♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... 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". >> this is bbc worlda member. the king of jordan meets with president biden to broker peace in the israel-gaza war. israel rescues two of its hostages in a raid, but leaves dozens of civilians dead. a landmark you and report shows wildlife species are in decline, many in risk of extinction. ♪

welcome to world news america. u.s. president joe biden welcome to king abdullah of jordan to the white house monday amid talks in the ongoing war in the middle east. in a brief statement after the meeting, king abella called for an immediate end to the conflict between israel and hamas and president biden announced the u.s. is working on a hostage deal that would lead to at least a six week pause in fighting. >> over the past month, i have had calls with prime minister netanyahu and the leaders of egypt and qatar to push this forward. the key elements of the deal are around the table, there are gaps that remain, but i've encouraged israeli leaders to keep working on the deal. the united states will do everything possible to make >> sure it happens. >>we cannot stand by. we need a lasting cease-fire

now. this war must end. we must urgently and immediately worked to ensure the sustainable delivery of sufficient aid to gaza through all possible entry points and mechanisms in nine thank you mr. president for your support on this. >> for more, let's bring in our north america correspondent who is standing by for us tonight. you were listening into those statements a little bit earlier. telling more about what was discussed between these two leaders. >> this was such a significant meeting and that king of dolla is the first middle eastern leader to meet with president biden. he wants a long lasting cease-fire he wants aid for gaza, and a long-term solution, but the king has been very critical of israel's military operation and the lack of aid

going into gaza. over the weekend before he got here, the king was seen on state tv in jordan with the jordanian air force taking part in an air drop of humanitarian aid into gaza. they talked about the concerns regarding the military operation in rafa. it was a lot to be discussed, but jordan and the u.s. are key allies so they really want to be on board with each other. there will be differences of course, but king abdullah came with that message of a cease-fire and of aid into gaza, which we heard. >> as he said, key allies, the u.s. and jordan, but what difference do you think this meeting might actually make when you look at the conflict still going on israel and gaza? >> if you think back to october 7, president biden went to israel in the days after and he was due to meet king abdullah, but he cancel that meeting,

there was the airstrike on the hospital. in the months since then, president biden's tone has changed a little bit. last year, we saw a very harsh rebuke of israel. in some respects, king abdullah came to see joe biden in a very different mood to maybe what he was at the time. however, critics will say it is all very well and good america expressing slight concern about israel's tactics, but they continued to give aid and support israel's military operation in gaza. the other thing to adhere is that for the king, yes it is thread the needle because back in jordan there were so much unrest among jordanians. they want jordan to abandon their peace treaty with israel. they want jordan to abandon their defense agreements with america. none of that is going to happen of course. the king knows that he is a

strong ally for america, he enjoys his relationship with the president. he will have seen this as a very important role of the dice in terms of gting his views heard by mr. biden. >> thank you very much for that update. we mentioned the fighting is ongoing. dozens of palestinians are dead after an overnight raid in rafa by israeli forces. that raid led to the rescue of two hostages held by hamas, but hamas claiming three additional israeli hostages were killed in the strikes. hamas is designated a terror organization by many governments including the u.s. and the u.k. and it comes as the u.n. and others are calling for them not to attack rafa. it is believe 1.5 million palestinians are sheltering their. israel claims rafa is the last stronghold for hamas fighters.

president biden today condemned the fighting there. >> the major military operation in rafa should not proceed without a credible plan for ensuring the safety and support of more than one million people sheltering their. they need to be protected. we have also been clear from the start, we oppose any forced displacement of palestinians from gaza. >> as rafa braces for a possible israeli ground operation, lucy williamson sent this report and a warning, it contains some upsetting ages. >> last night, israel's army came to rafah. special forces backed by airstrikes on homes and mosques. left behind, more than 60 people dead and took with them two israeli hostages. snatched from a second-floor apartment. these pictures released by the israeli army showed the moment

counterterrorist police went arco. -- in. the 60-year-old and 70-year-old were kidnapped on october 7. their arrival back in israel, a rare moment for the country's prime minister. covered by special forces on their way out of gaza, covered on arrival with love. military operations have so far freed three hostages. relatives say a deal with hamas is still the best way to get the others out. >> mentally, they look ok, physically, they look ok. please be serious and strike a deal. the israeli people need the deal done. not yesterday, not tomorrow, today. we want it done as soon as possible. we want to go back to our ordinary life. >> for gazaans, ordinary life

have disappeared. buried in the rubble of their homes, in the quivering of their children. >> we were at home when the airstrikes were going on. i told my mother that i want to suddenly, all of the wood of the bathroom and all the wooden containers above us collapsed on me. >> rafah is the next target for israel's army. the war has pushed half of gaza's population into this border town. the u.s. has warned an offensive here without proper planning would be a disaster. israel is so far sticking to its plan. >> the united nations and international actors face a fateful choice. do they want to save has or save palestinian civilians? they cannot stop israel from dismantling the last four hamas

battalions in the gaza strip and securing the release of the 134 remaining hostages. >> the price of israel's war is rising. for families in rafah today, the cost incalculable. u.s. is urging israel to consider a potential hostage deal to cause the fighting. israel worries that a deal would mean hamas surviving, but after four months of war, it isn't the group's leaders who are dying. bbc, jerusalem. >> joining us now is the former under secretary of state for political will affairs -- political fillers -- affairs. very good to have you with us. we saw president biden again saying today he doesn't want to see in operation in rafah unless there is a plan in place to protect and evacuate civilian to what extent do you think israel is listening to the u.s.

