♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... erika: i love seeing interns succeed, i love seeing them come back and join the engagement teams

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" . i'm caitriona perry. . this is the context on bbc news. >> israel has said eight of the hostages released are no longer alive and said their families have been informed. >> we believe my father and family, it would be something

they would give me. >> i collected her father in pieces. i'm crying from heaven. i don't want anything. ♪ caitriona: hello. you are very welcome. tonight, as the cease-fire in gaza holds devastating news for some families of israelis taken hostage on the seventh of october 2023. meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of palestinians were returned to northern gaza after months of war. the u.s. and colombia back from the brink of a trade war. we take a closer look at immigration and trade later this hour. the global ai race struck under the u.s. share market. we will have the latest from new

york. let's start in the middle east, where a cease-fire does appear to be holding in the gaza strip. palestinians have today begun to return home. the mass movement comes a week into a cease-fire deal between israel and hamas, and determinedly ending a war that began more than 16 months ago. meanwhile, the israeli government has confirmed that eight of the hostages yet to be released by hamas in the first phase of the gaza cease-fire deal it said our day. a spokesman said they have been killed by hamas. let's go out for the latest. we can speak to our correspondent, nick beake, who is standing by. what is the latest, the new information on the hostages? nick: yes come as you say come a week into this fragile,

precarious cease-fire deal, 33 hostages are to be released. already seven have been free, four over the weekend and three the weekend before that. that leaves 26 hostages. today, the israeli government have said that 18 of those hostages, eight of them are dead. it is worth pointing out that in the israeli media over the past few weeks, this figure has been reported quite a lot, so this is not a huge surprise. but what is -- from hamas, and they've been able to talk to the families of the hostages affected. in terms of what happens in the next few days, we are told that three more hostages will be released on thursday, and, again, there will be an exchange of palestinian prisoners being free from israeli prisons. and also the weekend, another three hostages released. so that is how it is looking in the coming days. caitriona: we are seeing these

images, palestinians returning to their home in northern gaza, images of people streaming back to their home. what will they find there? nick: what we are hearing today from people who have made it back to their homes is this roller coaster of emotions. initially, there was jubilation as hundreds of thousands of people set off. the excitement, anticipation as finally they were going north, back to their communities come but for so many people, it seems to be that there is nothing to go back to, that their houses have been destroyed, the streets have been changed beyond recognition did what we are hearing as it is only the very lucky once you have anything left of their houses. in some cases, only one room remained. extremely difficult on a day of hugely can stress -- contrasting emotions for people in gaza. caitriona: nick beake, thank you

for that. people across the globe are watching on as the cease-fire progresses. go to our u.s. state department correspondent now tom bateman. tom, we heard president trump not really in line with what some people have been hoping for pete what sort of relationship do you see prime minister netanyahu and president trump happening now -- having now? tom: if we look on the first trump term, where, for example, some described donald trump as the greatest friend in the white house israel had never had kid you saw an extremely close relationship with trump, being extremely pro-israel president, not unusual when it comes to u.s. presidents. but i think when you contrast the approach of the biden administration two what appears to be evolving for this trump administration, there are some key differences. i think whereas joe biden's

relationship to the israeli leadership was driven effectively by a psychological attachment to israel, he's been viscerally pro-israel since his very early days, the trump relationship is much more transactional. you know, we saw, for example, mr. trump and mr. netanyahu fallout quite spectacularly after mr. trump left the white house last time. donald trump later said he was disappointed with benjamin netanyahu, because he congratulated joe biden on his election victory, he gave in an interview to an israeli journalist at the time, using an expletive but i will not repeat toward benjamin netanyahu. but, of course, back in power, both men have had time out of office, in fact, but back in now, so that relationship becomes absolutely critical. we see in the trump administration has tried to take the credit for the cease-fire deal. it is also now this crucial moment where they have to try to

push it through to a second phase, to get a permanent end to the war in gaza, and all of the israeli hostages released. that will come after the current six-week phase. caitriona: tom, when a u.s. president takes office, there's always great anticipation as to who the first world leader will be that they meet in person. do we anticipate that could be prime minister netanyahu? there are some reporting that there may be a meeting in the tom: works next week. that is certainly being reported in the israeli media, a trip to both israel and u.s. officials. that has not been confirmed formally by either side, but if that was to take place next week, it would, of course, be the first visit to a foreign leader by mr. trump since he took office again. mr. netanyahu has recently had prostate surgery, which may be a factor in whether or not he would be able to make the journey this soon. and, of course, there will be

much scrutiny on that, because it will be, you know, the first significant visit since the international criminal court issued an arrest warrants both for him and his defense member, former defense minister yoav gallant. that would add to the sense of controversy around the trip, but for the moment, we don't have neither side has confirmed those details. caitriona:caitriona: ok, tom bateman at the state department, thanks so much for joining us. let's bring in our panel for today. i'm joined by brent bloom, former director of global engagement, and republican strategist lance trover, who was press secretary for doug burgum's presidential candidacy. the potential meeting between president trump and prime minister netanyahu, do you think that would be likely to happen

next week? >> i don't know, but i think it would be issued a statement from the trump administration and to the world to have netanyahu the first real visit from a world leader. the trump administration is operating from a position of strength, and you see that there's a lot of trust and confidence built between these two. they've known each other for a long time. there might have been differences along the way. with these two have trust. is israel going to be able to take more risks and probably compromise a bit more because they have faith in the trump administration and the relationship that those two gentlemen have that i think will help move the ball down the field. caitriona: ok. and, brent, when we hear comments appealing to egypt and georgia, clear life i think was the phase he used, does that show fundamental misunderstanding, or does he want to think outside of the box to get a deal done here? brett: this goes back to jared

kushner's comments, that it would make a great development. so trump, whether it is on greenland or gaza, will always be thinking like a real estate developer. but it generates a whole lot of both diplomatic and the secure implication, we are simply going to move out over one million people from gaza, asked jordan, ask the egyptians, others, to take them in, let alone the fact that they have the right to be there. that is their land. i think trump does not answer these really hard questions, he just creates more hard questions. caitriona: as we've been hearing, huge numbers of palestinians have begun heading back to homes in the devastated north gaza. half a million are expected to follow in the coming days. in addition to the coast, which reopened earlier, the israeli military is now allowing vehicles to travel north along the central highways, but what

is left for these residents to return to? bbc verify has been looking into it. >> yes, palestinians have been coming to the north of gaza for the first time in months after israel granted them access as part of the cease-fire deal agreed last week. contact for you, around 90% of people in gaza have been displaced during the conflict, according to the united nations. many people lose sight of the exaggeration orders and have been unable to return until today. as people know heading north again, what are they turning -- returning to? this map shows destruction and gaza and how it has spread over time. based on satellite imagery, academics estimate roughly 60% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed across the gaza strip. but the worst of the damage has been in the north. let me show you two examples. in gaza city, just under

three-quarters of buildings have been destroyed or damaged. further north in north gaza, the figure is said to be just under 70%. here's an example from what that looks like in practice. this is what it looks like i'm of the neighborhoods we are focusing on, a big area with homes and businesses. you can see the roads quite clearly marked. fast forward to now, this is the picture. you can see a scene of complete destruction. whole rows of buildings destroyed by israeli strikes. the job of rebuilding gaza is going to be difficult and costly. the u.n. concluded that in the first three months of the war alone, $18.5 billion worth of damage has been done. and even before the rebuild begins, the u.n. also estimates of 50 million tons of rubble to

be clear, about half of that concentrated around north gaza. so although many people are happy to be heading to their homes, many will be returning to very different neighborhoods that will take some time to rebuild. caitriona: we can now have a listen to some reporting from lucy williamson, who has been speaking to palestinian families about what it is like to go back to their homes. lucy: for 15 months, home was a place carried inside them. whatever else they carry, whatever they lost. today, the road home was reopened, reclaimed, remembered. the war made nomads of gaza's people. this journey is the one they waited to meet. he was walking slowly, his granddaughter's pace, family

survivors, old and young. >> i collected her father in pieces from khan younis. thank god. i'm crying from happiness. i don't want anything except to enter my land, even if i only eat mud. lucy: more than half a million people were displaced from northern gaza during the war, some of those returning now, fearful of what home will look like. others who don't remember it at all. >> my feeling is indescribable. what am i expecting? we won't see the same destruction we have seen here. we are going from emptiness to emptiness. lucy: this is the home of many return to. satellite images show three-quarters of gaza city's buildings destroyed or burned.

houses burned, businesses looted, relative still buried in the rubble. 130 5000 emergency tents have been called for two shelter people returning from the north. gaza's displaced a still homeless even after coming home. the road outside was divided by military checkpoints, now plays of reunions. israeli soldiers withdrawn, replaced by familiar faces. the impact of this truce is taking hold, but talks are extending it into a permanent cease-fire, talks on gaza's future have not yet begun. for gazans, the road back home is open, but the path ahead is unclear. caitriona: for now come around

the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. ♪

♪ you are very welcome. monday marked day one on the job for a new defense secretary pete hegseth. things kicked off at the pentagon, though his nomination last week was the most divisive split in years, and his approval only came after vice president jd vance cast the deciding vote in a 51-50 count in the senate late on friday night. he outlined his and the president's priorities, including border security in his response to several executive orders to come. pete hegseth: i fully support removing dei at the pentagon, iron dome for america.

this is happening quickly, and as the secretary of defense, it is an honor to salute smartly as i did as a junior officer and now as the secretary of defense to contribute to orders of compliance rapidly and quickly. caitriona: let's talk about what lies ahead now with our panel. lance, what do you expect to see under secretary pete hegseth? lance: i expect to see everything he just outlined and more. as we've seen anything over the course of one week since this president took office, it is he's acting on everything he said he was going to do during the election. i've often argued that donald trump was one of the most transparent and open politicians this country has ever seen. he's told you exactly what he's going to do, and in the first week, that's what he's been acting on. everything from the dei hires to get a military ready come all the stuff he's outlined is what we will be seeing. i think pete hegseth will be a good secretary of defense. he made it through the senate,

and i think he will be really good. he's a member of the military, so he knows it and understands it. i think they will be a lot of changes coming but a lot of changes people welcome and like. caitriona: he said on his way into the office, our job is less a and readiness and war fighting. what we see a difference? brett: yeah. the dei issue goes to readiness, right? if we were focused as a country based on positions based on dei and not whether they are ready to be in the military, that's a big issue, and that's the kind of stuff he will face when he gets into the office, and i think that's what is going to shake up. caitriona: there's no suggestion that anyone who, you know, has been hired on dei got there for any other reason. they have to meet the standards. lance: dei was an administrative policy from the biden administration from day one, whether it was a defense or any other department.

that's the stuff that needs to be tackled. caitriona: indeed that is being tackled by president trump we are told later today and an executive order, that he has signed, brett, essentially banning trans from the military, something he did before. the numbers tell us, 14,000 members of the u.s. military are trans people. brett: yeah. and let's look a the implication, because it is great when secretary headsets as well, we are getting rid of dei, then all of a sudden they discover that tuskegee airmen or the female fighters and the american air force during world war ii, which were critical parts of learning how to be a member of the u.s. military, were banished , and this is the kind of just, you know, quite frankly bludgeoning, just not taking a smart approach to, you know, you can ideologically agree or disagree with these decisions,

but i think the key thing here, and one to watch going forward, is they are applying an ideological litmus test for members of our military. they are applying an ideological litmus test for those who hold national security positions. that is dangerous. that is really dangerous for the security of the united states, the security of our allies watching around the world, and they are doing it, saying if you don't adhere to this conservative ideology, we will fire you. lance: i think they would argue that they are doing the exact opposite. i think there was a litmus test in place over the last four years, and they are doing away with it. brett: so is that why you have members of the military, including the head of the coast guard, who, based on no performance indicator whatsoever, was summarily fired on integration evening? i just in fact heard that the state department has eliminated all diversity training. i was a diplomat. i served for a decade and a half

in foreign service. diversity is at the core of diplomacy. you cannot be a diplomat if you don't know how to engage with people who are different. and if the only thing we are going to be teaching american diplomats, american military members is how to shout louder into a megaphone, then we are going to find ourselves very isolated. and, you know, a key part of america first is also america alone. caitriona: is that a fair point, lance, when it comes to the state department come american diplomats have to be able to navigate everyone in this world, who have that training. lance: the issue here, and we are obviously not going to agree. [laughter] caitriona: that's why we have you both here. lance: that's the issue here come over the last four years, there is a belief among many americans, and certainly the dei policies have taken precedence over qualification in all of these departments and in some of these positions. that would be an argument the trumpet penetration makes.

i frankly agree with them. that's what a lot of americans agree has happened as well. caitriona: is that what is happening with lance: that? lance:yeah. it is happening all the time. they will get in and uncover a lot more of this going on, because it has been a biden administration policy for four years. caitriona: we know president trump has ordered reviews into many of the departments. one of the executive orders he's going to sign as we are talking about the military relates to those who are discharged because they refused to take the covid-19 vaccine. 8200 members, in fact. what about plans of what president trump plans to do? individuals would discharge for refusing a direct order. he wants to have them reinstated them and they could receive back pay for years they have not been in service. lance: yeah. i'm with the president on this. i think, you know, this is a personal body choice that, you know, democrats always all the time want to say, "my body, my

choice." these people did not want to take a shot. i think the american public is in a much different place now than what we did not know four years ago with covid. ythe idea that you will force people to take a vaccine come put something into their bodies they did not want them and we will kick them out of the military without their benefits when they are willing to fight for this country is wrong. i'm guessing the policy by and large is ok with this because their views are much different today than they were four years ago. caitriona: we don't know what president trump intends for this policy to be put into place, but back pay for 8200 b members of the u.s. military would be quite a payout. brett: let's also be clear of what we are talking about here. we are saying, you have the right to put me in danger, serving in a submarine, serving in a naval destroyer, because i choose not, as i would have to with polio, with rabies, with a whole host of other diseases, i choose not to make you safe.

and that is not your right. and that is why the military put in place this order. and the fact that we are now saying and setting a precedent, just like trump now has done in pardoning 1500 people who attacked, criminals who attacked the u.s. capitol, what he's saying is, it is ok the next time, that there is a direct order from a democratic president of a member of the military can say, you know what? i'm just going to ignore that, because i'm going to get my back pay. caitriona: just briefly on another issue and the decision for president trump's to pull usaid aid for people all around the world for people who depend on that. what is your reaction? brett: i think we are seeing already the collateral consequences from it. there are prison guards in northern syria that are not showing up, defending, rather incarcerating members of isis, because they are not going to receive their aid. i was just on the phone earlier today with eight workers who are coming back from africa, working

on the spread of diseases, working on the spread of security and programs, because trump has taken a unilateral and a macro decision simply to cut them off. caitriona: lots more to discuss some of which we will in just a moment. do stay with us here on the context on bbc news. ♪ 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.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... erika: i love seeing interns succeed, i love seeing them come back and join the engagement teams