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within a generation. ♪ welcome to "world news america." israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his cabinet are considering a deal that could see hamas released dozens of hostages that have been held since october 7. a senior israeli official told the bbc an agreement with involve the release of 12 hostages a day in return for a four-day cease-fire. u.s. official said those would mostly be women and children, with 150 palestinian prisoners bein freed by prisoners in exchange. safe pastors -- say casted just for those hostages would be necessary. benjamin netanyahu called the hospitals returned are a sacred and topical. >> we are facing a difficult decision this evening.

but it is the right decision. the entire security establishment supports it. sumi: it comes as fighting continues in the gaza strip. doctors without borders says three doctors, including two of their own, were killed in a strike. we can speak to our correspondent, tom bateman, who is standing by in israel. good to see you. can you bring us up to date on what is happening on negotiations over this possible agreement? tom: what we have had tonight is a meeting of the israeli war cabinet. that has been followed by a meeting of the political and security cabinet. and now, in a meeting that is still continuing, the full israeli government. the reason for that is because they have to sign off on the detail of this hostage proposal that is on the table. a senior israeli official telling the bbc tonight that this includes a proposal to release around 12 hostages per day.

in return for a four-day cease-fire. elsewhere, it is reported that on the israeli side, there will be a release of up to 150 palestinian prisoners. as part that cease-fire, procedure to allow more humanitarian aid into the gaza strip. this has to be agreed by the israeli government. anything that involves the release of palestinian prisoners can also go to a judicial review of a potential appeal or challenge in the israeli courts. it is thought there would be allowed 24 hours f that to take place. you are looking at if this is signed off by the israeli government, you are looking tomorrow night into twin -- into wednesday night israel time, before a potential implementation of this deal. even that would be logistically quite complicated. we are not there yet, but things are close. sumi: you have been following the israeli prime minister's

statement. tell us about what he said. tom: this was a video recording that we heard of him there, that was made between thewo meetings taking place. i think this was intended for internal domestic consumption in israel. it was about him responding to criticism from further to the political right in his own coalition. because part of the government, the far right ministers who said they will not vote for this deal. what he has said is that it is nonsense, in his words, that the hostage release would lead to an end to the war. he fou absolutely that it would continue afterwards, because he says it requires the elimination of thomas, after what he called a phase of the war. the defense minister also reiterating that, saying he got, as part of this agreement with the -- within the israeli

government, a commitment that the war would continue afterwards. sumi: our correspondent reporting from israel. thank you so much. for more on this story, we can speak to the senior german intelligence officer in the middle east and helped secure the release of an israeli soldier. good to have you back on bbc news. i want to start with getting your reaction to the shape of this possible agreement, what we have then told to the bbc that we would see around 12 hostages released a day in return of 150 palestinian prisoners. >> at least -- thank you for having me, first of all. second india, -- second indeed, this seems to be doable. it is not out of proportion. it is kind of a lopsided deal, concerning the numbers. 15 hostages vis-a-vis 150 prisoners. although those prisoners presumably will be women and children as well.

more of the humanitarian base and not on the question of supporters. got sounds, in general, doable and reonable. this step-by-step approach to have a release of 12 hostages a day is not that bad in terms of logistics, in terms of security. we should not forget that the situation in gaza is extremely tense. all sides will have to be extremely cautious in implementing subsets. sumi: we spoke at the bbc earlier to a senior advisor to the israeli prime minister. . he told us if we are getting close to an agreement, it is because hamas needs a cease-fire because we are hitting them hard. do you agree with that? >> i think yes. it is a question of timing. you can see hamas ease on the pressure, obviously. they lost the north of gaza.

that -- ere is not much left in operational terms and in terms of control. they have suffered quite heavy damage. it is a first step to get a kd of relief for hamas. sumi: when we spoke a few weeks ago, you said it appears that hamas is using these hostages as life insurance, blackmailing assets. do you still think that is the case and what do you think the prospects are for the rest of the hostages to also be released? >> that means what we see now is that hamas offered limited release of humanitarian cases. this is kind of not blackmailing, but it is a leverage. just to stop the war for at least their limited period of time. similar steps may well be in the offering.

but the last question, the endgame, the question of the endgame, which means a hard-core number of military soldiers are being released. this is a question of what hamas will get in terms of life insurance. in terms of persistence. we know israel has the stated objective to eliminate hamas. sumi: right. >> they possibly will not be able to do so since hamas, in the end, would threaten to kill the remaining hostages. sumi: that is going to make debt -- make it quite complicated. israel has been criticized by the families of the hostages for their bombing campaign in gaza. they say this is not an operation that will lead to these hostages being released in safety. what do you make of the way israel has carried out these

operations, and how the stated aim of eradicating hamas has affected the efforts to get hostages released? >> both aims contradict each other. if you put them at the same time, in the same place, it will be changing. you postpone military action in favor of hostages, and i think the steps will be carried on for 1, 2, 3 times again. the hard question will come at the end. sumi: i also want to ask you what this moment is like a someone who worked on the release of the israeli soldier. what are these final moments of negotiations before an agreement is reached, what is it like as a negotiator? >> is nerve-racking. i don't envy anybody. anybody who really worked hard to get that kind of compromise. i witnessed it twice that it fell through.

once where it fell through in the cabinet in the end. it cannot be excluded this very night, then it will be hard for the prime minister to get through with this kind of first compromise. it is not yet prompted. sumi: final question, because we know you served as the intelligence chief of germany in syria. what role do you see other countries in the region playing now in helping getting further hostages released? >> i don't think they play a major role. it is qatar it's very best -- it is qatar trying his very best. certainly egypt, at least supporting the logistics. if you want to communicate with hamas in gaza, then there is nearly no other way. these are the two key countries. syria, i don't see lebanon.

these are countries which support, in their limited way, but they support hamas. sumi: ok. good to get your insights on the program. . thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. sumi: the u.s. has retaliated for the first time on iraqi territory to iran backed militia strikes. multiple iranian backed militia men were killed. a pentagon spokesman released a statement saying "we can confirm an attack last night by iran backed militias using a close range ballistic missile against u.s. and coalition forces at al-asad air base." immediately following the attack, a u.s. military a c-130 aircraft conducted a self-defense strike, which resulted in several enemy killed in action, and attacks against u.s. forces in iraq and syria began october 17. the u.s. has limited its response to these strikes. we have our state department correspondent with us here in the studio for more on this. great to see you.

one of the concerns from the u.s. was that this conflict between israel and hamas would widen at this point. is that happening? barbara: the u.s. has troops in syria and iraq because of the anti-isis campaign. they have come under attack from time to time by militias in both countries. that has increased substantially in the past months. 66 attacks, according to the pentagon. these are: shows are backed by iran. iran back hamas. the u.s. sees this as the hand of iran trying to increase the pressure in the region. they have responded three times in syria with carefully preplanned strakes aiming to send a message. the iraq situation is different. the first time they have done it in iraq. and it happens more spontaneously. there was an american warplane in the air, saw the vehicle by which the militiamen were escaping and filed -- fired a missile. the overall message is deliberate to iran. don't do this. we don't want to fight, but we

will fight if we have to. yes, there has been a significant escalation, but i would not say it has been an explosion. the sense is being contained. sumi: i want to ask about the proposed hostage agreement being negotiated. we saw netanyahu thank president biden in a statement. what role has the u.s. played? barbara: mr. netanyahu thanked mr. biden. he said, for helping to improve the terms of the deal that they were getting more hostages released for a lower cost, should the deal go through. he did not say what the lower cost was. no question the biden administration has been heavily involved in negotiations. you have antony blinken, the head of the cia, other senior officials visiting qatar, israel, taking part in the negotiations. president biden said he called the leaders of both of those countries. they have had influenced her they also have a stake, of course. there are 10 americans that are unaccounted for, including a three-year-old child, presumed

to be held hostage. that is only a fraction of the hostages that are taken. it is going to be israel that makes the decision of what to agree to. sumi: the atkins have been pushing for humanitarian pauses in fighting. that will presumably be part of the agreement. barbara: they have called for humanitarian pauses in order to facilitate the reit -- the release of hostages, and increase the flow of aid. the state department has been heavily invested in this, trying to freeze the amount of aid coming into gaza through the egyptian border, -- crossing. especially to the extent that antony blinken last night, when gaza ran out of fuel, called up israeli officials and said, now the time. you have got to approve this fuel. we have been told by the state department officials that it was delayed, including that it wanted to get the hostage deal first. u.s. officials told us mr. lincoln said, you can't wait for the hostage deal. this has to happen now. gaza is on the verge of a catastrophe.

he has been personally invested in this, as have the state department. if there is pause in the fighting for the hostages, that could help this -- could help them to build on this aid. /it is not just the fighting that has been obstructing aid so far. we will have to see what exactly could be achieved if the agreement is reached. sumi: carrie interesting. thank you so much. the war in gaza means three international football players who are trapped there could not join the palestine world cup team for a qualifying game against australia. the game was originally due to be held in the west bank, but it was moved to kuwait. our correspondent has the story. parts of her reports were found in gaza by am rotella bosch. reporter: stuck in gaza, displaced, under the threat of bombardment. he should have been on a football page, training for the world cup qualifiers with the

rest of the palestinian team. this is what is left of his home. >> 17 people died here. we found only one of the bodies intact. the others were ripped apart. two bodies are still under the rubble. we have not been able to dig them out. we have had to identify people from parts of their bodies. my grandparents were injured. in press two days to pull them out. -- it took us two days to pull them out. reporter: his grandfather has recovered, but a daily struggle for water and food continues. amid the grief of war, there is also heartache of losing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. in a sport where careers usually have a short span. he was described as one of the stars of the palestinian defense by his team's trainer. >> i have not played for 44 days. each day gets harder than the

previous one. and i have constantly been scared for my life. reporter: away from gaza and the west bank, we met one of the palestinian national teams trainers. his father died of an illness in gaza on the second day of the war. he was not able to attend the funeral. his family is moving from one place to another for safety. dozens of people have been killed in gaza amidst these circumstances. why is it important that the palestinian team way football? -- play football? >> football is not just a game for us. it is a matter for which we strive for our independence. it is a symbol of our resistance and our aspiration to achieve an officially recognized estate for every palestinian. reporter: war sweeps up everything in its path. a brahim feels grateful to have survived so far.

but it is a bleak life without the support that gave it meaning. sumi: ukraine is marking the 10th anniversary of the start of the year on my don movement when ukrainians started joining a growing protest against corruption and the government's shift toward russia. president zelenskyy spain - paid respects to those who died in the protests alongside another president, and the first lady of ukraine. it came to an end in february 2018 when antigovernment demonstrators were shot dead in the square. the movement was triggered by the president pulling out of an agreement for closer ties of the european union and toppled the government. james waterhouse has more from kyiv. >> today has seen the european council president arrive care we heard a reputation -- we heard a reputation that it belongs in the european union. which is ukraine has wanted for so long.

he also acknowledged there would be difficult talks ahead of the vote next month. i think that is a reflection of the political difficulties that face president zelenskyy. let's put the politics to the side for one moment. today has been a poignant day for kyiv in ukraine. it is 10 years since the revolution of dignity, when people protested against the decision of the last moscow leaning president to pull out of an association agreement with the european union, and in said signing a secret deal with vladimir putin. that was the moment that ukraine decided to protest against its democratic will not being recognized. we all know that was not the end of the story. there were three months of protests, more than 100 people were killed. it was russia's response which has brought us to this point. 10 years almost of russian aggression, the annexation of crimea, the full-scale invasion of 2022.

the deaths of tens of thousands of people at least, and counting. and the fact that president zelenskyy is still voicing his intent to keep fighting. ukraine sees this as a continue to fight for survival. the idea of any negotiation or settlement or cease-fire is still a nonstarter politically for kyiv, because the real fear is that russia will just replenish and try once more to take the whole of ukraine and to potentially install a puppet government. today has been a day of quiet reflection. there has not been a lot of people out and about, for various -- for very obvious reasons. and of course, the ceremony, the political discourse, it always runs in parallel with the continued brutality of the fighting on the front line. sumi: james waterhouse there in kyiv. let's look at other headlines now. 10 days after a time a collapse in northern indiae is new

video of the 41 construction workers trapped inside. a medical camera slipped, and it captured the video showing the trapped men. rescue efforts have been stymied by a series of challenges made worse by the conditions of the tunnel. the rescue could take several days. south korea says north korea has made a third attempt to put a military spy satellite into space. north korea claims the attempt was successful. pyongyang launched a rocket that flew over japan and into the pacific ocean. north korea had failed to launch a satellite into orbit twice this year. an estimated 12 million girls around the world are married under the age of 18 every year. that is one girl every three seconds. three well-known figures have joined forces to tackle that issue. michelle obama, amal clooney, and melinda french gate say they want to end child marriage in less than a generation. our correspondent joined them on their first field visit to malala -- to molly were 42% of

girls marry under the age of 18. this report is a bbc 100 women exclusive. reporter: it is not every day that some of the best-known women in the world pop into your class. they are here at a school in a district where a third of girls fall pregnant under 18. they are collaborating to fund local projects with the aim of keeping more girls in school. >> when i was your age, there were people in my community that did not think a girl like me, who didn't have money or wealth or connections, could do the things that i did. this is an urgent issue. the health of women and girls on this planet measures the health of our planet. can we can do better. and we can do better. this is an issue that could be solved tomorrow if all the world leaders made it a priority.

it would not take 300 years. it could happen in less than a generation. reporter: it is illegal to marry under the age of 18 here. but since the law was introduced six years ago, there have been very few prosecutions. human rights lawyer amal clooney, outreach is the practical solution. >> this is actually the first time we have been able to reach this part of malawi. we are so excited to be able to learn what you need from lawyers. reporter: her foundation funds female lawyers across the continent. >> the law is part othe solution the first thing is for malawi to change its lawsuit. the rate has gone down since then, but not enough. giving people access to the courts, and this is what we do is fight for girls rights in the courtroom. that a swing to be a big piece. we are also not naive enough to think that is the only piece. you have to form alliances and fight against these injustices

with the determination that it takes to win a war. reporter: almost everyone we speak to says poverty is the number one issue for child marriage. but an issue as big as poverty does not feel like it is an issue we can solve. >> this is a solvable problem. the rates are coming down, when real work gets done. it is really a social norm problem. the only way to change social norms is at the community level. you get community thinking differently about the girls. >> there are going to be lot of people listening to this saying, this is not my problem child marriage has nothing to do with me. what would you like to say to those people? >> disinvestment in women and girls is all of our issues. the belief that women don't have choice and power over their own being, that is what is happening here. you can't just turn a blind eye to it because it is not happening in your own backyard.

it affects our humanity. we all have to care. sumi: reporting there with the bbc 100 women exclusive. you can find more on all of the days news on our website, bbc.com/news. to see what we are working on at any time, check us t on your favorite social media site. i am sumi somaskanda in washington to thank you for watching "world news america." ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

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wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss ahing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. >> israeli forces battle hamas in a refugee camp in gaza as hostage negotiations continue. geoff: congress struggles to contain the federal debt and deficit as another potential government shutdown looms. amna: a program in thailand looks to counteract the increasing trend of grandparents raising grandchildren as farming becomes a less reliable source of income. >> climate change is exacerbating impacts on other more traditional economic and lytic drivers of migration. -- and political drivers of migration. ♪