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brook: these are people who are trying to change the world. startups have this energy that energizes me. i'm thriving by helping others everyday. people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". ♪ anchor: i am in washington and this is bbc world news america. 24 hostages freed from gaza in exchange for palestinian prisoners as the guns fall silent for the first time in seven weeks. >> we are, this is just a happy moment, really. it feels like a breath of fresh

air. anchor: the united nations says 130 seven trucks delivered humanitarian aid to gaza as part of the deal. it is black friday, but will deals were shoppers back in a tough economic climate? we will take a look. ♪ anchor: hello and welcome to world news america. it has been a day -- in the middle east as 24 hostages were released from captivity in gaza and dozens of palestinian prisoners were freed from israeli jails. for the first time in seven weeks of war, the guns fell silent and the skies were clear over gaza, as the high-stakes deal opened a four-day pause and fighting allowing the exchange of hostages and prisoners. 13 israeli hostages were released and the youngest two

years old and the eldest 79. separately several thai and filipino nationals were freed and turned over to red cross after crossing the rafa border with egypt and some have arrived at hospitals under being reunited with their families. israel released in exchange dozens of women and children held in prisons in the west bank and the united nations says 137 trucks delivered aid gaza today by far the greatest number since the conflict began as part of the deal israel agreed with hamas meticulously planned in a negotiated, and -- relatives of hostages. >> i know that family members of the kids coming back home now. i can't believe it. it is so so happy to know that they are here on israeli territory. i feel as if part of my family came back. i really think many israelis feel the same.

i really hope we get to see them back too really really soon. this is such a blessed moment. anchor: the united states played a major part in securing the cease-fire deal and president biden said it will not stop until all the hostages are home. pres. biden: today has been the product of hard work and weeks of personal engagement. in the moment hamas kidnapped these people i with my team have worked around-the-clock to secure their release. we saw the first results of this effort with the release of two american hostages in late october followed by the release of two israeli hostages. i have consistently pressed for a pause in the fighting for two reasons metoo accelerate and expand humanitarian assistance into gaza and two, to facilitate the release of hostages. anchor: joining us now from jerusalem is our correspondent. what can you tell us about the freed hostages? i understand a press conference

has been held recently. correspondent: that is right, because some of the hostages released, and these are the children and their mothers so four children, and also a grandmother, have been taken, flown by israeli military helicopter to a hospital close to tel aviv and taken there. there has been a news conference in the last few minutes where the director of that hospital said that they are in good physical condition, and they are now undergoing a further medical and emotional evaluation. we saw some of these extraordinary pictures as the red cross jeeps passe the rafa borderd crossing exiting gaza bringing an end to seven weeks of captivity for these hostages, and the first signs are that they appear to be in a pretty good healthy state. for example, we saw one of the elderly women waving to people

outside as the car crossed. so now those checks are taking place in the hospitals. the 13 israeli hostages are being reunited with their families. there are also the thai nationals, a similar number in the filipinos in israel as well. and on the palestinian side, the release of 39 palestinians held in israeli jails have been released, some into the occupied west bank and others into occupied east jerusalem where they are being reunited with their families. anchor: does the cease-fire looked to be holding as far as you can tell? correspondent: it has been holding since no one -- dawn. there were a couple of stray shells in the first hour or two of the cease-fire. the other slightly worrying issue is what is happening on the ground and points of gaza because the israelis said they

described what they described as cease-fire lines in the north of the gaza strip. they said in the run up to this that they would not permit palestinians who tried to return home to the north of gaza, they would not permit them to cross up line they have declared that is splitting gaza strip effectively in two. what we saw today our surveys trying to get to the north and israelis firing at them with live ammunition. two palestinians were killed. more were wounded as well. and that gives you a sense of the dangers on the ground, what palestinians are having to go through, ordinary civilians,, but also the sheer fragility of the cease-fire. this at the end of day one. there are three days to go. it can be extended for a further five days. but of course there are many any things that go wrong. anchor: indeed. all right. thank you for that.

for more on the hostage and prisoner exchange and the dramatic events of the day, here is our correspondent. correspondent: after dark, a convoy of vehicles crossing from gaza into egypt. a glimpse of the hostages inside on the road to freedom. a number where neighbors. their ordeal lasted almost 50 days. among those freed, a mother and daughter, seen here in a family birthday video. amelia in blue is six years old. she and her mother danielle now back on home soil. also freed, a cancer survivor who loves knitting sweaters for her grandchildren. ♪

and in the heart of tel aviv, a time for celebration. ♪ many israelis feel connected to the hostages, their faces have been everywhere for six weeks. there is collective relief that at least some have been freed. [applause] [singing] correspondent: but for others the waiting continues. a circle of women singing and remembering. they are friends and relatives of a person taken by hamas near the gaza border. they know that he will not be home soon. his cousin has mixed emotions today. >> when i will see those hostages back here in israel, i

will be very happy for their families and for them. but, very happy for them, really, but we also need to remember that it is only the beginning and 12 or 13 hostages that will be released today hopefully, and 50 total in the next four days, is less than a quarter. correspondent: in gaza, streets bustling once again after the cease-fire took effect. families going to look for food or check if their homes are still standing. many here are hoping that there will be peace for longer than four days. >> we hope the cease-fire will be extended. today is the first day we woke up without bombing.

