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is provided by... woman: two retiring executives turn their focus to greyhounds, giving these former race dogs a real chance to win. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your purpose, and the way you give back. life well planned. announcer: 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" christian: hello -- >> hello, i am ben brown. you are watching "the context on bbc news. >> i could not extract him at first because he was under cement and the ceiling would have collapsed. he decomposed in front of my eyes. >> both sides are victims of

their mistakes, mistakes of the others, and the price that we are paying is very high. >> had this happened in the united states of america, you would be talking about 20 million people proportionately that had been killed or injured in less than 10 months. ben: thank you for being with us. tonight, the white house as talks on a gaza cease-fire have gone off to a promising start. but we will ask what are the chances of a workable deal between israel and hamas? the people of god are desperate for a cease-fire. the talks, as the territory passes a grim milestone. more than 40,000 palestinians dead, according to the hamas-run health ministry. also watching the talks very closely, the families of

hostages still being held in gaza. we will be hearing from one relative about the agony of the long wait. all that is to come. first, our latest headlines. five people have been charged in connection with the death of the actor matthew perry who was best known for his role in the sitcom "friends the 50 four-year-old was found dead>' . sweden has confirmed the first case of the more serious strain of mpox outside africa. the world health organization has declared mpox which used to be called monkeypox a global public health emergey for the second time in two years after an outbreak in the democratic republic of congo. ukraine says it will set up an administrative office in the russian region of kursk where it is pressing ahead with it surprise military offensive. ukraine says its forces have advanced further into russian

territory and have done so with the use of british tanks. the coming hours and days could define the future of the middle east. those were the words today of the british foreign secretary. as peace talks began aimed at securing the cease-fire in gaza that has thus far proved so elusive. the white house said negotiations in qatar have got off to what it called a promising start, but it also warned, it does not expect a deal between israel and hamas immediately. the negotiations are focused on implementing peace proposals set out by the u.s. president joe biden back in may. they come on the day that gaza passes a terrible milestone, 40,000 killed. that is according to the hamas-run health ministry in the territory since israel launched its campaign to destroy hamas in the wa of the october 7 attacks.

israel claimed today that 17,000 of those are in fact palestinian militants who have been killed. we have no way of independently verifying either claim. more in a moment and all the latest developments in the middle east. first, this report from our correspondent. >> it took nearly two months to dig his family out of the wreckage of their home. he was the only one who survived strike. >> i could see my father under the rubble but i could not extract him at first because he was under cement, and the ceiling would have collapsed. he decomposed in front of my eyes. my mother's body was inside the house. when i tried to go and see her, i felt smothered and had to leave. >> he is looked after now by his grandfather in a shelter for orphans and widows. carrying on with the task of living. his mother, father, brother, and

two sisters are among the 40,000 killed in the gaza war. the number is overwhelming. each loss is a rot and individual grief -- raw and individual grief. experienced in places again and again that are supposed to be safe. israel has said it had frastructure because hamas is operating there. hamas says it isn't. the international community condemns civilian deaths. and the killing goes on. more than 10 months of war have turned gaza into a destruction zone, displaced most of its people. many are sick and hungry. in the southern city of khan yunis, they've been forced to flee a continually shifting front-line. we are tired of this life, she says. death is better than this. death is a constant presence. sammy still has his family and

whatever else he could carry with him, but this graveyard was the only place that he could find in a shrinking humanitarian zone. >> we have learned from dying to be among the dead, meaning we are the living dead. the truth is no one really knows what to say. >> back at the shelter, the orphans have been given another chance at life. how much of a chance, though, without at least a cease-fire, the future looks as dangerous as the present. ben: will there be a cease-fire? let's talk to our chief international correspondent lys doucet. these talks in doha are under way, the white house as they got off to a promising start. white house tends to be optimistic about some of these things but what are the early signs do you think? lyse: bill burns, the cia chief is playing a leading role in pushing this forward that said

that, and he is a tough guy, has been around the block a long time. i don't think he would have said it unless there was a reason to. although he knows that region is on a knife edge. the context in which these talks are now taking place are more dangerous than ever. it is believed that iran and hezbollah agreed to put off an expected retaliation, to watch what happens in doha. huge pressure on these talks, and a very small chance they will succeed. ben: so far there has only been one back in november. there have been lots of attempts toet a truce. since then, what has been the sticking point? some people say netanyahu, some say hamas, some say both. lyse: both blame the other. prime minister netanyahu has made it clear time and again that the war will not come to a final and until there is a complete, in his words, total victory over hamas.

