live from london, this is bbc news. two russian israeli hostages are freed by hamas. further releases are expected today of both israeli hostages and palestinian prisoners. hamas claims the youngest israeli hostage, ten—month—old kfir bibas, as well as his brother and mother, were killed in an israeli air strike. israel is investigating. talks continue over a possible further extension to the truce in gaza — it's due to end in the early hours of thursday. nato foreign ministers discuss the ukraine war, with the us's top diplomat insisting they're standing firm in their support for kyiv. hello, welcome to the daily global, where we'll bring you the top

stories from around the world. let's begin in the middle east, and two further hostages taken from israel by hamas have been released. they were two russian women, one, 73, on the left—hand side, and 150, on the right. —— one is 50. they are now with its special forces insight is really territory. —— idf special forces inside israeli territory. the israeli army says it's investigating claims by hamas that three hostages, including a baby, were killed in an israeli missile strike. hamas says ten—month—old kfir bibas died, along with his four—year—old brother, ariel, and their mother, shiri. the whereabouts of the father, yarden, remains unknown. family members say they've been informed of the claims. on monday, the israeli army said the missing family members had been transferred by hamas to another palestinian group in the gaza strip and were being held in the southern city of khan younis. the us is reported as saying it is hopeful the truce in gaza can

as pa rt of as part of these hostage releases, israel says 330 palestinian detainees from a detention centre in jerusalem have been released. live now to mark regev, the former israeli ambassador to the united kingdom. hejoins us now. mr reg i , thank you for taking the time to speak to us. i would like to talk about the bibas family. hamas says they were killed in israeli air strikes and it hasn't said that throughout this conflict that israel's apartment of gaza would inevitably result in the deaths of thoseit inevitably result in the deaths of those it was holding hostage —— it has said. how do you respond to that? ~ ., ., . ., that? we are looking into it. we are investigating _ that? we are looking into it. we are investigating full _ that? we are looking into it. we are investigating full bob _ that? we are looking into it. we are investigating full bob obviously - that? we are looking into it. we are investigating full bob obviously we i investigating full bob obviously we are worried. hamas has set also to things. we had a terrorist released this week and it was said before that she was killed, and in the end she was alive, yet we found the

bodies, our military, of two women's taken alive by hamas, by the terrorists, and they were killed, we presume, by the terrorists while they were under captivity. of course we are worried, especially since this is the youngest of the hostages, kfir bibas, was taken when he was eight months old, and you have to ask, what sort of people are we dealing with? who is israel's enemy here? people who kidnapped babies. he was taken hostage, he was abducted before he could walk or talk. and i think this encapsulates what hamas is all about. we really are fighting fanatical extremists who have no sense at all of decency. mr regev, what can you tell us about

the hostage release and prisoner release ongoing at the moment? we have release ongoing at the moment? - have accepted a framework that was negotiated with the help of the americans and we thank the president biden for his assistance in this. we have agreed to the extension of the humanitarian pause and ten hostages are going to be released every day for the extension of and what has been understood is this will happen for the next two days, but israel is willing to continue with this framework. from our point of view the pot can continue as long as hamas continued to release hostages, and those who want to see the continuation of the pause and there many of them in the international community, it is clear, pressure must be placed on hamas. if they continue to release hostages than the pause can continue. meanwhile there has been _ the pause can continue. meanwhile there has been israeli _ the pause can continue. meanwhile there has been israeli military - there has been israeli military activity in the occupied west bank was to palestinian sources there say

that two children were killed by israeli gunfire. what happened there? i israeli gunfire. what happened there? ., �* israeli gunfire. what happened there? ., ., , ., there? i don't have the details, and i there? i don't have the details, and i apologise- — there? i don't have the details, and i apologise- i _ there? i don't have the details, and i apologise- i do — there? i don't have the details, and i apologise. i do know— there? i don't have the details, and i apologise. i do know what - there? i don't have the details, and i apologise. i do know what we - there? i don't have the details, and i apologise. i do know what we are | i apologise. i do know what we are doing. you have unfortunately a cross the west bank, hamas cells, other terrorist cells, and they wanted to do the sort of violence we saw hamas commit on october the 7th. in other words, a fear they want to bring about an overall escalation, they want to, to jewish bring about an overall escalation, they want to, tojewish communities, on the west bank or on the israeli side of the green line, and massacre people. israel has been very energetically preempting, we have been arresting hamas and other activists in the middle of the night, sometimes there are gunfights, sometimes people are killed, but the most port thing is we want to prevent this sort of hamas terrorism and so far we have been successful precisely because we have been proactive, we have been taking the fight to the terrorists and we have been dealing with the threat. ,.,

and we have been dealing with the threat. . ~ ., .,, . ., ., threat. going back to the topic of a truce, threat. going back to the topic of a truce. talks — threat. going back to the topic of a truce, talks ongoing _ threat. going back to the topic of a truce, talks ongoing at _ threat. going back to the topic of a truce, talks ongoing at the - threat. going back to the topic of a | truce, talks ongoing at the moment which you mentioned earlier were in the finalfew hours, which you mentioned earlier were in the final few hours, this stage of the final few hours, this stage of the agreement. what is israel looking for to secure its involvement in an ongoing truce? theoretically, we are still waiting for people to be released tonight, and we never can our count our chickens before they hatch. yes, we still have to see ten hostages on israeli soil later tonight, then as has been on in the past, we should be room receiving a list later tonight, possibly in the early hours of the morning, which will say who is to be released tomorrow and that means we can know that this process of deposit is bringing back our people and it can continue. after that, once again, we are prepared to continue on the assumption that hamas commits to further releases. without further releases, the humanitarian pause will and stop by the united nations says 45% of homes.

in gaza, not military stoppage means, not command centres, peoples homes, have been damaged or destroyed in israeli military activity, according to the un. the un secretary—general says disease is now the biggest risk for the people in gaza and they need a true humanitarian cease—fire. is mr gutierrez going to get from israel what he wants? == gutierrez going to get from israel what he wants?— gutierrez going to get from israel what he wants? , ~ , , what he wants? -- is mr guterres. he called three — what he wants? -- is mr guterres. he called three weeks _ what he wants? -- is mr guterres. he called three weeks ago _ what he wants? -- is mr guterres. he called three weeks ago for— what he wants? -- is mr guterres. he called three weeks ago for a - called three weeks ago for a cease—fire, and had we agreed then, we would never have got our hostages out, and so far we have got out, what is it, close to 60 people out? they would still be in hamas prison and abductive. that is why we condition this sort of humanitarian pause on getting our people out. find pause on getting our people out. and finall , pause on getting our people out. and finally, because i appreciate your tight for time, finally, because i appreciate your tight fortime, mr finally, because i appreciate your

tight for time, mr regev, during the 19905, tight for time, mr regev, during the 1990s, when the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu was involved in the memorandum, he talked about a road to permanent peace. i appreciate that was a long time ago — do you think that is something being considered by mr netanyahu? something being considered by mr netan ahu? ' :: :: ' something being considered by mr netan ahu? ' :: :: , something being considered by mr netanyahu?— something being considered by mr netan ahu? ' i: i: , ., .,, .,, something being considered by mr netan ahu? ' :: :: , ., ., netanyahu? 10096. look, hamas has to be understood — netanyahu? 10096. look, hamas has to be understood - — netanyahu? 10096. look, hamas has to be understood - it _ netanyahu? 10096. look, hamas has to be understood - it is _ netanyahu? 10096. look, hamas has to be understood - it is not _ netanyahu? 10096. look, hamas has to be understood - it is notjust a - be understood — it is notjust a vicious enemy of israel, but it is also a fanatical anomie of any peace and reconciliation between israelis and reconciliation between israelis and arabs. —— fanatical anomie. they have always been opposed, they say so in their charter. they say any arab leader who makes peace with israel is a traitor to the arab world and the muslim face. —— muslim faith. they say israel has a right to exist in any borders. they say anyjew is a target for terrorists. you take the most violent and extreme enemy of peace, and if you defeat them, i believe there will be moderate voices of the defeat the

vacuum, and i would say the following. we have seen how the arab world has responded to hamas's violence. we know in arab capitals across the middle east there is not across the middle east there is not a lot of tears for hamas and i think once hamas is defeated and we will defeat them, decisively, i think you will see the circle of peace between the arab world and israel continue to expand and we will see more relationship with more arab countries. ultimately, once again, you defeat the most violent enemy of peace, that creates room, oxygen, for the more pragmatic and moderate forces to fill the void. mark for the more pragmatic and moderate forces to fill the void.— forces to fill the void. mark regev, thank ou forces to fill the void. mark regev, thank you very _ forces to fill the void. mark regev, thank you very much _ forces to fill the void. mark regev, thank you very much for _ forces to fill the void. mark regev, thank you very much for being - forces to fill the void. mark regev, thank you very much for being with us, appreciate it.— us, appreciate it. thanks for having me. let's get more on the situation in the occupied west bank. earlier, i spoke to nour odeh, who is a palestinian activist and the palestinian authority's first female government spokesperson. what's been going on in the west bank today, and for the past seven weeks, is an escalation of already record—breaking israeli violence

against palestinians. over the past few years we have seen un agencies worn that the number of palestinians killed in the west bank is at an all—time high. that was one year and then the following year was the same, and now injust the past seven weeks, israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 200 palestinians. i think what is remarkable, or shockingly palestinians. i think what is remarkable, orshockingly similar, remarkable, or shockingly similar, about remarkable, orshockingly similar, about these raids since seven weeks is that when the israeli forces go into palestinian towns likejenin, they are destroying the infrastructure, they are completely obliterating roads and neighbourhoods, they are destroying homes. notjust blowing up one home as they have done consistently for many months, saying that this was the home of someone on their wanted list or someone that they assassinated or a palestinian they accuse of attacking, but really we are seeing pictures of entire

neighbourhoods assassinated, and there's a parallel, i think, there that we need to take note of, especially in light of the rhetoric we are hearing from israeli officials. just today, a very senior israeli minister said that there were 2 million nazis living in the west bank, in reference to the palestinians. there is a lot of connections in the minds of palestinians and observers, i believe, and a lot of fear that this kind of incitement, this kind of dehumanisation, will result in even more brutal attacks against palestinian cities.— more brutal attacks against palestinian cities. you talk about israeli officials _ palestinian cities. you talk about israeli officials there, _ palestinian cities. you talk about israeli officials there, israel - palestinian cities. you talk about israeli officials there, israel as i israeli officials there, israel as you mention said they have killed a senior commander from the group the palestinian islamichhad. israel often in these situations also says that the very nature of these groups, the way they work, is that the only way to fight against them does unfortunately mean civilians sometimes get in the way, and that

is because of the way these groups operate, how do you respond to that? it is very convenient thing to say, isn't it? on the one hand, you make your opponents look like monsters. on the other w excuse the consistent failure to protect civilians —— on the other, you excuse. the toll on civilians your violence produces for some more than 60 palestinian kids have been killed since october the 7th by israeli soldiers and settlers. that is not an accept one number. these are not unintended casualties —— not an acceptable number. these are casualties. the two palestinians israel has cleaned it has killed, it is difficult to verify, because they have abducted the bodies, so i think we will hear from the groups they belong to if they are in fact the ones who were targeted, to see for confirmation, but that is also a consistent israeli action of which is particularly brutal, which is the objection of the bodies of

palestinians it kills, and they hold onto these bodies, they do not release them to their families to be buried. that was nour odeh, a palestinian activist and former spokesperson for the palestinian authority. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. australia's prime minister has given a national apology to survivors of the thalidomide scandal and theirfamilies. it comes over 60 years after the morning sickness drug started causing birth defects in babies globally. anthony albanese said, "this apology takes in one "of the darkest chapters in australia's medical history." this is the first time the government has acknowledged its role in the tragedy. one person died when a us military aircraft with six people on board crashed off yakushima island in south—western japan. japan's nhk broadcaster said the cv—22 plane had one engine on fire when it tried to land at yakushima airport. the us military is yet to comment.

an inquest has heard four teenagers drowned after their car overturned on a camping trip in north wales. jevon hirst, harvey owen, wilf fitchett and hugo morris were found in an overturned, partially submerged car in gwynedd on the 21st of november. a search was launched after the teenagers from shrewsbury failed to return home. you're live with bbc news. very good to have your company. here in the uk, the covid inquiry continued today with appearances the former health secretary sajid javid has detailed the structure at the top of government during the beginning of the pandemic, including what he called "dysfunctionality" in decision—making processes. he said that he felt that former chief adviser domnic cummings was making key decisions, not the prime minister. but a lot of those requests, once probed, weren't actually coming from the prime minister. they might be anything from a request for information, request for detail, but also

for policy change or policy preference. on probing further, they would be coming from mr cummings. and if it was one or two times, a few times, then i wouldn't have thought anything unusual of that, but it was constantly... so many requests of that nature were coming from mr cummings. it was different in my experience, and obviously i can't speak to other governments. the extent of dysfunctionality was something i had not experienced before in any government. that was sajid javid there. former deputy prime minister dominic raab also appeared in front of the inquiry this afternoon. he was there to drive forward delivery, and also, i think — and he was certainly well disposed to this and i think well suited to this —

try and miss the daily hustle and bustle of events brought up by the media, or whatever was the issue of the day, take a half—step back and try to look strategically. and i think that was the intention of his role. and i also thought... you'll come onto this, but in terms of diagnosis, i mean, quite a few of the things that he diagnosed that were wrong, i think he was right about. the broader question you raised about whether...boris johnson was actually a puppet, i'm afraid i don't find that a serious allegation. our correspondent hannah miller was at the inquiry and has sent this update. we've heard two very different perspectives today from two senior ministers who were at the heart of government, particularly in the months leading up to the first lockdown in 2020. dominic raab said that he was given just five minutes' notice of when he had to step in for prime minister borisjohnson when borisjohnson was sent

to hospital with covid. but in general, he was quite... he sort of defended the government's record throughout that time. he insisted that the best decisions were made during the pandemic with fluid information that was available at the time. that stood in really quite stark contrast to some of the things that sajid javid was saying. he was chancellor in the months leading up to the pandemic, until he resigned as a result of a row with the former prime minister borisjohnson's then adviser, dominic cummings. sajid javid described government at the time as being dysfunctional. he was an experienced minister. he suggested that he hadn't seen number 10 operating in this way in his previous experience, and he said that dominic cummings was seeking to be prime minister in all but name. that is clearly quite an accusation about the way that the pandemic

was being handled between those personalities right in the heart of government, but it's one that dominic raab flatly rejected and said he didn't really recognise that kind of characterisation. then aside from that, of course, you had damejenny harries. at the time of the pandemic, she was the deputy chief medical officer. evidence emerged from her today suggesting that she thought that people who had covid and were in hospital were going to have to be unfortunately discharged into care homes. that email that the inquiry saw today, i'm sure, will come up in evidence in the coming days because it perhaps gives ministers such as matt hancock, who was health secretary at the time, who will be speaking at some point in the coming weeks to the inquiry, it perhaps gives him a little bit of a defence for why one of the most controversial

decisions, really, happened, that decision for people with covid to go into care homes. seeing today the evidence from damejenny harries, perhaps he has a little bit more protection for the decisions that were taken then. but there are still a number of days of evidence to come from really senior ministers and people at the heart of government at the time. and an awful lot, when you look at what's been said today, the competing narratives, the different things that have been said, an awful lot for the inquiry to balance. hannah miller. and if you're following the twists and turns of the covid inquiry, you can of course get more on the bbc news website. let's turn our attention to the war in ukraine. foreign ministers from nato member countries have met for a second day in brussels to discuss the war. us secretary of state antony blinken denied other nato members were experiencing "ukraine fatigue" following the continued stress on their economies and demands for more military spending, despite months of stalled progress on the battlefield. nato's secretary general,

