seed iga swiatek. i'm going to enjoy playing in a great atmosphere. i think the last two matches i've had, the crowd has been amazing, the support here. i have felt at home. it hasjust support here. i have felt at home. it has just been a support here. i have felt at home. it hasjust been a nice feeling to be part of, so i'm looking forward to going out there and testing my game against the best because ultimately, you play tennis... for more sport, you canjoin the sport website, but i'm handing you back to bbc news. let's go live to the house of commons where we are hearing from david lammy, who is delivering a statement to parliament on the gaza ceasefire.— parliament on the gaza ceasefire. �* ., , ., ceasefire. after months of despair. — ceasefire. after months of despair, there _ ceasefire. after months of despair, there is - ceasefire. after months of despair, there is no - ceasefire. after months of despair, there is no hope. | ceasefire. after months of i despair, there is no hope. a glimmer of light in the

darkness, a darkness that had seemed all—consuming since hamas barbaric attack on the 7th of october 2023. i am sure the whole house remembers the agony as we learned the full horror of what happened. the grief as we mourn those who were lost, for the hostage families, the agony has gone on and on. members across the house will have met many of them. including the relatives of british citizens. and i know we have families with us here in the chamber today. i want to pay tribute once again to them for their bravery, humanity and commitment to bring the hostages home. and i invite the

house to remember those murdered in captivity, in their memories being a blessing. i say all those waiting actually to see what it means for them, we are with you in the days and weeks ahead. madam deputy speaker, in gaza today, civilians will be waiting anxiously to see what this deal means for them. and i say to them as well, we are with you as you begin to rebuild your lives. after 15 months of conflict, the level of suffering defies belief. gazans have truly been trapped in hell on earth. over 16,000 killed, so many children's lives extinguished, schools,

hospitals and homes destroyed. hunger and disease, almost 2 million forced to flee their homes with northern gaza cut from the rest of the strip, generation scarred by the savagery of war. among the victims, five rural policy new girl killed alongside members of herfamily —— girl killed alongside members of her family —— five—year—old palestinian girl. among the victims were manyjournalists dedicated to documenting the horrors around them, among the victims were aid workers dedicated to serving others. including british citizensjohn including british citizens john chapman, james including british citizensjohn chapman, james henderson, and james kirby. i invite the house to join james kirby. i invite the house tojoin me in remembering them all. we mourn every innocent victim. beyond this war, the conflict has brought more tensions of conflict into the

wider region. unprecedented arranging attacks, renewed conflict in lebanon, strikes in the red sea and into israel, at times as well our own communities, indeed this house, have been divided by this war. this is a moment of hope for all of us, a moment to unite in support of this ceasefire. the agreement has three stages. in the first six week phase we expect both parties to stop fighting. 33 of the hostages will be freed, children, women, those over 50 and the wounded. israel will start to redeploy to the edge of the strip, palestinians will return to what is left of their homes, the crossing will open. israel will allow 600 truckloads of

aid into gaza each day, and on the 16th day, negotiations will begin on the detail of the second phase. in this second six week phase, the male hostages under 50 will be released, israel would complete its withdrawal from gaza, released, israel would complete its withdrawalfrom gaza, and there would be a permanent ceasefire. finally, a third phase would see the return of the bodies of any remaining hostages and the lifting of economic restrictions on gaza. as president biden said, the elements of this deal are endorsed by the united nations security council last may. but it has taken tireless efforts to reach agreement between both sides with reports of final talks this week lasting an intense 96 hours. i congratulate all those who contributed to getting to the stage. in particular, the prime

minister of qatar, the egyptian resident, president biden and secretary antony blinken, as well as president—elect donald trump. the uk has been supporting them throughout from day one in office, pressing every stage for an immediate ceasefire, to free the hostages, get more aid into gaza and open up a path to lasting peace. i visited gaza and open up a path to lasting peace. ivisited israel in the occupied palestinian territories for the third time as foreign secretaryjust this week. meeting foreign ministers and presidents and hostage families to press for an end to this war i do plan for the future. we have also played a leading role in the humanitarian effort, restarting funding, funding field hospitals that have treated over 300,000 gazans, and

providing over 100 million in support of the palestinians this financial year. i pay tribute to the foreign office ministers in the last government for their work to deliberate to gaza. i know how hard they work now i'm in this role. and this intense effort must continue in the days and weeks ahead. much remains to be done. it is critical there is final approval of this agreement, and the israeli cabinet meets as the israeli cabinet meets as the israeli cabinet meets, i urge them to back this deal. now is not the time for any backtracking. both sides must implement each phase of the deal in full and on time. the history of this conflict is littered with missed opportunities. it would be a tragedy to let slip the

chance before us. we must grab it with both hands, the chance notjust it with both hands, the chance not just for a ceasefire, it with both hands, the chance notjust for a ceasefire, but for a lasting peace. the chance to break the cycle of violence which has inflicted so much suffering on innocent people on both sides. the government is committed to sustaining momentum, howeverfragile the momentum, however fragile the process momentum, howeverfragile the process at first may be. every hostage must be released. as set out in the agreement. every ounce of aid promised to gaza must reach those in need. i'm sending my representative for humanitarian affairs to the region. to work closely with aid agencies, the government and partners to deliver on these promises. palestinians must also be free to return to their homes. and crucially, they will need to rebuild.

rebuild their homes, rebuild their lives, rebuild their communities. they can't do this possibly on their own. they need to feel safe, they need the international community to deliver the funds they will require. the uk has begun to convene partners on the financing and coordination of recovery and reconstruction. it is essential that the coming search of cisterns is coordinated properly and for the access of security to get people or they need —— surge of assistance. the palestinian authority has a crucial role to play. we want donors to support them in their recovery, and i discussed this on monday. we are providing technical and financial assistance to the pa, including the support of the

urgent recovery of services. working with the and civil society will help lay the groundwork for an inclusive palestinian government in gaza. this is the best way to re—establish local order and security, and it is therefore a crucial first step in achieving not only better lives for palestinians, but a future for gaza no longer under the control of hamas. ultimately, it will take time to rebuild gaza and rebuild trust between the two sides. there are risks, i must warn the house, at every turn. but we must try to use this agreement to establish a credible pathway to a two state solution. with equal measures of security, dignity and justice for israelis and palestinians alike. the decades long conflict between israelis

and palestinians cannot be managed, it must now be resolved. madam deputy speaker, we are not yet there. there is much negotiating still to do. and as we debate in this house, fighting continues. this agreement awaits full political approval. the hostage families wait for those hostages to come home. gazans wait for the horrors to be lifted. but we must recognise the significance of this moment. it has been long—awaited, frankly, it has taken far too long. and i sincerely hope it is now the basis for progress, progress on bringing the hostages home, progress on bringing relief, reconstruction, hope to long—suffering civilians, progress towards a two state solution that palestinians and

israelis are living in peace and security, a betterfuture for all. and security, a betterfuture forall. i and security, a betterfuture for all. i commend this statement to the house. shadow foreign secretary. i would like to thank the foreign secretary for his statement. all members recognise the fragile and sensitive nature of the current situation. and there's a long road ahead at one of the most important moments for the middle east, which we all hope will usher in a sustainable end to the dreadful conflict in gaza. this is a conflict which we should never forget was triggered by the horrific hamas terror attacks of october to seventh in 2023. it was the worst terror attack in the history and the most murderous programme against thejewish programme against the jewish people programme against thejewish people since programme against the jewish people since the holocaust. we have the thoughts in our minds the victims, those who lost lives including hostages made it camp 70 and those super lives have been changed forever. every hostage must be

returned safely —— those whose lives. after 15 mums of the most imaginable cruelty at the hands of hamas. even in this agonising pain, the families of those held hostage have kept the torch burning for those loved ones with publicity highlighting their fight. loved ones with publicity highlighting theirfight. we highlighting their fight. we are joined highlighting theirfight. we arejoined in the house highlighting theirfight. we are joined in the house today by the families of hostages we know will not be eligible for immediate release, and i met recently with a mother whose son is in captivity. i think we all pay tribute to them all for the unceasing campaign to secure the release of their loved ones and all of those in captivity. this of course will be a time of great emotions for them, mixed emotions, i in the coming weeks we must continue to wrap our arms around those hostage families. like the foreign secretary, i want to acknowledge the important role

of qatar, egypt and the us and getting those today. that of qatar, egypt and the us and getting those today.— getting those today. that is the shadow _ getting those today. that is the shadow foreign - getting those today. that is l the shadow foreign secretary following david lammy, the uk foreign secretary, who has urged israel to back the ceasefire deal, speaking in the british house of commons, answering a two state solution should be the destination. we will bring you much more on all this, and if you want to follow events on the comments you can go to the iplayer and website which are being updated. you are watching bbc news with special coverage of the middle east. live from london, this is bbc news. anticipation in gaza after months of destruction, as the world waits for the israel — hamas peace deal to take force. but israel's cabinet is still due to vote on the deal — after delaying it — accusing hamas of �*backtracking

the group says it remains committed. live at hostage square in tel aviv where the loved ones of those held in gaza wait nervously to see if they will be heading home. in other news, sir keir starmer arrives in kyiv to sign a partnership deal to deepen security ties. he says the uk would �*never let up' on support for ukraine. the indian film star saif ali khan, is in hospital, being treated for multiple stab wounds after an intruder broke into his home. hello, i'm geeta guru—murthy, welcome to bbc news now, we start in the middle east where there's still much uncertainty, despite the hostage and ceasefire deal that's been announced between israel and the palestinians. the agreement is set to take effect on sunday after diplomatic

efforts led by qatar