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the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> i am sumi somaskan washington and this is bbc world news america. the last barrier to sweden becoming a member of nato is listed as hungary finally gives its approval. jordan conducts air drops of aid in gaza of the u.s. warns of potential famine. in the u.s. supreme court hears two cases that could control the way content is controlled on social media sites. ♪ sumi: welcome to world news america. sweden is on the verge of

joining the western security alliance, nato, after hungary finally approved sweden's application. its approval was the last major hurdle for sweden's bid which was prompted by russia's invasion of ukraine. nato secretary-general jens stoltenberg saying on x, quote, "it's membership will make us all stronger and safer. the approval comes after a delay from the opposition hungary and tarkiye who approved sweden's membership in january. sweden and finland, both historically neutral countries, applied to join the alliance in may of 2022 as a direct response to russia's-ukraine war. the alliance has seen the biggest expansion since the 1990's. their membership will add nearly 200,000 active and reserve troops to the group's ranks. earlier sweden's defense minister said the move is a big, but natural step. >> sweden is now leaving 200 years of neutrality and nonalignment find. this is a big step.

we must take it seriously. but it is also a very natural step we are takingm we speak now to ambassador douglas silliman he served as permanent representative to nato from 2017 to 2018. program.or, welcome to the i want to start by getting your thoughts on this ratification. we know that hungary had been stalling for 18 months. guest: it's a huge day and a very positive date not only for nato, but for the citizens of sweden as well, and as you have said in your entry, this has been ongoi now for approaching two years. it's perhaps the most immediate impact of putin's invasion of ukraine two years ago that is immediately outside of you -- ukraine proper. it's one of those huge aftershocks of putin's invasion which actually proves that his move has been counterproductive

because now well he wanted less nato, he is actually got more nato with first finland, and now sweden joining. sumi: we mentioned the 300,000 active and reserve soldiers this will add. how does this change nato's posture especially on the eastern flank? guest: in both finland and sweden's case, nato is welcoming in the alliance mature democracies with solid democratic principles and practices in place, but also, very capable militaries. the alliance will gain because as a state like sweden joins, it commits its forces to the collective defense. so not only does sweden gain the benefits of article v of the nato treaty, the rest of the alliance gains because sweden has access into the alliance proper. so it is very big. in terms of geographic terms, the addition of sweden

completes the picture on the northern flank of nato. so not only on the baltic sea with sweden and finland, but further north, the higher north, because sweden and finland are both arctic consul members as well. so this very much is a geographic advantage for the alliance. , ambassador, we have seen vladimir putin say one of the reasons he launched his war in ukraine was to stop nato's expansion each. are you concerned with sweden's accession and finland previous to that, that it will provoke further escalation from president putin? guest: no. i don't buy that argument. this is a part of president putin's and the crimmins rhetoric. but what they really fear and the reason they attacked ukraine is not the advance of nato, it is the advance of a neighbor, ukraine, an emerging democracy which has aspiratns to join

the west and to become prosperous and free. it is that model of a prosperous and democratic ukraine that putin fears most. it is not membership into the alliance. sumi: sumi: what about the membership of ukraine itself, something volodymyr zelenskyy has been pushing for. guest: this is still a work in progress, obviously. we have in july of this year, president biden will host a nato summit in washington, d.c.. this question of pragmatic, concrete steps that further advance ukraine's position towards membership will ceainly be a hot topic for the alliance in july. the reality is that no member of the alliance, none of that now soon to be 32 members have joined when he was engaged in an acti conflict. so it is unlikely that there will be an immediate invitation, but i hope there will be

ncrete steps made in the washington summit. sumi: we saw former president donald trump spark global concern when he invaded russia to do whatever it wanted to nato members that hadn't met the target of 2% gdp spending on defense. do you think that has at all undermined the alliance? guest: certainty, rhetoric like that is not helpful. certainly, we americans and perhaps many of our closest allies have begun to understand that donald trump will say anything on the campaign trail to get a rise from the particular audience he is presenting to. so, less important than the political campaign rhetoric is the fact that to analyze did make a commitment to move towards 2% of gdp. and to date there are 18 of the current 31 members which are there. that represents a substantial improvement from some years ago. but it is not yet 31 of 31, so

there is still work to be done on the resources front. sumi: ambassador, always good to speak to you. thank you so much for joining us. now the jordanian army says it has carried out 4 aid drops of food and supplies to civilians in gaza. this, the u.n. warns of potential famine in gaza. human rights groups are accusing israel of limiting humanitarian aid into the territory, despite the order from the u.n.'s top court. the israeli military denies accusations. the u.n. secretary general warns that the ground assault on the southern city of rafah would be in there in the coffin for the u.n.'s work in the territory. but prime minister netanyahu remains committed to putting boots on the ground in rep. cox:, saying such an operation is necessary for "total victory." israel's military presented a plan to the country's war cabinet to evacuate civilians away from the fighting. here is our correspondent, paul adams. reporter: israel's government says it has received plans from

the military for its long anticipated assault on rafah. we don't have details on the plans that were presented to the cabinet, but it is thought to consist of an evacuation of civilians who are huddled in rafah, more than one million people, and its acute detail because an assault on rafah cannot happen while the city is crammed full of refugees. then there will be the operational plan for how the israeli military intends to attack hamas in the city. the government also says there is a plan to improve humanitarian assistance throughout the gaza strip. we have seen in the last few weeks with law and order breaking down, it has become more and more difficult for the aid agencies to distribute aid, particularly in the northern part of the gaza strip. convoys have been looted, aid has been seized. it in bringing the operation to a grinding halt. so the israelis say, quote, "

close-out been approved for providing humanitarian assistance to the gaza strip in a manner that will prevent the oting that has occurred in the northern strip in other areas." so that's vet thing because it addresses one of the big fears of the aid agencies, which is that the longer the crisis goes on, the worse it gets with hunger and disease on the rise throughout the gaza strip. the other thing that is happening at the moment is an intensive round of negotiations designed to bring about a cease-fire and the release of israeli hostages. we are expecting more negotiations in qatar later this week to try and achieve that. the americans want to try to get it done by the beginning of ramadan, which is in less than two weeks time. if it happens, and it could all still fall apart, then we could see a cease-fire in place, and the assault on rafah delayed until after a cease-fire, if it happens at all. sumi: gaza health authorities

say 30,000 people have been killed in the territory since the start of the military campaign following the hamas attack on israel october 7. among them, 103 members of the same family killed in one strike on gaza city in december. lucy williamson has been speaking to one of the surviving family members who lost his wife and three young daughters. a warning, y might find her report upsetting. reporter: it took us made a decade to build the family he loved. it took a split second, one winter evening, to destroy it. 10-year-old talah, five-year-old nala, and najla, not yet two, killed with his wife in a strike in gaza city. >> along with his mother, four of his brothers, their families, and dozens of aunts, uncles and cousins.

103 relatives in all. a family obliterated. >> [speaking another language] >> i feel i am in a dream. i still can't believe what happened to us. my daughters are little birds to me. reporter: ahmad sriraja because he was 50 miles away in the occupied west bank, stock outside gaza since the start of the war, working in tel aviv to fund the couple's dream of owning their own home. he was on the phone to his wife when the attack again. >> she knew she would die and she asked me to forgive her for anything bad she might have ever done to me. i told her there was no need to say that and that was the last call between us. reporter: the hou he built with his tel aviv salary inse

just. the homes around it flattened. including his uncles house fled for safety.re the family >> that was a fire belt. there were strikes on four houses next to ours. they were hitting one house every 10 minutes. reporter: the family are still searching for bodies buried in the rubble. among those killed, they say,, a 98-year-old grandmother, and a baby boy, born nine days before. only i handful of survivors. >> we were sitting in the house and they found us under the rubble, ahmad told us. i was thrown from one side to the other. i don't know how i got out. reporter: two months on, israeli forces are fighting hamas in gaza city, as they were a few blocks south of ahma's house around the time the block was hit. the army says it is not aware of

any strikes ere that day. ahmad no longer wants to return home. last monday would have been najka's second birthday. who am i going back for, he said. there is no one there left to call me darling. no one to call me dad. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. sumi: as we mentioned, that comes as there are concerns about a possible israeli ground invaon in the southern gaza and with negotiations continuing on the possible cease-fire agreement. we can speak about that now with a mediator of an organization addressing issues related to the middle east peace process. good to have you with us. he just returned from the region and you were speaking with people who are dialed into these cease-fire negotiations. what did they tell you? guest: i don't think we can be as hopeful as jake sullivan has expressed, sadly.

i would love to see a cease-fire. but i think the two objectives that prime minister netanyahu set for himself are totally incompatible. you can't talk on the one hand of your determination to defeat and dismantle hamas who are holding the hostages, and on the other hand, talk about the safe return of the hostages. i have been saying for the past since this war began, these are incompatible objectives. i really don't see how gotiators can achieve a cease-fire in which the hostages can be safely returned to their families. it is very difficult to understand. sumi: for our viewers, jake sullivan, the national security advisor, he was talking over the weekend about how there are broad contours in place for an agreement. the new york times has been reporting today that israeli negotiators are signaling that they could release a group of

high profile palestinian prisoners who have lengthy jail terms in exchange for some of israeli hostages. is that a positive sign? guest: that would be a positive sign, because without in any way endorsing the practice, the reason why, particularly military personnel are taken and held hostage is precisely to release long-term palestinian prisoners who otherwise would die in prison. so i think that could be a possibility. but, again, i think they are fundamtal differences between the positions of both sides. lino netanyahu's stated purpose today. , on the other hand, we hear hamas is requiring a permanent cease-fire, the removal of all is really forces from the gaza strip, and then getting into people returning to their homes where possible. and then eventually getting into

real negotiations about the exchange of hostages. now unless the qataris and other negotiators can find some common ground there, it's very, very difficult to see how this will happen. especially in light of the threat of having a ground invasion of rafah. sumi: let me ask you about that threat because it has been proposed by some analysts here that israel might be using that threat perhaps as leverage in the negotiations. what do you think about? guest: in my experience and i have spent many years in negotiations between gaza and the israeli authorities, threats, all they do is stiffen resistance. i can see it as a means of achieving your purposes. we forget that this is the sixth war that gaza has witnessed over the years. and you know, all of these wars have achieved nothing but greater resistance.

that is my fear of what will happen this time. sumi: you are talking about two fundamentally opposing positions, if you look at the two sides of negotiations. very briefly, what common ground do you think there could be? guest: well, i think the common ground is the recognition that neither side will achieve their goals, one, an independent palestinian state. secondly, israel, rightly having security and prosperity as its goal. neither of these will be achieved by think, unless it is recognized that has to happen through an inclusive process of dialogue. there is no military solution to grievance-driven conflicts. we have spent the last 75 years failing to learn that lesson. in ireland, we spent nearly 800 years before we grasped it. so i would hope ireland is an example of what can be achieved

if you do engage seriously in trying to find the political solution. sumi: oliver, very interesting to get your perspective. . thank you very much for joining us. guest: thank you. sumi: the international court of justice in the hague has held its final day of hearings looking at the legal consequences arising from israel's occupation of the palestinian territories. the palestinian delegation has claimed israel's actions are tantamount to genocide. israel, which isn't taking part in the hearings, says an advisory opinion would not help terms of resolving the conflict. our correspondent has more from the hague. reporter: it has been a marathon run of hearings here at the icj six days, 50 one countries, a record, taking part with a number of other organizations. today was the return of the african union which used the opportunity to say that nothing could justify the horrors

inflted upon palestinians in gaza and urged the court to use this as a chance to end israel's impunity. throughout the course of this week, we have heard similar arguments from the palestinian delegation and its porters, who argue that the situation in the occupied territories is tantamount to apartheid and israel's occupaon should end and allow the palestinians there right to self -- their right to self-determination. on the other side we have heard from israel's allies including the u.k. in the u.s. who argue that any opinion handed down by the u.n.'s top court should serve to reinforce rather than undermine the existing two-state solution framework as mandated by the u.n. in terms of what happens nt, well, an advisory opinion will probably come within the next six months and will then be sent to the requesting organization, in this case, the un's general

assembly, which will decide how to deal with that. it could be put to a vote for a resolution. a reminder, the question posed here by an general assembly is, what are the legal consequences arising from israel's occupation of the palestinian territories. sumi: sumi: here in washington, a man has died after setting himself on fire in protest over the war in gaza. the u.s. air force says 25-year-old aaron bushnell was an active duty airman. police say after he doused himself in liquid and set it alight outside the u.s. embassy in washington, if video s posted online in which he could be heard saying he was carrying out call "an extreme act of otest." adding that he would call that "not be complicit in genocide." the supreme court heard arguments in two social media landmark cases that could have big implications for free speech

online. at stake is who controls with people hear, say and read online. at issue are laws in florida and texas that ben platforms like facebook, youtube and tiktok from removing content. opponents, including netchoice, the industry group that challenged both laws, says they infringe on the platforms' own first amendment right by limiting the content they can publish. former president donald trump is supporting the laws. our correspondent has been looking into this story and is with us in the study of. hi, john. give us more background. john: so this case is, as you say, one of these landmark supreme court cases that potentially, at least has really far-reaching implications for america, socially, politically and economically. these two cases are designed,

according to the republican politicians who supported these laws in texas and florida, to correct what we see as a kind of silicon valley-liberal bias on tech platforms. they point to the deplatforming of donald trump after the january 6 storming of the u.s. capitol, they point to the regulation of political speech more generally, and the laws that they say curtail or severely limit the rites of social media companies to police their content in that way. this is kind of a tug-of-war over who gets the final say over what goes on line and as a result, unsurprisingly, that is why it is on the desk of the supreme court. sumi: take us through arguments that were heard. guest: essentially at the heart of these arguments is the question, what is a social company anyway? are they something akin to newspapers that have a free-speech right to decide what goes in their pages, which opinions to include or exclude, or are they more like silica

medications companies that simply connect speakers to listeners, test posters, to the readers of those posts? social media companies argued in court today that if they are merely the latter, if they have no editorial right to police their content, they believe it would very quickly degenerate into sort of a cesspool of hate speech and misinformation and political extremism. , on the other hand, the states of florida and texas argued that for the social media companies to claim a free-speech right is to use it as a kind of cloak to deny the free speech of users whose views they disagree with. sumi: can such a high-stakes case, is there any indication that after these arguments were heard, which way the justices of the supreme court are leaning? guest: one thinghat we heard today from the supreme court justices was an admission that trying to use a 250-year-old

constitution to apply to a multi-digital age is a difficult task. they all admitted that it's very difficult to try to pre-judge a supreme court decision. if you could detect today from the court a recognition that there are problems with allowing big corporations to police what goes and doesn't go online, there is a view that giving that right governments instead would be even more problematic. that would be a free-speech issue. either way we shld get a decision in june. sumi: john, thank you so much. just before we go, an update on japan's moon lander. . it survived the harsh moon night and that lack of sunlight for two weeks. it was put into sleep mode after a landing in generally left its solar panels facing upside down and unable to generate power. despite concerns that it would run out of juice, slim, as it is

called, woke up from sleep and sent this image back to earth. that is a good sign. thank you for watching bbc world news america. stay with abc news. ♪ 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.

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. amna: good evening, i am on the nawaz. geoff: and i am geoff bennett. on the newshour tonight, the latest on hostage negotiations, and israel's plan to evacuate palestinian civilians before full-scale operations to eliminate hamas in rafah get underway. amna: the supreme court hears arguments on whether social media platforms have first amendment free speech rights. geoff: relief for food aller