israel's prime minister meets his war cabinet to reach a dealfor minister meets his war cabinet to reach a deal for hostages released. fighting continues to rage in gaza where hamas says the death toll has now passed 14,000. and king charles welcomes south korea's president and first lady to the uk for a three—day visit. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's jane. sport centre, here's gavin. the countdown is on for a nervous night if you're a wales fan. just over two hours to go until kick off in theirfinal — and most crucial — qualifier for next summer's european championship. wales must beat turkey tonight in cardiff, and hope that croatia drop points at home to armenia to book their place in germany — although they do have the insurance of a play?off in march, should results not go their way tonight.

the go their way tonight. new managers come in and n insta nt the new managers come in and made an instant impact. he slightly changed the way they played from one they played them in turkey. and the result certainly against germany was very impressive, so it's going to be a tough game. we've got a plan that will create problems for turkey as well and hopefully for and entertaining. so here's how the group looks ahead of the final round of fixtures. turkey have already qualified — and croatia hold the advantage ahead of tonight's matches. wales were held to a draw in armenia on saturday though — so they'll hope armenia will again cause problems this evening. there's been a huge boost for sarina wiegman and her latest england squad announcement. after suffering an acl and being out for a year — striker beth mead is back for the upcoming nations league matches against the netherlands and scotland. the 23—player squad also includes call ups for 20?year?old grace clinton and 19—year—old

goalkeeper khiara keating. she goalkeeper khiara keating. is a character that bring positive she is a character that brings positive energy on pitch and off pitch. i think we have more players like that but of course her experience, the way she plays, she's different than other players on the wing, so she brings different things. so that's good for the team, too. we have different opportunities again, so yeah, i expect on and offs pitch she will give us some extra energy. the international cricket council has released new regulations that stops transgender women from playing cricket at the highest level. any player who has gone through male puberty will not be regardless of any surgery or treatment undertaken, with this decision made after a nine month consultation process. but the regulations will be reviewed within two years. what cricket is trying to do, i guess, today, in line sports are trying to do, is to find a position of certainty and the

perspective of fairness. to compete internationally in women's cricket you need to go through puberty as a woman. to put it from the other side of it, i guess, there is now no facility to go through male—to—female gender reassignment post puberty and then to play women's cricket. this does bring cricket broadly into line with the stance that sports in general are trying to take on this issue. it is an emotive topic and it is one that has been very difficult to find a position of clarity and fairness on. there'll be a moment of history on magic weekend in next season's super league. the event — which was first held in 2007 — will take place at leeds united's elland road for the first time in 2024. elland road becomes the sixth ground to stage magic weekend after the principality stadium, murrayfield, the etihad stadium, anfield and newcastle's st james' park. and the ice hockey match between the vancouver canucks and the san jose sharks began with a seal of royal approval on monday night. prince harry dropped a ceremonial puck to start the match in the national hockey league — marking

the countdown to the invictus games — which are in vancouver in february 2025. harry's wife, meghan was also present — sitting alongside harry during the game at the rogers arena — which the canucks won 371. and that's all the sport for now. we've been hearing that the us says there is a tentative deal to release dozens of hostages that hamas is holding in gaza. we'vejust dozens of hostages that hamas is holding in gaza. we've just got a statement and an update on those ongoing developments in that tentative deal. a senior israeli official has said that all the security bodies, the idf, and others are in favour of the deal. it goes on to say that for two weeks there

was an insistence not to accept an original offer that had been brokered by qatar who has been brokering this ongoing deal. among other things refusing to allow the palestinian population to return to the north of the gaza strip and limiting the entry of fuel to only the days of the cease—fire. there are other intelligence gathering capabilities, we will not be blind in those six hours when there are no drones and balloons in the air. the statement says, it says within four days, 50 people, israelis who are alive will be released, in addition maybe hamas will release thais unilaterally. it is said there are around 214 people who have been held since the 7th of october in those attacks by hamas. —— 240 people. 12 israelis every day, after four days there will be 50 hostages in israel.

so that statement coming from a senior official in israel, suggesting that within four days, 50 israelis will be released as part of these ongoing hostage deal. of course we will have more on any developers that come into us on those talks, as and when we get them. but all of that comes as a short while ago, us presidentjoe biden spoke to reporters and he said that he also believed that the all parties involved are very close to securing a deal to release hostages. we've been working on this intensively for weeks as you all know, spoken recently both to president netanyahu and qatar. the region is... we are now very close, very close. to bringing some of these hostages home. very soon. but i don't want to get into details of

things because nothing is done until it's done. and we have more to say, we will, things are looking good at the moment. we will, things are looking good at the moment-— we will, things are looking good at the moment. some positive noises the moment. some positive noises the are the moment. some positive noises they are coming — the moment. some positive noises they are coming from _ the moment. some positive noises they are coming from the - the moment. some positive noises they are coming from the white . they are coming from the white house. earlier i spoke to our security correspondent frank gardner to get more on those talks. the security correspondent frank gardner to get more on those talks.— to get more on those talks. the us has been very _ to get more on those talks. the us has been very heavily involved - to get more on those talks. the us has been very heavily involved in i has been very heavily involved in these negotiations behind the scenes. although qatar is the main mediator and the broker, they have been taking place mainly in doha and qatar, israel on one hand and hamas on the other, nevertheless the us is involved. the cia director william burns has been there and brentwood girt, president netanyahu's... push them close together. in terms of the israeli cabinet meetings will be really crucial. they have got through, it seems, the bulk of the sticking points, and much of the

delays are now are about the practicalities, the logistics. i have to say it is still a confusing picture because the numbers are still fluctuating around. but it does appear, the latest version that has been talked about is still around an initial release of 50 hostages in batches of ten, probably ten a day, something like that. of course you are after a member there is a full—scale war going on here, and hamas who are negotiating this, are under enormous military pressure from israel. so you've got the time delay that it takes to get messages from doha, that negotiation being deal, back to hamas, often underground, in gaza. but nevertheless it looks like the first 50 will include, well not entirely, women, children, the elderly, incompetence, etc. that suits hamas,

these are people they don't want to particularly to hang onto. the next negotiation which is going to involve the competence, the israeli defence force individuals, men and women who they have captured and taken into gaza and i expect that hamas will ask at much higher price for them. at the moment the figure being talked about in terms of palestinian prisoners to be released from israel he jails and these are women and children, primarily, or at least people who are under 18 at the time of their arrest. in the region of 150, some reports are saying 300, others are saying lower than that. and frank, as male from hamas describe what he said was atrios probably being agreed. what does that mean in practical terms? this that mean in practicalterms? this is the translation _ that mean in practicalterms? this is the translation of _ that mean in practical terms? ti 3 is the translation of the big word. this kind of a bone of contention.

all for a long time israel said they absolutely wouldn't allow a cease—fire because they think that hamas would simply use that to rearm, restock, possibly move hostages around to places that they'd be harder to find. but they are open to humanitarian pauses and it does look as if part of this deal may well, it is not confirmed yet, nothing is confirmed, but it may well include a pause in the fighting of up to five days. no it's not clear whether that is going to be for a few hours each day or for a solid period of three, four, or even five days. that would allow the gathering of the hostages who are going to be released, handed over to the international committee, the red cross, and brought out almost certainly to rafa, the southern crossing point of egypt. and that would come with the aid going into gaza, including much—needed fuel. has gaza, including much—needed fuel. as someone who has watched this region

for many years, what has been striking in the last few weeks and is the role that qatar is playing in all of this. it’s is the role that qatar is playing in all of this. �* , ., is the role that qatar is playing in all of this. �* , . , all of this. it's an interesting role because _ all of this. it's an interesting role because qatar - all of this. it's an interesting role because qatar is - all of this. it's an interesting role because qatar is an - all of this. it's an interesting - role because qatar is an interesting paradox. it is a western ally. it is home to an enormous air base used by the us and its allies, from which the us and its allies, from which the coalition air campaign against isis who bombs them in muscle was conducted from there. at the same time it's home to hamas' political wing. so in some ways it's protect perfectly positioned to be the mediator, go—between. it is not particularly popular at all times with its neighbours, for some years it was under the blockade by the uae, they have patched up their differences but there's still a degree of suspicion by its

neighbours that hamas is allowed to operate at least politically there. nevertheless, qatar has drawn a lot of praise from president biden, from the israelis, and from those involved in these deals because they are being the honest broker, they just want to see this deal get through, and i should just say, by the way, that even if this hostage deal gets approved and 50 hostages and do come out, that still leaves dozens behind. some of whom who'll be alive, some who may unfortunately not be. and the next lot of negotiations which qatar is going to continue to broker are going to be tough indeed. ibibfc continue to broker are going to be tough indeed-— tough indeed. bbc security correspondent _ tough indeed. bbc security correspondent frank - tough indeed. bbc security l correspondent frank gardner tough indeed. bbc security - correspondent frank gardner there. some developments that are just come into us here in the newsroom, the first one comes from white house spokespersonjohn kirby who says 50 trucks with humanitarian aid and 20,000 gallons of fuel have entered gaza in the last 24 hours.

meanwhile, a tweet from the head of the world health organization has said that one of the organization's employees has been killed in gaza alongside her six—month—old baby, husband, and two brothers. the tweet from the who, says my colleagues are and i are devastated, we lost one of our own in gaza today. there is a photo there of the victim, she was dema al hodge. the tree goes on otherfamily other family members in the same house were also killed. we don't have any more details of how the family died except that we are told that they died in gaza, and that post there from the head of the who on x which is formally known as twitter.

the review is said it was unavoidable and unnecessary for the police to release sensitive personal information about her health struggles. nicola bullies body was found in the river in february, several weeks after she went missing. our north of england correspondent danny savage has this report. forweeks correspondent danny savage has this report. for weeks three weeks last winter nicola bully�*s picture was everywhere. she vanished from a lancashire riverbank, her phone was found on this bench. her dog was off it's lead nearby. they were right, but a report today criticised some of the police decision making during the time she was unaccounted for. our thoughts, first and foremost, remain with nicola's family

and friends at this difficult time. in particular, a decision to release sensitive personal information the release of nicola's personal information was unnecessary and avoidable. there were opportunities to stop that happening throughout the investigation. it would have been much better had nicola been declared as a high risk missing person from the outset, and indeed there was an early press conference where some misleading information was given that said there were no issues of vulnerability around nicola which actually probably contributed to a number of the conspiracy theories about, "well, something awful must have happened, then, if there were no vulnerabilities that led to her being high risk." the public was told about her struggles with alcohol and the menopause. today's review said this was avoidable and unnecessary. lancashire police has responded to the criticisms. obviously there is learning that's been identified within the review, and you would expect it of a review of this nature, so we are keen

to understand, we fully accept the recommendations in the report and we will implement the changes that need to be made for lancashire constabulary. the report does praise lancashire police for much of its investigative work. experts correctly predicted nearly to the exact day when they believed nicola's body would be found. but the intervening three weeks saw what it described as a global social media frenzy as people voiced alternative theories about what may have happened to her. the role of the independent underwater search expert peter faulding was also criticised. i wish we could have actually at least found something to rule out if nicola's in the river. his public statements caused consternation at lancashire police headquarters, who believed he shouldn't be talking to the press. he says he signed no agreement not to talk publicly. ultimately this whole sorry public saga would have had a lot lower

profile if lancashire police had given the bigger picture shortly after nicola bulley disappeared. danny savage, bbc news, preston. king charles is hosting his first state visit since his coronation. three—day trip to the uk — with trade and investment expected to be a key focus. live now to our reporter nicky schiller at buckingham palace. yes, read a state bank banquet will be held, the king and the president will both make speeches during the banquet of which 170 guests have been invited to take part.- been invited to take part. there will be politicians _ been invited to take part. there will be politicians and _ been invited to take part. there will be politicians and other - will be politicians and other members of the royal family as well,

but one that is keeping a close eye on this, there are around 4000 korean... i asked on this, there are around 4000 korean... iasked him on this, there are around 4000 korean... i asked him about the importance of the state visit. i think that the president's visit will strengthen the tie between south _ will strengthen the tie between south korea and the uk. economically and so there are around 10,000 koreans living in new malls. and how did that come about? living in new malls. yes, we started from the small how do you say family gathering around the new maulden in about the half century ago.

and it brings, as you say, the many korean business and cultural center and restaurant which will attract more korean family and friends. and nowadays that a lot of korean from south korea and north korea, we are work and live together peacefully. and how important do you think it is to integrate the korean culture into the uk? yes, we the korean culture reflect the depths of the long history of the 5000 years and abundance of the pride of the culture. so we like to integrate into new uk society with the uniqueness of the korean culture as well. so i think it's quite important for the not only for the korean but also the british people to get help each other, to see the get help each other, to get along for the multiculturalism and increase the inclusiveness as well. now, the king came to visit new malden and we've got the state visit.

you've been talking to your friends. what have they made of it? the fact that you're getting such a high profile visitor and the fact that it's the state visit? that's right. it was a wonderful thing. we were excited to see the king charles' visit the new malden than two weeks ago. and i think there is a double blessing right up to the king's visit and also the president, the state visit in the uk. and i think it is. how do you say the broaden the cooperation between the south korea and uk very soon. i was going to ask you about that. we've had the ceremonial events today. tomorrow it's more political when he'll meet the prime minister. what do you expect in terms of cooperation between the two countries? i think the both countries, south korea and the uk, has a strong foundation of the cooperation in many sectors, not only economically, but also

technologies like energy. and it and aland you know, the also of the area and which will bring a lot of benefit for the people and country, of the both country. that was counsellor robert tim talking — that was counsellor robert tim talking to me from new boldin. | talking to me from new boldin. i was talkin: to talking to me from new boldin. i was talking to him _ talking to me from new boldin. i was talking to him about _ talking to me from new boldin. i was talking to him about the _ talking to me from new boldin. haws talking to him about the political side because state visits, there are a combination of things. they are the ceremonial which we had today, but also the political. you've often heard the phrase, "soft power". that is what will be be on display when they have the meeting between the prime minister and also the president of south korea who will be at the state banquet in his honour here at buckingham palace here tonight. here at buckingham palace here toniaht. .,

tonight. nikki schiller, for the moment thank— tonight. nikki schiller, for the moment thank you _ tonight. nikki schiller, for the moment thank you very - tonight. nikki schiller, for the| moment thank you very much. the bbc has announced that it has decided to �*rest�* the hit tv show top gear for the �*foreseeable future.�* the bbc says it knows fans of the show will be disappointed but that it is the right thing to do. it follows a crash in which one of the presenters — freddie flintoff — was seriously injured. production of the show has been halted since last december when the accident happened. here�*s david sillito. that looks very, very dangerous. top gear, and freddie flintoff... wow, here we go. ..the car show�*s charismatic daredevil. here dramatically running out of road. but in december of last year there was an accident at the dunsfold park track in surrey that left him with serious facial injuries. filming of the show came to an end, and even months later freddie�*s injuries are still visible. however, little is known about what actually happened that day. his co—host chris harris told bbc breakfast that everyone had agreed to say nothing. he�*s healing, you know? it was a serious incident. i�*m not going to say

any more than that. but i�*m so proud of the fact that team top gear kept everything quiet and we were dignified. there is nothing out there about what happened. an independent investigation said the show had followed safety procedures, but there were lessons for the future. and so the bbc has today said the uk show is being rested for the foreseeable future. but it�*s not the end of top gear. it�*s a format that�*s had many incarnations. in the �*80s it was a cardigan—clad earnest consumer programme. and maryjohns has been having a spot of trouble i changing her plugs. in the noughtiesjeremy clarkson added comedy and some terrifying and dangerous risk—taking. these days there are many variants. this, the italian approach. mamma mia! 0h! and this is top gear, french—style. they laugh. but the uk version will not be returning for a good while. the bbc has reached a financial settlement with freddie flintoff

and is now working out how it can keep the top gear magic without endangering the lives of those behind the wheel. david sillito, bbc news. before we lead you let�*s recap our main story this hour. us president joe biden says they are very close to securing a deal between hamas and israel which would see the release of a number of hostages who have been held since the 7th of october is after hamas�* attacks. benjamin netanyahu has the meeting with his war cabinet, we can show you pictures there live from tel aviv of a protest demanding the released of hostages, family members who have been attending those poor protests for a number of days. a senior israeli official says all the security bodies, the idf and others are in favour of the deal, it says for a few weeks there was an

insistence not to accept a original offerfrom insistence not to accept a original offer from qatar insistence not to accept a original offerfrom qatar amongst insistence not to accept a original offer from qatar amongst other things would have allowed the palestinian population to return to the north of the gaza strip. now it says this statement, that within four days, 50 people who are israelis will be released. meanwhile, police and whales say that for missing teenagers have been found, the bodies of the four were found, the bodies of the four were found in a card that appeared to have been left near the road. at the moment this appears to have been a tragic accident. we�*ll have more of those stories here on bbc news and the website. good evening. we�*ve had a lot of dry weather around today, but quite a bit of cloud. even if it�*s just been high cloud in the north, it�*s starting to thicken up now with the skies becoming overcast this evening and overnight in the north with some rain and some heaviest rain as well across the highlands of scotland. whilst in contrast, showers in the south will clear the winds that we�*ve had all day ease away.

so we could see not only some fog around that morning, but some ground frost and some ice on the cars. and you can see the rain does stretch into parts of north wales and northern england. but look at the contrast. temperatures this morning started at freezing in the glens of scotland, much milder to start here tomorrow morning and for northern ireland. and that�*s because of the combination of the cloud and the rain and the wind. some strong and gusty winds here tomorrow, 40, 45 miles an hour whilst further south, it�*s the lack of wind. that means we�*ll start with a little bit of mist orfog. once that clears, it looks brighter and dry for the majority of wales central and southern parts of england. further north though, north wales north really some thicker clouds and drizzly rain, but the most persistent over the highlands of scotland. but it�*s much milder at 13 or 14 and that mild weather stays with us through wednesday night. so, too, the rain on our weather front, which starts to meander southwards during the night and into thursday. so behind it, brighter, scattered showers on thursday to the south of it, a mist clearing and then bright, too. but we do have this line of rather more persistent rain.

it�*s the dividing line between the mild air to the south and that colder air i hinted at earlier to the north. so we�*re starting to feel the effect of that arctic blast by the end of thursday across scotland. and it will be right the way across the country friday, saturday to start on sunday. but there�*s just the hint now that we�*ll see a temporary low pressure coming in sunday, but a bright, cold, crisp start friday. the showers will be of sleet and snow by the end of the day, even at lower levels in the north and rain and hail on the coast in the east and it will feel colder. these are the daytime temperatures much lower than we�*ll have all week and add on that strong wind, particularly for scotland and eastern england. that�*s where we�*ll see the chilliest feeling weather. yes, a cold day for all and a cold night following friday night into saturday with perhaps a few more showers coming onshore near the north sea coast. a little ridge of high pressure, though, keeping things settled for the start of the weekend. just that area of rain coming into the north on sunday. so still a question mark on the outlook, but certainly a cold snap for most.

at six. police searching for four teenagers who�*ve been missing since sunday have found the bodies of four boys in a car in north wales. jevon hirst, harvey owen, wilf henderson and hugo morris disappeared after going on a camping trip. their car was found today — it had veered off the road.

this was a search that involved mountain rescue teams, even police helicopters but as you said today ultimately a car was found in which four bodies the other main story. president biden says he believes a hostage deal with hamas is now very close. israel�*s government is meeting right now to discuss a possible agreement. we�*ll have the latest from tel aviv. the government announces an increase in the living wage from april, as the chancellor prepares to unveil his autumn statement tomorrow. and the bbc says the long running hit show top gear won�*t be back for the foreseeable future. we look back at its highs and lows. and coming up on bbc news — out of their hands but still in with a shout. wales need a win and things to go their way to qualify automatically for euro 2024.