hamas will step down? no, definitely- _ hamas will step down? no, definitely. step down? no, definitely. i mean, any- hamas will step down? iifr, definitely. i mean, any end to war and military conflict is usually achieved by some kind of political or diplomatic agreement. i don't think the war in gaza is going to end any differently. it all depends on the terms. what kind of terms will be accepted on the ground, and what kind of reality will israelis have and what kind of security assurances will israel have that this monstrosity, this organisation, hamas, that came across our borders and butchered israeli citizens and took our people hostage, it will never happen again. that's the israeli focus and that's what the state of israel launched the offensive in order to achieve. 0nce launched the offensive in order to achieve. once that is within reach, then of course i believe there will be a ceasefire agreement and i think that will have good chances of holding as well. in have good chances of holding as well. ., have good chances of holding as well. . ., , well.

., , , , ., all and hamas? i'm not surprised at all because _ and hamas?e houthis - and hamas? i'm not surprised at all because the houthis are - and hamas? i'm not surprised at all because the houthis are the l all because the houthis are the last piece of what the iranians used to call the axis of resistance. their network of allies, mostly militia groups, around the middle east. it still poses a serious threat to anybody strategically and in a big military way. iraqi militia can harass the americans but this is another demonstration that the houthis remain potent and they remain strategically important, located in important places along the red sea, the arabian sea, and they remain a potent force on the iranians side, the last one, and they are not going to simply stop and they see a lot of political benefits in fighting israel and fighting the united states and they are prepared to continue to do it, which is completely crazy but they are sort of the arab khmer rouge at this point and i really think they've dropped their own —— they have drunk their ow

that is unacceptable to hamas.ers from israeli prisoners and is where hundreds are serving life sentences for killing israelis. those are the prisoners that hamas is most interested in freeing and israel doesn't want to free them so those are difficult issues to deal with. i think the biggest issue is the permanent ceasefire and israeli withdrawal from gaza. given those significant gaps in your eyes, what do you think is behind the latest briefing or noise, as you put it, because a sense of a tactical move to move to try to say, let's give it one last boost, let's try and create a sense of momentum? is it as simple as that? i think the powers that be in the united states, together with the help of mediators like qatar and egypt, have identified the reality that israel has had significant military victories. the agreement for a ceasefire with lebanon between israel and hezbollah, the fall of the assad regime where both russia and iran didn't come to the aid of bashar al—assad. and the fact hamas is decimated in gaza

must admit hamas. so i want you to, for our audience, break down the arguments that you made in that article why you think what the administration is trying to do is unrealistic, and what you think ought to be done instead. >> thank you very much, david, for the introduction. it's pleasure to be with you and to speak to the issue. first on what i had said most recently. it was not really so much intended to be critical, in fact, declaring the president gave us all a sense of hope, laying out a vision for how this war can come to an end. at the same time, i was skeptical. to my knowledge, and sadly that remains true today, there was not adequate conscious to what happened after the war goes silent. that sadly remains a reality today, to the best of my knowledge. i could be wrong about that. i'm not up to date on the very latest. you reference the fact that he was on his way to the middle east but yet it didn't look like it was going to be this quick. hamas announced, they welcomed it, said we were in li

or we do not go after hamas and hamas wins that way.srael answered that missing or going after hamas. they did not do it i was suggesting which was to show they did the maximum they could to relieve the humanitarian conditions and try to minimize to the extent they could the casualty. the consequence of that is, it's going to be with us for some time to come. probably less in gaza than you might think there is a recent poll that's out that shows 7% of the gazans want hamas to still control gaza, 7%. was a lot of anger at israel as you can imagine. that may not be true internationally somehow kept the focus on hamas so it should have been the net effect is it travels quite a bit throughout the middle east over the last year. when you are watching any of the arab satellite tv, you are seeing death and destruction and gaza and how can you not be moved like that? part of it we need to be doing in terms of a policy more generally i think is showing or doing everything we can to try to change the reality of the aftermath of this war. won't be

to hama or meme-— different composition to hama or aleppo.aleppo. this began with the arab spring uprising _ or aleppo. this began with the arab spring uprising in - or aleppo. this began with the arab spring uprising in 2011 . arab spring uprising in 2011 and then we had the syrian civil war over many years, and that then it fell out of the headlines and we reached a stalemate but this is reigniting the war so where does this leave the assad regime?— does this leave the assad reuime? .,, ., ., ~' regime? people who work government _ regime? people who work government historically i regime? people who work- government historically against their will and by dictatorship, thatis their will and by dictatorship, that is the root of this, and this was not a civil war, there was a civil war element but this is a proxy will and everything happening now is mainly because of regional alliances and changes of dynamics with regional allies, and... ., ., , and... hezbollah have been weakened. _ and... hezbollah have been weakened. because - and... hezbol

hamas leaders are gone. including the masterminds of october 7. we will make sure hamas can never again threaten israel as they did on october 7 ever. and now, the assad regime in syria is gone removing the primary client state of iran in the region and lifeline to hezbollah when joe biden said to those who seek to take advantage of october 7 and to use that tragic day to threaten and attack israel, don't. this is what he meant and we still mean, don't. the balance of power in the middle east has changed significantly and not the way they had planned. we are now faced with dramatically reshape the middle east in which israel is stronger, i run is weaker as its proxies it decimated and a cease-fire that is new and will be a lasting and a lebanon that ensures israel security over the long-term. the purpose of my visit today has been to continue to build on this progress. to ensure the cease-fire sticks and is fully enforced. to capitalize on the opportunity of the fall of assad for a better future for the people of syria will vigilantly managing the

do you expect something similar in this deal with hamas? completely, yes.anent ceasefire, it would only be for 60 days, so the israelis may go back to fighting again but i don't think that — i think of the ceasefire works, it would probably be the beginning of the end, as the lebanese agreement has been. but you know, look, already hamas has dropped its insistence on two things. on a full withdrawal of israeli troops from gaza. they've agreed they can stay in parts of the philadelphi corridor and these strategical little areas that, you know, are crucial for hamas and for israel. and they have agreed to that. and they have also accepted that this will not be the end of the war — that that will depend on further negotiations. again, those are two things they swore they would never do. and so, just like hezbollah said they would never stop firing rockets against israel until the gaza war ended, until they were forced to back down, and hamas has backed down here in a big way. 0n the other hand, look, the balance of power in hamas has likely shifted back to the

what is going to be except the ball to hamas -- acceptable to hamas in order for it to say includinges, let's move in on this deal? on the israeli side, you als have still significant disagreements within the cabinet. >> we will come to the israelis in a second. one of the finer points you talk about is the initial phase and the release of the 30 hosges israel considers to be in and i use the term loosely humanitarian category. the women, elderly, the sicker captives. hamas are saying the number of living captives that fall into that category or not there or they cannot put a figure on it. clearly in the chaos of what has unfolded in gaza, there are some things if we believe hamas are yet unknown. >> whether or not we believe hamas simply looking at the level of discussion in gaza, it is -- of destruction in gaza, it is inconceivable it would be known exact who is still remaining alive. many of the hostages have been injured or killed in is really bombardment. others have been killed either in the process of being up ducted or later by -- being up ducted or later by hamas. i would do

i leverage in a potential deal with hamas?— leverage in a potential deal with hamas? think as your previous guest made clear, | with hamas? i think as your- previous guest made clear, what i would call the decoupling of the hezbollah front from gaza — because they've been firing since october eight, the day after the october 7th atrocity, but now that there's a cease—fire in lebanon, hezbollah is not firing, and that might lead hamas to reduce its terms and other developments waited out in iran, the syrian regime which was a conduit for weaponry is out of the game. so we will have to see but i have a feeling that the news reports might be ahead of what's going on, in terms of there'll be some hard bargaining here. i don't see prime minister netanyahu agreeing to a full withdrawal from gaza, netanyahu agreeing to a full withdrawalfrom gaza, and withdrawal from gaza, and that'll withdrawalfrom gaza, and that'll have the parents of the soldiers who are being held who will not be released in phase one, but phase two, saying, "will you ever get to phase two chris may" they

, especially to the northern side of hama.me residents who fled the area and they have said the opposition forces are in control. the government are being defeated. although there are reports that suggest that the government has done a counteroffensive overnight. but still haven't been able to regain control over the towns and cities that the rebels have controlled on the outskirts of the city of hama. these operations are happening in the northern part of the city while the government still has control of the main city of hama and its southern parts as well. and more broadly, what is the aim of the rebels here? well, this is a time where a sad's allies are weakened, iran and hezbollah are weakened, russia is busy in ukraine as well, so they have seized the opportunity to advance, mainly supported by turkey who has a big interest in this. they have over 3 million refugees in turkey, they have borders they are worried about, they have the kurds they are blaming for some instability inside turkey. so president anyone has invited

but hamas now says that because of that, the deal is delayed.ve also heard from the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, who accused hamas of lying, of hampering negotiations, of reneging on issues that they've agreed upon. this is very different to what we have heard a few days ago. only yesterday we heard from the prime minister's office saying that their negotiators have come back from qatar after significant negotiations. the hamas side has told the bbc a few days ago that the talks were 90% complete bar a few issues. one sticking point is the israeli presence in the philadelphi corridor. this is a crucial strip of land between the gaza boundary area and egypt. the israeli presence there is a thorny issue. today the israeli defence minister, israel katz, said that the security in gaza is going to be up to the israeli forces, there will be no hamas administration or presence. the pope had prayed for the people of israel and palestine, for the people of gaza to get the aid that they need and for the end of the war there, for the familie

