welcome to newsday, i'm steve lai. some breaking news to bring you — several news agencies are reporting that the office of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said a "deal to release the hostages" has been reached. a statement said the families of the hostages had been informed and that preparations were being made to receive them upon their return. if the deal is approved by israel's cabinet, the truce agreement would begin on sunday and involve the exchange of israeli hostages for palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised. our international editorjeremy bowen has this report from jerusalem. just a few hours after the ceasefire agreement was announced, men in northern gaza were back digging through the rubble for the dead and wounded after an israeli strike.

the ceasefire is not due to start until sunday. then they heard a small voice. boy screams. he was alive. strong enough to wave for help. his name is assad fadel khalifa. his parents, sister, aunt and uncle, we're told, were killed in the strike. he's three years old. his mouth was full of gravel and dust. he was trying to pull it out himself. we went to nablus on the west bank, the other side of the occupied palestinian territories, to try to assess the mood. israel won't let us into gaza. nablus is a palestinian city with a long history of resistance to the israeli occupation. it's a toy gun. down the street, the faces of men killed using real guns to fight israelis, some from a militia known as the lion's den.

heroic martyrs here, terrorists as far as israel is concerned. amar has a stall selling sweetcorn. translation: peace is difficult, _ because you need to go back to the religion and doctrine. but we would love for the bombing to stop and for them to leave gaza, and for the prisoners to get freed, and for everyone to go back to their homes and family, because they suffered a lot in this war. may god help them. at her stall, amina is desperate for the ceasefire to work. translation: it affected us a lot here, both financially and mentally. we, especially women, are affected by what we are seeing. the children who are dying. we hope we could help, but we can only pray. a ceasefire, if it could hold, would be a considerable and an overdue achievement. but the sad truth is that it wouldn't end the conflict

between palestinians and israelis. everything that has happened since the october 7 attacks has made the conflict about as bitter as it's ever been. just outside nablus is the jewish settlement of kedumim, home to leaders of the settler movement. daniella weiss has lived here for 50 years. now she's working through her list of right—wing connections, trying to overturn the ceasefire deal she says is a betrayal. for me, today is a very difficult day. what government, what prime minister, with common sense, will give back the area from where thousands of gaza people attacked us, conquered our — parts of our country? this is treachery. what does all this mean for israel? what does it add up to? in simple words, get ready for another war.

it's cruel. dangerous, with many casualties. this is what it means today. itamar ben—gvir, minister of national security, shares her views, threatening to resign if the ceasefire is ratified. it is a reckless deal, he said, that releases hundreds of murderous terrorists, allows thousands of terrorists back to northern gaza and erases what he called the war�*s achievements. back to northern gaza, and erases what he called the war�*s achievements. ben—gvir stalked off with supporters from his party, jewish power. ultra—nationalist opposition to the ceasefire is a major political problem for benjamin netanyahu. outside his office, israelis who want to bury the ceasefire deal held a fake funeral. they want the prime minister

to keep his promise to destroy hamas and rescue all the hostages. for them, negotiating a phased prisoner exchange with hamas and pulling out of gaza smells like defeat. police made some arrests. many israelis support the ceasefire. for now the anger of those who don't is cancelled out by donald trump's determination to take a diplomatic victory into the white house. but the coffins, intended to warn about the ceasefire's dangers, are also a sign to the ceasefire's supporters that it might not end the war. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. i'm joined now byjaved ali, former member of the us national security council and the fbi national counterterrorism center. javed, after some concerns from israel, it seems the ceasefire is on track?— is on track? when i have had multile is on track? when i have had multiple conversations - is on track? when i have had multiple conversations overl is on track? when i have had i multiple conversations over the possibility of a ceasefire. here we are, in our thursday

evening in the united states, it looks like the ceasefire has been agreed to by all the parties involved but as the previous clip withjeremy showed, there are still very deep divisions, not only on the palestinian side but certainly within israel itself. so we will have to wait and see over the next few days as the israeli cabinet, if it holds together, even with a couple of people resigning potentially, to ratify the agreement and then on sunday for the terms of then on sunday for the terms of the ceasefire in phase one to start and that is just the beginning of what will be a very long process. figs beginning of what will be a very long process.- beginning of what will be a very long process. as you said, we have been _ very long process. as you said, we have been discussing - very long process. as you said, we have been discussing the i we have been discussing the prospect of a ceasefire for a long time that one factor that hasn't come into play is the imminent arrival of donald trump into the white house. how big a factor do you think that is and what do you think his middle east agenda is? 50. is and what do you think his middle east agenda is? so, as ou middle east agenda is? so, as you mentioned, _ middle east agenda is? so, as you mentioned, you _ middle east agenda is? so, as you mentioned, you and - middle east agenda is? so, as you mentioned, you and i- middle east agenda is? so, as

you mentioned, you and i and| you mentioned, you and i and you mentioned, you and i and you and others have talked about potential for a ceasefire this last months. and in the after months of the november elections where donald trump one and now he is coming back to office, that seems to be a factor. was the potentialfirst ceasefire to be finalised just as close prior to that? we don't know the answer to that right now, but at least going forward, since november of last year, that seems to be a major factor, not the only factor was top and president trump has warned all sides involved that if the deal doesn't happen or a ceasefire doesn't happen by the time he comes back into office, and that is now next monday, four days from now, that in his words, the paraphrase is that there would be hell to pay. and i mostly hinting at threats against hamas. i think that message was delivered loud and clear and it has been the work on the biden administration and the incoming trump

administration to get all the parties involved in the conflict to the table and work out the aspects of a ceasefire deal even though there are elements of it but a very unpopular within israel and probably even on the palestinian side as well. yes, and it is set _ palestinian side as well. yes, and it is set to _ palestinian side as well. yes, and it is set to take _ palestinian side as well. yes, and it is set to take place - palestinian side as well. yes, and it is set to take place or i and it is set to take place or to go into action this sunday. there are quite a few different factors here at play that could perhaps derail it. lots of questions that are still unanswered including who is going to be in charge of gaza. yeah, and that is another one of these aspects of the deal, as it transitions into different phases, if the deal holds up, interphase two and three is that as the hostage exchanges occur, as hamas prisoners are released, as more humanitarian aid comes in to the gaza strip and the initial efforts to rebuild and reconstruct and deal with the devastation there, who is then going forward going to be in charge of the gaza strip? and

already on the israeli side they have said they do not want to see hamas return as the governing power in the gaza strip but if that is indeed the israeli position than what is the alternative? is israel going to be in charge of the reconstruction and the humanitarian relief in the gaza strip? will there be some other coalition of countries either under a un banner or some other international coalition that provides that stabilisation, even the sound of military force? these are all questions right now that are unanswered and what is the role of the palestinian authority in the west bank which is also unpopular, even in the west bank. a they going to now be in charge of the gaza strip as well. untilthat charge of the gaza strip as well. until that gets solved there is still going to be a lot of difficult questions on just governance going forward. yeah, many questions indeed, just quickly, what are you looking out for next that will tell us which way these events are going to unfold? i tell us which way these events are going to unfold?— are going to unfold? i think

something _ are going to unfold? i think something to _ are going to unfold? i think something to look - are going to unfold? i think something to look out - are going to unfold? i think something to look out for l are going to unfold? i think. something to look out for with your viewers is that as we enter into phase one, how will israel treat the implementation of even these initial stages of phase one, and if they think that hamas is not living up to the terms and conditions of the ceasefire, will israel resume military operations and conduct kind of strikes thatjeremy�*s clip showed, that even over the last or so, that dozens of palestinians have been killed. and nobody wants to see a return to that but that is the leverage that israel has right now, that at any time if they think the deal has fallen apart or is there a violation or if hamas is even gearing up of some sort of possible attack and we potentially could have a resumption of military operations. i resumption of military operations.— resumption of military oerations. ., ., , , . ., operations. i do appreciate our operations. i do appreciate your time. _ operations. i do appreciate your time, javed _ operations. i do appreciate your time, javed ali. - meanwhile, aid trucks are lining up

at the southern crossing into gaza, waiting for the ceasefire expected to begin on sunday. aid has got into gaza from a number of crossings since the war began. before it, around 500 lorry loads of aid entered every day, according to the un. but that plummeted to nine a day in the period just after the war started. since the beginning of january it's averaged 51 truckloads a day. the ceasefire deal allows for 600 lorry loads a day. 0ur correspondent fergal keane has been travelling with an aid convoy from jordan, which has now been stopped at the israel border. horns blare. help is coming. down along the valley, the biggest aid convoy since the war began. solidarity from the kingdom ofjordan. in two deliveries, 120 trucks on the road to gaza, from a country that is home

to many palestinians. "we are carrying aid like food and medication for our brothers in gaza," says mustapha. "this is a good deed." "we are happy to be part of this operation." we can travel with this convoy as far as the israeli border, but since the war began, israel does not allow the foreign media to enter gaza and report independently. but our bbc colleagues, living in gaza, have been filming every day, including today — the first real moment of hope. they're waiting for today's meagre charity. little wonder that tired tempers fray when you've lived this struggle every day.

the aid from jordan is the tiniest fraction of what's needed here. but it does say to the people of gaza, by your neighbour, at least, you are not forgotten. translation: | used to shop. and go to school, and my mum used to cook for me, and when i got back she would tell me to come and eat. i dream every day about the ceasefire. i want to go home, and for my father to return to us. home — a word that holds so much in any language. a word that means dignity, for this girl, aged 16. translation: i never thought i'd be fed by a charity. - this is so unfair. if i don't get meals from here, i don't eat, so i keep coming. my life as a young girl, dreaming of studying at a university or school, playing and having fun, has been reduced to

accepting hand—outs. nearly two million people are dependent on aid here. less than three hours' drive away injordan, some of what they need. but when will it arrive? the un complains of repeated israeli delays, of criminal gangs hijacking aid. the convoy we followed is still waiting to be allowed to cross into israel. fergal keane, bbc news, jordan. from gaza to sudan, ukraine and haiti — 2024 saw human rights violations at the most extreme — and horrific instances of international inaction. that's according to a new report by human rights watch. researchers documented abuses and developments across 100 countries and territories, against a backdrop of rising authoritarianism, repression and armed conflict.

the bbc�*s nada tawfik has been talking to the group's executive director, tira na hassan. the human rights report documents 100 countries and territories in the human rights situation there, but let's start with gaza. because a ceasefire deal is meant to take effect on sunday. if everything goes as planned and it does, do you still have concerns this deal will lead to permanent ceasefire and and the bombardment of gaza and lead to a release of all hostages? when we talk about long—term solutions, there has to be a reality where the parties to this conflict are actually meeting their obligations under international law. this ceasefire provides a pause but even within that pause, unless there is unfettered humanitarian assistance that is going into gaza, people will continue to starve. we know from our research

that the health facilities have been decimated, water infrastructure has been destroyed. majority of the population in gaza has been placed multiple times and many of the homes are not liveable. so, we're not talking about the sort of humanitarian aid we have seen today, we are talking about meaningful levels of humanitarian aid and there is a long history of various limitations put on having goods and humanitarian assistance come in, and that needs to stop. what are some of the worrying trends you're seeing specifically in this year's report? there are two big things that stick out to me. one is that we see blatant disregard for the international norms that were created after the second world war to protect us from the most heinous acts. there's a sense growing you can pick and choose

what human rights are important and where they should apply. and that double standard is not only detrimental to the human rights framework, it undermines its legitimacy. but it is empowering others to actually follow suit. in your report you say the year also highlighted and often disregarded reality that liberal democracies are not always reliable champions of human rights, at home or abroad, and you specifically point to us presidentjoe biden. you say his foreign policy demonstrated a double standard. what do you thinkjoe biden�*s legacy is going to be? it's very chequered history and legacy. i think biden came in making some very grand statements that he was going to sort of reset things when it came to the us's

standing in the world and particularly human rights. the hypocrisy started well before the gaza war but gaza has been a real blight on the record of the biden administration. the double standards between how the us administration approached human rights and the protection of civilians in ukraine, where they threw everything that they had — the diplomatic pressure, their role in the multilateral system, at the un security council, the general assembly at the un council — yet, when it came to protecting civilians in the gaza conflict, the us actually played an obstructionist role. exercising its veto multiple times. that has not gone unnoticed by the whole world. but in particular by china and russia who have been actively trying to undermine the human rights system and the principles

of human rights, have used it as an excuse to say look at what america is saying that human rights apply to some people but not others. it's a dangerous president has been set. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. home secretary yvette cooper has announced a three—month national review into grooming gangs. it's a shift in the government's position on an issue that has become an international controversy — following comments made by the billionaire elon musk. critics want the government to go further and launch a national inquiry. hospitals in england were at their busiest so far this winter last week with 96% of beds occupied. flu continues to be a concern, with just under 5,000 people in hospital beds across england on average every day last week. that's lower than a week before — but it's still more than three times higher than at the same time last year. the liberal democrat leader sir ed davey has called on the government to negotiate a new customs union with the eu to improve trade with europe.

in his first major speech of the year, sir ed said closer eu trade ties could help mitigate any tariffs the new us administration might impose. you're live with bbc news. improving weather conditions and lighter winds across southern california are giving exhausted fire crews some respite as they continue to try and contain the devastating fires across los angeles that have killed at least 25 people. 0ur correspondent clive myrie sent this report. oh, no! this is the story of an american tragedy. another sunny day in southern california is about to turn very dark. so, i'm sitting at home on the couch with the dogs.

cheryll comes in the house and says... hey, babe, i need you to come out here right now. we have a very big problem. what? holy bleep! cheryll ku had spotted a fire in the canyon above the house she shares with husband jeffrey in a suburb of los angeles. oh, no! high winds were threatening a catastrophe and their doorbell camera captures what happened next. we discussed things that we couldn't leave behind. essentially, we needed to to leave as quickly as we could. sirens blare. by now, word was spreading very quickly that danger was approaching from the canyon. neighbours went banging on doors, raising the alarm. david stover was in the middle of dinner. we came out and we could see the fire, you know, from here. do you think they saved your life? they gave us a head start.

right. you know, about five minutes. so that makes a difference. please, god. please, god, save us. save our house. five minutes — precious extra time to escape. given that just a few minutes later, as jeffrey and cheryll fled their home, the fire had turned into a monster, becoming one of the largest that's now devastated the metropolitan los angeles area — the eaton fire. eaton wasn't the only monster burning. there were multiple fire fronts and the authorities were struggling to cope. then, a stroke of luck. hurricane—force winds that had fanned the flames died down, which meant the cavalry could now fly in. an aerial armada was pressed into service to douse the flames, some dropping fire retardant,

coloured pink to show where it's landed. it's a round—the—clock operation, flying low at night to beat the flames. while down below, thousands of men and women are standing their ground in the face of the enemy. it's an ir map of all the heats around here. but even when the flames are extinguished, danger still lurks. so, right down in this drainage, there's a few heats. it's all around us. this team of firefighters are heat spotters. theirjob, to prevent the burning you can't see below—ground, where the root systems of trees can smoulder and die, leading to catastrophic landslides. this crew are from oregon, part of a resolute national response to this crisis that has gripped the world. and it's the stories of loss

and pain that resonate. homes and livelihoods destroyed. wow. a landscape scarred. look at that. a people traumatised. the house behind me was burning. the house on the right was burning. the house on the left was burning. michael haynes is a writer and when he ran out of water to save his own home, he improvised. you don't think... your logic turns off. i started peeing. you know, that's one little fire i could put out. you peed on the fire? yeah, and i've talked to a few other people who did same thing. the fires fizzled out on the edge of his property. he was lucky. so many others were not. how does this community, los angeles, america, all of us, how can we better prepare for a similar catastrophe? that is a question we should all ponder. this is the most beautiful place in the world to me. and now it's just gone.

just, i mean, it's gone. a little bit of you dies with it. i don't know. we will close out this edition of newsday. the latest test of space x's giant starship rocket has failed. the starship rocket separated from the booster four minutes into the flight. but spacex's communications manager says he lost contact with the ship just minutes after that. the booster, however, did return to the launchpad as planned. hello. there were winners and losers when it came to the weather story on thursday. for parts of northwest england and wales in particular, we have blue sky and sunshine, even some january warmth, with a high of 1a celsius. but it was a different story across the midlands — we had quite a lot of fog

in the morning that lifted to low grey cloud. the misty conditions lingered, and for parts of hereford and worcestershire, well, temperatures only climbed just up to four celsius. it was also quite windy, and there was a weak weather front bringing some outbreaks of showery rain to the northwest of scotland. but most of us under the influence of high pressure, and with light winds and that high pressure is going to stay with us for the next few days, further areas of fog could be an issue as well. that could bring poor visibility and, if it lingers, it will also impact the temperatures once again. the fog shouldn't be too widespread, though, on friday — it lifts quite readily, and we're chasing cloud amounts around, particularly for england and wales. still quite a fresh wind up into the far north and west. still outbreaks of drizzly rain from that weak weather front. but temperatures here — 11 or 12 degrees — 7 or 8 perhaps a maximum across england and wales. now, as we move out of friday into saturday, still under this area of high pressure,

it's blocking this weather front from making that much of an impression, but still the isobars squeeze together the further north and west. so, more wind, more cloud here. but for england and wales, it could be quite a cold start to saturday morning — temperatures dipping below freezing, and there will be some fog around, and some of that fog has the potential to linger all day across central and eastern parts of england, and also parts of wales. if that happens, it will have quite an impact on the temperature. the wind out to the west breaking the cloud up. there will be some sunny spells, and again those temperatures at 10 or 11 degrees. but where the fog lingers, we once again could see a maximum ofjust four or five. moving out of saturday into sunday, the wind direction changes again, and it's a cooler source, dragging in some cooler air from the near continent. so that means a colder day for all of us. this weather front still being kept out into the west. it is going to arrive on monday, but before that, potentially, sunday could be a cold, cloudy, murky day for many of us. until then, take care.

china's economy grew by 5% in 2024 — hitting beijing's growth target. and bracing for the tiktok and. american influencers tell us why they are worried about a tiktok ban. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. we begin in china — where official figures show the economy

grew by 5% last year — hitting the target set by the government. it is an achievement that was hard one according to the chinese statistics of bureaus but it is one of the slowest annual growth rates in decades and comes as the world's second—largest economy faces a number of challenges. in donald trump centre returned to the white house net discussed week and a promise to hit china with more tariffs, experts warned the country faces a tough time ahead. let's get an opinion on this. , . , ., ahead. let's get an opinion on this. ., ., this. julia, your reaction? it was good — this. julia, your reaction? it was good to _ this. julia, your reaction? it was good to see _ this. julia, your reaction? it was good to see numbers i this. julia, your reaction? it - was good to see numbers ahead of expectation. if we look at what happened in china we saw a pivot in september to support growth policies and that includes things like cutting interest rates, cash injections as well as policy aimed at helping local government and hidden date and it looked like of that stimulus measures had