jens stoltenberg, spoke to the bbc and said critics of kyiv�*s progress just had to look at how far its military had come since the start of the war. things have not changed much over the last months. but we need to remember where we started. at the beginning of this war, the full—fledged invasion, most experts — and also in nato — we feared that ukraine would collapse within weeks and that russia will control kyiv within days. that did not happen. they were able to push them back in the north, around kyiv, and in the east, around kharkiv, and in the south, around kherson. these are big victories. they have liberated 50% of the territory that russia originally seized. so this is important, and this shows the bravery, the courage of the ukrainian forces, combined with the support from nato allies. and the united kingdom delivers cruise missiles, storm shadows, european allies deliver modern battle tanks and of course us is key in delivering a lot of modern weapons to ukraine. this is making a difference on the battlefield.

that is nato secretary—generaljens stoltenberg. sweden says it's been assured its application to join nato will finally be ratified by turkey more than a year since it applied to join the alliance. sweden's foreign minister, tobias billstrom, says he met his turkish counterpart on tuesday and was told the approval would come "within weeks". turkey has so far refused to ratify sweden's application unless it takes tougher action against kurdish separatists living in sweden. turkey considers them terrorists. applications tojoin nato have to be ratified by all current members. but how close really is sweet into joining nato? and why go through the effort? let's hear the vice president of a think tank. it is difficult to _ president of a think tank. it is difficult to confirm _ president of a think tank. it 3 difficult to confirm the news that swedish foreign minister apparently received is actually true. it may

be. it is sitting for approval with the foreign affairs committee of the turkish parliament. it was sent there by president erdogan. there is every possibility that it will be approved, but sweden has been waiting a very, very long time, allies have been pressuring on the matter but not least the secretary—general, of course, nothing has moved yet, so part of this is about expectations turkey has in sweden but part of it is also maybe a little bit about what work you would like to see from washington. fin you would like to see from washington.— you would like to see from washington. you would like to see from washinuton. , , . washington. on the bigger picture. what don't i _ washington. on the bigger picture. what don't i sweden _ washington. on the bigger picture. what don't i sweden does - washington. on the bigger picture. what don't i sweden does not - washington. on the bigger picture. | what don't i sweden does not share washington. on the bigger picture. i what don't i sweden does not share a border with russia, finland is now a nato member —— sweden does not. is it really essential for sweden to join the alliance? it is quite nicely cushioned by finland and estonia and surrounded by all these other nato countries. why does nato on mac sweden membership? -- whitest we didn't

want it? sweden things it is essential. swedes are now very convinced it is essential for their security, to complete that baltic picture would be essential for nato. it really would make a very, very big difference, and the ukraine more dense rates it makes a very big difference whether you are actually in the alliance or you are out. to have those ironclad security guarantees really matters in the environment we have at the moment. compared to other nato members, in particular the likes of the uk, the us, the recent member of finland, what does sweden bring to the party? it bring some very important geography, for one thing, but it goes beyond that. sweden despite his neutrality has a very good military and some specialise capabilities that will be to baltic security. it brings a great deal in fact with a lot of credibility, a lot of political skill. lot of credibility, a lot of politicalskill. it lot of credibility, a lot of political skill. it would make a

huge contribution for the alliance and every buddy when you see what the turks would do... the and every buddy when you see what the turks would do. . ._ and every buddy when you see what the turks would do... the other side of this is russia, _ the turks would do... the other side of this is russia, which _ the turks would do... the other side of this is russia, which has - the turks would do... the other side of this is russia, which has long - of this is russia, which has long been opposed to swedish and finnish membership. it will not be happy at this, will it? it membership. it will not be happy at this, will it?— this, will it? it will not. surely russia is— this, will it? it will not. surely russia is trying _ this, will it? it will not. surely russia is trying to _ this, will it? it will not. surely russia is trying to keep - this, will it? it will not. surely russia is trying to keep the i russia is trying to keep the turks from approving this. that is not so far been successful, because it has moved along, but turkey is not the only one holding this up it is also hungary, and one presumes that you would go together, but there are some convincing to be done in both capitals, and allies are trying to do it, not least this week with his foreign ministers meeting at nato. and finally, what is the process here? what is the next step? it is sittin: in here? what is the next step? it is sitting in the _ here? what is the next step? it 3 sitting in the turkish parliament. the next step is for the turkish parliament to ratify it. if they do,

then i think sweden is pretty much set. there is the hungarian issue. i think that is a lot easier to deal with, at the end of the day. tziice with, at the end of the day. vice resident with, at the end of the day. vice president of _ with, at the end of the day. vice president of the _ with, at the end of the day. vice president of the think _ with, at the end of the day. vice president of the think tank german marshall fund itself. within the last hour or so we have seen pictures coming out of the middle east, shoving a further release of hostages by hamas. these trucks, red cross trucks, crossed over the prophet crossing into egypt earlier on —— the rafah crossing. we were told among the board two russian israeli women. they are now with idf special forces, israeli women. they are now with idf specialforces, says israeli women. they are now with idf special forces, says the israeli women. they are now with idf specialforces, says the israeli military and the inside israeli territory. at the same time, as part of this exchange, we saw a bus outside and as really present waiting to take palestinian prisoners back towards palestinian —— outside and israeli prison. much

more is still to come, stick with us here on bbc news. hello. a cold evening with temperatures around freezing in many parts of the country and that's how it's going to stay for the rest of the week, the weekend, probably into early next week. and then after that, it does look as though things gradually could turn a little less cold. the satellite picture shows where we had the clearer skies earlier on. but out towards the southwest, a weather front is looming and that may spell some wintry weather in the high ground of southwestern parts of england through the night and into tomorrow. but by 9:00, you can see temperatures there around freezing across many parts of the uk, a little bit milder in cornwall and devon. and that's because we have that weather front here. but through the night, the northeasterly winds continue to bring wintry showers to northern and eastern scotland. some on that north sea coast as well, north york moors,

possibly into east anglia. temperatures minus five there in the morning in glasgow, below freezing in the south, too. now, that weather front that's hugging the south and the southwest will be bumping into that cold that's to the north. so across dartmoor and exmoor, we could see a spell of rain, sleet and snow — could be a covering in places. don't be surprised, but it's not a widespread area of snow here. i think, more than anything, it's going to be really cloudy in the south with outbreaks of rain feeling cold, quite strong winds, too. really unpleasant weather conditions with temperatures hovering around five degrees. now, to the north of that, a totally different picture. lots of sunshine around, about four degrees in liverpool with that crisp sunshine. and again, through the day and into the evening hours, if you squint, you canjust about see these blobs of white there, wintry showers generally across the hills. ok, the forecast then for the end of the week — i think will be entering the peak of the cold, freezing cold weather across scandinavia.

that east northeasterly wind blowing over us. again, a lot of dry, bright, sunny weather, a few showers, some of them wintry. and after a frosty start, the temperatures really will struggle on friday. look at that, barely above freezing in glasgow and aberdeen. around three or four degrees in the south. so more like january or february. so here's the outlook for the rest of the week, the weekend and into next week. staying cold. the weather, however, from time to time will change from sunshine to showers back to sunshine. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: two russian—israeli hostages are freed by hamas — further releases are expected today of both israeli hostages and palestinian prisoners. hamas claims the youngest israeli hostage, 10 month old kfir bibas, as well as his brother and mother, were killed in an israeli air strike. israel is investigating. a senior israeli government spokesman confirms to the bbc that the temporary truce will be extended by another two days. scientists discover what they describe as "the perfect solar system". they hope to soon uncover its secrets.