstate how big this organisation is and how powerful he was because the PCC is a gang that controls crime in the state of São Paulo, probably the biggest drug trafficking gang in the region, certainly in Brazil. They control many of the prisons and they started as a group that came to protect the rights of prisoners in prisons and they just expanded. Tuta was a

man who specialized in money laundering internationally. He had escaped, you know, people thought he was dead, the police was looking for him. He went to renew his fake ID card at the shopping centre in Bolivia. They thought there was something fishy about it and then they called the police and he was arrested and now he's at the high security prison in Brazil. So what does this mean for the PCC gang? Well they have 21 people in the structure at the top of the command and they're very organized. You know, they have members, people in prison pay them monthly installments to get protection inside prison or their families outside prison. They're very organized and you have all the money from

drug trafficking. I mean, I think they will continue as strong as ever. They're expanding. They, for example, control a lot of the illegal gold mining in the Amazon, in indigenous lands in Brazil. They involved with other businesses like petrol stations, shops, buses. They're very big and it's very scary. I think they will carry on, but it's a big blow for them because Atuta had been appointed as the successor of Marcola, who is the man who founded this organization, who's also in prison. So it's an opportunity for Brazil

and countries in the region to look at the increasing and scary power of organized crime in the country. You hear a lot about other problems, poverty, the Amazon, politics, military coups, but this is very scary for most of the population being forced to pay for those gangs and crime is on the rise in many places. Leonardo Roscia. The fossilised bones of a colossal herd of dinosaurs is slowly being unearthed in Alberta, Canada. The bones belong to a plant-eating dinosaur called Pachyrhinosaurus

which lived 72 million years ago. Our science editor Rebecca Morell has been to the dig at Pipestone Creek to meet the lead paleontologist Professor Emily Bamforth who showed her around. The Pipestone Creek bonebed woodland was initially found was on the side of a cliff and so the early excavators here had to basically dig effectively a cave into the side of a cliff and so the early excavators here had to basically dig effectively a cave into the side of this cliff so of course we still have this steep drop down into the creek and above us is the valley wall so we have here an area about the size of a tennis court and that's our active dig site. Emily

we've got your team here hard at work and they're working in a very concentrated area and Can we come and have a look to see what you've been finding? We maybe want to shovel through this part? Yeah, I think we can just get the edge. There's still a lot of mud on the edge here. We basically have just a massive bone here. So this bone here is part of the hip structure of the Pachyrhinosaurus and then right underneath it there is another very

chunky bone. We don't know what that is yet we're starting to suspect that may be part of a partial skull or fragment of a skull. What Jackson's working on right there is probably a tarsal or a carpal part of the hand bone. Tell us about the animal that you've got here. I mean this is the Pachyrhinosaurus but loads of people wouldn't have heard of a Pachyrhinosaurus. What kind of dinosaur was this? So a Pachyrhinosaurus, but loads of people wouldn't have heard of a Pachyrhinosaurus. What kind of dinosaur was this? So a Pachyrhinosaurus is a smaller, older cousin of the Triceratops. It's one of the horn dinosaurs, except instead of having a horn on its nose,

like a Triceratops would have, it has this huge bony mass called a boss, which makes them look very unusual for a dinosaur, a very, very top heavy animal. We would consider them big today. They're about the size of an Indian elephant or a very very large rhino. The thing that strikes me is there's a total jumble of bones packed into this really really small area. Yeah that's right, so we lovingly call this our Pachyrhinosaurus Omelette. This is, it's not one animal, it's not one skeleton, it's tens or hundreds or maybe even thousands of

animals and they've all been jumbled up together into a big bone pile and that effectively is what got buried. I mean the bit you're digging at the moment is pretty small but the area you've excavated is about the size of a tennis court but there's a lot more. There's been about 8,000 fossils that have come out of just this site and it goes back into the hill for a square kilometer. And these animals weren't hanging about alone were they? They were clearly in a large group. Yeah so the fact that we get so many individuals in one place from a single deposit, the only way that could happen was if this was a herd of animals. They probably lived in small herds

for most of the time but when they migrated they may have come together to form these these mega herds. And what happened to them? They're not able to move very fast because of their sheer numbers and again they're very top-heavy they have that huge boss on their head really not very good at swimming at all it would have been a catastrophic event very likely a flood that wiped out this herd. that wiped out this herd. Tension is in the air. Emily, the Pachyrhinosaurus and your excavation here is featured as part of the Walking with Dinosaurs programme.

How did it feel to see the dinosaurs recreated for the first time? So I just got goosebumps the first time I saw the images of the mega herd kind of moving over the landscape. It's so thrilling and it kind of really speaks to the power of paleontology to tell us those stories of things that happened millions of years ago. Your team here are hard at work but this is slow going there's so much bone and it goes back for another kilometer you've got a lot of work to do. Yes so that is the great thing about the Pipestone Creek bone bed it is extremely reliable like every time

we know here we know 100% guaranteed we're gonna find fossils this bone bed will outlive all of us here. That was Professor Emily Bamford ending that report by our science editor Rebecca Morell. And no, that sound wasn't a real pachyrhinosaurus. It was a sound effect that was created for the programme. But you knew that. The British government says driverless cars could be in use on the roads in the UK by 2027. It had originally been expected that they would be rolled out next year. Our technology editor Zoe Kleinman has been in one on the busy streets of London and she told us how it went.

It was a typically busy, congested journey across central London. There was everything that you could possibly throw at this car, I think. We had pedestrians walking in the road, we had delivery bikes, we had cars in the wrong lane trying to turn left and right when they weren't in the right, we had delivery bikes, we had cars in the wrong lane trying to turn left and right when they weren't in the right filter lane to do so, there was a lot of traffic, there were temporary lights, you know, it was all happening and the car handled every single obstacle without a hitch. It was actually kind of boring but do you know what, that's what you want I think.

– Boring is good when you're talking about driving certainly. So why has the date been put back? Because Uber says it's ready to go. So the previous UK government had set a time frame of 2026. Now the government is saying the later half of 2027. We know that there are a number of companies who've been trialing the tech and developing it and using it on UK roads, including Wave, which was the company that I was out with. It's been launched around the tech and developing it and using it on UK roads including WAVE, which was the company that I was out with. It's been launched around the world already. It

operates in some parts of the US and in China and also parts of Singapore and the UAE. So the concept of driverless cars and certainly driverless taxis, which are called robo-taxis, are around. What Uber is saying is that actually the sort of older cities, if you like, like London, are more complicated because they're narrower, older roads, so they're more congested, everything's more crammed in, they're not a kind of neat grid system like some of the US cities are. A lot of this tech's been developed in the US and in China and so they're sort of years ahead of us, if you like, and millions of miles ahead of us in terms of the testing that's already been done over there.

You have actually spoken to some people in London about what they think about getting into a driverless car. What do they say? This is one of the big challenges, isn't it? It's all very well having the tech, having it working, proving that it works. But can you actually get people in it? In an Uber, I can trust that the person's gonna keep me safe, whereas if I was in a driverless Uber, I'd be constantly looking around

and wouldn't go on my phone. I'd feel quite anxious and on edge the whole time, I think. I'm getting into a driverless car and we won't even blink an eyelid, so it needs to convince people, but once it's done, everybody will buy in. When you get in a cab, you have a little bit of a chat and a bit of a conversation with a cab driver and you know there's somebody there with you whereas if you're getting in one by yourself I think I'd be a little bit nervous. As you said the

tech is moving very fast what impact is this going to have on society when they do become more common around the world? So I think that it is going to be very disruptive actually. So I think there's a lot of studies which suggest that fully automated cars are safer, they're certainly less accident prone than human driven cars. And some experts say the most dangerous time on the roads is going to be when there's a mixture of human drivers and automated drivers. What I found with my experience and I have also been in these cars in other parts of the world as well is that they're generally more cautious, more patient if you like than humans are so they are less likely to try and get across those lights or you know pull out into that box when they can't quite time it to get

around it properly because that's what humans would do and that sometimes causes accidents in itself because human drivers expect them to behave more like other humans. And the other side of this of course is the impact on jobs. You know I asked Uber if this was the beginning of the end of the human driver because they say that the robo taxis they're already operating in the States can run for 20 hours a day, seven days a week. And they seem to sort of be thinking that there was still plenty of room for both options and of course there'd be some people who just didn't want to get in a robotaxi and would always choose to have a human driver.

That was Zoe Kleinman. And that's it from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News podcast later. If you would like to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, or you just want to say hello, do please send us an email. The address is globalpodcast.bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service, just use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Mark Pickett. The producer was Ed Horton. Our editor is Karen Martin. I'm Jackie Leonard and until next time, goodbye.