without being terrified. with nothing to fear. correspondent: aid trucks are finally reaching gaza here at hundreds will go in each state while the cease-fire lasts, but both israel and hamas are warning that the truce is temporary. anchor: the red cross was instrumental in the hostage handover. earlier i spoke with the head of the international committee of the red cross delegation in new york and the permanent observer to the united nations who described more for us. thank you for joining us. what can you tell us about the condition of the hostages that were freed today? >> thank you for having me. we were able to facilitate the release of 24 hostages today, after six weeks of them being unable to connect with their

families, to be visited, and to even knowing in which conditions they were held, so we are looking forward to hearing from them being reunited with their families and being taken care of, finally. anchor: when your colleagues collected them, did they need medical intervention at that point? >> we had one daughter accompanying -- dr. accompanying our colleagues for the release. that person is extremely experienced with regards to that type of operation and has been obviously providing the first step but we know that the transfer through egypt to the israeli authorities involve medical treatment and care that was much longer and adequate. anchor: but broadly speaking as far as you are aware they were in relatively good condition considering what they have been through? >> i think that ring a hostage

for six weeks in those conditions definitely had a toll on them. it is difficult to assess right now and go into details, however, i am pretty sure that the relief felt was definitely an element that kept them going -- and their families. anchor: this is a multi-day operation. what can you tell us will happen over the remaining days? >> it is indeed a multi-day operation and today was the first day of what we consider a success, and was critical that this first day of operation continues and is developing into a positive experience, a good timed operation that facilitated the release of 24 hostages, and on the other hand facilitate the release of 33 detainees back to

their families on both sides, and we really look forward to continue this operation tomorrow, the day after, and as long as it takes until we release all of the hostages and bring them safely to their families. anchor: and speaking of the palestinian prisoners who were being held in israeli jails, women and children, what do you know about the condition of those individuals that you also help to facilitate their return? >> we have been visiting israeli jails for years. now we have regular visits to ensure that they are treated as per adequate standards. we have been facilitating regularly family visits from the west bank and jerusalem to the detainees coming from those areas. and we have been advocating as well for the humane treatment in the adequate detention, and

facilitate the release as well whenever it was necessary. anchor: what sort of conditions with they have been living in in the israeli jails? >> i cannot go into the details of those conditions. those are discussions we would hold directly with israeli authorities. what i would say is that it has been our priority to ensure that they are adequate lee cared for and the rights are upheld throughout their detention period. anchor: the other element of the deal was the significant amount of humanitarian aid allowed in. what can you tell us about that? >> absolutely. this is a critical side of the agreement and we are relieved as well to see the number of trucks bringing this much-needed humanitarian assistance, increasing, and more is needed and the needs are devastating and we have an understanding of the people who really need the basic food, shelter, medical treat and come safety above all obviously to be able to access

it on a daily basis, so we are happy to see that this humanitarian assistance going up. now faced with the amount of destruction and the collapse of essential services, we need this humanitarian assistance to really continue throughout the long run striker to be able to meet all of the needs of millions of people in the gaza strip. anchor: so will be a going and over these few days make any discernible difference then? >> well, it will, absolutely. it is critical right now but medical items enter into gaza in an adequate rhythm to cope with the number of medical procedures -- facilities that have been closed down and not able to function due to lack of electricity, supplies, or doctors as well who are not able to treat their patients. this, the winter is coming as

well and people regardless whether or not they are injured they also need adequate clothing, blankets, mattresses as well to be able to sleep not on the floor, but really in basic conditions. anchor: ok. well, we will leave it there for the moment. the head of the icrc delegation new york, thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. anchor: oscar pistorius is said to be released from prison in south africa on parole in january serving a 13-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend in 2013. our correspondent reports now from pretoria. correspondent: oscar pistorius was a global superstar prior to the murder and won multiple gold medals in the paralympics and competed against non-disabled athletes at the london 2012 olympics.

the bottom half of both his legs was amputated before he was one year old that did not stop him from becoming a highly successful paralympic athlete. his trial in his downfall captivated the world. he denied having intentionally murdered her and claimed that he bought an intruder was in his house and that she was still in bed. he was convicted at trial of culpable homicide, a lesser offense than murder but, the supreme court of south africa convicted him of murder in 2015 and expressed considerable doubts about his account and said he had given so many different accounts it was difficult to know exactly what he was claiming about why he had shot her. the parole hearing to date was his first attempt at receiving parole. a hearing earlier in the year was aborted after a miscalculate in about the time he had served in prison. last month the constitutional court said that he had served

half of his sentence adds that paved the way for the hearing today. a family friend read a statement from the mother of the woman shot. >> i am not convinced that oscar has been rehabilitated. rehabilitation requires someone to engage honestly with the full truth of his crime and the consequences thereof. nobody can claim to have remorse if they are not able to engage fully with the truth. if someone does not show remorse, they cannot be considered to be rehabilitated. correspondent: oscar pistorius will leave the prison behind me on january 5. anchor: here in the u.s. new york governor andrew cuomo is facing a civil lawsuit filed by his former employee, the woman who alleges he consistently subject her to sexual harassment. lawsuit is one of a recent

series filed under the adult survivors back in new york where state law allows such cases to be filed in court even if the statute of limitations have run out. in a separate update, p diddy has been hit with two new lawsuits alleging sexual assault in one of the lawsuit seen by the bbc the plaintiffs is the assaulter plays during a date with the star. a spokesman said the allegations were made up for financial gain. he recently settled a different sexual assault suit brought by his former girlfriend. well now let's turn to some important news from around the world. world food program has warned that afghan families being forced to return from pakistan will struggle to feed themselves through the winter. thousands are rushing to the border as pakistan mandates that all .1 7 million afghans living in the country illegally must leave and islamabad has so far not this into calls from refugee agencies to reconsider its deportation plans.

the irish prime minister has said that protesters in the capital of dublin overnight were motivated by hate and brought shame on ireland. 34 protesters were arrested and several officers were injured in poilce vehicles and buses destroyed in shops looted. violence flared up after a knife attack outside a school on thursday. at say the motive is still not clear. -- authorities save the motive is still not clear. today is black friday which means bargain hunters will be looking to find the best deals in time for christmas and the national retail federation the nations largest retail trade group expects shoppers was been more this year than last year, but even with the discounts on offer of a winter are expected to significantly reduce their spending due to economic uncertainty. the u.s. consumers have been hit by soaring inflation and rising interest rates. holiday spending is expected to rise. it has been at its lowest patent five years and even retailers are strained as most businesses

have skipped seasonal hiring. to discuss all of this i'm joined by a business reporter with the new york times. jordan, thank you for joining us. so how is black friday shaping up this year? is it comparable to previous years? >> we have seen an increase in spending this year over last year on the very popular items you would expect, clothing, shoes and toys but a really important element of this is that black friday is just a concept now. americans have had access to black friday level sales for weeks at this point, so it is not the same type of emphasis it used to be for returns as it has in past years. anchor: i was going to ask you that, how dramatic the discounts are that are available on the state and will things be more expensive next week or the week after? >> yeah, so all retailers know that they if they're going to discount they have to come out once a day discounting because people expect it, but over the

past few years you have seen people say that these discounts are not what they remember. they're not the 2008 level, so in stores today, you see the 40%, 30% levels. it's not like the doorbusters sales that people expect because retailers are trying to space out some of those promotions. they have noticed that because people are feeling sticker shock and we have been dealing with inflation for more than a year that people are really motivated to spend when they see a sale and they kind of hold back when they do not. anchor: what impact have we seen in recent years cyber monday on all of that? has it taken the peak out of the spending that we might've seen to date? >> yes, it has helped to plateau that spending even everyone pretty much calls it black friday cyber monday weekend, a four-day expense that elongates the selling period. anchor: what about factors like rising interest rates, still significant, if slowing

inflation, and the return of payments on student debt pause during the pandemic? what impact will both have? >> yeah, i talked to a handful of consumers about all those very things and how they have been approaching the holiday season. for some people in their late 20's and early 30's who have a lot of student loans, they saved their christmas shopping will be smaller, especially if they have parents helping them pay off the loans that means the family shopping will be smaller. i spoke with one best friend pair in minneapolis and one of them said that she buys gifts throughout the year, smaller gifts or she can stay within her budget. another one splurges. so i think we will see that divergence between how people are approaching spending. it's never a question of if americans will shop for christmas. we love shopping. we always want to give gifts, especially if you have kids during the time, but it's a matter of how much they are spacing it out and how much they are spending. anchor: traditionally there was

people preparing for christmas or saving for the holiday season beginning right after one holiday season starting that in january. has that been evidenced as well given the cost-of-living crisis that has struck in the u.s. and globally? >> yeah i think people, you're definitely hearing about planning our people looking for discounts, even january, if you can help it. so you are just coming you are seeing people's calendar shift to align with what makes sense for their budget, compared to the pandemic when americans had more savings and were spending across all categories. this year, people are being a lot more strategic, so less big-ticket items, of thinking about the appliances, couches, smaller things,, because that just makes more sense now. anchor: ok. thanks for joining us on this black friday. >> thank you for having me.

anchor: now before we go the world's biggest iceberg which has been stuck to the ocean floor for more than 30 years is on the move from antarctic waters. it' area is more than three times the size of new york city, about 1500 square miles and in recent months that iceberg has been drifting rapidly and is now about to sweep towards the south atlantic. remember you can find more about all the days news on our website bbc.com. thank you so much for narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

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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. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. nick: good evening. i'm nick schifrin. geoff bennett and amna nawaz are away. tonight on the newshour, finally free. the first set of israeli and foreign hostages and palestinian prisoners are released during a four-day pause. >> i emphasize to you, the families, and to you, the citizens of israel, we are committed to the return of all our hostages. this is one of the goals of the war. nick: then, parents of young athletes who suffered repeated head injuries speak out about the risks they wish they had known earlie