♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned.

george: actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life. it's exciting to be part of a team driving the technology forward. i think that's the most rewarding thing. people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovlefoundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> hello. i am christian fraser and this is the context. >> b humanitarian pause will be extended for another two days. thursday morning, israel time. the humanitarian pause has brought a cost of the fighting along with a surge of humanitarian assistance. >> she is not afraid to go to sleep. she is eating.

she is not afraid to turn off the light. i think she is doing pretty well here. again, i still don't know how deep the scar in her heart is. i think we will find out later. >> the situation is catastrophic. people are waiting in lines for three days to gea packet of flour. and then we go to stand in line for gas. >> the bbc has no analysis that shows that hamas and other groups have been openly training in gaza for almost three years before its deadly attack on israel. ♪ christian: qatar says israel and hamas have agreed to a two day extension to their current truce. the white house says hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children over the next two days. we will speak tonight to the qatari's who broker the

extension. right now a hostage handover is underway. the idf says 11 hostages are territory. we will get reaction to that along with the extension agreed to within the last two hours. good evening. had there not been an extension to this four-day truce, than the fighting would have resumed in just under two hours. as it is, both sides will stand down for a further two days. tonight there is another hand over of hostages underway. 11 have been released to the red cross and are on their way to israeli territory, with more palestinian prisoners expected to be released. we can show you live pictures of the prison where the authorities are standing by. the u.s. national security council spokesman john kirby said he hopes the extension agreed tonight will lead to the release of more hostages. >> the humanitarian pause in

gaza, now in its fourth day, will be extended for another two days through thursday morning israeli time. this as raw a halt to the fighting along with a surge of humanitarian assistance. hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children over the next two days. we would of course hope to see the pause extended further and that will depend upon hamas continuing to release hostages. christian: the national security spokesman john kirby there. that's the prison you are looking at on the right. this is the west bank, where tires are burning currently. they are waiting for the release of, we think around 30, 33 prisoners this evening. we see such joyful scenes among the israeli families receiving people, but bittersweet for the other families whose loved ones remain in gaza. this is the scene in the west

bank, where of course they are waiting for the release of their loved ones. hamas officials have told the reuters nude agency this temporary truce will have the same conditions as the previous one. so far there have been three palestinian prisoners released for every one israe hostage freed. that is under the current deal. there have been reports today that hamas has a current 40 more hostages they can release. that would presumably mean another 120 palestinian prisoners could be released. it gives the u.n. and its partners more time to get aid into southern gaza, with hundreds of trucks on the egyptian side still lining the approach to the rafah crossing. the u.s. said they were hoping a second crossing could be open in time. that had been a hold up in the release today of the hostages due to disagreement over the list of names. it is always a fraught process.

israel says the final list was agreed, family members have been notified a long time ago. and of course they will now how the news their loved ones are returning to them. our special correspondent has this report on the hostages. reporter: lining the streets tonight to welcome home a mother and daughter freed from gaza yesterday. and there is hope that others will come home. qatar and the white house saying that the cease-fire deal and release of captives will continue for two more days. already savoring her freedom, this 78-year-old. she tells hospital staff in tel aviv they are amazing. so is she, freed from gaza on friday after almost 50 days in

captivity. already a survivor of cancer and now of hamas. some homecomings are overshadowed by sorrow. she's been reunited with her uncle, but her mother was not freed by hamas. though israel says mothers and children were supposed to be released together. he says his these could not speak aloud for weeks. >> she says the terrorists who held them told them to keep it low all the time, especially at night. they were not allowed to talk at night, and during e day they were always told to keep quiet. so she got used to whispering. now her voice is very low. reporter: she is 13 today. her family are having a small party at the hospital.

they say she is doing well. on the surface, at least. >> she is not afraid to go to sleep. she is eating. she is not afraid to turn off the light. i think she is doing pretty well here. again, i still don't know how deep the scar in her heart is. i think we will find out later. reporter: israel's prime minister was grim faced today, visiting bullet-riddled homes where hamas killed and took hostages on october 7. he has said that when the cease-fire ends, israel will go back to work in gaza with full force. bbc news, tel aviv. christian: such relief for the families involved. of course these hostages have been through so much in the past 50 days or so. i can give you some information on those release to this evening. 11 hostages since i was telling

you. the qatari foreign minister spokesman says israeli hostages released include three french citizens, two germans, and six argentinians. let's speak live now to the official spokesperson for qatar's ministry of foreign affairs. thank you very much for coming on the program this evening. what additional information has hamas offered today on the hostages that it holds and is prepared to release in the coming two days? guest: as you know, the original agreement for the four days included a provision of adding days in the case hamas was abld e to provide 10 additional names of hostages that can be released. as a result, we are confident now we have 28 names who hamas

held. but they can commit to 20 hostages being released, and that will take place in the next couple of days. this is an active provision and this would mean basically we're optimistic we are ing to find 20 of them released. christian: would you presume those to be women and children? guest: yeah. according to the language of the agreement that this humanitarian pause is based upon, the first agreemen is based on women and children being released first of all, then to be followed by civilian men. however, right thendication we are getting is we are still within the women and children being released. the prioritization was made, according to humanitarian agents, to those who are most at risk going out first. christian: do you think at this

moment in time the deal could be extended beyond these two days? guest: we are quite hopeful. reaching the agreement to have a four-day pause has not been easy. we spent a lot of hard time negotiating the agreement to this humanitarian pause. now that we have the extension in place for two days we are optimistic we can work towards a more sustainable path for both sides. you have to remember there is a lot of lack of information over the hostages, over the situation on the ground there in relation to the hostages, their numbers, their status, and the possibility of getting them out. but these four days were instrumental in collecting that information, allowing hamas to collect that information on the ground, and therefore allow for the extension to happen. so that fills us with hope that we can work now towards a

sustainable negotiation. christian: right. i want to press you on that, because one of the purposes of the truth was for hamas to search for the rest of the missing people. because of course they do not hold all of them. there are other groups holding some of these hostages. have you now a clear idea of how many hostages they are holding in gaza? and do you have a full list of them? guest: we don't. the way the agreement functions is that every day we get the list of those who will be released within that date. the information right now, we have 20 extra hostages ready to be released, and that constituted the two extra days. we are here in doha which communicate with people on the ground for hamas, and we g the information through them. we cannot validate the information we get through them. but the information we have right now is 20 extra hostages are ready to be released.

christian: do you get an impression from the hamas interlocutors he speak to that they do have control of the other groups who have hostages? are they ablto get information from those groups? do they have the power to take those hostages, should they wish? guest: we are confident that through the communication that has happened in the past four days, we have more information regarding the possibility of getting hostages out. this is what we are getting from hamas's side. that is a good sign. however, we don't have any other information to give regarding the rest of the hostages at the moment. as long as the process and a channel of communication remains open, we are hopeful we will get more information as those 20 are released in the next t days. and both sides in order to extend the pause, there is a need for more information to come in. christian: there are some issues

that the israeli site have raised. notably,s you saw in this report, that one of the children came out without her mother. that is a breach of the rules. have you communicated that to hamas? guest: both sides understand the commitments that are in the agreements and have agreed fully to them. however, the process of getting the hostages out and to safety is not an is a process. it is a very delicate process, there are a lot of moving parts on the ground. we are working with what we have, which are the lists that we get from both sides. and we try to push both sides to accept the relea of the hostages, and to make sure that these issues are not looked at as breaches, but challenges within the process itself. we're optimistic that with the numbers being released right now, today, just moments ago as you menoned, that the red

cross guard received the 11 hostages today, concluding the 50 of the first agreement, a total of 48 of the agreement. so we are hopeful thathat momentum will continue. we will see those families with their loved ones. we are conscious of the grave concern over the issues regarding mothers and children. also, we have to work with what we have and we have to make sure those get to safety as soon as possible within the parameters. christian: doctor, thank you so much for coming on the program. grateful for your time. the u.n. secretary general antonio guterres said he hoped the extension to the deal would mean more humanitarian aid could reach the people in gaza. but the british government tonight said it has serious problems with the idea of so-called safe zones being created for people in southern

gaza. the israelis urged people to move to a small area west. the foreign minister said he was conscious of the fact very large numbers of people were being cuddled into the south -- kettled into the south, his words. that makes it more dangerous for the supply of aid, unless there is a comprehensive agreement. our correspondent has been looking closer at the conditions in gaza, as the weather begins to turn. reporter: sometimes the impact of war hits hardest when the fighting stops. when the drones overhead are filming, not firing. in this district, residents returned to reclaim their homes, clinging to the smallest remnants of their earlier life. islands of normaty in a vast, distorted world. in gaza city, the dead have been cut off from the living by weeks

of fighting. among them, his father and nephew. he returned to find them lying dead in front of their house. >> my father and my nephew were martyred 14 days ago. when the truce came i was able to move my father's body and bury him at my house. reporter: the truce, his first chance to return and bury them. >> what did we do? we're neither hamas not thought to and we have never held a weapon in our lives. reporter: food and fuel are being trucked into gaza during the pause in fighting. even in the southern city, many are struggling to find enough to eat. >> the situation here is catastrophic, as you can see. people are waiting in lines for three days to get a packet of flour. and then we go to stand in line for gas. reporter: here, few buildings haveeen spared.

this brief window into gaza's new landscape may be closing soon. the present, hard to look at. the future, hard to see. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. christian: pain lucy joins us this evening. just some detail to give you. we have been told by the foreign ministry in qatar that those released from israeli prison include 30 minors and three women, and 11 israelis have been released including three french citizens, two german citizens, and six argentinian citizens. what is the public mood around the two day extension, lucy? lucy: i think there has been a lot of support for the extension on both sides. here in israel the government is doing something of a juggling act with its two main priorities, destroying hamas and getting the hostages back. it is under a lot of pressure

from the army and military not to pause for too long, not to give hamas too much time to regroup. and it is under pressure from the families of hostages here in israel. they have been running a big public campaign to do everything they can to get every chance to get every last hostage out. i think this two day pause is popular, but the government is caught somewhere in between these two pressure. christian: i know you have been focusing on the eight operation in gaza. how much of it is reaching northern gaza where there are still people i suppose staying put in defiance of the israeli border? how much aid are they getting? lucy: we are hearing from the u.n. i think yesterday they said 61 trucks had gone through to northern gaza. what -- that was the largest amount had gone through since the attacks. a couple hundred also entered

and were distributed in the south where a lot of people have been displaced. as you heard from that report -- and the truce is giving more of a chance to see the situation on the ground. it is not enough. it is not alleviating people's struggle quite enough. they are spending hours queuing for food and fuel. and as you mentioned, the resumption of israeli hostilities, as and when that happens, and encouraging people to move into an ever smaller area and he south, is raising concern it will make that situation even more dire and difficult. christian: lucy williamson in jerusalem, thank you very much for that. just after the break we are going to speak to the israeli government spokesman standing by. do stay with us. you are watching bbc news. before that, we will take a quick look at some other news making headlines here today. health officials say someone in the u.k. has been infected by a strain of flu similar to the

viruses spreading in pigs. it is the first time the strain has been detected in the u.k. and close contacts are being traced. first affected have respiratory symptoms but have fully recovered. investigations are underway into the source of the infection. the tobacco company bat is calling for more stringent regulations on vaping, including a ban on flavors based on deserts or sweets that could appeal to children. it says the products should be licensed in the same way as alcohol or cigarettes. the u.k. government is already considering regulations over concerns many young people are vaping. a new independent advisor has been announced to provide better support for victims of major disasters in england and wales. the independent public advocate will offer faster help to survivors of major incidents, like the grand felt tire for our, and the manchester arena bombing. you are live with bbc news.

the israel defense forces set tonight -- said tonight over 150 hostages still remain in gaza. while they have or agree to an extension of the truce, they have committed to dismantling hamas. they a continuing to prepare for the next phase. let's speak to government spokesperson mark joining us this evening. is there anything you can share with us on the 11 hostages who have been released this evening? mark: it is my understanding they have been transferred to the red cross and we are waiting for them to be back on israeli soil. only when they are back at home can we say this has truly been done, and that the original deal that was negotiated, with the help of the americans and the egyptians and the qataris, only then can we say that this has really been done. but we think it is probably only a matter of time now. christian: for how long is the israeli government prepared to prolong this truce? mark: we have said clearly since the very beginning, the

framework that was negotiated was for four days for 50 women and children. and we have said publicly repeatedly that we are willing to give an extra day for every 10 hostages released. and so the ball is in hamas's court. to what extent are they willing to released hostages. christian: it must surely have occurred to the authorities there that at some point, hamas will change the price. so they will start dripping out hostages in ones and twos, and the pressure from the families will be such that they want you to maintain the truce so long as people are coming out. what happens then? mark: we cannot agree to such a slippery slope. the minute we agree to eight, then it will be down to four. we know who we are dealing with. a ruthless and fanatical terror organization. we saw the violence they committed against innocent civilians october 7.

i have received the list of people released. there are two three-year-old twins. who kidnapped three-year-olds? only a brutal, ruthless terrorist organization. we have few illusions about that. as president biden set on friday, he said hamas understands one thing, pressure. the pressure of the idea of the military blows that they were receiving, and the idf was acting to disrupt hamas's military machine, to destroy its underground tunnels, to take out its senior commanders. that they were desperate for a cease-fire. and the only where they could get such a pause was by agreeing to finally agree to released hostages. and they know that if there is not a continued release of hostages, the military. operation resumes. i think that influence is -- all the people who said israel

should agree to unilateral cease-fire, none of these 50 hostages would have gotten out. christian: can i go back to what you said, two three-year-old twins, were they part of this group this evening? mark: yes. that includes nine children, of which there is a group of two twin three-year-olds. christian: that is good news for the family concerned. i want to talk to you about concerns expressed expert on -- externally today. jake sullivan appears to have incated that the u.s. does not want israel to start its offensive in the south until they have a full plan worked out to protect civilians. we have heard similar things today from the british government. andrew mitchell saying he does not want palestinians to be kettled into safe zones without assurances from the idf that those safe zones are off-limits. do you have a plan for people in gaza if and when these hostilities continue? mark: yes, i was in a meeting today with senior idf officers.

there were specific zones in southwest gaza that have been designated for humanitarian purposes. no conflict zones. and we're suggesting to the people up gaza, and now there's a truce, so people maybe don't feel the urgency. but we urge the people to move to these areas, and we urged that the humanitarian community, these are the areas idf have designated these are safer areas, areas for civilians to come -- christian: but i mean, it's one kalama to her across four kilometers down -- how many tens of thousands of people? mark: there is re than one space. we have designated different areas. as places for up we can go to different areas. ifou wait for a perfect solution you are not going to find one. we have to make the best with what there is. christian: understood.

thank you very much for coming on the program. there you have it. 11 hostages released in the last half an hour. mark said they had been handed over to the red cross. we understand they have not been transferred to israel. mark just telling you that among them are two three-year-old twins. we will continue to keep across that, in of course the release of the pal narrator: funding for this presentation of this program isrovided 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... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned.