![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaUkraine war: Bucha’s wounds still raw two years onPublished1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsWar in UkraineImage source, Matthew Goddard/BBCImage caption, Ludmila has finally been able to install a headstone for her husband Valeriy’s grave after two yearsIn March 2022 invading Russian troops occupied the Ukrainian town of Bucha outside Kyiv, leaving a trail of death and destruction which shocked the world. Two years after their departure, the BBC’s Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford has gone back to see how its traumatised residents are trying to return to normal life.When Russian soldiers killed Ludmila’s husband, she had to wrap him in a blanket and bury him at the back of their garden. She then fled Bucha with her daughter. It was March 2022. The Russians had occupied the small town just outside Kyiv and taken over the pensioners’ home. Soldiers drove a tank into their yard and used the house opposite as their headquarters. Two years on, Ludmila has finally installed a marble headstone on Valeriy’s grave with his photograph. After Bucha was liberated, she was able to have him reburied properly at the local cemetery. The couple’s home, destroyed in the fighting, is slowly being rebuilt. Ludmila has been planting bright coloured flowers in the yard. But when the house is finished, she will live there alone. The building work is part of efforts to restore Bucha from the ruins left by retreating Russian soldiers. When Ukrainian forces retook the town, they discovered bodies strewn in Yablunska Street, where they had been shot. It was the first the outside world knew of the horrors Bucha had endured during 33 days of occupation. “We have a moral obligation to support the families who live on that street, because more than 70 civilians were brutally killed and tortured there,” explains the local mayor, Anatoliy Fedoruk.Yablunska Street and the area around has been cleaned, spruced up and in some places rebuilt. But the Russians took over “almost every yard or house”, according to the mayor, who estimates the total cost of repair at €1.6bn (£1.4bn; $1.7bn). “Of course we don’t have this sum. But we are doing whatever we can to return people to their houses.”Image source, Matthew Goddard/BBCImage caption, Ludmila is anxious to move back into her new homeJust a few steps from Yablunska Street, Ludmila’s new home is still just a shell. The builders have promised to finish it by summer, but she hasn’t seen them for days. Homeless for two years, on top of her bereavement, Ludmila is anxious to move in. “I’m trying to cope, but my blood pressure is high, which it never was before the war,” she says, showing me around the building site. “I’m getting heart scans, signs of problems. It’s all from the stress. From the memories.”In 2022, I saw the burned-out wreck of Ludmila’s old home not long after the Russians had pulled out. The yard was still heaped with alcohol bottles and wrappers from their military ration packs. It was the rubbish of men who had shot Ludmila’s husband in the head when he surfaced for a moment from the cellar where the couple were hiding. She found Valeriy’s body later that night, face down on their porch.The investigation is still open, one of hundreds of suspected war crimes cases in Bucha. Ludmila was recently called in by police who had found new CCTV footage and hoped she might help identify the soldiers on film. Image caption, Ludmila’s burnt-out house in a photo taken two years ago”Maybe they can be charged in absentia. I know Russia will never hand them over,” Ludmila says, realistic about the chances of anyone being held to account for the killing. “Personally, I’d like to grab them by the throat and demand to know why they had to come here,” she says, suddenly animated. “They are scumbags.”Behind the white walls of St Andrew’s Church, where many were buried in a mass grave during the occupation, there is now a memorial wall of metal plaques. So far it displays 509 names. Some squares are still blank because there are more than 100 unidentified bodies at the town cemetery, unearthed from shallow graves all over Bucha and reburied. DNA samples were taken first, in the hope that someone would one day come looking for them. Other plaques on the memorial wall have no death date – only the month of March, when Bucha was under Russian occupation. Opposite is a sign that lists the dozens of people still missing. Among the names is Bogdan Kostarenko, whose wife Natalia I first met in 2022. I was investigating the killing of five men from Bucha whose bodies had been found beneath a children’s summer camp. Natalia’s husband had been taken away by Russian soldiers and she feared he might be one of the dead. He wasn’t.Image source, Matthew Goddard/BBCImage caption, More than 500 names are displayed on Bucha’s memorial wall”They took him to Belarus, then to Detention Centre Number Two in Bryansk [in Russia],” Natalia says, sharing her latest news – after months of trying, she finally traced Bogdan to a prison in Russia. Through other Ukrainians swapped for Russian POWs, she learned that he was in a facility in Tula, south of Moscow. “Russia has officially confirmed he’s a prisoner, but I had to find him through my own contacts,” she tells me. “They should just give the civilians back, but they don’t.”Bogdan retired from the army in 2019 with PTSD. As a civilian prisoner, Natalia fears his chances of being exchanged are slim, as only a few dozen non-combatants have been returned so far. “There are a lot of civilians from Bucha missing – people we know are in prison, but the Russians haven’t confirmed. At least they’ve admitted to having Bogdan, officially.”Natalia has heard nothing from her husband directly since he was taken. But she knows from others held in Bryansk that they were tortured. “They say it was really hard – they were not fed, they were badly beaten, including with electric shock and pipes,” she tells me. “Now I don’t know what else to do. I can’t get him freed. I can’t find any way to do it.”Natalia herself is ethnically Russian. Both her parents are from the country now holding her husband prisoner illegally and accused of abusing him. It was people like Natalia that Vladimir Putin used as his excuse for invading Ukraine. He claimed they needed saving from brutal treatment at the hands of a “Nazi” government in Kyiv.As we talk in the yard, children play football, laughing and shouting. Most of the pre-war population of Bucha has returned, including many who fled Ukraine as refugees. But Natalia worries things could deteriorate again. “You see what Putin’s up to, blaming Ukraine for the Moscow terrorist attack,” she tells me, referring to last month’s attack on the Crocus concert venue. “I think he wants a full war. Full mobilisation.”Image source, BBC SportAcross town, Ludmila is worried too, especially by the recent increase in Russian missile strikes. She keeps visiting her house to check on its progress and to be closer to her memories from before the occupation. She feeds Murka, the stray cat Valeriy once loved to photograph. Gardening distracts her when everything gets too much. “There’s such ruin, all over Ukraine! They’re rebuilding here in Bucha and that’s such joy. But there’s no peace, no stability.”Ludmila shows me purple crocuses and bluebells in neat rows and the green shoots of daffodils. Then she leads me past the porch where Valeriy was shot, through a wooden gate onto the plot of land where she’d had to bury him. “Look how many tulips are coming out!” Ludmila points towards the spot, now a neat flowerbed again. “It used to be so lovely here. We’ll soon have flowers again, all round the house.”Related TopicsWar in UkraineUkraineTop StoriesUkraine nuclear plant drone strike prompts warning over risksPublished2 hours agoBucha’s wounds still raw two years onPublished1 hour agoIsrael reduces troop numbers in southern GazaPublished6 hours agoFeaturesThe Papers: ‘Kyiv aid block’ warning and ‘run of a kind’Path of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipseMyanmar’s army massacred Rohingyas. Now it wants their help7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe comics legend lurking in a British basementIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?West faces ‘authoritarian’ alliance, says Nato headWhy these singer-songwriters are pop’s new breakout starsElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. Sounds simple, right?Fresh, surreal comedy from the mind of Lucia KeskinAttributioniPlayerThis family bonds over Race Across the WorldThese are the the things we love on the BBCAttributioniPlayerOne of the most talented bands to never make it…Why did trailblazers Microdisney fail to achieve the commercial success they deserved?AttributioniPlayerDid you know these scenes were filmed in… Glasgow?!Ali Plumb travels through the city’s silver screen sightsAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Manhunt after mum pushing baby in pram stabbed2Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?3Ukraine nuclear plant drone strike prompts warning4’Kyiv aid block’ warning and ‘run of a kind’5’Radiographer started crying during my cancer scan’6Probe after Boeing plane engine cover falls off7’He was one of us’: Memorial ride for Hairy Biker8Mozambique ferry disaster kills over 90 – officials9Ministers ‘caught by surprise’ over hate crime row10Israel reduces troop numbers in southern Gaza](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/B58F/production/_133097464_mediaitem133097463.jpg)
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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaUkraine war: Bucha’s wounds still raw two years onPublished1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsWar in UkraineImage source, Matthew Goddard/BBCImage caption, Ludmila has finally been able to install a headstone for her husband Valeriy’s grave after two yearsIn March 2022 invading Russian troops occupied the Ukrainian town of Bucha outside Kyiv, leaving a trail of death and destruction which shocked the world. Two years after their departure, the BBC’s Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford has gone back to see how its traumatised residents are trying to return to normal life.When Russian soldiers killed Ludmila’s husband, she had to wrap him in a blanket and bury him at the back of their garden. She then fled Bucha with her daughter. It was March 2022. The Russians had occupied the small town just outside Kyiv and taken over the pensioners’ home. Soldiers drove a tank into their yard and used the house opposite as their headquarters. Two years on, Ludmila has finally installed a marble headstone on Valeriy’s grave with his photograph. After Bucha was liberated, she was able to have him reburied properly at the local cemetery. The couple’s home, destroyed in the fighting, is slowly being rebuilt. Ludmila has been planting bright coloured flowers in the yard. But when the house is finished, she will live there alone. The building work is part of efforts to restore Bucha from the ruins left by retreating Russian soldiers. When Ukrainian forces retook the town, they discovered bodies strewn in Yablunska Street, where they had been shot. It was the first the outside world knew of the horrors Bucha had endured during 33 days of occupation. “We have a moral obligation to support the families who live on that street, because more than 70 civilians were brutally killed and tortured there,” explains the local mayor, Anatoliy Fedoruk.Yablunska Street and the area around has been cleaned, spruced up and in some places rebuilt. But the Russians took over “almost every yard or house”, according to the mayor, who estimates the total cost of repair at €1.6bn (£1.4bn; $1.7bn). “Of course we don’t have this sum. But we are doing whatever we can to return people to their houses.”Image source, Matthew Goddard/BBCImage caption, Ludmila is anxious to move back into her new homeJust a few steps from Yablunska Street, Ludmila’s new home is still just a shell. The builders have promised to finish it by summer, but she hasn’t seen them for days. Homeless for two years, on top of her bereavement, Ludmila is anxious to move in. “I’m trying to cope, but my blood pressure is high, which it never was before the war,” she says, showing me around the building site. “I’m getting heart scans, signs of problems. It’s all from the stress. From the memories.”In 2022, I saw the burned-out wreck of Ludmila’s old home not long after the Russians had pulled out. The yard was still heaped with alcohol bottles and wrappers from their military ration packs. It was the rubbish of men who had shot Ludmila’s husband in the head when he surfaced for a moment from the cellar where the couple were hiding. She found Valeriy’s body later that night, face down on their porch.The investigation is still open, one of hundreds of suspected war crimes cases in Bucha. Ludmila was recently called in by police who had found new CCTV footage and hoped she might help identify the soldiers on film. Image caption, Ludmila’s burnt-out house in a photo taken two years ago”Maybe they can be charged in absentia. I know Russia will never hand them over,” Ludmila says, realistic about the chances of anyone being held to account for the killing. “Personally, I’d like to grab them by the throat and demand to know why they had to come here,” she says, suddenly animated. “They are scumbags.”Behind the white walls of St Andrew’s Church, where many were buried in a mass grave during the occupation, there is now a memorial wall of metal plaques. So far it displays 509 names. Some squares are still blank because there are more than 100 unidentified bodies at the town cemetery, unearthed from shallow graves all over Bucha and reburied. DNA samples were taken first, in the hope that someone would one day come looking for them. Other plaques on the memorial wall have no death date – only the month of March, when Bucha was under Russian occupation. Opposite is a sign that lists the dozens of people still missing. Among the names is Bogdan Kostarenko, whose wife Natalia I first met in 2022. I was investigating the killing of five men from Bucha whose bodies had been found beneath a children’s summer camp. Natalia’s husband had been taken away by Russian soldiers and she feared he might be one of the dead. He wasn’t.Image source, Matthew Goddard/BBCImage caption, More than 500 names are displayed on Bucha’s memorial wall”They took him to Belarus, then to Detention Centre Number Two in Bryansk [in Russia],” Natalia says, sharing her latest news – after months of trying, she finally traced Bogdan to a prison in Russia. Through other Ukrainians swapped for Russian POWs, she learned that he was in a facility in Tula, south of Moscow. “Russia has officially confirmed he’s a prisoner, but I had to find him through my own contacts,” she tells me. “They should just give the civilians back, but they don’t.”Bogdan retired from the army in 2019 with PTSD. As a civilian prisoner, Natalia fears his chances of being exchanged are slim, as only a few dozen non-combatants have been returned so far. “There are a lot of civilians from Bucha missing – people we know are in prison, but the Russians haven’t confirmed. At least they’ve admitted to having Bogdan, officially.”Natalia has heard nothing from her husband directly since he was taken. But she knows from others held in Bryansk that they were tortured. “They say it was really hard – they were not fed, they were badly beaten, including with electric shock and pipes,” she tells me. “Now I don’t know what else to do. I can’t get him freed. I can’t find any way to do it.”Natalia herself is ethnically Russian. Both her parents are from the country now holding her husband prisoner illegally and accused of abusing him. It was people like Natalia that Vladimir Putin used as his excuse for invading Ukraine. He claimed they needed saving from brutal treatment at the hands of a “Nazi” government in Kyiv.As we talk in the yard, children play football, laughing and shouting. Most of the pre-war population of Bucha has returned, including many who fled Ukraine as refugees. But Natalia worries things could deteriorate again. “You see what Putin’s up to, blaming Ukraine for the Moscow terrorist attack,” she tells me, referring to last month’s attack on the Crocus concert venue. “I think he wants a full war. Full mobilisation.”Image source, BBC SportAcross town, Ludmila is worried too, especially by the recent increase in Russian missile strikes. She keeps visiting her house to check on its progress and to be closer to her memories from before the occupation. She feeds Murka, the stray cat Valeriy once loved to photograph. Gardening distracts her when everything gets too much. “There’s such ruin, all over Ukraine! They’re rebuilding here in Bucha and that’s such joy. But there’s no peace, no stability.”Ludmila shows me purple crocuses and bluebells in neat rows and the green shoots of daffodils. Then she leads me past the porch where Valeriy was shot, through a wooden gate onto the plot of land where she’d had to bury him. “Look how many tulips are coming out!” Ludmila points towards the spot, now a neat flowerbed again. “It used to be so lovely here. We’ll soon have flowers again, all round the house.”Related TopicsWar in UkraineUkraineTop StoriesUkraine nuclear plant drone strike prompts warning over risksPublished2 hours agoBucha’s wounds still raw two years onPublished1 hour agoIsrael reduces troop numbers in southern GazaPublished6 hours agoFeaturesThe Papers: ‘Kyiv aid block’ warning and ‘run of a kind’Path of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipseMyanmar’s army massacred Rohingyas. Now it wants their help7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe comics legend lurking in a British basementIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?West faces ‘authoritarian’ alliance, says Nato headWhy these singer-songwriters are pop’s new breakout starsElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. Sounds simple, right?Fresh, surreal comedy from the mind of Lucia KeskinAttributioniPlayerThis family bonds over Race Across the WorldThese are the the things we love on the BBCAttributioniPlayerOne of the most talented bands to never make it…Why did trailblazers Microdisney fail to achieve the commercial success they deserved?AttributioniPlayerDid you know these scenes were filmed in… Glasgow?!Ali Plumb travels through the city’s silver screen sightsAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Manhunt after mum pushing baby in pram stabbed2Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?3Ukraine nuclear plant drone strike prompts warning4’Kyiv aid block’ warning and ‘run of a kind’5’Radiographer started crying during my cancer scan’6Probe after Boeing plane engine cover falls off7’He was one of us’: Memorial ride for Hairy Biker8Mozambique ferry disaster kills over 90 – officials9Ministers ‘caught by surprise’ over hate crime row10Israel reduces troop numbers in southern Gaza
[ad_1] A town known for its brutal Russian occupation is being cleaned up and rebuilt, but for many the emotional scars remain.
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaUkraine war: UN body urges restraint after Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant hitPublished1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsWar in UkraineImage source, ReutersBy Ian AikmanBBC NewsRussia and Ukraine must avoid actions that “jeopardise nuclear safety”, a UN watchdog has said, after a drone attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant.Russia said Ukraine was behind the attack, which it said injured three people. Ukraine has denied involvement.The giant Russian-held nuclear plant, with six reactors, is on the frontline of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.The UN’s atomic energy watchdog has repeatedly warned that attacking the plant could risk nuclear disaster.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a team of experts at Zaporizhzhia, confirmed “physical impact of drone attacks” at the plant, including at one of the reactors. The plant’s Russian-installed administration said radiation levels were normal and that there was no serious damage. The IAEA said the damage had not compromised nuclear safety, but it warned that “this is a serious incident with potential to undermine [the] integrity of the reactor’s containment system”.IAEA head Rafael Grossi specified there had been “at least three direct hits” against the plant’s “main reactor containment structures”.”This cannot happen,” he said. “No one can conceivably benefit or get any military or political advantage from attacks against nuclear facilities. This is a no go.”The Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest in Europe. Russian forces seized it shortly after launching their February 2022 full-scale invasion and have occupied it ever since. Both Russia and Ukraine regularly accuse each other of shelling the plant and risking a serious nuclear accident. Mr Grossi has repeatedly warned of the dangers posed to the plant by the conflict.Image source, ReutersImage caption, Russia has occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant since early 2022The plant’s Russian administration has said Ukraine’s armed forces were behind the attack, but Ukraine has denied the allegation. “Ukraine was not involved in any armed provocations on the site,” Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate spokesman Andriy Yusov told the Ukrainska Pravda news website. The plant is “illegally occupied by Russia,” he added. Mr Yusov accused Russia of endangering the nuclear facility, the civilian population and the environment by carrying out strikes on the plant itself. Last month the IAEA said its team of experts at the plant had heard explosions every day for a week. At the time, Mr Grossi said: “For more than two years now, nuclear safety and security in Ukraine has been in constant jeopardy. We remain determined to do everything we can to help minimise the risk of a nuclear accident that could harm people and the environment, not only in Ukraine.”Related TopicsWar in UkraineRussiaNuclear powerZaporizhzhia nuclear power plantUkraineMore on this storyMillion in Ukraine lose power after Russian attackPublished22 MarchRussia likely targeted Ukraine nuclear plant – ZelenskyPublished26 October 2023How risky is stand-off over Ukraine’s nuclear plant?Published21 November 2022Top StoriesIsrael reduces troop numbers in southern GazaPublished3 hours agoJeremy Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than everPublished17 hours agoManhunt after mum pushing baby in pram stabbed to deathPublished6 hours agoFeaturesPath of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipseWhere in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe comics legend lurking in a British basementIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?West faces ‘authoritarian’ alliance, says Nato headWhy these singer-songwriters are pop’s new breakout stars’A game of Jenga’: Inside the perilous Baltimore bridge clean-upElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. Sounds simple, right?Fresh, surreal comedy from the mind of Lucia KeskinAttributioniPlayerThis family bonds over Race Across the WorldThese are the the things we love on the BBCAttributioniPlayerOne of the most talented bands to never make it…Why did trailblazers Microdisney fail to achieve the commercial success they deserved?AttributioniPlayerDid you know these scenes were filmed in… Glasgow?!Ali Plumb travels through the city’s silver screen sightsAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Manhunt after mum pushing baby in pram stabbed2Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?3Probe after Boeing plane engine cover falls off4Speaker left ‘devastated’ by father’s death5’Radiographer started crying during my cancer scan’6’He was one of us’: Memorial ride for Hairy Biker7Former Wimbledon manager Kinnear dies aged 77AttributionSport8Hardest Geezer: Runner completes Africa challenge9Israel reduces troop numbers in southern Gaza10Post Office bosses earned millions despite scandal](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/10805/production/_133098576_ce42210bec1773f8224764191ab99438e77290580_90_2533_14251000x563.jpg)
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaIsrael ‘can handle’ any threat from Iran, says military chiefPublished1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockImage caption, Israel’s military has bolstered its troop numbers in preparation for a possible attackIsrael’s military has said it is prepared for any Iranian threat, as tension builds after Monday’s attack on an Iranian consulate in Damascus. Israel is widely believed to be behind the attack, which Iran said killed seven Revolutionary Guard officers. An Iranian official said on Sunday that Israel’s embassies were “no longer safe”, as it prepares a response.US and Israeli forces in the region have been put on high alert in anticipation of a possible attack.Reports in the US media suggest Iran’s retaliation could take place in the coming days. “The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] can handle Iran,” Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said in a televised statement. “We can act forcefully against Iran in places near and far.” Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran had a “legal and legitimate right” to respond to Monday’s strike.”The embassies of the Zionist regime are no longer safe,” he told Iran’s Isna news agency. He did not provide further detail as to what shape Iran’s response would take.Image source, ReutersImage caption, The Iranian embassy (left) does not appear to have been damaged in the strike on the next door consulate buildingIn a statement, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the defence establishment had completed preparations to respond to any possible scenario. The IDF has halted all leave for soldiers serving with combat units and called up reservists to bolster air defence.Israel has also blocked GPS signals across swathes of the country in order to disrupt missiles and drones. Media outlets in Israel have reported that some of the country’s embassies were evacuated over potential Iranian attacks. The BBC has not independently verified those reports and Israel has not confirmed them.In an apparent effort to prevent panic, a spokesman for the Israeli army said there was no need for people to buy generators, gather food or withdraw money.How might Iran seek to hurt Israel after general’s killing?Syria’s defence ministry said Israeli aircraft targeted the Iranian consulate building at about 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Monday.Syrian air defences shot down some of the missiles, but others made it through and “destroyed the entire building, killing and injuring everyone inside”, the ministry added.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that seven of its officers were killed in the strike, including Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Brig-Gen Mohammad Hadi Haji-Rahimi.Photos and videos from the scene showed smoke rising from the remains of the collapsed building. Hours after the strike, people in Tehran burned Israeli and US flags in protest. On the day after the attack, Ayatollah Khamenei said Israel would “regret this crime”, while President Ebrahim Raisi insisted it would “not go unanswered”.Israel and its closest ally, the US, have been anticipating an Iranian attack ever since. In the wake of the attack, the Israeli military said it did not comment on foreign media reports.But an unnamed senior Israeli official told Reuters news agency that those killed had “been behind many attacks on Israeli and American assets and had plans for additional attacks”. They also insisted that the embassy “was not a target”.This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Iranian consulate in Syria destroyed following deadly air strike.Israel has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of strikes in recent years on targets in Syria that it says are linked to Iran and allied groups which are armed, funded and trained by the Revolutionary Guards.Iran has said the guards were sent to Syria to “advise” President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the country’s civil war, but it has denied they have been involved in combat or established bases.Israel’s strikes have reportedly been stepped up since the start of the war in Gaza in October last year, in response to cross-border attacks on northern Israel by Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups in Lebanon and Syria.Iran has avoided direct confrontation with Israel during the conflict so far, but Monday’s attack is seen as a serious escalation.Related TopicsMiddle EastIsrael-Gaza warIsraelIranSyriaMore on this storyHow might Iran seek to hurt Israel after general’s killing?Published3 days agoGPS disabled as Israel raises alert over Iran threatPublished2 days agoIran vows to avenge Syria strike blamed on IsraelPublished5 days agoIran accuses Israel of killing generals in SyriaPublished5 days agoTop StoriesIsrael reduces troop numbers in southern GazaPublished1 hour agoJeremy Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than everPublished15 hours agoManhunt after mum pushing baby in pram stabbed to deathPublished4 hours agoFeaturesThe eclipse’s 4-minute window into the Sun’s secretsWhere in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe comics legend lurking in a British basementIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?Why these singer-songwriters are pop’s new breakout starsPath of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipse’A game of Jenga’: Inside the perilous Baltimore bridge