Global News Podcast - Netanyahu vows to continue fighting as Israel remembers 7th October attacks

Episode Date: October 7, 2024

Israel held ceremonies to remember the victims, amid further fighting. Also: a 'once in a lifetime' hurricane is heading for Mexico and Florida, and a basketball superstar makes NBA history alongside his son.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jackie Leonard and in the early hours of Tuesday, the 8th of October, these are our main stories.

Rocket fire in the Middle East on several fronts as Israelis mark the anniversary of the Hamas October 7th attack. A hurricane heading for Mexico and Florida is being called a once-in-a-lifetime storm. And a warning that the world's rivers are drying up at their fastest rate in decades. Also in this podcast... It's a moment kind of that we all didn't think would happen, but you've been waiting to see happen, and it was electric. A basketball legend brings his son to work for the day,

making NBA history. But was it a slam dunk? Since the last edition of the podcast, there have been vigils and ceremonies around the world as Israel has marked the anniversary of the October 7th attacks and at the same time ongoing launches of rockets and projectiles. The Israeli military says it intercepted more than 100 rockets fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon, some targeting cities. Israel says it responded by mounting 120 strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in less than an hour. The Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza have also fired rockets and missiles into Israel. In a pre-recorded speech,

the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep fighting. We have outlined the goals of this war and we are achieving them, toppling the rule of Hamas, bringing all the hostages home, both the living and the deceased alike. This is a sacred mission and we will not stop until we complete it, eliminating any future threat from Hamas to Israel. For more details on the rocket attacks, we heard from our correspondent Nick Beek, who's in northern Israel. This was a day of rocket fire in all directions, Jackie. We're up in north Israel, as you say. 140 rockets are said to have come across the border here from south Lebanon.

Two got through and hit Haifa. That's the first time in nearly 20 years that that's happened. The last time was back in 2006, and that was the last time that Israel and Hezbollah went to war. The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyanyahu says the new ground invasion into Lebanon will ultimately stop the near daily rockets coming from Hezbollah. But they haven't stopped yet. And in fact, some of the strikes in the last few days have been sent deeper into Israel than we've seen recently. So that's in the north to the the south today, from Gaza, Hamas launched rockets from the early hours.

They later sent rockets into Tel Aviv. And of course, meanwhile, Israel has been stepping up its own air and ground attacks on Hamas in Gaza. Palestinian medics reported at least 50 people killed today. And the IDF has also been doing the same operation it's been carrying out in South Lebanon, hitting Hezbollah positions. And also we hear tonight once again hitting locations in Beirut. And I understand that Israel has also declared four more zones in northern Israel closed to civilians. What can you tell us? Yes, so these are areas where a lot of people would have left anyway in the course of the last year to avoid the rocket fire. But now there are

four particular areas along the border with Lebanon where the military effectively is taking over. That would suggest that maybe there's another entry point coming for the ground operations. But where we are, last night there was a constant stream of Israeli jets overhead heading towards the Lebanese border. Artillery fire too. We looked out, Jackie, and the horizon was periodically completely lit up by the explosions, and a few seconds later we'd hear them. And the IDF have actually said today in just one hour period, so in the space of one hour, 100 jets hit 120 Hezbollah targets.

That's in the air. On the ground, we hear that a third Israeli army division is now operating in Lebanon. So you've got the prospect of thousands more troops coming in this direction. The IDF say 11 soldiers have been killed so far in this operation, but certainly it looks like it's getting bigger and bigger. It's estimated that Hamas killed around 1,200 people when its fighters attacked Israel on October 7th last year. More than 250 people were taken hostage and many are still unaccounted for. Our correspondent John Donison has been speaking to some of those who lost friends or family and sent this report from Jerusalem.

One year on, the pain and the grief are still raw. In the darkness before the dawn, a minute's silence. Broken. On the site of the Nova Music Festival, just a few kilometres from Gaza, and where more than 360 people were killed by Hamas gunmen, there were prayers, as relatives and friends of the dead gathered to remember. Among them, Inbal Giorno, who lost her daughter, Karin. She was just 24. You stopped breathing, and so did we, she said. Karin had been at the festival despite having a broken leg. Her family says she loved to dance. At this morning's memorial,

they played the last track the DJ put on before the killing began. This is the last moment we're here. This is where she was killed. Anat Regev's 27-year-old niece, Tamar Gutman, was shot dead. This is the ceremony. This is where she was. This is where she was happy in the last moments. It was here. Meanwhile, amid the birdsong in Jerusalem at a ceremony at the Iron Swords Monument, Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, sounded typically defiant.

We went through a terrible massacre a year ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sounded typically defiant. We went through a terrible massacre a year ago and we stood up as a people, as lions. A people that rises like a lioness, leaps up like a lion. And as was feared, the war in Gaza has now spread. There were sirens today in central Israel after Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen fired a ballistic missile. It was shot down by the military here. The news seems to worsen every day. I feel that my heart is broken. But no one more so than Omri Stivi. He thought his brother, Idan,

was one of more than 60 hostages still being held alive in Gaza. This morning, he found out he was killed. One year of fighting for my brother, I cannot understand what's going on, and I can't understand that he's not here, and I am not seeing him. Very, very hard. And now, as Israel remembers, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers across the region are suffering and mourning. Our correspondent John Donison in Jerusalem. According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, close to 42,000 people, the majority civilians, have been killed there since the start of the war. The figures have been deemed reliable by the United Nations. Israel refuses to allow foreign

journalists to report from Gaza, but on the ground local BBC journalists have been documenting the immense human cost of the war. We've returned to meet two families featured in our reporting over the last year, and this report is from our special correspondent, Fergal Keane. Everything is war. In a place where the sniper's bullet, the bomb, disease bring remorseless suffering, all of their stories are war stories. We've been following the story of a family caught in the death and destruction of one night last February, when Israeli commandos rescued two

hostages from Hamas captivity in Rafah, southern Gaza. More than 70 Gazans were reported killed in the raid, among them 32-year-old Abed al-Rahman al-Najjar, a farm labourer and father of seven. The family was living in a refugee tent after being displaced from their home. In hospital that night, several of Abed al-Rahman's children who'd survived the attack were being treated for cuts caused by flying shrapnel. Their 27-year-old mother, Nawara, was also wounded. She was six months pregnant at the time. When I got to the hospital, they said,

your husband is dead. What was his fault? What was his children's fault? What's my fault? Why am I a widow at 27? In the hospital grounds, the bodies of many of those killed that February night lay wrapped in plastic sheeting. Malak, the 13-year-old daughter of Abed al-Rahman, mourned her father. She also lost an eye in the fighting and was deeply traumatised.

I'm in pain. Pain. I lost my dad. Enough. Seven months on, Malak and the rest of the family have returned to their old home in Kanunis in southern Gaza. They'd been displaced four times. Malak and her siblings sat on the concrete floor, unable to play outside because their mother fears for their safety. As a child who lost an eye, lost a father, I carry a pain that even mountains cannot bear. The children spend their time taking care of and playing with their new baby sister, Rahma,

born three months after her father's death. Malak kisses the top of the baby's head. We feel tenderness and love towards her. I love her so much, in a way no one else knows. But the crushing reality is that there is no escaping the war, or what they have lost. Nawara sits looking through old photographs of her husband, a man with ginger hair, blue eyes, posing, smiling with his family. The story of

Abed al-Rahman, of Nawara and Malak, is just one of many thousands of Gaza's stories of loss. They multiply and the war goes on. That report by Fergal Keane. Now let's take a look at some of the day's other big stories. Hurricane Milton, which is moving across the Gulf of Mexico, has intensified and been upgraded to an extremely dangerous category five. As we record this podcast, warnings of life-threatening storm surges and severe winds have been issued along Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as the storm rapidly gains strength as it moves. Officials have warned Hurricane Milton could prompt Florida's largest evacuation in seven years. It's less than two weeks since Hurricane Helene killed more than 200 people in

the U.S. Speaking at a news conference in Tampa in Florida, the Emergency Management Director for Hillsborough County, Timothy Dudley Jr., urged residents at risk to leave while they still can. It's time to start implementing your evacuation plans, preparing your family, your pets, your property and your businesses. Do it right now while the weather is still clear and you still have time. When it's time before those impacts come, you need to be out of the evacuation zone. This storm is a serious storm. Our correspondent Will Grant is watching Milton's progress. It is a very big storm. It's bringing

somewhere in the region of 250 kilometres an hour winds. It's somewhere around 1,000, 1,100 kilometres southwest of Tampa at the moment, but it is steadily making its way towards the Florida coastline. It may clip the Yucatan Peninsula too on route. And certainly Mexico and Cuba are likely to get lashed with rain and high winds as a result. But really, the brunt of this is expected to be in Florida. And of course, Floridians know hurricanes. They're experienced with hurricane season. But nevertheless, such is the size of what is actually the 10th major hurricane this season. It is a daunting prospect.

And President Biden's already issued a state of emergency for Florida, hasn't he? He has, and that will freeze up federal funding for a whole series of counties in Florida which will need it because, of course, they are also dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. We know that people are obviously doing their best securing their homes, securing anything that could be turned in projectiles in such a storm, making sure their cars are somewhere safe. And of course, for the very first line of defence, as it were, evacuating. And when you say evacuating, where do people have to go? What will their calculations be?

Well, there are obviously instructions being dished out to local residents. It sounds so obvious, but really it is finding family, finding friends who are in safer parts of the state, getting out of the state entirely in some cases, if need be. But of course, a lot of people will end up having to go to emergency evacuation shelters. They have no other choice. So yeah, it is such a complicated picture at this particular moment when there's two days to go before it makes landfall. And you mentioned it yourself, they are still reeling from the impact of this earlier huge storm. Why are we seeing such powerful hurricanes at the moment, one after another? I've just seen a local weather forecaster,

very emotional about how big this storm is and what it is going to bring to his region. And the truth of the matter is, as he put it, is climate change. These are very warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, making these storms more frequent, the magnitude of them greater each time. They're coming earlier. And of course, that's a huge consideration for governments across the region. That was Will Grant. In Russia, the main state-owned media company has been targeted by a cyber attack, taking out internet services and stopping some broadcasts. A Kremlin spokeswoman described it as an act of hybrid warfare and said they were

still trying to work out who was responsible. Here's our Europe regional editor Paul Moss. The first clue came in the early hours of Monday morning Russian time. Broadcasts by Rossiya television channels were briefly disrupted and then Rossiya 24 began showing old documentaries and a rerun of the previous evening's news programme. Eventually, a presenter told viewers they'd been hit by criminal action, with one source saying a number of the company's hard drives had been deleted. The attack's now been claimed by a Ukrainian hacking group, who reportedly said it was dedicated to Vladimir Putin's birthday, with Monday seeing the Russian president turn 72 years old.

That was Paul Moss. A British doctor has admitted to trying to murder his mother's partner by injecting him with poison while posing as a nurse. 53-year-old Thomas Kwan wore a wig, fake moustache and beard during a fabricated home check-up as part of the Covid-19 public health schemes. Stephanie Prentice has this report. Prosecutors have called it one of the most elaborate criminal plots in recent memory. Thomas Kwan registered a shell company, made false registration plates and created counterfeit documents as part of a plan targeting his mother's partner, Patrick O'Hara. He also

darkened his face and used a wig, a moustache and glasses when he visited his mother's home under an alias after sending her partner fake letters saying he was due a visit from a community nurse. On arrival, he claimed to be injecting Mr. O'Hara with a COVID booster, but the victim complained of terrible pain, becoming suspicious when Thomas Kwan's mother commented that the visitor was the same height as her son. The injection was a type of poison which led first to burns and then a flesh-eating disease. As medics raced to try and save Mr. O'Hara's life, Mr. Kwan refused to say exactly which substance he'd used. Despite this, teams were able to save Mr. O'Hara and he gave a statement in court via a video film from hospital after losing a part of his arm.

Jurors heard that Mr. Kwan had been in a dispute with his mother over her will, which benefited her partner, and that he had a keen interest in homemade poisons. He's also accused of having a backup plan after more fake letters were found offering the victim free meals. Mr Kwan now faces a substantial prison term in a case that prosecutors have called stranger than fiction. Stephanie Prentice. Still to come in this podcast.

Jeans and ourselves talk to each other and coordinate their activity. A Nobel Prize for two men who've shone new light on our body's instruction manuals and found out what makes us all unique. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. In Malawi, around 17,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year, and getting treatment isn't easy.

Previously, patients have had to travel to Kenya or India for radiotherapy treatment when other interventions, such as chemotherapy or surgery, haven't worked. But earlier this year, the country installed its first-ever radiotherapy machine in a private clinic in Blantyre, and more are currently being put into a public hospital in the capital, bringing a ray of hope to patients who couldn't afford to seek treatment abroad. Ashley Lyme reports. In Tayali village in Malawi, 39-year-old Dorothy Masasa plays with her six-month-old daughter.

Her chuckling is a moment she treasures, but until recently, their future hung in the balance. While still pregnant, Dorothy received the devastating diagnosis of cervical cancer. The doctors presented her with a dilemma. End her pregnancy to begin surgery or endure chemotherapy and hope she and her unborn baby would survive. When I was diagnosed with cervical cancer, that was like the end of my happy moments. Eventually, Dorothy opted for chemotherapy. Later she gave birth, but a follow-up visit revealed that some cancer cells had remained.

A non-invasive treatment like radiotherapy could help, but it wasn't available in Malawi at the time. So charity, Medsa Som Frontier, organized for her to be treated in Kenya. I had my baby and they removed my uterus. I had my fears about traveling, especially leaving my three-month-old baby behind to go to Kenya. But because I was going for crucial treatment, I had to encourage myself. The government of Malawi reportedly spends about US$15,000 for each patient sent abroad for treatment. But things are now changing. Malawi received its first radiotherapy machine in March,

and treatment is now available at a privately run medical center in Blantyre. Radiotherapy uses non-invasive radiation to destroy cancer cells and it's often preferred to aggressive treatments like chemotherapy and surgery. I am so happy that the radiotherapy machine we had to travel to Kenya for is now here in Malawi. Many with no options and hope have died because they could not afford to travel to Kenya for treatment like I did. Malawi records 17,000 cancer cases annually. Out of these, 75% need radiotherapy. With this treatment becoming available,

it is hoped that more patients will survive. But it's taken a long time. Dr. Sam Meja is an obstetrician and a gynecologist at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre. Investment in radiotherapy has always been in the plan, but its implementation has taken some time. We might say it might be sufficient, but it will not be only for cervical cancer patients.

There are other cancers, breast cancer, skin cancers, which all require radiotherapy. So if we look at the scale of Malawi and the burden of cancer, there is still need for investing in radiotherapy. The National Cancer Centre in the capital, Lilongwe, is also expected to start offering radiotherapy treatment towards the end of the year. However, with the facility still under construction and over 2,000 women dying of cervical cancer annually, it's a race against time to save lives. Despite this, Dorothy is optimistic about the future. Now we have the treatment machine here at home,

so the cost of travelling abroad will be minimised. It was a tough experience. There were days I spent all the money I had on medication. Now people will not have to go through the face of worry like I did. And that report was by Ashley Lyne. New data published by the United Nations for last year shows that the world's rivers dried up at their fastest rate in three decades. The impact is being seen across large territories of North, Central and South America,

as well as Asia and Oceania. Both the Amazon and Mississippi rivers fell to record low levels. The WMO Director General, Celeste Saulu, says water is the canary in the coal mine of climate change. The water cycle is becoming more erratic. Water is becoming the most telling indicator of our climate's distress. And yet, as a global society, we are not taking bold action to protect this resource. Our environment correspondent Matt McGraw told us more. We're seeing a very, I suppose, confusing and contradictory picture of the way that the world is interacting with water at the moment.

This report shows that over the last five years, there's been a widespread below normal conditions for many of the world's rivers, many reservoirs also showing remarkably reduced inflows, at the same time as we're also seeing more water in many places from more floods, more storms, more intense downpours, and glaciers melting. We've seen greater glaciers melting, suffering the greatest loss of mass in the last 50 years, in the last year or so. So, yeah, a very complicated picture, I guess, impacting many parts of the world. Africa is said to be the most impacted by, I suppose, the lack of water in many, many ways. We've seen, you know, flooding situations in many areas in Libya and DRC. But across in Central America and Brazil we've seen huge drought conditions. Argentina lost three percent of its gross domestic product because

of these drought conditions last year so the scientists would say this is really climate change in action you're seeing both extreme drought and extreme downpours happening at the same time or messing with the hydrological cycle if you like. So talk us through the consequences. Well, the consequences are greater insecurity for millions, if not billions of people. According to the report, 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least one month of the year. That could go to 5 billion by 2050. So water, huge pressure on people because of water.

The lack of water, the lack of inflows impacts agriculture, impacts our ability to grow crops, impacts basic things like hygiene and impacts nature as well for all ranges of species. So huge impacts all over the world in various different ways. But as I said, with these kind of huge downpours, we're getting, you know, the threat to life and limb in the same way happening at the same time. It presents this very difficult picture. So Matt, why is this happening? And can anything at this stage be done to mitigate it? I'm afraid you've probably heard me say this a thousand times, but the confounding factor here is probably climate change. And scientists believe that that's what's happening. We're

living in a warmer world. It's impacting the water cycle, the hydrological cycle, making it more erratic, making it more unpredictable, seeing greater downpours in some places, a lot less water in others. You know, the atmosphere is warmer, so it holds more moisture. That means more downpours and more floods.

But the ground is drier as well, which means more water is evaporating out of the ground. So we're getting it in the neck on both sides, if you like, from this changing climate that we're living in. It's really impacting the water supply and the way that it's distributed around the world. That was Matt McGrath. And now to the miracle of life. The astronomer Carl Sagan once famously said that we're all made of star stuff.

