hello, i'm samantha simmonds. welcome to the programme. cautious hope is rising across the middle east ahead of the gaza ceasefire, which is due to begin in less than 2a hours. mediators in qatar say it will take effect from 8.30am sunday israel/gaza time — that's 6.30am gmt. after hours of discussion, the israeli cabinet gave final approval to the ceasefire and hostage release deal with hamas. the cabinet meeting lasted more than six hours, with some ministers who had threatened to resign arguing that the agreement rewards hamas. the first hostages are due to be released on sunday, under the first phase of the agreement. in broad terms, we understand the deal between israel and hamas will be implemented in three stages — the first stage beginning on sunday. three of the hostages taken

by hamas during the attack into israel in october 2023 are due to be released. it's thought 30 more hostages will be released in the following weeks. israel is to free 737 palestinian prisoners in exchange. israel will withdraw its forces from all populated areas of gaza, allowing palestinians who have been displaced by the fighting to return. there will also be an increase in deliveries of humanitarian aid. that first stage is set to last six weeks. the second stage would see israel release around 1,000 palestinian prisoners. around the same time, hamas would release all remaining surviving hostages. israel would complete its full military withdrawalfrom gaza — although there's no clear time frame for this. then, the third and final stage would involve the return of any remaining hostages�* bodies. and eventually the

reconstruction of gaza, something which could take yea rs. meanwhile, sirens were heard across central israel this morning, with reports of explosions overjerusalem. the israeli military says it intercepted a missile launched from yemen. the relatives of the hostages are resigned to waiting a little longer to be reunited with their loved ones, as there will still be a slow and gradual release during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. my colleague mark lowen is in tel aviv and has been speaking to friends and relatives of those held by hamas. 0n hostages square in tel aviv, which has been very much a focal point of israel's national trauma over the last 15 months since the 7th of october 2023, when this all erupted when hamas gunmen stormed israel, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. some of those who were taken hostage were seized from the nova music festival, which you'll remember was a festival taking place near the gaza border. there were 43 people taken hostage in that festival. 22 of them are still remaining in gaza.

and we can speak now to nili bresler, who is a volunteer who represents some of the families and loved ones waiting for news from the hostages at the nova festival. nili bresler, thanks for being with us. as far as you understand, some of those hostages from the nova music festival are on the list of the first to be released under this ceasefire deal. just tell me how you are feeling about that in the as we count down to the ceasefire coming into place. as with all of the people, the supporters and families of family members of hostages, we're on pins and needles. we're on edge. there's no euphoria. all our nerves are wracked and we are waiting till tomorrow when the first the first three hostages are supposed to come back to see if it's real. because we're afraid to believe after all these months. and we're hopeful that this

deal will go through and that at least whoever can come out will come out. and nili, what do we know of the conditions and the health, indeed, of the hostages from the nova festival? almost nothing. we know, we sawi or 2 videos. some people who got out last november reported on the health condition of these nova hostages, but that is 13 months ago. sorry, 14 months ago. the last time that any eyewitness saw any of the nova hostages. we have not seen anything since. we know that the four hostages who were rescued injune were in relatively good shape because they were kept in houses. the six hostages who were murdered in august were in horrible shape. they had been starved. their kidneys had already failed. they were drinking sea water and they were near death when they were assassinated.

nili, you are, i understand, a former teacher of one of the hostages and the boyfriend of another known hostage. just explain that to us. so, my student, i teach business english at high tech companies in israel. my student is an electronics engineer at a company here in israel. nvidia, an international company. he is the boyfriend of noah agomani. she is waiting for his release, as is his family. he was at nova with her. he went when noah was grabbed up. he stood up and walked alongside her. he went willingly. he clasped his hands behind himself and very bravely tried to stay with her as long as possible. she was on a motorbike. he was walking alongside. they were separated long before

they got taken into gaza. no one has seen him since. and as we were speaking, we were watching those pictures there of noah being taken away on the motorbike, as you described. i wonder, you know, many of the families and relatives of the hostages, how are people preparing psychologically for the release and for the hoped for release of their loved ones? as i said, the families that i know, and i do know quite a few by now, i've been here volunteering at hostage square for these 15 months. they are nervous. they are hopeful, cautiously optimistic that all will go well. but i want to remind you of the cruelty of the situation. none of us have been told which of the hostages to be returned are alive or dead. we do not know anything about their condition, and we are all at nerve�*s edge.

and briefly. what do you make of this cease fire deal? do you support it, or do you share the criticism of some hostage families the israeli government should have pushed for all the hostages to be released at the same time? despite the fact that my hostage and other hostages i know are not on that list. i support the ceasefire. i have a been an ardent supporter of a ceasefire from the beginning. anything we can do to get our hostages back, and also for the people of gaza, because many of us in israel are very, very concerned about the havoc and destruction we have wrought there. not all israelis are hawks. i'm a proud zionistic israeli who wants peace. and i've been active in protesting for peace for much longer than these past 15 months. nili bresler, thank you. we will see whether peace comes as of tomorrow morning, as nili was saying there.

it is unclear how many of the 33 hostages included in that first phase are still alive. in fact, the israeli government is now saying that they believe at least 25 of the 33 are alive, but possibly the remaining eight are to be released already dead. and the youngest of the people on that list is turning two years old today. and of course, the trauma on the other side with almost a7,000 people killed in gaza, according to the local health officials in the last 15 months of war. these are two very divided peoples who are united by one thing at the moment, and that is trauma and grief. well, this is the seen live on the israel gaza border. we have seen smoke on the horizon there for much of the day. a short time ago it was reported that the israeli army said it had

constructed strikes on 50 targets across the gaza strip yesterday. we will be back live with our correspondent in jerusalem injust a with our correspondent in jerusalem in just a few minutes�* time. let's turn to around. state media in iran says two seniorjudges have been shot dead in the capital tehran. it's reporting that they were attacked outside the supreme court. anotherjudge and a body guard are said to have been injured. the unidentified attacker is reported to have killed themselves after the shooting. the motive isnt clear, but both of the assassinated judges played an active role in the persecution and killing of government opponents. 0ur bbc persian correspondent, parham ghobadi, told me more about the targets of the attack. these two iranian supreme courtjudges they are notorious for handing out brutal sentences, especially death sentences, to iranian dissidents political activists throughout their careers spanning over three or four decades. one of them — mohammad — was involved in the mass execution of iranian political prisoners in 1988. and he was put under sanction

by both the united states and the european union. the other one, ali razini, was also. he has also issued a lot of death sentences for iranian political dissidents and activists over his career. he survived an assassination attempt a few years ago when a magnetic bomb was attached to his car. he survived that, but this time around he did not. so both were killed. the assailant is described by iranian judiciary as a gunman who was an infiltrator. what they are saying is that it appears he was employed by iranian judiciary. we don't know his role, what he was doing in that organisation, but he was working there and how he obtained a gun and he managed to take it inside to target these two iranian supreme court judges is still unclear. they are saying that his motive is also unclear, but these two judges also issued a lot of death sentences for an iranian dissident organisation called mujahedeen e khalq mek.

but it is still not clear if what organisation or what person is behind this attack, or if it was driven by any political organisation at all. what is your understanding of what is happening in tehran at the moment, just briefly, given the unfolding events in the middle east? the overthrow of assad in syria and the weakening of hezbollah and hamas? generally, the atmosphere in iran right now is that probably many top iranian politicians feel unsafe after ismail haniyeh was assassinated in iran. the hamas leader, just one day after the iranian president's inauguration, he was targeted and killed in tehran. and then you see, after that, hassan nasrallah was targeted by israelis. and now two top iranian supreme courts have been assassinated in iran, that one former iranian intelligence minister once said that the level of infiltration by the israeli agents is so high up the level of iranian intelligence apparatus that all iranian officials should be

scared for their lives. let's speak to our correspondent in jerusalem, jon donnison. welcome. take us through how we expect events to unfold there tomorrow if the ceasefire does go ahead at 8:30am local time. it is going to start at 8:30am local time, it is going to start at 8:30am localtime, 6:30am it is going to start at 8:30am local time, 6:30am gmt tomorrow. then we will see the ceasefire in place and we will see it soon after that the first three israeli hostages should be freed by hamas. they will be handed over to the red cross and transported back to israel where they will go to hospital initially. in exchange, a number of palestinian prisoners will be passed over. and israeli forces will then begin pulling back from built up areas in gaza and we should see more aid suddenly

surged into gaza. they are talking about 600 trucks of aid going on on the first day. that is much, much needed.- is much, much needed. what about hostages? _ is much, much needed. what about hostages? we - is much, much needed. what about hostages? we expect i is much, much needed. what about hostages? we expect three hodge stages to be released tomorrow over the next few weeks, don't we? do we know how that will happen and when? we know that will happen and when? - know they are going to be released each week in stages. we don't know the details of who they are going to be, well, we don't know which will be coming out first. initially, women? elderly, the sick who will come out first? that that will come out first? that that will leave 60 hostages dead or alive still in gaza and we still have to go through tortuous negotiations to get to phase two of this deal. we are going to see hundreds of palestinian prisoners exchange. some will be deported back to gaza, some back to other

countries. so it is going to be a pretty complex operation with all sorts of things that could go wrong. all sorts of things that could go wrong-— go wrong. meanwhile, large arts of go wrong. meanwhile, large parts of israel _ go wrong. meanwhile, large parts of israel have - go wrong. meanwhile, large parts of israel have come i go wrong. meanwhile, large . parts of israel have come under fire today. the israeli army say they continue their strikes across the gaza strip.- across the gaza strip. yes. there was _ across the gaza strip. yes. there was a _ across the gaza strip. yes. there was a strike - across the gaza strip. yes. there was a strike that - across the gaza strip. yes. l there was a strike that came over from yemen which was shot down by the israeli military. the sirens were going off this morning. you're absolutely right, in gaza the fighting is carrying on right up to the last minute. we heavy explosions in gaza overnight and in the early hours of this morning. i think since the deal was first announced on wednesday night, there were 120 palestinians killed in israeli strikes. those last people to die, you know, some sort of

peace or calm is in sight. they are not going to set. ida. are not going to set. no, absolutely. _ are not going to set. no, absolutely. thank- are not going to set. no, absolutely. thank you. . are not going to set. no, i absolutely. thank you. time are not going to set. no, absolutely. thank you. time to catch up on today at�*s sports news. there'll be a minutes applause at football matches across scotland this afternoon, as well as at manchester united's game against brighton tomorrow, in tribute to the former ballon d'or winner denis law, who has died at the age of 8a. manchester united have called him the "ultimate "goal—scorer" as tributes have been laid outside old trafford today. the man dubbed "the king" and "the lawman" spent 11 years with the club. his 237 goals in 404 appearances placing him third in united's history behind wayne rooney and sir bobby charlton. very fortu nate very fortunate that dennis presented me with the number ten shirt. initially i was number eight when ijoined number eight when i joined manchester number eight when ijoined manchester united and he presented me with a number ten shirt which was huge for me. club legend is presenting me

with that shirt. wearing his number for the football club was such a huge thing. he was always very helpful, a great guy to speak to. even though it is well known that he scored the goal for manchester city against manchester united. to still be there legends and having such outside the stadium, that shows what a great player and person he was. 0ne match under way in the premier league, its at st james' park where bournmouth are the visitors and are 2—1. they have about one minute or so before half—time. justin kluivert with two goals for bournemouth. bruno guimares had earlier levelled for the hosts but it is bournmouth who are back ahead approaching half time. later, liverpool travel to brentford hoping to extend the gap over arsenal to seven points before the gunners face aston villa in the late kick—off. arne slot�*s side have drawn their last two league games but the head coach says they aren't fixated on the table. i don't think we are as much as the media thinking about the league table every second of the day. we are trying to get

the best out of the players and we, i mean, my staff and the players are trying to get the best out of themselves every single day. and these players know how long the season still is and how many games they have to be in the best possible form for to win something at the end of the season — which is not something that happens every single season so we are not so focused on the league table. so, arsenal host aston villa in the coming hours. the last time the gunners lost a home match in the premier league was to aston villa — a defeat that arguably cost them the title last season. mikel arteta is expecting another stern test from the visitors today. we are going to be as good as we possibly can tomorrow night. that is the objective. they are a really good side, that's why they beat us last season. and we progressed well, we played them at villa park, but they are really difficult opponents so we will prepare in the best way to win. in melbourne, world number one jannik sinner is through to the fourth round of the australian open. the defending men's champion

beat the american marcus giron in straight sets. he'll now take on the winner of serbia's miomir kecmanovic and holger rune of denmark who will face a player on a 17—match win streak. in the women's draw, former us open champion, emma raducanu has been knocked out, beaten 6—1, 6—0 by the second seed iga swiatek. it turned out to be one of the heaviest defeats of raducanu's career as she lost in straight sets, winning only one game. the match was over in just 70 minutes. the briton had previously talked of having to "push "through the pain" as she continues to struggle with injuries. yeah, i think it was a match going into it i knew i had to play really well. when you are facing a top player, and i think today — credit to iga, she played good tennis. but i think it was a little bit of her playing well and me not playing so well. so that combination is probably not good and resulted in today.

and that's all the sport for now. more on that and everything else on the bbc sport website. at least 30 people are reported to be injured at a ski resort in northern spain. the ski resort where it happened in the spanish pyrenees has been closed and rescue services are on site. italy's prime minister, georgia meloni, has confirmed she'll be attending donald trump's inauguration in washington. final preparations are under way for the ceremony which is being moved indoors because of expected dangerously cold temperatures. foreign leaders by tradition do not attend us inaugurations but meloni said earlier this month she was invited — a gesture seen by italian sources as a sign of what they called the "great respect" trump has for her and italy. let's take a look now live at the capitol building

in washington dc, where it'sjust gone quarter past 8 in the morning. the city is preparing for that inauguration ceremony in just over two days' time. temperatures could fall as low as minus 6 degrees centigrade on monday — with the wind chill making it feel even colder. donald trump will take the oath of office inside the capitol rotunda, becoming the 47th president of the united states. and we will have full live coverage of donald trump's inauguration here on bbc news, with a special programme from washington, starting at 12.00 gmt on monday. the authorities in kyiv say at least three people have been killed in overnight russian strikes. the first blast happened in central kyiv before the air raid siren had sounded, and further explosions then shook the ukrainian capital. russia says it hit a military—industrial site which designs and manufacturers long—range rockets. president zelensky says residential buildings, a metro station, shops and cafes have been damaged.

there are also reports of water being cut off in parts of the city. 0ur eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford, is in kyiv for us. she's been at the scene of one strike. this is the scene after that russian missile landed on here. it woke us at around 6am. then the air raid sirens went off and now we can see what it was all about. this is the building, a business centre that has been extremely badly damaged. it had been damaged with previous missile strikes on the city but much, much worse today. this is the scene with rescuer officers. this was caused, we havejust been with rescuer officers. this was caused, we have just been told, by a direct hit, by a russian ballistic missile. 0bviously, ballistic missile. obviously, the rescue and clean—up teams are at the scene and there are

also forensic experts ever stop one of those just told me that the reason the sirens went off where after the explosions was because the missiles move so quickly and it is difficult to intercept them. the damage here is extreme. we also know that several people have been killed. two people this forensic expert told me were killed in a minibus, in their vehicle on the road here right next to this business centre. devastation all around, lots of people picking through the ruins of their businesses. there is a dental surgery totally destroyed, all the glass blown out. i asked the lady there what she was feeling this morning and shejust shrugged and said, look, we are used to this. clearly this was a very significant attack and the damage here is pretty extreme.

to india now and a man has been found guilty of the rape and murder of a female trainee doctor at a hospital in kolkata last august. the killing led to nationwide outrage and prolonged protests by doctors across the country, demanding justice for the victim and better security for health care professionals. salman ravi has more from kolkata. sanjay roy, the main accused in the rape and murder case of a trainee doctor in one of the most prestigious medical colleges of kolkata, has been found guilty by a special designated court. the central bureau of investigation that took up the investigation had submitted its final report in the case onjanuary11th. the court, which assembled today, however, reserved itsjudgment, which has been deferred for monday. the court has asked sanjay roy to be present on monday when they pronounce the judgment. the family members of the victim, however, they are not happy with the cbi investigations and say that there are many loopholes in the investigation and many of the witnesses, they were not produced before the court for their statements to be recorded. another point that they have raised in the investigation is that that the cbi has also failed to establish the motive

behind the incident because the cbi had zeroed in onjust one person, sanjay roy, as the main accused of the case. though the principal of the college and the officer in charge of a local police station, they were also arrested on the charges of destroying the evidence from the place of occurrence. but the cbi failed to submit a charge sheet against them in time and they got bail and they are free. so the parents, they have also moved the supreme court seeking a fresh directive from the apex court for a re—investigation into the case. salman ravi, bbc news, kolkata. let's return to the breaking news reports. at least 30 people are reported to have been injured after a ski lift accident in northern spain. according to local authorities, at least nine people are seriously injured. astun is the ski resort where the accident happened,

in the spanish pyrenees — it has been closed and rescue services are on the site. pedro sanchez says he is shocked by the news and the accident. he says his thoughts are with the injured and their families. we will report more on that as soon as we get more details about that in the spanish ski resort in the pyrenees. stay with us here on bbc news. the aircoming off the air coming off the atlantic here, but for east end england it was a cold day. colder air that has come round to the east. that colder air is becoming more extensive across england and wales. it is a cold is a kind of day, coupled with

that there are hardly any breaks in the cloud at all. just a few south—west of england, broken cloud towards the north—east of the uk as well. 0therwise expect these grey and cloudy skies to last for most of us pretty much all day. the best of the sunshine continuing across the north—east of both scotland and england as well. 0vernight tonight, given that cloud sheet is probably going to stay with us, for most it is going to be a cloudy night with temperatures drifting down a few degrees. could be occasional breaks in the cloud across parts of northern england to allowed... isolated for patches but not expecting the fog to be very widespread because the cloud will probably prevent that. it could be quite misty first thing sunday morning, may be patchy drizzle falling from the stylesheet. 0therwise falling from the stylesheet. otherwise the rest of the sunshine again is expected to be across northern scotland. maybe a few breaks in western wales, south—west england, maybe northern ireland as well.

mostly, another cloudy day. temperatures struggling, three orfour temperatures struggling, three or four celsius. temperatures struggling, three orfour celsius. monday, we have got some big weather fronts moving into the uk. prospects, we are seeing a few areas of rain, nothing heavy, light and patchy. a few breaks between these various bands of rain. most areas, another chilly day, temperatures perhaps coming up by the odds degree or two here and there. deeper into next week, we are watching very carefully a deep area of low pressure that looks to me then later in the week. the west of the wind is from the system, this system here has winds in excess of 100 miles an hour. at the moment they look to stay away from the uk, but we will be watching things i carefully. it looks like it will turn wetter with the wind is picking up a bit.

this is bbc news, the headlines: dozens of people have been injured in a ski lift accident at the astun ski resort in spain. according to local authorities, at least nine people are seriously injured. after hours of debate, israel's cabinet has ratified the ceasefire and hostage release deal with hamas in gaza. the initial six—week ceasefire will begin tomorrow at 0630gmt. the timing was announced by mediators in qatar, who've played a key role in the talks. in ukraine — kyiv authorities

say a night time russian strike has killed three people. it is the second deadly attack on the capital this month, and follows a strike on the city on new year's day. tiktok says it will "go dark" in america on sunday unless the government acts to stop a legal ban coming into effect. on friday, the supreme court upheld legislation banning the video—sharing app unless its chinese owners sell it to an american company. now on bbc news, the travel show. iceland is wild. you can admire and feel the huge power of nature in every corner of this island.

my name is roma wells.