clean-upElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. Sounds simple, right?Fresh, surreal comedy from the mind of Lucia KeskinAttributioniPlayerThis family bonds over Race Across the WorldThese are the the things we love on the BBCAttributioniPlayerOne of the most talented bands to never make it…Why did trailblazers Microdisney fail to achieve the commercial success they deserved?AttributioniPlayerDid you know these scenes were filmed in… Glasgow?!Ali Plumb travels through the city’s silver screen sightsAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?2Manhunt after mum pushing baby in pram stabbed3’Radiographer started crying during my cancer scan’4’He was one of us’: Memorial ride for Hairy Biker5Speaker left ‘devastated’ by father’s death6Hardest Geezer: Runner completes Africa challenge7Former Wimbledon manager Kinnear dies aged 77AttributionSport8Israel reduces troop numbers in southern Gaza9Man stabbed to death near Tottenham Hotspur Stadium10Post Office bosses earned millions despite scandal](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/1DA5/production/_133098570_b27535c77a1912e7c8437a08e4a2b012dac589310_175_5472_30781000x563.jpg)
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaIsrael’s military confirms ‘decline in forces’ in southern GazaPublished9 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Khan Younis has been devastated by Israel’s military campaignBy Lipika PelhamBBC NewsIsrael’s military said on Sunday that it was reducing its numbers of soldiers from southern Gaza, leaving just one brigade in the area.The military stressed a “significant force” would remain in Gaza.”This is another stage in the war effort”, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner told the BBC.The pull-out is being interpreted as tactical, rather than a sign the war may be moving closer to its end. Also on Sunday, Israel and Hamas said they had both sent delegations to Cairo to join fresh ceasefire negotiations.It is six months to the day since Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. Israel says that of 130 hostages still in Gaza, at least 34 are dead. More than 33,000 Gazans have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza since then, the Hamas-run health ministry says, the majority of them civilians. Gaza is on the brink of famine, with Oxfam reporting that 300,000 people trapped in the north have lived since January on an average of 245 calories a day.’War not over’Lt Col Lerner said troops would rotate out because the military had completed its mission in Khan Younis.Khan Younis has been under Israeli bombardment for months, and the city and surrounding area are largely destroyed.Lt Col Lerner said: “The war is not over. War can only be over when they [hostages] come home and when Hamas is gone.””It is a decline in the forces but there are more operations that need to be conducted. Rafah is clearly a stronghold. We need to dismantle Hamas’ capabilities wherever they are.”US National Security spokesman John Kirby said it appeared to be a “rest and refit” and “not necessarily… indicative of some coming new operation for these troops”.But later Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the troops were leaving to “prepare for their follow-up missions”.He said their achievements in Khan Younis were “extremely impressive”, adding that Hamas had ceased to function as a military organisation throughout Gaza.Israel has long warned of a planned ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. But international pressure for a ceasefire is mounting, and the US – Israel’s closest and most powerful ally – warned earlier this week that its ongoing support for the Gaza war is dependent on “specific, concrete steps” to boost aid and prevent civilian deaths.Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than ever Thousands of Israelis rally to demand hostage dealSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?Marking six months of the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “one step away from victory” but insisted there would be no ceasefire without the release of Israeli hostages.”The achievements of the war are considerable: we have eliminated 19 of Hamas’s 24 battalions, including senior commanders,” he said. Image source, EPAImage caption, Israelis have been marking six months since the 7 October attacks by HamasTens of thousands of Israelis rallied against Mr Netanyahu on Saturday, demanding a deal to free the hostages held in Gaza.Anti-government protesters were joined by hostages’ families.The rallies in Tel Aviv and other cities came hours after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered the body of hostage Elad Katzir.Organisers said the protest in Tel Aviv had drawn 100,000 people, while other counts put attendance at around 45,000. More demonstrations took place on Sunday evening, with thousands protesting in Jerusalem.This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Watch: Protesters demonstrate in Tel Aviv demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resignationRelated TopicsIsraelMore on this storyBowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than everPublished14 hours agoThousands of Israelis rally to demand hostage dealPublished14 hours agoSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?Published1 day agoTop StoriesIsrael reduces troops in southern GazaPublished9 minutes agoJeremy Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than everPublished14 hours agoManhunt after mum pushing baby in pram stabbed to deathPublished3 hours agoFeaturesThe eclipse’s 4-minute window into the Sun’s secretsWhere in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe comics legend lurking in a British basementIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?Why these singer-songwriters are pop’s new breakout starsPath of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipse’A game of Jenga’: Inside the perilous Baltimore bridge clean-upElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. 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![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaFears for Gazans as aid groups halt work over deadly Israeli strikePublished2 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, EPAImage caption, Israel’s military said the strike on World Central Kitchen’s convoy was a “grave mistake” and vowed to protect aid workersBy David Gritten & Mahmoud Elnaggar BBC News and BBC ArabicMany Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be wondering how they are going to feed their families after World Central Kitchen (WCK) paused its operations in response to the killing of seven of its aid workers in an Israeli air strike. Another US charity it works with, Anera, has also suspended work because of the escalating risks faced by its local staff and their families. Together, they were serving two million meals a week across the Palestinian territory, where the UN has warned that an estimated 1.1 million people – half the population – are facing catastrophic hunger because of Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of order.WCK’s decision to pause its work also led to the “freezing” of a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus, which the charity helped set up last month to increase the trickle of aid getting into the north of Gaza and avert a looming famine.The WCK convoy was hit on Monday night as it travelled south along the Israeli-designated coastal aid route, just after they had unloaded more than 100 tonnes of food from a barge at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah.That barge was part of a four-vessel flotilla that sailed back to Cyprus with 240 tonnes of supplies that could not be brought ashore in the wake of the strike. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned that “what happened to World Central Kitchen threatens the entire aid system” and had left it “on the brink”.Image source, @chefjoseandresImage caption, Before the strike, World Central Kitchen was providing about 350,000 meals across Gaza each dayWCK accused the Israeli military of a “targeted attack” on vehicles clearly marked with the charity’s logo and whose movements had been co-ordinated with Israeli authorities. The victims were British, Polish, Australian and Palestinian, and also included a dual US-Canadian citizen.The military’s chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, described the strike as a “grave mistake” that had followed “misidentification at night”.He also vowed to take “immediate action” to ensure that more was done to protect aid workers, including the immediate establishment of a new “humanitarian command centre” to improve co-ordination. “Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza,” he stressed.However, aid groups say they are not sure such promises will lead to meaningful changes. They also assert that this was not an isolated incident, with 196 Palestinian aid workers reportedly killed since the war began in October.Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and a former UN humanitarian chief, told the BBC that WCK was “among those who have the closest co-operation with the Israelis”, in terms of sharing information about their workers’ locations and planned movements.Before the strike, WCK was playing an increasingly prominent and important role in Gaza, with 400 Palestinian staff and 3,000 people working indirectly for it in its 68 community kitchens and distribution system. WCK has provided 12% of the 193,000 tonnes of aid from international organisations that had reached Gaza since October, according to data from Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body tasked with co-ordinating deliveries. However, UN agencies were responsible for 80% of the total. WCK’s founder, the chef José Andrés, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that it was “analysing the situation and how to keep doing the work we do”.Anera – which was providing 150,000 meals a day in collaboration with WCK – said it understood the consequences pausing its own work would have on Palestinians, but that its Palestinian staff had for the first time deemed the risk to their safety and that of their families “intolerable”.It said the charity’s logistics co-ordinator and his son had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Deir al-Balah in March, despite the fact that the co-ordinates of the shelter where they were staying had been provided to the Israeli military.”We’ve asked for explanation as to why that site was struck and we’ve received none,” Derek Madsen of Anera told the BBC. “These sites are known and so I think it is very difficult for us to understand how these strikes happen.”BBC VERIFY: What do we know so far?JEREMY BOWEN: The war is at a crossroadsWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: Facing danger to feed millionsCharity founder ‘heartbroken’ over workers’ deathsANALYSIS: Deadly strike shows aid workers’ protection in crisis, agencies sayPROFILES: Who were the seven aid workers killed in Gaza?Project Hope, another US-based organisation, paused its work for three days in solidarity with WCK and to “reassess the security situation as we prioritise our staff members’ safety”. Arlan Fuller, director of emergency preparedness and response, said in a statement sent to the BBC that its employees were deeply concerned by the deaths of the WCK team, and that the strike has raised significant doubts about the effectiveness of co-ordination with the Israeli military.For the people of Gaza, the suspension of WCK’s operations “means more famine, more dead children, more epidemic disease because people are so malnourished”, Mr Egeland warned. At least 27 children are reported to have died as a result of malnutrition since October, according to the World Health Organization.Mr Egeland urged Israel to start by opening the Karni and Erez border crossings with northern Gaza to allow aid convoys to drive there directly. Most aid convoys are currently forced to start at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom and Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossings with the south of Gaza and then pass through what the UN calls “high-risk areas”, mainly due to shooting and shelling or the breakdown in civil order.Cogat says Israeli forces have co-ordinated the entry of more than 500 lorries into the north over the past two months via those routes as well as a new gate and military road that runs south of Gaza City.Israel has also facilitated the now-suspended maritime corridor set up by WCK as well as airdrops of aid by Western and Arab countries. The UN says both are helpful but cannot replace the large-scale delivery of aid by land. The first WCK aid ship was carrying 200 tonnes of aid and took several days to reach Gaza. By comparison, a lorry can carry about 20 tonnes and the nearest Israeli container port is only a 40km drive from northern Gaza.A C-130 transport plane meanwhile has a maximum payload of 21 tonnes, but only about 40 airdrops have taken place so far and they are considered expensive, ineffective and dangerous for people on the ground. The UN says 159 lorry loads of aid crossed into Gaza by land each day on average between 1 and 28 March, and that the pre-war average was 500 lorry loads, including fuel.Cogat says the pre-war average only included 70 food lorries and that 140 entered each day during March. It insists there is no limit to the amount of food and other humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza and accuses UN agencies of failing to distribute aid effectively.Image source, ReutersImage caption, The Open Arms. a Spanish charity vessel, returned to Cyprus on Wednesday after the maritime aid route was suspendedThere was no apparent drop-off in aid crossing into Gaza following the strike on the WCK convoy, with 217 lorries transferred via Israel and Egypt on Wednesday and 179 food packages being airdropped, according to Cogat. But Nate Mook, who was chief executive of WCK until 2022, warned that the longer-term consequences could be “devastating” for Gazans because “we probably have not seen the last of the aid organisations to pull out”.Zawar Ali of International Medical Corps told the BBC that it was reconsidering its safety protocols and whether to restrict its workers’ movements. It had already decided to relocate its field hospital from the north of Rafah to al-Mawasi, an area to the west which the Israeli military has declared “humanitarian zone” but has still carried out strikes on what it says are Hamas targets. Dr Bashar Murad, the executive director of the Palestinian Red Crescent, said many of its paramedics were refusing to evacuate wounded and sick people from the north to the south in their ambulances due to the lack of safety guarantees, despite their protection under international law and co-ordination efforts by international organisations.Aseel Baidoun of Medical Aid for Palestinians said it had not suspended operations after a strike in January damaged a residential compound in al-Mawasi that housed the British charity’s local team and their families, injuring several people. But now, she added: “We really are scared of the security [situation].””If a foreigner with international immunity is bombed and killed, then what will they do to us?” Mohammed Aborjela, a Palestinian online content creator who launched the Youth of Gaza initiative to deliver aid after the war began, told BBC.He said Palestinian aid workers faced higher risks and greater challenges than their international colleagues, but insisted it would not stop him and his colleagues continuing their work. “The danger of not providing aid is no less important than the danger of being killed,” he added.Natalia Anguera of Action Against Hunger also said it would try to continue working despite “more and more challenging” conditions. “Most of our staff are… Palestinians. They are suffering themselves, but they also have a very strong and clear commitment to their humanitarian mandate. They want to go on delivering,” she told the BBC. She said the international community needed to push strongly for a humanitarian ceasefire because it was the only way that aid organisations would be able to scale up their response to the level required.Mr Egeland also stressed the importance of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which he said was “bigger than the rest of us combined” but was being “systematically undermined by Israel”.Israel accuses UNRWA of supporting Hamas, which triggered the war when its gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October last year. The agency has denied this, but in January it sacked nine of the 12 employees accused in an Israeli document of playing a part in the attacks.UNRWA called for a “complete reversal in policies” from Israel in response to Monday’s strike, including lifting the ban on it delivering aid to northern Gaza.Related TopicsIsrael-Gaza warIsraelPalestinian territoriesMore on this storyAid worker’s family criticises selling Israel armsPublished2 days agoBiden ‘outraged’ over Israel strike on aid workersPublished4 days agoWhat we know about Israeli strike on aid convoyPublished1 day agoTop StoriesJeremy Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than everPublished5 hours agoLive. Israelis demand hostage deal six months on from Hamas attacksPost Office bosses earned millions despite scandalPublished9 hours agoFeaturesThe eclipse’s 4-minute window into the Sun’s secretsThe Papers: ‘Gaza famine’ warning and Corrie ‘budgeting row’Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe singer-songwriters who are pop’s new breakout starsIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?Path of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipse’A game of Jenga’: Inside the perilous Baltimore bridge clean-upElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. 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