Other scientists, meanwhile, have been working on the more down-to-earth question of how this complex arrangement of cells came into the beings we know and are now. Now the Nobel Prize for Medicine has been awarded to two scientists in the US, Victor Ambrose and Gary Ravkin for their discovery of micro RNA. Here's Victor Ambrose speaking about his research. It allowed us to be aware of a very complex and nuanced layer of regulation whereby genes in our cells talk to each other and coordinate their activity. With more, here's our health and science correspondent, James Gallagher. Take a moment to think about your body. Your brain is packed with neurons sending impulses of electrical activity. Your heart cells are contracting and relaxing at

a rhythmic pace, while white blood cells patrol for infection. Each of these cells looks and behaves remarkably differently. And yet, every cell in your body has the same instruction manual, the same genetic code, the same DNA. So how do you get such diversity when every cell has the same source material? The answer is gene expression. Each cell type uses different parts of the genetic code. The Nobel Prize was awarded to the pair of scientists that discovered tiny pieces of genetic material called microRNAs and their ability to control gene expression. One of the winners, Professor Gary Ruvkin from Harvard Medical School, said the prize was unexpected. You sort of know that you're on the list, but you're on the list for 20 years.

And at a certain point, it hasn't happened. So there's a chance it won't happen because there's many great scientists. And so was I expecting it this year? No. But it's a lovely thing. Oh, this changes everything. Understanding the role micro RNAs play in cancer and some developmental disorders could lead to new therapies. But micro RNAs and gene expression also help explain how life evolved from a single cell and into complex organisms like us. That was James Gallagher. The world-famous basketball star

LeBron James and his son Bronny James have become the first ever father-son duo to play together on the same NBA team. It all happened when the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Phoenix Suns in a pre-season game. Bronny came on in the second quarter, on his 20th birthday, to play along with his father for around four minutes, to the joy of some and the consternation of others. Lindsay Dunn, an NBA reporter for City News Toronto, spoke to my colleague Andrew Peach. It's a moment kind of that we all didn't think would happen,

but you've been waiting to see happen, and we thought maybe it would have happened on Friday, but that moment, like you mentioned, when he checked in, it was electric. And, you know, LeBron and Bronny both are very stoic about the moment. But after LeBron just said it was a surreal moment, like I've seen for years, I've been covering LeBron James's career. I saw Bronny sitting courtside when he was just a kid. So the fact that he's now playing with his father, an unbelievable historic moment for even the lebron haters out there he's just seeing a father and son live out their dream together it was actually quite magical in the sports world

imagine the haters are all saying oh it was all engineered to get all to get us talking about it now oh absolutely like i'll be honest when you look at it bronnie james it's like take your kid to work day if his dad wasn't LeBron James, he wouldn't have been drafted the way that he is. He wouldn't be playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is a great basketball player, but yes, his dad did help orchestra getting him to where he is.

Even the Golden State Warriors said they wanted to draft him, but they honoured LeBron's wish and letting him get drafted by the Lakers. Okay, so the haters have that view. Meantime, what about the fans? Do they really love it? Oh, honestly, it's 50-50 because there are a lot of haters. But in one sense, people are just excited to see what he can do.

So half of the fans are really excited for that. They're excited to see a kid play with one of the best NBA players of all time. And then the other half, they just hate it because they're like, hey, it's Neffle baby happening right now. Is there any chance that he's better than everyone thinks, basically? Oh, I'll be a realist. It's no. I've been covering basketball for 18 years, and the expectations are so high.

People thinking he could be like his dad. At best, he'll be a great bench player and he'll be spending a lot of time especially this year with the lakers development team he you know may get a couple buckets but it was like father like son yesterday they both had turnovers within a couple minutes of each other but yeah he probably will live up to the expectations which are those of the ones that think he'll just be an okay basketball player he will not have the career his dad does will this so will this sort of partnership thing would it ever happen again will they be like engineering further moments of this because of all the publicity it gets or are

we done with it now i think people are definitely going to try to do it so many fathers within the nba that have spoken to they're like this is a dream to play with their kids but we will not see it at this level whether or not you like leBron James, the history books show he is one of the best ever plays. So the fact that his kid is on the court with him is really a once in a lifetime situation that I don't think we will see again, especially at this caliber of a player. No pressure, Bronny. That was Lindsay Dunn. 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 edition or the topics covered in it, do please send us an email.

The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at Global News Pod. This edition was mixed by Caroline Driscoll. The producer was Stephanie Prentice. Our editor is Karen Martin. I'm Jackie Leonard and until next time, goodbye. award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story,

plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts.