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happy moment, really. it feels like a breath of fresh air. pres. biden: it's only a start, but so far it has ne well. early this morning, 13 israeli hostages were released including an elderly woman, her grandmother, mother with their young children. >> more tear gas fired by the israeli forces towards the crowd here. they were crowded around the red cross cars demanding to know where the palestinian prisoners were. rajini: good evening. it's been a major day of developments in the middle east, is 24 hostages including 13 israeli women and children are released by hamas. they will soon be reunited with their families. in return, 39 palestinian women and teenagers are released from

two israeli jails. it is all part of a temporary cease-fire deal between israel and hamas, but a pause in the war is only for four days. also in the program, oscar pistorius is to be released from prison in january on parole, 11 years after he murdered his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. welcome to the program, on what's been a dramatic and hugely significant day in the war between israel and hamas. for the next four days, the fighting in gaza has paused as a temporary cease-fire kicks in. hostages have been released, so, too, palestinian prisoners, all part of a deal which has already seen more aid including fuel allowed into the gaza strip. this was the moment when 24 hostages who had been held by hamas were driven across the border into egypt by the international red cross. israel says all of them are in good health. they include 13 israelis, six of

them elderly women, four children and their mothers. in the next few days a total of 50 israeli hostages are expected to be released. 10 thai nationals and one filipino were also part of the group today released under a separate deal. as those scenes were unfolding, when israeli man whose aunt was killed by hamas and whose two cousins are still being held by hamas in gaza gave us his reaction. >> i know family members of the kids coming back home w. i can't believe it. it's so happy to know that they are in israeli territory. i feel as if part of my family came back. i really think many israelis feel the same. and i really hope we get to see them coming back really, really soon. this is such a blessed moment.

rajini: in return, israel will release hundred 50 palestinian prisoners be getting today with 39 women and teenagers. huge crowds gathered to welcome them home as they were bussed by the red cross to a checkpoint in the occupied west bank. this is the moment when a 24-year-old who was part of the release of palestinians was greeted by family in jerusalem. in ga, the first night without bombardment for weeks. for now, the cease-fire seems to be holding. the u.n. says 137 aoid trucks have been unloaded in gaza today. gaza's hamas-run health industry says 14,000 people up and killed during israel's offensive, which began when 1200 people were killed and 240 hostages were taken by hamas seven weeks ago tomorrow. hamas is designated as a terror organization by the u.k. government. our correspondent orla guerin

reports. orla: after dark, a convoy of vehicles crossing from gaza into egypt. a glance of the hostages inside on the road to freedom. and nuer were neighbors in the same kibbutz. their ordeal lasted almost 50 days. among those freed, a mother and daughter, seen here in a family birthday video. amelia, in blue, is six years old. she and her mother are back home on home soil. also freed, margalit, a cancer survivor, who loves knitting sweaters for her grandchildren. ♪ and in the heart otel aviv, a time for celebration.

many israelis feel connected to the hostages. their faces have been everywhere for six weeks. those -- there is collective relief that at least some have been freed. but for others, the waiting continues. a circle of women singing and remembering. they are friends and relatives of a thai taken by hamas from the kibbutz near the gaza border. they know he won't be home soon. his cousin, mixed emotions today. >> when i will see those hostages back here in israel, i will be very happy for their families and for them, but very

happy for them, really, but we also needed to remember that it's only the beginning. 12 or 13 hostages that will be released today, hopefully, and 50 total in the next four days, is less than a quarter. orla: in gaza, streets bustling once again after the cease-fire took effect. family going to look for food, or check if their homes are still standing. many here are hoping there will be peace for longer than four days. "we hope the cease-fire will be extended. today is the first day we woke up without bombing, without being terrified, with nothing to fear."

aid trucks are finally reaching gaza. hundreds will go in each day while the cease-fire lasts. but both israel and hamas are warning the truce is temporary. orla guerin, bbc news, tel aviv. rajini: well, the u.s. played a major part in securing t cease-fire deal. president joe biden has been speaking from nantucket, where he is spending thanksgiving, and he says they won't stop until all the hostages are back home. pres. biden: today has been the product of a lot of hard work and weeks of personal engagement. from the moment hamas kidnapped of these people, i along with my team have worked around-the-clock to secure their release. we saw the first results of this effort with the release of t american hostages in late october, followed by the release of two israeli hostages. i've consistently breast for a pause in the fighting for two reasons -- to accelerate and

expand humanitarian assistance going into gaza, and two, to facilitate the release of hostages. er the last few weeks spoken with the mayor of qatar, president cici of egypt, and prime minister netanyahu of israel. i want to thank all three leaders for their personal partnership to get this done. i spoke with the emir, president al-sisi, prime minister netanyahu again on wednesday to confirm the engagement. as i said, today's release is the start of the process. we expect more hostages to be released tomorrow and more the day after and more that after that. over the next few days, we expect dozens of hostages will be returned to their families. we also remember all those still being held, and renew our commitment to working for their release as well. rajini: president joe biden speaking earlier. now let's take a closer look at the 39 palestinian prisoners have been released. they are accused of a range of

offenses from throwing stones to attempted murder. 24 women and 15 teenage boys were freed and transferred to a checkpoint in the occupied west bank. they were greeted by a crowd who were waving flags and fireworks could be seen overhead. the group will soon be allowed to return home according to israel's prison service. the detainees were chosen from a list of 300 women and minors compiled by israel. the vast majority are being held on remand awaiting trial. lucy williamson is at the checkpoint, and she sent us this update shortly before the prisoners arrived back. lucy: you might be able to see behind me the green flags of hamas. many people here credit hamas would securing this release, saying we would like it to have happened without the hostages taken by hamas, for without those hostages, israel would never have released these prisoners. to israel, the people being released tonight have been

arrested, have been charged on security grounds. but to the people here, they are the victims of israel's occupation. there's been more tear gas fired by the israeli forces towards the crowd here. they were really crowded around the red cross cars demanding to know where the palestinian prisoners were. there is a rising sense of frustratn that has been building here for hours now, and it's at the point of boiling over. rajini: lucy williamson reporting from the checkpoint. to discuss that aspect of today's news in more detail, we can go live to a lawyer and cofounder of military court watch, an organization which monitors the treatment of children in israeli military detention. thanks very much for joining us on bbc news. let me get your reaction to today's events. >> well, i think it is positive, but as everyone has noted, it is

temporary -- is a temporary cease-fire. as far as we know, the bombing will start again in about 80 hours. rajini: and tell us more about what you know about these palestinian prisoners who have been released. what more does your organization know about them? >> the story behind these children who have just been released, their stories will be the same as the other 700 or so palestinian children who were detained in the occupied west bank each year. the significant feature of these cases we find based on about 1100 testimonies we have collected from the children in the last 11 years or so is where they live. according to our evidence, about 98% of these children who are detained in the occupied west bank live in about two commoners

or so of an israeli settlement or road used by settlers. to summarize the situation, if you put 500,000 israeli civilians into occupied territory, not including east jerusalem, you will need a very heavy military presence to protect them, and that military presence in and around those settlements, in and around the palestinian communities close to those settlements, gives rise to incredible friction, clashes, and that is where most of the arrests of these children occur. another aspect of these arrests is based on our evidence, the majority of these children are arrested in military raids on their homes in the middle of the night, usually around 2:00 a.m. or so. based on a recent u.n. report, is estimated about 3000 military operations conducted by the

israeli authorities in the west bank at night, and that was prior each year to october 7. the way it usually occurs is 2:00 in the morning, there is aggressive banging at the front door. you don't open up the front door. it is blown off its hinges. no arrest warrants are required. in most cases, no information written or verbal is provided as to why the person has been arrested. as you can imagine, it's a terrifying situation. it is a very volatile situation for everybody involved. the child or the adult will be blindfd.if the zip ties are putn quickly, they can restrict blood flows to t wrists. there is no security reason for blend folding the children when they are arrested, but what we find from the evidence is if you blindfolded children, wait five or 10 hours before you interrogate them, it degdes them psychologically, so they are less able to resist the

interrogation and it is much easier to get a confession out of that person. then within two, to four days you are brought before one of two military courts in the west bank. that is when you see your lawyer for the first time come after you have been interrogated. under israeli military law, you have far fewer rights than under civilian law, but you still have rights. you have the right in most cases to consult with a lawyer and the right to silence. those are generally disregarded. you end up in a military court, and the lawyers typically will advise the client to plead guilty whether they are innocent or not, because that is generally the quickest way to get out of the system. rajini: i'm just going to stop you there, because we have seen different numbers in terms of the numbers of children who are being held in israeli jails. what, according to your organization, is that figure? gerard: each year proximally 700 children, give or take, are

detained. the official israeli figures at the end of september were for the last day of september they said there were 156 children aged between 12 and 17 in detention. those figures come out quarterly. what is quite clear is since october 7, those numbers have increased significantly. there is no official date as to what those figures would be, but they would be significant higher. rajini: ok, thank you very much for sharing your perspective and giving us a little bit more information about some of the prisoners who have been released today and some of the wider context, gerard horton. when we are showing you on a this green there -- what we are showing you on the screen there, the pictur are obviously quite dark, but they are helicopters, we understand, showing hostages being taken from the airbase to a hospital for treatment.

obviously one of the biggest priorities is to ensure that the people have been held -- you have been held around seven weeks or so do get proper medical checks. that is part of the protocol, of course. what we can see now are hostages being taken from the israeli air brace, as it says on the screen, to a hospital. we are hoping later in the program to actually speak to someone who is at one of those medical centers waiting to receive some of those hostages. as you can see, 13 israeli hostages have been released today, 10 thai nationals, one filipino national as well. those live pictures there of the airbase. it is unclear now whether there is another helicopter they are

waiting to see. but the information that we have is that a helicopter has left the airbase, and that of course outcomes on a very monumental day -- that of course all comes on a monumental day. there is a temporary cease-fire, four days. aid is starting to enter gaza, much-needed aid. for weeks aid groups have been calling for aid, and 39 palestinian women and children have also been released today from detention as part of that deal that was brokered by qatar. we'll of course be back without story. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. a look at some of the other stories making the news. west midline's police have been ordered to make urgent improvements and will be monitored more closely by the government.

the inspectorate of constabulary said the second largest force in england and wales wasn't carrying out effective investigations and was failing to manage the risk posed by registered sex offenders. the chief constable said he completely disagreed with the decision. hundreds of amazon workers have been on strike today, black friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. the gmb union says 1000 workers joined the strike in coventry. walkouts are taking place across europe and the u.s. over a pay dispute. the unions say it is the biggest day of industrial action in the firm's history. the world's biggest icebergs on the move after more than three decades stuck to the ocean's floor. it's almost 4000 square kilometers in area. that is almost twice the size of greater london. it initially split from the antarctic coastline in 1986, but quickly grounded, essentially becoming an ice island. those are some of the other stories we have been taking a look at in the newsroom. you're live with bbc news.

the 24 hostages released today are just a fraction of the 240 israelis who were seized by hamas. many of their relatives and friends have been the last seven weeks been gathering in tel aviv, gaining strength from each other. clive myrie is there, too, and sent this report. clive: israel is a place of forced absences, of missing faces staring out on cardboard and paper, and t-shirts. and it's here in what's been described as hostages square in the heart of tel aviv where the lost are remembered, and where hope burns bright that one day they'll return. in the shadow of the local art museum, relatives and friends of the disappeared gather to gain strength from each other in these worst of times.

yard installations reflect israel -- the art installations reflect israel's tragedy, like children's clothes that aren't being worn and toys no longer played with. one of the artworks here is particularly powerful. the ideas that you look at the posters of some of those be kidnapped by hamas a you come to this installation and it is a collection of mirrors. the point is that you stare into the mirror and you see your own face coming back at you. the idea being it could have been anyone taken by hamas on that day, that the whole of israel is in grief, that the whole of israel has to work to get those people back. a younger sister is being held by hamas. her absence a void of despair. how important is it for you to be here with people who are going through the same pain? >> i feel already like my second

home, because i'm sleeping here in the tents. clive: you sleep here as well? >> with other families. what we believe, until they are not home, we are not home. this is close. i really feel it. in my bones, i feel like i am going to see her. i don't know when, but soon enough. clive: it is a yearning consuming in nature, that all the disappeared will soon be home. rajini: a professor's head of the medical and resistance team at israel's hostages and missing families form campaign group. he is one of many specialists looking after the release hostages f thank you very much for speaking to us on what must be adequately busy time for you. am i correct in understanding you are waiting to receive some of the hostages right now? >> i am here now in the medical center in central israel, and

already two of the release hostages were received here and are now meeting family members and being taken care of by teams of the medical center. we are waiting for, as far as i know, three more come here. we are very joyful and waiting to see what is exactly the medical and mental and general well-being and status to start recovery process. and i must say with a great joy of those who were released today , just a fraction. our hearts are still in gaza with over 200 hostages held by hamas not getting the proper medical and mental care they need now, many of them needed medications or care for injuries or just -- they don't get the diet they need. and the families are worried sick, although happy for the others.

i really hope that the that anyone deserve, that they will get a visit from the red cross to check their status this week and to bring back sign of life to the families. we should see joy today but also think about the others. rajini: professor levine, what kind of injuries or treatment are you anticipating? it might be difficult to predict, but also there would be psychological treatment, i'm sure, as well. >> yes, it is a complex recovery . holistic approach attending to all the aspects. to see -- first, to see if there are immediate life-threatening conditions, for example related to the heart. some of them need heart medications. that need to be checked and balanced immediately. then you have other medical issues. some hostages got gunshot wounds or limbs amputated, etc.

that is very complex treatment. and now it has been seven weeks, so we will have to see the situation. but all the hostages we know may suffer from gastroenteritis -- i know from some of the release hostages i spoke with, they may have nutritional deficiencies, and of course the mental health, being captive, being very passive,, afraid terrorized from the situation. now to regain trust in the world, to become active, to regain control over their lives, it's a process. we need to go personal based on what they need, professional based on what we know from past experiences so there is nothing like that, and patient, because it will take time. the families know that, the medical teams know that, and there is another aspect, many of the hostages don't know what happened in the october 7 massacre, they don't know that

their beloved were murdered, that their homes were burned. that is something we will have to find the right time in a to deliver the bad news to them. some of them still have family members that are in captivity, so that is also a great chalnge for them to recover. rajini: professor levine, thank you very much wo for bringing us up-to-date. professor levine has been treating some of the hostages were released today. we will have more 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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♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned.