Newshour

The UN human rights office is warning that repeated Israeli attacks on hospitals in Gaza raise serious concerns about war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Also in the programme: After South Korea's deadliest plane crash, an aviation safety expert calls on regulators to be more pro-active; Pitt and Jolie agree a divorce settlement, seemingly bringing to an end one of the longest and most contentious splits in Hollywood history.

And we'll be dedicating the second half of this programme to a selection of the newsiest moments of 2024.

(Photo: Sila's father, Mahmoud Fasih, carries her tiny body to be buried. Credit: BBC)

Winter's bitter cold is taking a terrible toll in Gaza. In the past week alone, six babies have perished from hypothermia and with hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians living in tents, and temperatures expected to drop even further, the UN Children’s agency is warning more children’s lives are at risk. Unicef, like all aid agencies, says they continue to face obstacles on bringing life-saving aid into Gaza. Israel blames Hamas, accusing it of stealing the aid.

Also in the programme: Scientists claim to have detected which volcano erupted in 1831, causing catastrophic weather which led to widespread crop failures and devastating famines; and our look back at the reporting highlights of 2024.

(Photo: People pray next to the bodies of two Palestinian babies who died of hypothermia at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on 29 December 2024. Credit: Reuters/Ramadan Abed)

Tributes are being paid to the former US president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jimmy Carter, who has died at the age of 100.

He helped broker a peace accord between Egypt and Israel, but his time in office also saw a struggling US economy and a disastrous attempt to free American hostages seized in Iran.

Also on the programme: the president of Trinidad and Tobago has declared a state of emergency across the Caribbean nation; and a study finds that a single cigarette can take 20 minutes off a smoker’s life expectancy.

(Photo: Former US President Jimmy Carter gives the media an update on his recent cancer diagnosis at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 20 August 2015. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The former US President Jimmy Carter - who came to politics after a successful career as a peanut farmer – is credited with bringing peace between Egypt and Israel for which he received a Nobel prize. We hear from those who worked with him and those who prepared catfish suppers for the late president.

(Photo: Former President Carter holding peanuts in a field. Credit: Jimmy Carter Library/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Palestinian officials say seven people have been killed in an Israeli strike on a hospital in the centre of Gaza City. The Hamas authorities say other people were seriously injured in the attack on al-Wafaa hospital -- one of the last remaining medical facilities in the Gaza Strip. Israel said the strike was aimed at Hamas fighters and the building hit was no longer a hospital. We speak to the head of a group of Israeli doctors campaigning to stop Israel’s attacks in Gaza.

Also in the programme: Georgia’s outgoing president vows to defend democracy; and the latest controversy over the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral.

(Picture: Damage is seen after an Israeli strike on al-Wafaa hospital, according to the Palestinian civil defence. Credit: Reuters)

A plane carrying 181 people has crashed on landing at an airport in Muan County, South Korea. Officials say they believe nearly everyone on board has died. Two survivors have been found, both flight staff who were rescued from the wreckage and taken to hospital.

Also in the programme: Protests as Georgia's swears in a new president; and a look back at Vladimir Putin's 25-year-stint as Russian leader.

(Picture: Scene of a plane crash at Muan International Airport, South Korea. Credit: EPA)

A former advisor to the party of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to Newshour. It follows the strike on a Yemeni airport on Thursday which was carried out by Israel. The head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom, earlier told the BBC that Israel should have known he was in Sanaa International Airport when the missile struck and says the site should not have been hit.

Also on the programme: Russian President Vladimir Putin apologises over a passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan but does not officially acknowledge Russia’s responsibility; and chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen quits a tournament after being told he can’t wear jeans to play.

(Photo: An airport staff member stands beside shattered windows at Sanaa airport, a day after Israeli airstrikes targeted the airport, 27 December 2024. Credit: YAHYA ARHAB/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The head of the World Health Organisation has told the BBC that it was public knowledge he was in Yemen on Thursday when Israel launched airstrikes on Houthi targets. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the main target, the International Airport in Sanaa was a civilian facility and should not have been hit.

Also in the programme: Taliban forces from Afghanistan are reported to have clashed with Pakistan's army on their border as tensions between the two countries grow; the phenomenon of mass violent attacks in China; and a new BBC documentary about Maria Callas, one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century and why her amazing talent didn't last longer.

(Photo: Dr Tedros. Credit: Getty Images)

Houthis vow to continue attacking Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians after Israeli air strikes on Yemen. We ask the US envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, where this escalation could lead.

Finnish police have boarded a ship which they believe was operating as part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet. The Lithuanian defence minister, Dovilė Šakalienė, tells Newshour she wants to see additional US sanctions on Russia.