♪ brent: this is "dw news." israel and hamas have approved a cease-fire to take affect tonight. this was gaza just shortly before explosions and rocket launchers. the violence will end in a few hours time. we will get the latest from jerusalem. also, green light for vaccine

passports, the eu says yes to the final details of covid-19 travel certificates to open up tourism in time for summer. hatching a homegrown coronavirus vaccine in brazil with the help of chicken eggs. it could be a game changer in brazils fight against the pandemic. ♪ i'm brent goff. welcome. we start with breaking news from the middle east. israel's security cabinet has approved a cease-fire in its conflict. a spokesperson for hamas told reuters that a mutual and simultaneous truce between hamas and israel will come into effect at 2:00 a.m. local time in israel. israel had come under increasing international pressure to halt

its campaign in gaza. u.s. president joe biden told israel wednesday that he expected a significant de-escalation. apparently that has now begun. let's go straight to our correspondent in jerusalem. let's start out, we are hearing israel agreed to this truce. what about hamas? can we confirm they have said yes to the cease-fire? correspondent: the details are still coming in. we have a statement by the israeli prime minister's office that says the israeli security cabinet has agreed to accept an egyptian proposal for mutual cease-fire without any preconditions, and it will go into effect at an hour to be agreed upon later, and we have this news from reuters, hamas official who confirmed that a

mutual and simultaneous truce with israel will start at 2:00 a.m. this morning on friday morning. brent: ok. 2:00 a.m. local time, not long off from now. we are hearing this came through an egyptian mediator. this points to the fact that there has been a lot of regional and international pressure on both sides to come to this agreement, does not it? correspondent: yes, it does. we heard the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu this week several times sayinthat israel wants to contie, that he wanted the campaign to continue, b it seems that the pressure was mounting to come to an end, and the egyptians had been mediating wit the unite nations bend the scenes, but what we are looking at is what does this proposal entail, what kind of cease-fire are we talking about?

i haveo stress the details are still coming in, but we are talking about a quiet for quiet formula. it said it is unconditional, so that means that teás is a hold or cessation of hostities, and it might tell us some more details will be agreed upon and talked about later, as we have seen in previous rounds of hostilities. brent: we have been in this situation before where there have been cease-fires declared between israel and hamas. those cease-fires have not held, and there is a possibly that could happen again, so we have to report this with a certain amount of caion, correct? corresponden of course. we have to watch and see. there are some hours to go. we just had sirens alert fo

incoming rockets, but we will look on the ground what will happen at 2:00 a.m., whether it will be quiet. i think a lot of people are concerned. i talked to people today on the phone in za in anticipation of the reports that there might be a cease-fire, and of course people are certainly welcoming it, but concerned what this will actually mean. there has been a lot of destruction, loss of life, but what are the conditions for these cease-fire. will there be improvement when it comes to the blockaden gaza, and of course when it actually stays quiet. brent: if we compare this conflict with what we saw in 2014, that fighting lasted 50 days. this conflict so far has lasted 11 days. the cease-fire coming much more quickly.

how much does this have to do, in your opinion, you have seen these developments, how much does this have to do with the fact were looking at it and israeli political establishment that was shakier than it was seven years ago? we also have a prime minister facing criminal charges. correspondent: well, i think what we have seen, and what was quite interting is what i heard from all ses, people in gaza is a fighting. some people hav said this 10 days or 11 days of conflict was worse tn some days during this longer conflict in 2014, butf course, you have to look at the political situation. we are talking about a caretaker government in israel. prime minister netanyahu has not managed to build aoalion. his rivals are trying to build a coalition.

we are not sure at the moment where this stands, so all of this plays a role, and also on the palestinian si, elections were cceled, and now suddenly hamas took over the issue of jerusalem and all the problems we have been seeing ce of the pending eviction of palestinian families from east to jerusalem, all these underlying issues of this conflict that we have been seeing, you know, we have had greater tensions in the weeks leading up to this conflict between hamas and israel. brent: our correspondent in jerusalem with the latest on this fluid situation, new that a cease-fire has been agreed to between israel and hamas amadou to take effect at 2:00 a.m. local time. thank you. berlin is due to see demonstrations in the coming days for groups wanting to show there's a port or is rabies in palestinians. several hundred people gathered

at the brandenburg gate and call for solidarity with israel. an alliance of parties head cold for the rally. speakers included orloff schulz. our reporter was also there. correspondent: concerned about the conflict in the middle east has reached the streets of germany. pro-palestinian protests have happened in several cities, sometimes accompanied by anti-semitic words and the burning of israeli flags. people at this demonstration say they are worried about growing anti-semitism and want the government to do more to combat it. they also feel european governments could work harder to cut off hamas from its sources of funding. politicians and civil society representatives are telling this crowd that germany stands with israel and there will be zero tolerance for anti-semitism. in the current atmosphere, many jewish people in germany and many who are not jewish feel that words are not enough. brent: that was the reported

brandenburg gate in berlin. some stories making headlines at this hour. the central african republic has launched its covid-19 vaccination campaign, one of the last countries in the world to receive vaccines. the prime minister became the first person to get the shot. the vaccine rollout will begin with health-care workers, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions. a large wildfire in greece has destroyed homes and forced evacuations. the blaze is 70 km west of athens and close to a tourist resort. 18 settlements were ordered evacuated and two monasteries. there are no reports of injuries. flood warnings in place across the south-central united states after rain. flooding in texas and louisiana. power has been cut to thousands of households. the bad weather is forecast to continue through the weekend. with the summer coming, some

good news for those of you eager to travel within europe. eu leaders agreed on a new e.u.-wide covid-19 vaccine passport plan. it is hoped that the digital certificate will give a much-needed boost to the travel season by waving quarantine requirements for some people. the document will state whether person has been vaccinated, tested negative, recently recovered from the coronavirus. for more on this, let us cross over to our correspondent in brussels. good evening. the eu has agreed on a covid-19 pass for summer travel. what does this mean for european union citizens? >> i correspondent: -- correspondent: it is the green light from authorities and members states that there is a tool available on your mobile phone that every eu citizen can use to travel to regain their freedom of movement within the eu, so someone from croatia can

travel to berlin, someone from berlin can travel to croatia using the very same mobile app to document that they have been either vaccinated, have a recent pcr tests, or they actually had the disease and are immune against the virus. brent: and what about americans and canadians who want to come to europe this summer? travelers trying to enter from outside the european union? correspondent: that is something the european commission is looking into, whether the documentan be extended for people coming from abroad. today, the commission recommended that people fully vaccinated, particularly from the u.s., should be allowed to travel to the eu. whether the will receive that same document is a work in progress. brent: there are privacy concerns surrounding this kind of passport. what are leaders proposing? correspondent: the privacy concerns were a sticking point

in the latest negotiations, because the eu has strong data protection rules, but what was a bigger issue was fairness. if you have been vaccinated, you are privileged to others who have to pay for their pcr tests to gain the freedom of movement back, and that is why the european parliament pushed hard to save the tests need to be subsidized. they want to have them for free, but they have reached a compromise and 100 million euros will come from the european commission to buy those tests, particularly for groups of people traveling for work across borders. brent: when will this be ready to go? summer is just around the corner. correspondent: it is a question of weeks then months. there is a pilot going on. the system would be ready, but it needs to be formally approved

, so i would say it is another month or a little more that we actually see this taking place, andt will be member states in charge of actually handing out those documents on your mobile phone. brent: our correspondent with the latest in brussels. thank you. the coronavirus pandemic has hit brazil harder than most countries. more than 440 1000 people have died from covid-19 come the second-worst death toll in the world. the country is struggling to implement an effective vaccination campaign to get a grip on the pandemic. one solution that could provide relief is homegrown vaccines now and develop. our reporter has been to brazil's largest city to meet the researchers working on one of these vaccines and took a look at the science behind it. correspondent: these eggs contain hope for brazil.

they are incubating at homegrown covid-19 vaccine. it is being developed in the preceding capital. human trials have not started, but results so far are promising. >> it worked well in animals. it was successful in clinical trials, so we are confident it will be a good vaccine. correspondent: he and his colleagues at the institute and the present capital are working with the method similar to the one for making flu vaccines, using chicken eggs to incubate a modified virus, which should teach human immune systems to fight the covid-19 virus. >> this is an important thing for brazil. it is our opportunity to have a solution, a brazilian solution to this pandemic. we have all the raw materials we need to make the vaccine, so we can do all vaccines. correspondent: the institute had

been producing a chinese vaccine, but that has stopped due to supply problems. some regions have no vaccines left. brazil has the second-highest covid-19 death tolin the world after the u.s. vaccines are in short supply. less than 10% of the population have been fully inoculated. the new vaccine is a great hope for the country. it also reflects well on the governor of the present capital, who supported efforts to develop it. nextear, he is expected to run to lead the country. this person has been trying to buy foreign covid-19 vaccine since the pandemic began. the president has ent hindered s efforts. >> we are fighting against two viruses, the coronavirus, and the bolsonaro virus. correspondent: they used to be

friends, both right-wingers. the argument over vaccines has broken into the fight between these two men. >> i believe it, as millions of brazilians, that there could be a good government at that moment during the elections, but i made a very sad mistake. today, nevermore. we need another kind of government in brazil. correspondent: voters would decide what government they want next year, when he is expected to challenge bolsonaro for the presidency. the vaccine and these eggs will probably be approved by then. it could change everything. brent: for more now, i am joined by a microbiologist and president of the question of science institute which aims to promote the use of scientific evidence in public was he. thank you -- public policy. thank you. science and public policy making

, you must have one of the most difficult jobs in the world right now. >> thank you for having me on e show. yes, i do. it has been challenging fore the pandemic, but after the pandemic, it has become quite impossible. brent: we know that brazil has been a world leader in rolling out vaccinations for other diseases, so what has gone wrong with covid-19? >> yes, we used to havone of the best immunization programs in the world. we still do. we have all the expertise. we have the system, the distribution system, so it is not a matter of expertise or structure. we have both. we just don't have the vaccines, the doses. once we have vaccines in a significant amount, we will get it going. the pblem is getting enough doses of vaccines, and this has

not been arranged by the federal government, unfortunately. brent: is that the problem, you have not gotten the assistance and funding from the federal government that you needed? >> for the vaccination program, yes. we did not come at the federal government was not successful or did not try rd enough get all of the contracts, the inrnationa agreements to provide vaccines for such a large populatn, so this is the main problem now. this is the main bottleneck. we don't have enough funding for national science, so we did not have enough funding to provide our own vaccines to develop her own vaccines nationally. brent: what about your homegrown vaccines? i know you are working on then. how promising are they? >> we have some promising projects. i think the most promising one is with one institute here,

which is developing with other partners in the u.s. a vaccine, so it is a vaccine that you can grow the virus in eggs. this is a technology that the institute here in the brazilian capital has a lot of experience. we do flu vaccines and eggs, and we cater nationally and internationally with these vaccines, so there is a lot of expertise in structure to work with big vaccines, and we are very hopeful for this one. brent: it sounds promising. we know the number of new covid-19 vexations in brazil has -- infections in brazil has remained high. ishere a strategy? >> not really. brazil is still confused as to mitigating strategies, so each

city developed its own mitigation strategy. there is no consensus or clear direction or strong direction om the fedal government, but at last, both cities and states have realized how important it is to implement lockdowns and preventive measures, because they know vaccines will take some time to really have an effect in controlling the disease here. brent: ok. the president of brazil's science institute. we appreciate your time and insights. good luck. thank you. >> thank you so much. brent: the situation in the spanish enclave remains tense. earlier this week, about 8000 migrants crossed into the territory on the north african coast from morocco, many swimming across. a spanish police divers saved a baby boy from the ocean. you see it right there. he was one of many children whose families attempted the journey.

the number of processing appears to have dwindled, but more than 1000 miners are still in the spanish enclave, some with no family numbers to look after him. our correspondent is there tonight. he synthesis report. correspondent: -- he sent us this report. correspondent: spanish police launched tear gas to stop people from crossing the border. some of the migrant swim around the fence. among them, minors. he left morocco at the beginning of the week, and made it across the border. he is by himself. the 16-year-old says poverty is what made him leave. his aim is to reach france, but for now he is begging for food. >> [speaking in foreign language] nobody has taken care of us.

we get the food from other moroccans in town. correspondent: between 1500 and 2000 have arrived in the last few days. the spanish government is providing them with accommodation at empty warehouses. aid workers say they are overwhelmed. >> [speaking in foreign language] we do our best to provide people with the basics, water, food, and clothing, but at the same time we are aware more people could arrive on the coast. correspondent: in the city center, some of the young migrants begging for food and money. trade between morocco and the spanish enclave usually flows freely, but since the pandemic, restrictions have caused major economic problems for the region. >> [speaking foreign language] translator: before the pandemic, we did not have major problems

with migration. most people cross legally, coming in the morning, leaving in the evening. our city benefited greatly economically. correspondent: spanish authorities have sent thousands of people back over the border to morocco under a readmission deal. the fate of the minors is unclear. some will be sent to reception centers on the spanish mainland. brent: a german soldier suspected of plotting attacks against prominent politicians while posing as a syrian refugee went on trial today. he is known as franco a, accused of stockpiling weapons in planning acts of violence. the case has raised concerns over right wing extremism in the military. correspondent: ahead of the trial opening, franco a proclaimed his innocence in front of the press.

he denies the charges leveled against him by the prosecution. >> [speaking foreign language] translator: we have an indictment that deals with an offense of preparing an act of violence that endangers the state. for years -- correspondent: for years, he led a double life, working as a soldier for the german armed forces, and registering himself as a syrian refugee. prosecutors accuse him of planning attacks on high-ranking politicians with the intention of blaming him on migrants and asylum-seekers. >> [speaking foreign language] translator: my client dressed as an immigrant. i can't see anything in that that is dangerous to the state. what i do see as a danger to the state is when parts of the government work together with criminals, and that has unfortunately happened here. >> -- correspondent: he faces up to 10 years in pson.

the trial is expected to last until august. brent: this case has led to increased scrutiny of the far right in the german military and its influence. our correspondent sent us this report. correspondent: it is a big problem, and german authorities are aware of that, despite the fact authorities have been criticized for what people or analysts describe as turning a blind eye to the threat of far-right extremism within germany security forces. the case led authorities to revealing some networks where other officials were also present, far-right networks, and led authorities to present a report in 2020 that stressed over 1400 suspected cases of far-right extremism within germany security forces were registered between 2017 and the beginning of 2020. however, and this is important to stress, german authorities

said that while every confirmed case was very problematic, they did not see this as being a systematic structural problem within germany's security forces. brent: that was our correspondent reporting. today is the day that marks the birth of a beekeeping pioneer in slovenia. nearly 300 years ago. bees are vital tfood supplies, pollinating many vegetables we have on our menus, but the united nations warned they face threats, including pestides, farming, and climate change. today, almost one thir of bn butterfly species face extinction around the world. under norma's iceberg has broken from an ice shelf in antarctica. the iceberg is the biggest in the world. the european space agency says it is slightly larger than the

spanish island of mallorca. scientists believe the split was because naturally, rather than as a result of global warming. you are watching "dw news." the top story, israelis cabinet has approved a cease-fire with palestinian militants in gaza. a spokesperson for hamas and saying a mutual and simultaneous truce between hamas and israel will come into effect at 2:00 a.m. local time. you are watching "dw news." after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." the coverage of the cease-fire continues right after this. ♪

>> welcome to the special edition. breaking news from the middle east. 250 lives claimed from 11 days of airstrikes. hostilities coming to an end, the cease-fire described as a mutual and simultaneous truce by sources. this comes one day after joe biden urged benjamin netanyahu to seek the escalation -- de-