and its allies on this question? >> my experience, the israelis will do what they think is necessary for their own self interests and self-defense they have always had a mantra that israel must defend itself by itself. the calculatio will be informed by what president biden says is important, but the israeli leadership in the coalition government reflecting the popular will of the nation will make its own decisions. >> what about were u.s. and jordanian interests lie? king abdullah coming out strongly saying he wants an immediate cease-fire. what impact does that have? >> that is the position for almost all of the arab states, which is understandable. king abdullah has a unique ability to speak to american audiences. jordan has been a long-term partner for peace and is respected in that regard.

it is one thing to call for a cease-fire and another thing to agree. multiple trips by the secretary of state and the cia director and we have yet to find the right formula. >> we saw king abdullah and president biden, we saw john kirby say that this is going to be a discussion on their vision towards peace. do they share the same vision? >> yes, i think the american and jordan and this administration in particular and the jordanian leadership do have a common vision. but the challenge is we have new realities in the middle east and a lot of the solutions that are being floated are based on old realities. iran is now a major protagonist in this conflict, yet i don't see very much focus on the iranian role. a two state outcome has been a long-term goal of jordan and the united states and yet right now, the israeli public frankly support for a two state solution

has evaporated. among the palestinians, more than 50% of the palestinian public supports a one state solution run by hamas. >> how have the new realities changed the ability of the u.s. to influence what is happening on the ground and lead negotiations for a possible cease-fire? >> very difficult and that is why the palestinian authority, the leadership there has become frankly irrelevant through their own inefficiencies and corruption. hamas is a major challenge for all of us to deal with. iran, as i mentioned. the fact is we may need to relook at the assumptions about how we build peace in the middle east. the process that started in madrid and went there also had great promise, but did not achieve its aims. we may need to rebuild the foundations and the first

conversation has to be with the people, israelis and palestinians, about what it is they want to see governing their future. >> and also involving allies in the region including jordan, such an important ally. what role could the king of jordan play in these negotiations? he wants to see an immediate cease-fire. >> jordan will not play a direct role because in the 1980's they made clear there was no joanian future in ruling the west bank. they support a two state outcome. with jordanians can do can help us to communicate with new voices among the palestinians. jordan itself has a majority of palestian people, so there is a lot of connectivity. what are the future governnt structures that the palestinian people might see? any opinion polling, neither the palestinian authority, the former plo, nor hamas are very popular right now among the populace. what new voices can be brought forth? >> a very quick final question,

when it comes to waste -- a two state solution, is this something the u.s. and jordan feel like israel is also going to discuss it? >> no, israel is not. netanyahu has only rarely and fleetingly discussed a two state option. the opposition leader who might replace him has not spoken of it. and popular opinion is not in favor of it. >> ambassador, great to get your take, think so much. >> thank you. >> the nato secretary-general says comments by former u.s. president donald trump could undermine security and put soldiers at risk. that rebuke issued after mr. trump said he would encourage russia to attack members of the alliance who don't pay their dues. nato countries don't actually pay dues. they have committed to spend 2% of their gdp on defense and not all of them do. at a campaign rally in south

carolina, mr. trump said he would not defend nato members who don't meet those obligations. instead, he would encourage russia to do whatever the hell they want to nato countries that haven't invested enough in the militaries. back in 2022, ukrainians rushed, a whole nation was mobilized, and western aid afforded. two years later, there is an ammunition shortage and problems are crooning soldiers. our eastern european reporter reports. >> these are the patrols many ukrainian men now dread. conscription officers hunting for draft dodgers. ukraine needs a lot more soldiers, but they are not flooding to the front lines anymore. so some have to be caught and cajoled. pavlo lost his arm in a mortar

attack. but he wanted to go on serving his country. so now he looks for otr men who can still fight. >> there is a full-scale war, but it is still like people don't care. we need everyone to come together like we did on the first day. everyone was united then like brothers. >> but when i ask about friends who have served with him, he tells me there is almost no one left from his company. >> everyone is other injured like me or did -- dead. >> when th russians occupied this woman's town, her son was captured and tortured. when he escaped, he signed up to fight for ukraine. he has now been badly injured, but his mother is afraid he will recover and go back to the

front. he says his friends need him. >> while he is in hospital, i can sleep calmly. when he is on the front line, i can't sleep. so, i really shouldn't say this. i'm glad he is not at the front. >> every ukrainian town now has cemeteries like this. filled with the soldiers honored by their country as heroes and mourned deeply by their families. vladislav was killed by a mine, he was 22. ina hasn't put his photo on the grave yet because she can't quite accept her only son is gone, but she is proud of him. >> i believe my son died doing the right thing. >> when i ask about those who avoid signing up, ina doesn't

judge them. >> my son wasn't afraid, i was afraid too when he went. everyone is afraid of dying, but may be being enslaved by russia his carrier. -- is scarier. >> she calls it a fight to protect ukraine's freedom, but the cost is growing. bbc news. >> the bbc was granted rare access to a make a prison in el salvador days after its president was reelected. the prison known as the terrorism confinement center is becoming a symbol of the president's controversial war against gang violence. it is the largest maximum-security facility in latin america. it can house 40,000 inmates and has no outside recreation space.

>> el salvador. [speaking spanish] >> the moment the president claimed victory. under his presidency, el salvador's murder rate has plummeted. he credits his success to his crackdown on crime. nothing symbolizes it like his mega prison. days after his reelection, the bbc was invited on a carefully orchestrated guided tour to show us the faces of the gangs. the prison director was happy to appear on camera, but asked us not to name him. >> [speaking spanish] >> prison workers, no family

visitors are allowed. the guards have plenty of firepower. we are told not to speak to the inmates or even make eye contact with them. the government says this prison can hold up to 40,000 high-ranking gang members whose actions it says have led to decades of bloodshed and taber in el salvador. the director picks out five inmates for us. two of them kidnapped, tortured, and murdered four members of the armed forces. this is perhaps the most controversial part of the crackdown on gangs. a mega prison that holds thousands of which human rights organizations have said it is a black hole for prisoners rights. last year, the bbc obtained documents shared with us anonymously by an engineer

involved in the prison's construction. these documents show that if it was at full capacity, each inmate would have 0.5 eight square meters of space, well below the recommendation. each cell has two toilets in the open. despite extensive criticism from human rights groups, the president and his government claim the prison is an effective el salvador in solution to el salvadorian problems. >> efforts to form a government in pakistan are continuing. the second and third largest blocks are in formal negotiations on forming a coalition. meetings continued today. pakistan faces weeks of political uncertainty with independent candidates loyal to

the jailed prime minister securing more seats than any other party. they are considering legal challenges to men results. they have lodged complaints in a number of constituencies were his supporters did when but alleged the vote was rigged. former president donald trump is asking the u.s. supreme court to intervene over his claim he is immune from charges that he tried to subvert the 2020 election. he claimed that he could not be tried for acts that he said fell within his duties as president. a federal appeals court rejected his argument, so he asked the top court to pause the ruling while he sues an appeal. he indicated he may request a stay so he could also ask all of the judges on circuit court to rehear the case. migratory speeches from monarch butterflies to african penguins play a crucial role in protecting the earth's habitats, but a landmark report says the extinction risk of the most vulnerable species is on the rise.

according to the convention on the migratory species of animals, nearly half of those migratory species are showing population declines. it also found more than 1/5 are facing extinction, nearly at all risk fish. the report concluded that human actions such as habitat destruction and climate change is to blame. executive director of the u.n.'s environment program explain how we got here and what this means for biodiversity. >> these migratory species move thousands of kilometers from the high north to africa and back, so when you have to think about the distances that are involved and the kind of protection that would be needed, we humans have not done our best. the convention has been ringing the alarm bells for all these years. essentially, the migratory species whether by air, water, or land are telling us that

nature knows no borders and we need to understand that they are an essential, they are essentially sending a message to the rest of the world that our wetlands are not in good stead, that we keep fragmenting land for agriculture and infrastructure, that we construct fences and walls, and that we pollute our lands and our water and air air and these are the drivers of the loss of biodiversity. this is why this report highlights exactly these issues and we have known these issues for a long time. dirty air, polluted water, infrastructure that fragments the landscape, but it is these aspects that we have to be very mindful of and we also know with the solutions are. core doors for migratory land species, smart fishing nets that we don't have catch, clever infrastructure that interferes with aerial migrations, it is

entirely doable. >> alright, that wraps up our show. you can find more on all the day's news on bbc.com/news and see what we are working on any time, check us out on your favorite social media site. thank you for watching world news america. ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... 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. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff bennett is away. on the "newshour" tonight, an on-the-ground look at the aftermath of the israeli raid that rescued two hostages, but killed dozens of palestinians. former president trump's positions grow more extreme, advocating for mass deportation and encouraging russia to attack nato allies if they don't pay up. and both parties work to turn out new york voters to fill the