will not get its hopes up until israel and hamas agreed to a final deal.on the cease fire talks, gaza -- our gaza correspondent us this update. he is currently in istanbul. reporter: after six months of a complete deadlock in talks between hamas and israel, the senior palestinian officials have told the bbc that there is a significant progress in the way to achieve a cease-fire after 14 months of fighting between hamas and israel. he said the cease-fire proposal is three stages. the first stage, hamas will have to release all of the civilian hostages, including the female soldiers and the bodies of those who were killed during the fighting. in exchange, israel would withdraw from -- allowing hundreds of thousands of people to go back. but israel has the condition that they need to be screening everybody, going back to the north, to make sure none of the hamas fighters or hamas militants, or any militants from any other group, would allow -- would be allowed back to gaza. sumi: for more, we have the middle east portfolio manager at the critical project, the

it's taking control of the city of hama after several days of intense fighting, hama lies, as you can see along that major highway that links the city to homes and then to the capital of damascus. moscow has responded to this by increasing airstrikes. in northern syria, the yellow areas are controlled by the as the, the syrian democratic forces. they are kurdish, lead fighters, supported by us troops. and they've been fighting against government forces. and i saw fighters in the area. we can talk now to the hood, beraskigy, president of the american coalition for syria. you spent your childhood in hama, and you're joining us from houston. it's good to have you on the line right now. how do you, how does this news hit you? the news that opposition fighters have read, taking or taking i should say, your charlotte down. thank you. i am all but well, i can't express my joy to the extreme. however, i'm expressing a little bit of caution because this is the way i have been growing up in a way you always feel there's something is going to happen. something is going to turn as, it's that the

in hamas releasing hostages, it results in hamas executing hostages.as? what is the one country the major sponsor and backer of hamas the it is iran. president trump is saying -- may well be saying this, that hamas was going to have to pay that hell, the buck is going to end not in gaza but in tehran. that would be very welcome indeed by the people of israel. >> anita: we all hope the gossage is will come home soon. they have been in captivity not far too long. what else can you say about that? investor michael oren, happy holidays and thank you for joining us. >> bill: anita, prosecutors are missing a number of mistakes in their case against democrat bob menendez. the former new jersey senator end up getting a new criminal trial. analysis on deck. >> anita: one nonprofit providing warmth and shelter to hurricane helene victims in north carolina this winter. >> three months here, so much as a country, every rocket ship the size of them all to outer space and planets, but having a hard time getting people drinking water right here in western north carol

the word we have from hamas, a statementjust hamas, a statement just published hamas, a statementjustem, that says in the light of serious discussions taking place today under the auspices of qatar and egypt, reaching an agreement to ceasefire and exchange prisoners is possible if the occupation stops setting new conditions. so that is a caveat from hamas. meanwhile, the white house say an agreement is close and netanyahu is on his way tojoin discussions close and netanyahu is on his way to join discussions as well and a statement from hamas saying that reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and exchange of prisoners is possible. before these developments came to us i had a conversation with our correspondent who outlined some of what we heard about what the deal could look like. 1milli deal could look like. with these mediation - deal could look like. with these mediation efforts l deal could look like. ii�*u these mediation efforts back on in recent weeks we have been getting reports that israel and hamas are showing greater flexibility and israel which is now sending negotiators bac

in this case, i think hamas is under great pressure.i military campaign, as your reporter suggests, is still intensifying in northern gaza. and then you have the issue of how hamas is going to explain the last 14 months. they have got almost nothing to show. so i think hamas wants a deal, needs a deal, i think benjamin netanyahu is more inclined to agree to a deal. that is what i think is driving this, and if donald trump is a catalyst here, so much the better. the factors the only way to de—escalate this war, and frankly it is no longer in war. the israelis have essentially demolished hamas as an organised military force. now it is a question of depriving hamas, i think, of any kind of political victory, but it is critically important for the hostages and the families, because if you get a two month ceasefire, you can really get a surge in humanitarian assistance, something we have not seen, frankly, almost at any point of the course of the last year. we almost at any point of the course of the last year-— the last year. we must apprec

those questions are being asked the capture of hama by l asked the capture of hama by the rebels first, that means to launch a counter offensive it's that much more difficult. if the rebels do actually move on towards hama, that's a big problem because this is the sort of crossroads city of syria. all the big arteries pastorate. including the main road to the coast, which is a political stronghold, so if the rebels capture or block roads around it, he will not be able to get come of the regime will not be able to get to it stronghold on the coast. as you mentioned, his allies, russia and iran propping them up with the help of the air force, the help of militias on the ground. they as we know are busy dealing with their own conflicts elsewhere, they have said they will continue to strongly support, in actualfact, we have continue to strongly support, in actual fact, we have seen huge display of the army. there are many questions about his future, whether it will involve more military advances, whether he will be pressured into a diplomatic settlement. it's all in the air at the moment.

