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and seeing where they go from there, i get to watch their personal growth, it makes my heart happy. (laughs) announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" >> hello, i'm annita mcveigh. you are watching "the context" on bbc news. >> we have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening have been addressed and we have language pertaining to this issue between both parties. >> pressing hard to close this deal. we have instructed to free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to israel and

allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the palestinians. >> the ball is now in hamas' court. if the deal is accepted, it is ready to be implemented. i believe we will get a cease fire. annita: it has been another day of diplomatic work on a dealer for a cease fire and the release of hostages in gaza with egypt, qatar, and the united states mediating between israel and hamas officials. it's been described as the final round of negotiations, and all signs of expressed hope that a deal can be achieved. meanwhile in washington, donald trump's pick for u.s. secretary of defense have been grilled by senators at his confirmation hearing. pete hegseth said that he had been tasked to returning a warrior culture to the pentagon.

and the princess of wales has revealed that she is remission from cancer after making an emotional return to the london hospital where she received treatment. before we catch up on the mediation efforts in qatar, let's take you to this piece of breaking news from south korea. live pictures coming to us from the capital, seoul, where authorities, we understand, are to make another attempt to execute an arrest warrant for the impeached president, yoon suk yeol. you will remember they try to do this before but they were prevented from entering the presidential compound by the presidential guards of yoon. we are also hearing some lawmakers from the ruling party have formed a human chain to prevent yoon's arrest. this all stems from mr. yoon's

declaration of martial law on december 3. we will keep a close eye on what is happening there. obviously, different parts of south korean authorities potentially pitched against each other in all of this. we will see whether that arrest warrant is carried out or not. another attempt to arrest the impeached president yoon suk yeol. an acting president has been put in place instead. we have heard very little from mr. yoon while all of this has been unfolding. he has spent all of that time in the presidential compound. we will speak to our correspondent shortly to get up to date on what is happening in south korea. we will bring you all the latest details from there. but now, what has been described

as the final round of negotiations on a cease fire deal and the release of hostages in gaza has been continuing through the day in qatar but with no outcome yet. it is thought there is broad agreement with the israel and hamas delegations both saying they are hopeful of reaching a deal. but a number of details are still being worked out. we are hearing the other main palestinian armed group in gaza, islamic jihad, says that if it is sending a delegation to qatar to take place in a final agreement. in the last couple of hours, president joe biden and the egyptian president cc have had negotiations about the efforts and have called on all involved to show flexibility in achieving a truce. we have some detail on what that deal in reaching a cease fire and hostage release deal is thought to include with the initial release of 34 israeli

hostages including women, children, the wounded, and the sick. in return, it's expected israel will release 1000 palestinian printed in including about 190 who have been serving sentences of 15 years or more. an agreement we need to be reached on the future of gaza including whether israeli troops can remain there. the official mediators, the qatari's, will play a key role in helping any last details over the line. here is what their spokesperson has been saying. >> we reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed. we have language pertaining to this issue between both parties. we especially appreciate the roles of both the biden administration and the incoming trump administration in the talks the past couple of weeks. annita: let's remind you of how we have reached this point.

on october 7, 20 23, israel was the target of an unprecedented attack from land, air, and c led by hamas. 1200 people were killed, many of them attending a music festival. 250 hostages were also taken. around 100 are still in gaza. and their families are desperate to have them back. israel responded with fewer really, about to crush hamas and in the war that followed, much of gaza has been reduced to rubble. more than 46,000 palestinians have been killed and most of the population of gaza has been replaced -- displaced. aid workers say the suffering is on a scale that is hard to comprehend. the international community including the united states says it must end. >> pressing hard to close this. the deal we have structured to free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to israel and allow us to

significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the palestinians. annita: u.s. president elect trump's middle east envoy is also attending the talks hosted by qatar. >> if those hostages are not back, i don't want to hurt your negotiation. annita: he says a deal is closed but it has to be done, or in mr. trump's words, there will be a lot of trouble out there. the outgoing u.s. secretary of state antony blinken has also been speaking and he says the ongoing war in gaza has inflicted immeasurable suffering on the regent and spoke of the need to forge a new reality in the middle east. mr. blinken says he believes there will be a cease fire and that the ball is now in hamas' court. >> over the past several weeks, our intensive efforts have brought us to the brink of a full and final agreement. on sunday, the united states, qatar, and egypt put forward a final proposal. the ball is now in hamas' court.

if hamas excepts, the deal is ready to be concluded and implemented. annita: we will get more analysis on what is happening in the middle east in just a few minutes. right now, let's return to the evolving situation in seoul, south korea, where we understand there is about to be another attempt to execute an arrest warrant for the impeached president yoon suk yeol. let's talk to our correspondent in seoul for us. bring us up-to-date, shed more light on what is happening there. >> we are very, very close to the outer premises of the presidential residence. let me show you around a little bit. these are dozens and dozens of police officers that have surrounded the area. also much further from the entrance. we are close to the alleyway that leads to the entrance. we understand the corruption investigation officers that

tried to get close, get into the presidential residence last time, they are now here in the outer premises. if i could show you here behind me, right here is where the anti-yoon protesters gathered. chants that arrest him, a festive atmosphere. people feel the arrest is imminent. over there, a little further to the entrance is the pro-yoon supporters. they are gathering in large numbers. their chants remain the same, stop the steel. these are claims that president yoon has made, unfounded claims about the parliamentary elections that he used as reasons for the martial law that

he announced. this is the reason we are all here, why all of this is happening. apart from the constitutional court hearings that started yesterday, this is a different case. he is now being investigated by corruption investigators and police alleged insurrection and abuse of power, both related to the martial law declaration on december 3. what they are trying to do now is a second attempt to try and arrest the president. ideally for the police and investigators, what they will try to do is try to get as close as possible to the entrance behind me, get into the residence compound, get to the president, and attempt to arrest him. the last time they tried that, they were blocked by a wall of people, the president's security team. so far we have not heard that the president's security staff

will operate, so they are expecting a standoff. we don't know how long it will last. we understand about 1000 police officers have been deployed. that is more than eight times the number that was there last time. they say they want to avoid contra -- confrontation, bloodshed. they want this operation to go smoothly, but we do not know whether the police security staff will make it easy for them. last time, the standoff lasted six hours and then the police drew. they seem more determined now but it is unclear how long it will last. annita: lots of people there in south korea worried about the prospect of a clash between different branches of the authorities between the police and the presidential guard, for example. >> absolutely. this is a picture of the political crisis that south korea finds itself in.

essentially you have two branches of executive power, you have the police, the law enforcement officers that have a legal arrest warrant they are trying to execute, and they are being blocked by the presidential security staff, the presidential security brief, secret service, if you will, for our american audience. that brings up a question of who is in charge? both say they are following orders, following the rule of law, and they will stick to their positions. that tells you there are potential clashes between those two orders of power, the president, his security, his police, and the investigators. all of this is happening while the president himself is yet to appear in an impeachment trial. in a way, these are two parallel crises happening at once, with the south korean public watching in real time.

anti-yoon protesters on one side, pro-yoon protesters on the other. this is the political drama that south korea find itself in right now. annita: many countries around the world who view south korea as a solid democratic ally in this region watching on as well. >> it is really interesting you should mention that. i remember when donald trump was elected, we were covering his election here and that what -- what that would mean for the region. i was in t japan, there were some political turmoil, saying it was a stable democracy, so what would it mean for the presidency in his approach? if you had asked me or anyone following the region a couple months ago, saying south korea would descend into this political division, political

chaos, no one could have expected this. there was all that tension brewing within president yoon's camp, his opposition, especially with the opposition, and that they have won an astounding majority. but it remained within the tense clashes of korean democracy, no one imagined it could have descended into this. everyone looking on will be looking on with great woerle. south korea has a lot more to worry about than just domestic politics. north korea just fired a missile yesterday. we are a couple days away from the inauguration of donald trump. this was seen as a stable american ally in the region and now it is not stable. that will mean a lot more beyond its domestic politics beyond the borders of south korea and the region. annita: thank, shaimaa khalil. we will keep a close eye on that situation and see if that arrest

warrant for mr. yoon is carried out or not. just before we go to our short break, let me tell you, this is in relation to the mediation efforts to bring about a cease-fire deal and hostage release a in gaza. we are just hearing the israeli foreign minister says he believes they will be a majority in the israeli government to support the gaza agreement. that is very significant obviously because a number of hardliners within benjamin netanyahu's government have been expressing their opposition to any agreement. but the israeli foreign minister says he believes there will be a majority to support it. more on that coming up. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news.

annita: let's return to our coverage of what has been described as the final round of negotiations on a cease-fire deal and the release of hostages in gaza. those talks have been continuing

through the day in the qatari capital doha. all sides saying they feel pretty positive, but there are details to be worked out. just in the last few moments, let me repeat the news coming into us. the israeli foreign minister says he believes they will be a majority in the government to support a gaza agreement. that is significant because of course some of the hardliners within benjamin netanyahu's government have been very vocal about their opposition to any deal. he says he believes they will be a majority in the government to back an agreement. let's speak now to laura blumenfeld, senior fellow at john hopkins university, middle east analyst, former senior advisor at the state department. good to have you on "the context ." i want to begin to get your reaction from that line from the israeli foreign minister.

>> you can chill your champagne but don't pop the cork. the big issues may be worked out but it is those little details that can get you. the domestic politics are very important both for the israelis and hamas. when i worked on the israeli-palestinian team under secretary kerry, we were undone by domestic politics, and that is what we are reminded of. i do think the outside parties, the u.s. and mediators, we cannot want it more than they do. it looks like they want it. i wish i could say it is for positive reasons, hope, but the fear factor is at play for hamas. they are fearful of becoming irrelevant, they are weak internally and regionally. netanyahu is looking at president like that tornado twisting on the horizon. the last thing that trump wants is a headache in the middle east. he is saying to netanyahu, get me a deal. annita: so you think that is a decisive factor in all this,

donald trump do to return to the white house next week. >> absolutely. it is unprecedented the kind of partnership that you see between biden and trump's team. it is like herding cats but you have the big dogs on the party now. for biden leaving office, it feels that having those hostages there. for trunk coming into office, it looks bad. for him, appearances are everything. there is a perfect storm and that could bring us over the line. i remember we spent three days haggling over a comma, and in the end we didn't get our way. the people i was working with, the american ended up with throat cancer because he ended up in so many smoke-filled rooms. another one of our team had emphysema. not to sound too depressing, but there is no light at the end of

hamas tunnels. we have a long road ahead. annita: fascinating details about what those drawn out negotiating processes can look like sometimes without anything to show for it in the end. do you think this time will be different because of all those circumstances you have set out? >> some lessons learned. in may, the president put out a three-point plan. as my israeli colleague joked, the only plan that will work in israel is a one point plan. the israelis are saying it is a gradual deal. slow, slow, one deal at a time. if we can get some of the hostages out, the women, the children, if they are alive, let's recoup those wins. when i was at the state department, the slogan was go big or go home. nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. so we went home and we had more war. annita: thank you for your thoughts on this developing

story. laura blumenfeld at john hopkins university. president-elect donald trump's pick to lead the pentagon, pete hegseth, has appeared before a congressional confirmation hearing where he has called for a return to a warrior culture in the u.s. military. a former soldier and more recently a fox news host, he would lead a department with more than 3 million employees and an annual budget of almost $850 billion. he has been grilled by senators on a whole range of his issues. here is what he said would be his priorities. >> the department of defense under donald trump will achieve peace through strength. and in pursuing these america first national security goals will remain patriotically apolitical and stridently constitutional, unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. we are not republicans, we are

not democrats, we are american warriors. annita: let's speak to liz goodwin, said a reporter for the washington post. good to see you. thank you for your time. the point where we have to begin the conversation is about the interruptions, three of them right at the start of this confirmation hearing, from protesters, giving a sense of how controversial pete hegseth is. >> it is true, his hearing was interrupted at the very beginning. one protester yelled that he was a christian zionist, and he was hauled out. another gaza-related protester. not exactly the issues that senate democrats were pushing him on but i guess shows the breadth of the coalition that opposes him. annita: looking at what he said today, the questions put to him, what are your headlines from all of that? >> i think what stuck out to me

was how united the republicans on the committee were behind him. at the beginning, after donald trump first tapped him for the role, there were republicans raising concerns about his record, about some of the allegations that have odgged him . the biggest moment for me of the hearing was senator joni ernst, the republican from iowa, just asking him such friendly questions about auditing the pentagon which is common ground between them, pointing out, you reassured me about your previous comments about women in combat. she just seemed to be telegraphing that she is on board with him now. that is a really big turnaround from where he was at early in december. i think on the democratic side, the moment that stuck out was senator tim kaine pressing him on past infidelities and just character issues. he is not known as a rabble-rouser, senator kaine.

he has voted for past secretary of defense republican presidents. he tends to support those nominees, so it stuck out to me that he was just so riled up about the allegations that hegseth faces, and he held his feet to the fire in a way that some of the other democrat didn't manage to. annita: i guess big pressure on the republican side to get this confirmation through with the inauguration of donald trump happening next week. just a final thought, if you would, liz. how do fbi background checks fit into this process that we've been seeing today? >> all of the cabinet nominees are going through the fbi background check process. initially, trump and his allies were floating the idea that they would skip this. they ended up doing the traditional process. democrats on the committee have raised alarms that they feel this particular background check on mr. hegseth was not thorough enough. the woman who accused him of

sexual assault in 2017, which hegseth denies, was not interviewed by the fbi. there are omissions like that at the democrats have raised the alarm on. annita: thank you very much, liz goodwin, senate reporter from the washington post. a reminder that we will have live coverage of donald trump's inauguration with a special program from washington here on bbc news on monday the 20th of january. full coverage of that inauguration through the day as the oval office changes hands from president biden to president trump. let's circle back to that south korea story we were telling you about. a reminder that police there are trying to execute an arrest

warrant for the impeached president yoon suk yeol who is inside the presidential compound. we understand pro-yoon supporters from the government have formed a human chain, so there is that prospect of different branches of the authorities facing off against one another, with the police on one side, announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

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