Israeli army says Gaza offensive must be stepped up

The head of the Israeli army, General Herzi Halevi, told soldiers that Hamas was beginning to disintegrate and that Israel needed to ‘press harder’. The UN World Food Programme is warning that Gaza is ‘on the brink’ and that half of the population may be starving.

Also on the programme: the row over a controversial scheme to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda that is engulfing the UK government; and a new album shows off the rich cultural and musical heritage of one of Iran's poorest provinces.

Joining Paul Henley in the studio to discuss all this and more are Laurie Goering, a London-based journalist and climate editor at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Christopher Sabatini, senior research fellow for Latin America at the Chatham House think-tank.

(Picture: Israeli soldiers in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, Dec 9 2023 Credit: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS)