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>> people need to be secure that freedom is secure and strong enough. trina: ukraine's president makes another visit to washington to make his case for support as the deal is held up on capitol hill. israel has recovered the bodies of two more hostages as its strikes on the gaza strip continue. >> hello and welcome to world news america. the ukrainian president is in the u.s. in an effort to win support for an aid package he says is crucial to this country's war effort. the pentagon has $4.4 billion worth of weapons left to send, a fraction of what ukraine says they need. without congressional approval,

they cannot send more. biden has requested $6.4 billion, but republicans say it includes border security. while it sets aside $14 billion for that purpose, republicans want harsher immigration laws, too. democrats say they cannot accept requests that echo former president trump's border policy. pres. biden: congress needs to pass supplemental funding to ukraine before they break for holiday recess, before they give putin the greatest christmas gift they could possibly give him. because we have seen what happens when dictators do not pay the price for the damage, death and destruction they cause, they keep going when no price is paid. a threat to america, the u.s. and the world will only keep

rising if we do not act. i intend to act. caitriona: let's go to the white house were president zelenskyy and president biden are giving a press conference together. pres. biden: nearly two years later for ukraine to be standing strong and free is great. putin has failed to subjugate ukraine, they have defied his will at every turn area backed by the strong and unwavering support of the u.s. and our allies, and partners in more than 50 nations. and europe and the indo pacific. ukraine will emerge from this war proud, free and firmly rooted in the west unless we walk away. the american people can and should be proud of the part they played in supporting ukraine's success. we will continue to supply

ukraine with critical weapons as long as we can including $200 million i just approved today for critically needed equipment, additional air defenses, artillery and ammunition. without supplemental funding we are rapidly coming to an end to our ability to help ukraine to respond to the demands they have. we must, must prove putin wrong. the u.s. and congress must, as i asked last week, it is stunning we have gotten to this point. we need to fully appreciate how this is being viewed around the world, and russia. russian loyalists in moscow celebrate when republicans voted to block ukraine aid last week. a host of a kremlin-run show

literally said "well done, republicans. that is good for us." the host of a kremlin-run show said "well done, republicans. that is good for us." if you are being celebrated by russian up again this -- russian propagandaists, you may want to consider what you are doing. today ukraine's freedom is on the line, but if we do not stop putin, it will endanger the freedom of everyone almost everywhere. putin will keep going and would aggressors everywhere will be emboldened to take what they can by force. mr. president, i will not walk away from ukraine and neither will the american people. a clear bipartisan majority of people across the u.s. and congress support your country.

they understand as i do that ukraine's success and the ability to deter aggression in the future are vital to security for the world large. i have repeatedly made clear from our first day in office we also need ukraine to make changes to fix the broken immigration system and we need congress to make changes to fix broken immigration system at home. my team is working with senate democrats and republicans defined a bipartisan compromise in terms of changes of policy and provide resources to secure the border. compromise is how democracy works. i am ready and offered compromise already. holding ukraine funding hostage in an attempt to force an extreme republican agenda is not how it works. caitriona: president biden there along with president zelenskyy

holding a press conference at the white house. let's speak to our correspondent at the white house. we heard president biden say, i will not walk away from ukraine and neither will the american people, but how is president zelenskyy and his message received today on capitol hill? reporter: for president zelenskyy standing with president biden is the easy bit because he does not need to convince president biden to support ukraine. but talking to republican senators and lawmakers has been difficult. we were at the capital earlier when he met with all senators and made the plea to them to pass this package, give money to ukraine. we talked to a few senators, and they were on the same page. we back ukraine, we support zelensky, -- zelenskyy, but we want border security changes.

we care about our security before we care about ukraine's. it is a stalemate. there is no indication any republican is ready to change their minds. even if they do get the 60 they need they still need a simple majority passed in the house of representatives. there is no sign zelenskyy has changed in the minds of any republicans. caitriona: president biden saying the ability of the u.s. to give aid to ukraine is rapidly coming to an end. what timeline is on this? reporter: it is unknowable. president biden wants this done before christmas, but mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader has said, there is no way that will happen. he said the only way a deal will be struck is if democrats take

on board the changes republicans want when it comes to the asylum system, border security controls. many democrats, rep -- progressive once say, it is inhumane, there are no compromises. i want to give you something that eric schmitt, a republican on the far right of the party said to us. he said these showdowns happen in washington all the time. said this is not like that this time. he said the border issue is something they are deadly serious about and there will be no budging on it. in terms of what happens next, it is unknowable. it is hard to say what the timeline is in terms of getting ukraine the support that zelenskyy wants. caitriona: one of the set pieces of president zelenskyy's visit

was meetings with members of the senate. i spoke with senator kramer earlier. having listened to president zelenskyy, did he persuade you that the u.s. should keep giving support to ukraine? sen. kramer: he did an excellent job making his case. i do not know if there is new information necessarily, but he didn't excellent job outlining not only why it is important u.s. support ukraine, why it is in our interest, which we could elaborate on, which he did in english, a little unusual, but very effective. he did a good job answering the senators questions about what the game plan is, how can you be successful and what would be -- what would happen if you did not get assistance from the u.s.. what about europe and nato, are

they pulling their weight? where he provided a comfort level for a lot of us, they do have a plan for winning. he that and made a compelling case that this is not a stalemate or lost cause, but a country both willing and able to fight and win against a more -- a much larger enemy if they have the tools and aid to do that. it was compelling in that sense. i do not know if he persuaded anybody not already supportive. if there is somebody on the bubble, it was persuasive. for people who are supportive, it hardened that support. we know ukraine's challenge in

the u.s. senate is more about our own internal national security, and the context this bill takes on rather than just support for raine. caitriona: would you like to see the bill separated and keep support for ukraine to itself and deal with the border security issue separately? sen. cramer: i would not. we need border security really badly. so far the wte house and democrats do not want border security. they seem comfortable with a wide border -- wide open border and 12,000 people coming over illegally every day. for us, the leverage for republicans who want to secure the southern border is the ukraine deal. something the democrats seem to want badly. though i am not sure they are willing to negotiate in good faith yet to get that.

this bill is not just about ukraine and the southern border it is also about israel and our own munitions and stockpiles, which are important. our industrial base and in taiwan and the pacific. it is a u.s. package, but should be talked about in the same context and has to include the southern border. caitriona: will you vote in favor of this bill? sen. cramer: if we get the type of language and enforcement mechanisms in the bill for our southern border, i would be enthusiastic about voting for it. i am not willing to give up the leveraged to get national security for america and put our interest secondary to another country's.

caitriona: do you think members should sit through christmas to get that done? the biden administration is saying time is running out on the ukraine element. sen. cramer: it is possible, but i think we need better negotiators on the democratic side. the president himself has to weigh in, tell his base -- by the way, i think half the democrats in the senate would gladly vote for border security. to this point they are captive to a radical base and the white house. if joe biden would say, i am taking over negotiations, let's secure our border, we will change asylum laws -- by the way, does not cost more money, it is just a change in enforcement and policy. caitriona: you are prepared to sit in through christmas to get that done? sen. cramer: if the president

gets involved, we could have it done by tomorrow morning. if he does not and allows this to continue, we will probably vote on a bill that will not pass, then we go home for christmas, and hopefully he can think harder about his in action and take it up first thing next year. caitriona: senator kevin cramer, republican from north dakota, thank you for joining us on bbc news. president zelenskyy's visit was aimed at winning over republicans. the gop says the ball is squarelyn the democrats' court. i put that to chris coons, a democrat close to joe biden. do you think he said what your republicans colleagues needed to hear to persuade them to vote to pass the funding to continue to support ukraine? sen. coons: president zelenyy made a compelling case today. he returned several months after

he previously made the same case. that without our continued support we will have difficulty getting our 50 other allies and partners to contue their support and in the end, ukraine would fall to russian aggression. unfortunately most of my colleagues are collecting -- connecting an unrelated issue, border security and the u.s. president biden said he is willing to take significant action to address our border security issues and his supplemental request included more than $13 billion to hire more border patrol agents, strengthen physical inspections at our border and address our asylum backlog. my hope is that now that we have clarity on the issues that republicans and democrats in the senate can come together and pass this supplemental. it is urgently needed. caitriona: are democratic senators willing to go further

than previously on issues around border security republicans are looking for? sen. coons: yes, it is important to draw a clear distinction between proposals our former president is making on the campaign trail, to return to a ban on muslims coming into the u.s., to use our national guard inappropriately, to screen people and deport folks not here with documentation, to contrast those proposals and a return to more extreme anti-immigrant actions of the previous administration, with what president biden put on the table with what i think we need to do to get the vote for the supplemental. i think there is room. at least 30 senators in both caucuses willing to support ukraine, fight humanitarian assistance, support israel and come to a common agreement on the border. we have little time. we should not be leaving for the holidays until we have this

resolved and passed. caitriona: you are prepared to sit through christmas if need be? sen. coons: that is my preference. we vote as a body of 100 whether to leave or not. i spoke up in our caucus meeting today over the importance to continue to work, not go home early. i know the house is contemplating going out of session as early as tomorrow. my hope is that both houses of congress will stay in session until we address these pressing issues. around the world, whether it is vladimir putin or xi jinping or iranians or hamas, they are looking at whether the u.s. is a reliable partner and ally's support ukraine in their fight against russiand iranian drones, to support israel in their fight against hamas, to support our indo pacific partners in the face of aggression from the prc led by president xi. it is iortant we pass this

supplemental because it includes funding for all of those as well as to address our fentanyl challenge in the u.s. and to strengthen security at our border. if we do all that, we can go home for the hidays showing the senate can still take up and pass significant registration for our national security and to stand by our allies and partners. caitriona: your colleague kevin cramer made a call for president biden get personally involved. he says if he got involved today, a deal could be done tomorrow. would you like to see the president involved himself? sen. coons: i think the president needs to send a senior representative to the talks. i believe that will happen today or tomorrow. i think the president himself should sit down with the majority and minority leaders. when the senate has done its work and there is a deal ready to be finished. president biden served as a senator for 36 years.

he understands the pacing and timing of bipartisan agreements. as long as there is so much doubt in both caucus is about whether the other is serious about getting the deal done, it is not time yet for the president to physically be in the room. i have spoken to his chief of staff and was with him yesterday. they want us to negotiate to a resolution in the senate, but the folks who have been assigned to do that, and the leaders of both caucuses first need to show how serious we are, and have the deal ready to go on the table. caitriona: senator chris coons, thank you for joining us on bbc news. sen. coons: thank you. caitriona: the israeli military recovered the bodies of two hostages being held in gaza. a 27-year-old was kidnapped from the music festival and a 36-year-old had already been declared dead by the israeli military israel continues its bombardment of gaza.

the main focus on khan younis. there is also fighting in rafa near the border in egypt. less than one third of hospitals in gaza remain functional. eight organizations are calling the situation desperate and the u.s. is warning israel it must put a premium on human life while hamas must protect. hamas has been declared a terrorist organization. the u.n. has called for immediate humanitarian cease-fire in gaza. 10 members voted against it including the u.s. this is the second attempt by the general assembly who called for a truce in october. israel launched a counterterrorism operation in the west bank. the palestinian health ministry says six people, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed in

a drone strike. joining us is our middle east correspondent. president biden said today that prime minister netanyahu is losing support all over the world for what he described as indiscriminate bombing. has there been any response to that in israel? hugo: we have not had reaction from israeli authorities, but these were strong words by president biden, his strongest comments on the situation in gaza yet. it shows growing international pressure on israel amid rising civilian casualties and this worsening human a terrien crisis. perhaps growing -- worsening humanitarian crisis. perhaps growing concerns over tactics in gaza. antony blinken said there was a gap between what israeli authorities were saying in terms of protecting the civilian population in gaza, and the

situation on the ground. we are seeing signs of this worsening humanitarian crisis. officials say hunger and diseases are spreading with people struggling to survive amid limited humanitarian assistance. the situation is described as catarophic. caitriona: we also heard from israel the confirmed deaths of two hostages. what do we know about the other hostages under the control of hamas and other groups? hugo: after this announcement was made the israeli military said 19 of the hostages who remain in gaza have died. more than 100 -- 130 hostages remain in gaza.

families have not lost hope their loved ones will be freed, but without a deal for the release of those hostages, and without a temporary cease-fire in gaza, it is unlikely they will be freed. caitriona: we just heard from joe biden his national security advisor jake sullivan is to travel to the region along with defense secretary lloyd austin to reaffirm american support for israel, but also to emphasize the need to protect civilian life. what difference will that make? we had the un's general assembly passing that resolution today as well. hugo: it is another sign of this growing pressure on israel over this mounting crisis in gaza. perhaps the message is, israelis

say they want to eliminate hamas from gaza, but may not have time to do that. caitriona: thank you for joining us. remember, you can keep up-to-date on everything happening in the israel-hamas war and the days news on our website, bbc.com/news. you can see what we are working on at any time by checking us out on your favorite social media platform. that is it for the moment. thank you for watching "world news america." i am caitríona perry in washington, d.c.. take care. ♪ 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. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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. >> good evening, i am amna nawaz. >> and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight, ukraine's president makes his case to congress for more funding as soldiers persevere through brutal winter warfare. amna: president biden warns israel is losing support, the same day a majority of united nations member states call for a