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s america. s washington confirms pause shipments of bonds to israel over concerns about military operations in southern gaza. the u.s. says no aid supplies have crossed into gaza. the president of china continues his european tour, making his stops in ties -- countries with strong ties to russia. ♪ macon. the u.s. has it the latest shipment of thousands of bonds to israel last week over concerns with military operations and rafah.

joe biden is opposed to a ground invasion in the southern city of gaza. most palestinians are already displaced from other parts of gaza. the u.s. still says it has not seen a plan from israel. military aid consisted of thousands of bonds. the u.s. is by far the largest contributor of military aid to israel. since 2009, the u.s. state department says it has provided israel with three point $4 billion in aid each year. president biden asked congress for $14 billion in emergency aid for israel. the congress did not agree on a package until april, when it passed legislation giving israel

$17 billion in military aid. the u.s. defense secretary told members of the senate that the department is now considering what happens with other shipments of bombs. >> we will continue to do what is necessary to ensure that israel has the means to defend itself. we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the contest of unfolding events in rafah. >> the u.s. said no aid has passed through the newly reopened a point and is really forces are still in control of the rafah crossing. the idf has ordered thousands of palestinians to leave eastern parts of the city. here is what one resident said.

>> we were sitting there normally an area that is outside the zone of israeli operations. we were in a safe area according to the map. suddenly the explosion happened. our neighbors house was gone and our house wasamaged internally. there werey civilians there, not militants. >> we can speak to our state department correspondent now who has been following the most recent developments. what is the u.s. saying about weapons shipments to israel? >> they have stopped one shipment, or paused it, last week. and is reviewing other weapons packages. what we understand is this was last week. a consignment of bombs. these are some of the most powerful munitions that western militaries have in their

arsenals. they can wipe out entire neighborhoods. israel has said it needs em after it goes after hamas. they have been used frequently and gaza, leading to a lot of criticism because of the high civilian death toll. it would look at other types of weapons. the administration has been saying consistently that it does not want to see a full-scale ground operation into rafah. this is a significant moment. this has predictability led to a backlash from republicans. we have seen mike johnson and mitch mcconnell write to the

president and say this is putting daylight between the u.s. and israel. they are very critical of that. there is more pressure on the president from both sides politically. it comes at a moment when i think the americans are desperately trying to stop a further incursion into rafah. >> there are airstrikes there as we have heard. what has been the impact? >> we have had this operation that the israelis have sent rolling into the area. significantly, the israelis have taken control of the palestinian side of the crossing. it has closed. we are now seeing humanitarian groups saying this is a disaster. it takes us back to the days of

the beginning of the war when you cannot get aid through to gaza. >> it was the signature achievement of the president after a couple of weeks. we were able to get rafah open. >> when it comes to the level of humanitarian assistance, these results are not acceptable. we saw israel take steps to improve this assistance.

this could not be repeated. >> all of this goes to a fundamental issue, which is who is in control on the ground and gaza? we are increasingly seeing it as a question. >> thank you for sharing that reporting. key services have been suspended after israel took over the border crossing. staff at a hospitalas abandoned the building and evacuated patients. the u.n. also says the main maternity hospital stopped admitting patients. for more on this humanitarian crisis, i spoke to the president of the u.n. general assembly. the una agency for lestinian

refugees said on wednesday that no aid is getting into gaza. the israelis have set that the aid crossing is open. what can you tell us about what a is getting into gaza right now and how concerned you are with the situation? >> i am very concerned about the situation. with access of aid into gaza. there are millions of people in a relatively small area in urgent need of aid and sport. based on the information available, it is clear that the aid that is getting into gaza is quite insufficient to meet the demand. this is a matter of grave concern because as you know,

recent reports have indicated that children are at risk of dying from hunger and malnutrition. >> just yesterday we had a conversation with unicef precisely about that. israel has said that the u.n. should be asked why there is so much surplus aid not getting into gaza. what they are suggesting is that the u.n. is not effectively delivering that aid. what is your response to that? >> that would be inconsistent with the working methods and with the urgency with which the u.n. attaches the delivery of aid. i am not familiar with these apparent delays. the u.n. prioritizes the aid and support getting to the people of gaza. we will see this reflected in both resolutions that have been

taken by the general assembly. in the context of the ongoing hostilities. the top priority has been to get aid to the people of gaza. the u.n. has no interest in denying the people of gaza the aid that they desperately need. >> i want to move onto another question, on friday they are expected to vote on a draft resolution recognizing that palestine is qualified to be given full membership and reconsider the matter favorably. can you tell us, will this about go ahead on friday? >> based on the schedule we have, it is expected that the boat would go on. >> if it would be approved, what would it change for palestinians? >> they would be in a better

position. i have to wait a see what the general assembly decides. if they decide that palestine should be a member of the general assembly, the impact of that would be determined that resolutions of the general assembly do not have the force of law. there would be no basis for informing the view if they were to determine that palestine qualifies for membship. it would have political weight. and moral weight. that would be the extent of the influence. >> we have heard the

secretary-general calling time and again for a cease-fire in order for the civilians in gaza to be adequately given aid. what is your message as negotiations continue on a possible cease-fire? >> my message is to reaffirm and reemphasize the position of the general assembly of the united nations. that a cease-fire is absolutely necessary to save lives and to stop the bloodletting. we have had more than enough. a cease-fire is absolutely necessary to save lives.

there is no doubt, in our view, the cease-fire is absolutely necessary. >> we will have to leave the conversation there. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> here in washington, police dispersed a pro-palestinian campus protest that lasted 13 days. police used pepper spray and made 33 arrest is a to be encampment at george washington university. in the netherlands, there was a riot shutdown at the university of amsterdam. the president of china is on the last leg of his european tour, arriving in hungary.

he is expected to discuss the future of chinese projects in hungary. they stressed the warmth of relationships between their countries. the prime minister said that the government in beijing is a severe friend. the serbian and hungarian governments have welcomes chinese investments. we have more from budapest. >> just behind me here you can hear the chanting of some of the chinese people who have come here to welcome their president in budapest this evening. they were brought up here in an organized way and they have been practicing chanting through the evening. this is the third and final leg of his visit to europe. he will be hoping to drive home some of his main messages.

do not be afraid of doing business or trade with china. it is to our mutual benefit. there will be none of the criticism that we heard from the president of the european coalition or from the french president. the hungarian prime minister has been seeking chinese investment with open arms and he has really reaped some of the benefits of that. two chinese car factories are already planned here and several vehicle battery and component factories have already been built or planned. many of these factories are chinese. they are associated with battery production. they are already planned or functioning here in hungary. none of the criticism from elsewhere.

a very warm welcome here and victor orban's chance to show the world the fruits of cultivating a close friendship with china. >> let's talk about that friendship with the former u.s. national security director. how strong a foothold does china have in these countries? >> they are probably two of the european countries that are friendliest toward china. it is no mistake or accident that president xi chose them as his first steps on the continent. there is no accident that there is that friend relationship because the lack of criticism goes both ways. there is more favoritism toward russia in these countries.

>> what do you think his aim is? >> i think when it comes to western europe and brussels, he wants to defuse concerns. and try to push europe toward a more independent foreign policy from the u.s. in other partners where they have friendly relationships, it is to demonstrate that china has that capacity. >> you mentioned overcapacity. you are referring to when the president of china met with president mccrone -- macron, who said china is flooding the markets. there are those concerns that china is trying to drive a wedge between france and the u.s..

from what you saw, is that happening? >> that is his theme. it is always a divide and conquer mentality. given how much power the transatlantic relationship can hold. i think he is unlikely to see much progress. first of all, it is a shared concern. for france, that is a huge threat to french farm -- carmakers and french prosperity, which relies heavily on car manufacturing is a major pillar of the economy. europe has really turned a corner on china. because of the lessons learned, very hard lessons on economic security.

now thinking about economic security when it comes to china. >> why do you think we're seeing this trip now? >> i think the main reason is he sees this opportunity. france is a very influential member of the european union. he is getting in their to try to defuse this. even though he is unlikely to achieve concrete progress. the other parts of the trip are an opportunity to play up the role of china in the world and the favorable things it has offer the world. >> i would ask you about a new report that shows most countries want alignment with the u.s. over china.

there is a significant net approval advantage over democratic leadership. what do you think that tells us? >> as we discussed before we went live, the range of this polling only covered two democratic groups. part of it might be more specific to who was in office. the biden administration has prioritize fortifying relationships with partners. and demonstrated treating them with more of a care toward what are the things we can do to build upon our relationship and promote cooperation. whereas the trump administration was very forthright about taking on challenges with allies as well as rivals.

when it came especially to trade issues. that might be part of what this poll is reflecting. i think the other part of it is the rhetoric. emphasizing the importance of those allies and partners where the trump administration was not of raid to call out issues when it came to european defense spending and really emphasizing his commitment to putting american interests first. >> very interesting conversation. thank you for joining us again. >> thank you. >> energy providers in ukraine are rning there could be power cuts across the country after another wave of russian drone and missile attacks. they targeted energy grids in seven regions. 80% of the country's power generating capacity has been damaged are destroyed. moscow insists that the energy created is a legitimate military target. we have more. >> this is an image posted

earlier by volodymyr zelenskyy of what appears to be an aftermath of a strike on a ukrainian energy facility. we don't know where this was taken but we can see fire services at the scene. ukraine says this was a massive attack across all of these regions. with 55 missiles and 17 drones launched by russia. one major private energy companies that three thermal power plants were hit. they did not specify the extent of the damage. there have been waves of strikes on ukraine's energy infrastrucre. this map shows a tax have verified in blue and reported attacks in red. these attacks are across 14 different regions of ukraine. some of these locations have been targeted multiple times. here's a picture we verified

earlier of significant damage to a major thermal power plant in northern ukraine. they said they were completely destroyed as a result of russian shelling. we have verified damage at 12 energy facilities the spring. at some points, damage is visible long after the attack happened. here is an image of late april. as you can see here, well over a month after the attack, the damage to the roof is still visible. russia has carried out frequent and widespread attacks on the infrastructure since the beginning of the war. this spraying saw a change in tactics. russia is now aiming at figure -- bigger targetlike power plants. one energy expert i spoke to

said the russians are trying to plunge ukraine into darkness, undermining its defense capabilities. the national energy company said power cuts are possible throughout ukraine as early as this evening. >> finally, malaysia says it will start giving orangutans as gifts to major trading partners who buy palm oil. it hopes to generate the same goodwill that china does with its panda diplomacy. this comes as concerns over forests being chopped down to make room for palm oil plantations. the focus should be on protecting orangutans in their natural habitats. that is our program. you can find more on our website. to see what we are working on at any time, check us out on your social media sites.

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wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. xfinity internet. made for streaming. that's thursday on the pbs newshour. i'm geoff bennett. tonight on the newshour, the u.s. pauses a shipment of bombs to israel over concerns about a