welcome to newsday, i'm steve lai. within the last hour — 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 on friday, 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. 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. meanwhile, aid trucks are lining up at the southern crossing into gaza, waiting for the ceasefire expected on sunday. aid has gone into gaza from a number of crossings since the war began. back then, 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. and since the beginning ofjanuary, 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 mustafa al qadri. "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're 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 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 lamees al mizar�*i, 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 cross into israel.

fergal keane, bbc news, jordan. i'm joined now byjonathan lord, senior fellow and director, middle east security, center for new american security. thank you for your time. as we have seen, they will be many people welcoming this ceasefire deal but also there are still some dissenting voices in israel. . ., ., israel. thanks for having me. there are _ israel. thanks for having me. there are some _ israel. thanks for having me. there are some dissenting i there are some dissenting voices in israel, however, the vast majority of israelis welcome this deal. while hundreds of protesters have come out in opposition, four months, hundreds of thousands of israelis have filled the streets, pressing the netanyahu government to commit to a deal that will bring home the hostages. that will bring home the hostages-_ that will bring home the hostaues. ., , , hostages. now, it still needs to be ratified _ hostages. now, it still needs to be ratified this _ hostages. now, it still needs to be ratified this friday - hostages. now, it still needs to be ratified this friday to i to be ratified this friday to make it official and we are still a few days from before it takes effect on the sunday. 0ther any concerns the deal could get scuppered and if so,

where would that come from? ? there are always concerns the deal could get scuppered. the deal could get scuppered. the deal was originally announced on wednesday and for the past 24 on wednesday and for the past 2a hours we have heard reports, recriminations, out of the prime minister's offers, that hamas was backing up on segments of the deal, hamas denied this, however, just the last few hours it appears any gaps have been bridged and netanyahu will bring the deal to a vote and the full cabinet on friday. now, in israel, it is important to remember that while he is the prime minister he is really the first among equals in the government. he can bring matters to the full cabinet, he can set the agenda but ultimately he will need a successful majority vote in the cabinet to push this deal through. his far right will back —— mark the deal, vote against it, ben—gvir has threatened to leave the government, however, opposition leaders from the centre have already said they were back, stop the net anangu government —— netanyahu government to

ensure this gets done. find ensure this gets done. and other key _ ensure this gets done. and other key in _ ensure this gets done. and other key in all— ensure this gets done. and other key in all of- ensure this gets done. and other key in all of this - ensure this gets done. and other key in all of this is the white house and particular. donald trump will be sitting in the white house when he is inaugurated. how do you see him engaging in this long—running conflict? engaging in this long-running conflict? . , , ., , engaging in this long-running conflict? . ,, ., , ., , ., conflict? there appears to be a tremendous — conflict? there appears to be a tremendous about _ conflict? there appears to be a tremendous about two - conflict? there appears to be a tremendous about two amount| conflict? there appears to be a i tremendous about two amount of singularity in the efforts of the outgoing democratic biden administration and the incoming trump administration. officials from both administrations have worked hand—in—hand to bring this ceasefire deal, hostage release, to fruition. so i fully suspect that there is going to be a continued effort to ensure the hostages continue to ensure the hostages continue to be released, that the ceasefire holds and that israel and the palestinians with the region and their partners can begin to fathom that which will come next. begin to fathom that which will come next-— come next. speaking of the reaion, come next. speaking of the region. it — come next. speaking of the region. it is _ come next. speaking of the region, it is in _ come next. speaking of the region, it is in a _ come next. speaking of the region, it is in a moment. come next. speaking of the region, it is in a moment of flux. we have seen the assad

regime collapse as well. we know what trump's agenda will be or his thinking towards the middle east?— be or his thinking towards the middle east? well, we certainly have an idea. _ middle east? well, we certainly have an idea. first _ middle east? well, we certainly have an idea. first and - have an idea. first and foremost they will be a tremendous amount of focus on iran. iran has never been closer to having the ability to produce their nuclear weapon stop it was the trump administration that left the deal that would have forestalled iran's production of nuclear capability. however, coming back to the table now, it appears that it is the intention of the administration to restore its maximum pressure campaign for the purposes of trying to barter a better deal. it is a changed region was over the course of this conflict we have seen basically the complete collapse of hezbollah as a military force. that precipitated the collapse of the assad regime and then when iran attacked israel directly on two occasions over the past year, israel responded in ways that were controlled have left

iran exposed. the rd defences are highly weakened, their ability to produce ballistic missiles has been heavily treated and there is a great degree of exposure on their side. the administration will likely seek to capitalise on that, to put into a deal. jonathan, thanks for your perspectives and insights today. jonathan lord at the centre of a newer american security. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

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 to contain the devastating fires across los angeles. the fires began more than a week ago and have killed at least 25 people. our correspondent clive myrie takes a look back. 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.

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 that 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, but — and now it's just gone. just, i mean, it's gone. a little bit of you dies with it. i don't know. clive myrie with that report there. the prime minister has visited ukraine for the first time since the general election. sir keir starmer was greeted warmly by president zelensky as he restated the uk's continuing commitment to the country in its war against russia, as sarah rainsford now reports. this was a show of solidarity for a country that's paid a huge price for defending itself.

on his first visit to kyiv as prime minister, keir starmer paused to remember the ukrainians who've died fighting since russia's invasion. he came, too, to pledge more support from britain than ever before. moments later came a message from moscow. a russian drone. then we heard ukraine's air defences, a reminder of the daily danger here. by then, volodymyr zelenskyy was hosting talks at the presidential palace, signing a treaty pledging 100—year partnership. the timing is important. in eastern ukraine, more territory looks like this every day. slowly and at great cost russian forces are advancing. and next week, the united states has a new president.

i wondered how concerned you are that as donald trump returns to the white house, us support for ukraine is going to stop. we will continue to work with the us on this. we're working today. we'll work tomorrow. we'll work into the future. in the end, the steps that we need to take must be robust enough to guarantee ukraine's security. president zelensky told me that still includesjoining nato. if not today, then when he wants to know. or will it happen at all? both men say ukraine can only talk peace with russia from a position of strength. but will donald trump agree with that? sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. and let me take you to live pictures coming out of hawaii. this is the kilauea volcano which started erupting on wednesday, sending lava fountains 200 feet into the air. rocks and debris can be seen falling.

geologists are collecting them in a closed area of hawaii volcanoes national park. the lava doesn't pose a hazard to homes or infrastructure. we will be keeping an eye on this as it develops. in the meantime, though. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. a looming tiktok ban in the us has connected chinese and american citizens like never before in what one user described as a "historic moment". self—professed us tiktok refugees have been seeking a new home on the internet — and they've flocked to popular chinese social media app rednote, which does not have the usual internet firewall that separates china from the rest of the world. american actor and director justin baldoni has hit back at his co—star blake lively in the film it ends with us, with a lawsuit against her and her husband ryan reynolds. it comes after lively filed a legal complaint against baldoni in december, alleging sexual harassment. baldoni is suing for $400

million in damages on claims of defamation. lawyers have said it is an age—old story. a woman speaks up age—old story. a woman speaks up and the abuser attempts to turn the tables. the american film—maker david lynch has died at the age of 78. he was best known for surealist television series twin peaks and for films including mulholland drive and the elephant man. our arts correspondent david sillito looks back at his life: twin peaks was a tv landmark. a murder mystery unlike anything that had gone before. i carry a log, yes. is it funny to you? laura palmer. strange, surreal, disturbing, and very david lynch. his first love was painting.

he had a feel for surrealism, the hidden. and his childhood had many echoes of the white picket fence perfection of his film blue velvet. # she wore blue velvet #. but in his movies there was always something lurking in the undergrowth. the elephant man. eraserhead. you were left wondering what sort of mind created this. but in person he had a folksy charm, all good cheer and passionate about meditation and positivity. negativity is the enemy, i say, of creativity. if you are super angry, you're... you're poisoning yourself. and while perhaps not everyone's taste,

a poll of critics declared his mulholland drive the greatest movie of the 21st century. a surreal thriller that was very david lynch. dark, fantastic dreams. filmmaker david lynch dying at the age of 78. thanks for your company here on newsday. stay with bbc news. plenty more to come and developing news especially that ceasefire in the middle east. bye for now. 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 ia 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 this 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 — ii 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.

hitting the target. china says hitting the target. china says year — hitting the target set its economy grew by 5% last its economy grew by 5% last year. plus, bracing forthe year. plus, bracing forthe tick—tock band. us influences tick—tock band. us influences tell us how it will hurt them tell us how it will hurt them financially. financially. hello and welcome to business today. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. i'm steve lai. we begin in china — we begin in china — where official figures show where official figures show

the economy grew by 5% last the economy grew by 5% last year — hitting the target set by the government. it was an