hamas leaders have not been willing to accept a deal we do basically mean the end of hamas. so they are on polar opposites there. but the context is now very different. there has been a huge amount of criticism being reflected in public by the israeli defense chiefs who are in open disagreement not with prime minister netanyahu, basically saying, 10 months on, we have achieved what we can achieve been that they really that militarily. now is the time to accept the concessions we can make and bring the hostages home. in some ways, these negotiations are amongst the israelis as much as they are between the israelis and indirectlyith thomas. the big question is does prime minister netanyahu want to accept an end to the war for now? does the hard time hamas leader, sinwar, who has taken over the

organizations political leadership, no one is clear whether he wants a cease-fire. it doesn't come down only to these two men, but they are absolutely key players. and they are very shrewd operators. ben: all of this against the backdrop, context of what is going on in gaza in terms of the debt will -- death toll, now 40,000, according to the hamas-run health ministry. israel is saying 17,000 of them are palestinian militants. if that is true, still more than 20,000 civilians. it is just a desperate situation with every passing day, more debt, more destruction. lyse: you don't have to agree on the numbers to see what we see day in and day out. we don't see everything, but everything that we see is horrendous. every single aid to chief with decades of experience behind them who has gone into gaza has found that breathtaking.

never have they seen in their long careers such desperation, such devastation they are seeing in gaza. there is not just loss of life, there is loss of homes. 60% of gaza, judging by satellite, has been destroyed. there is hepatitis, polio. when the leaders of the united states, qatar, egypt, in an unprecedented move, issued a statement saying that time has basically run out. there is no excuse. there is that deal that d inpresid may, said to be an israeli deal. hamas accepted it. since then, it seems clear from the reports we have, prime minister netanyahu has tried to change some of the details. hamas has tried to change some as well. hamas is saying that we want the old deal, even the vision of joe biden. will prime minister netanyahu be willing to draw back? it is not clear. ben: thanks very much as ever,

lyse doucet, with her analysis. we could also speak to a former middle east hostage negotiator who is in touch with people close to the talks on all sides. thank you for being with us. what is your reading of these talks? is it another false dawn when americans talk about a promising start? >> i thinklyse was right in cautioning us to not be too optimistic. i find it very hard to see how you can have success in this particular round, because to my knowledge, hamas are not participating. i think that is understandable given how close it is to the assassination of the chief negotiator. it is difficult to see how you can have, be optimistic when you have the chief negotiator of the

last round assassinated. so i would endorse what lyse has said, go on with extreme caution as to the success it creates. ben: how do these talks to work technically, who is representing the hamas position if you like? we know there are qatari, egyptian, american negotiators. how does it work? >> think the whole process is a very torturous one. what i understand is that you have bill burns, you have the senior israeli security people there, plus a representative from the prime minister is usually in the room as well. and then they speak with the qatari's and egyptians, who in turn, speak to the hamas representatives. on this occasion, as far as i

know, there is no appointed hamas representative. so it will be difficult to see how, even if there is agreement in the room, how that would progress. ben: what about on the israeli side? lyse was talking about netanyahu, people in israel are not convinced that he wants any kind of cease-fire or peace agreement because he thinks that will be the end of his premiership. >> i have never been convinced from day one that he wanted a negotiated settlement to the i think if you set yourself two incompatible goals, one,he total demise of hamas, and then the return by negotiation, they are incompatible. from day one, i feel his priority has been the military success. we have seen that time and again. my fear is that the talks have

always been a sort of sideshow, distraction from the realities, the horror of what is going on on a day-to-day basis in gaza. we heard at the beginning of the program and account that was just horrendous. we think that 2.3 million people are suffering that on a daily basis, as are the hostages and their families back in israel. i really think that until netanyahu is challenged by the white house to put an end to it, this process will go on and on, and more people will die, more people will suffer, with i think severe consequences for israel and its immediate future in the region. ben: very grim prospect. thank you for your expert analysis on those talks. former middle east hostage negotiator, thank you. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news.

five people have been charged in connection with the death of the "friends" actor matthew perry. he died last year as a result of an accidental drug overdose. found to have high levels of ketamine in his body. we have been told authorities helped to uncover a broad criminal network that exploited matthew perry. it is even alleged that doctors help distribute ketamine to him thousands of dollars.of here is some of that announcement. >> this investigation focused on who supplied the ketamine to mr. perry. as many of you know, mr. perry struggled with addiction in the past. on many occasions, he sought help for his addiction issues. the investigation revealed that in the fall of 2023, mr. perry fell back into addiction, and

these defendants took advantage to profit for themselves ben: plenty more reaction and details on those charges on our bbc news website. now, let's take a look at a little bit more about the situation in gaza, which we've had been reflecting so far on the program. as we've been reporting, more than 40,000 people have now been killed in gaza since october 7. those figures coming from the hamas hype run health ministry in gaza. we can talk about those grim figures to joe english, emergency communications specialist at unicef, the united nations children's fund. thank you for being with us. it is a staggering figure, whether or not you believe the exact figure, which does come from the hamas run health ministry. it is clear reporting from lyse doucet, huge amounts of

destruction in gaza, and many of them are children. >> thousands and thousands of children. [indiscernible] each of these becomes a stattic. each and every one of these children killed is someone's entire world. that is what our colleagues see, when we are speaking to families, parents, their entire lives have been turned upside down or just extinguished in a moment. so we continue to see mass casualty events, we continue to see attacks on schools where people are sheltering. when we ask ourselves why are people sheltering in these large groups in these concentrated areas, it is because they have nowhere else to go. parents are waking up each and every morning with one thing on their mind, how can i make sure that my child is still alive at

the end of the day? so there is the real impact of the violence and conflict in terms of the number of children killed and injured, but also the mental health told this is taking on people on a day-to-day basis. there has to be an end to the fighting, positive outcome from these talks. with every day that passes, more children are losing their lives. ben: you touched on not only children being killed by bombs and bullets, missiles, also the mental health impact, the trauma of what they have seen and witnessed and suffered. also disease. >> this is something that we have been warning for months. we have been saying that when you have this large number of people living in incredibly difficult circumstances, lack of sanitation, lack of safe drinking water, we will see disease, and it is a real threat to children. especially children who were already vulnerable because of

malnutrition, something else we are seeing. people don't always have enough to eat. so the threats to children are coming from almost every side. but the truth is we know how to act in situations like this. unicef does work like this all over the world, but we have to be able to access children and families. in terms of the u.n., from the start of our mission in august, one third of them haveeen denied access. that is the reality. we are trying to reach people, trying to reach families, but we are having our hands tied behind our backs. we need to see an end to the fighting, hostages released, we need to see this horrific situation come to an end. ben: you are watching the cease-fire talks, hoping there will be a cease-fire, even temporary, to help you do your work? >> many of the families that we speak to, hope is all they have left. many of us all the story a couple days ago of a father who

lost his wife and four-day-old twins in an attack. families you see having everything extinguished in a moment. all you can hope for is that there is an end to the fighting, no more suffering, and people will begin the iredibly long process of trying to rebuild their lives. ben: i know that you and your organization are doing extraordinary work in gaza. thank you. joe english, emergency communications specialist at unicef. another group that is very closely watching the negotiations in qatar are the friends and loved ones of the hostages were still being held in gaza. it is thought 111 of the hostages abducted by hamas still remain in the territory, including the bodies of 39, who the israeli military says are among those still held in gaza for the last 313 days is carmel

gat, and occupational therapist from tel aviv. she was visiting parents on october 7 when she was taken. her sister-in-law was also kidnapped. she was subsequently released in november. carmel was not so lucky, and months later, is still being held in gaza. joining us now is her cousin. his aunt was also killed on october 7. he has been a leadinvoice in israel, demanding the government does agree to a cease-fire. thank you for being with us. you have any hopes that these talks that are underway right now in delhi will bring about a cease-fire and possible hostage release deal? >> good evening, first. secondly, i must be hopeful. i have no other choice. the way we see it, it is a last chance to get a cease-fire that will get the hostages back and

might even prevent and all regional war, not only the war in gaza that had beenoing for 10 months now, but a regional war with syria, many other forces in the area. i believe that we have made a lot of progress in the south, in gaza. it is enough. we have to put a stop to this, to what is going on right now. we have to get the hostages back. the thought of being 10 months in the hands of a terror organization that took babies, more than 200 women, men, children, and elderly people, is unbelievable. we know that many of the hostages that came back have reported to have been through horrible miseries. i don't know exactly what my cousin carmel is going through. i really hope that she is ok

over there. but i have all reasons to believe that she is alive. i know that if we don't get her back as quickly as possible, we may lose the chance to get her back, and we cannot allow that. ben: what would you say to your government? we were discussing earlier some of the claims that benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister has not done enough to get a cease-fire, get the hostages out. his own defense minister has said the hostage deal has stalled, in part, because of israel, blamed the prime minister for that. what is your view on that? >> i am trying to speak to my prime minister all the time, tell him that he is obligated to do what he can to get the hostages out. i believe the israeli government has not done enough, mainly because the hostages are not here. thiss my government. i have no other government.

it doesn't matter if i elected, if i voted for netanyahu, or voted for somebody else, it doesn't matter, he is my prime minister. it is his obligation to get my cousin and all the other hostages back. if i had a chance to talk to him now, i would tell him that i believe the horrible terrorists, the commander, the leader of hamas right now, he's dream is that israel will make the wrong choice, not signing a deal, just a it all on regional war that includes iran, syria, hezbollah, many other forces in the area. that is sinwar's dream. we in israel, the people of gaza, pele all over the world don't want this to happen. there is a very clear choice here. make the right choice.

seal this deal. i know that is deep in your heart, you know it is true. you know this is the right thing to do. do it because the israeli people will be behind you on this. we do not want the war to go on and on and on. the people of israel among the hostages back. most of the israeli government wants the hostages back. i know, i'm talking to them every day. there is agreement within the israeli public. the only thing we have to do right now is make sure that sinwar and netanyahu signed this deal, and then we can have a cease-fire and get the hostages back, and then we can start building a new future for all people in the region. ben: we only have a few seconds left. do you think there can be a deal in dolehide at these talks? they have only just started but can there be a deal? >> there must be a deal, there must be a chance. that is why i believe it is possible.

we will make it happen. if they choose not to do that, we will do what we can to make them regret what they chose. they have to choose a deal. the other option is just horrific. we have to get the hostages back. ben: thank you so much for your time, for being with us here on bbc news to discuss those talks underway in doha. thank you for beingith us. much more analysis to come. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: 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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