it is difficult to see what demands are left for| what demands are left for hamas. much more than they might have thought they could gain by the terrible attack that carried out on october seven in 2023. they are absolutely going to have to leave with a reoccupation of the gaza strip for the foreseeable future, the destruction of the education, culture, hospitals, the reconstruction of the gaza strip will be very difficult if impossible to build. what can they demand is up in the air. they may ask for financial assistance, for the us to help bring others from the golf and others to rebuild the gaza strip but as a demand it is difficult to see what they could ask from the position they are in right now. —— gulf. and further delay would result in more deaths, plunging into the humanitarian crisis already. what kind of pressure can be put to ensure aid is reaching those who needed? the auen for reaching those who needed? tie: agency for international development released a report recently flagging that famine is absolutely a horrific danger, particularly in the norther

there will be no hamas demonstration or presence.e prayed for the people of israel and palestine, for the people of gaza to get the aid they need and for the end of the war they are, for the families to -- the hostages to come back to their families, and those prayers feel so poignant at a time when those families, when the people of gaza feel that this deal they need so much is not happening as soon as they hoped. >> angry demonstrations have spread across several cities in syria after a video showed an attack at a shrine in aleppo. the new administration said the british -- the footage dated back to the time when the city fell to islamist rebels, blaming the attack on unknown groups. our correspondent who is in damascus sent us this update on the protests. >> this is the first time we see unrest in beloit cities and towns since the toppling of the regime. we learned that they have been ambushed by former regime operatives as they were trying to raid one apartment to arrest former regime operatives, but then, there were protests in

that's what hama looks like. if we can move on to the next set of pictures that we got, and it's not much, but it's something you're saying this long line of vehicles this we understand to be opposition fighters heading from home on the home. so this is near homes. so they are heading south towards, along the m 5 highway from home of the homes. and the next set of pictures we can show you appears to show people fleeing. again, this is in home, so near homes. this is people fleeing as they heard the opposition fighters were heading towards them and you heard russell was on the line with us and i'll be back with you in just a 2nd. first of all, you heard was still report that the government officials uh, were packing up their belongings or at least fleeing leaving their, their offices, their families instead of are all heading either towards the capital, damascus, or towards the coast attack. yeah. to our to so there is panic, it appears sitting in in, all right, that's the context at 1720 gmc russell, back to you

but hamas now says that because of that, the deal is delayed. prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, who accused hamas of lying, of hampering negotiations, of reneging on issues that they've agreed upon. this is a very different tone to what we have heard a few days ago. only yesterday, we heard from the prime minister's office saying that their negotiators have come back from qatar after significant negotiations. the hamas side has told the bbc a few days ago that the talks were 90% complete, bar a few issues. one sticking point is the israeli presence in the philadelphi corridor. this is a crucial strip of land between the gaza boundary area and egypt. the israeli presence there is a thorny issue. today the israeli defence minister, israel katz, said that the security in gaza is going to be up to the israeli forces, there will be no hamas administration or presence. 1535 00:19:47,

there will be no hamas administration or presence.had prayed for the people of israel and palestine, for the people of gaza to get the aid they need and for the end of the war there, for the hostages to come back to their families. those prayers feel so poignant at time when the people of gaza feel that this deal that they need so much is not happening as soon as they hope. sarah: angry demonstrations have spread across several cities in syria after a video showed an attack on a shrine in aleppo. the new administration said the footage dated back to the time when the second city fell to his law -- to his islamist rebels earlier this month, blaming the attack on unreleased groups. here's an update on the protests. reporter: this is the first time we see unrest here since the topping of the assad regime. first there were clashes between hts and former operatives of the assad regime according to hts. we learned also they have been ambushed by the former regime operatives as they were trying to raid one apartment to arrest former regime o

the truth is, no hamas leader would ever, could ever, use a phrase like that. what you know of hamas and what you saw on october 7th of 2023, whether you, yourfamily and many palestinians, actually, feel that that act of october 7th was extraordinarily damaging to the politics that your father believed in. well, i think that it's very important to note that my father was one of the people who negotiated with the israelis in the �*90s. and he used to say that, for example, oslo is an opportunity that needs to be given an opportunity. but of course, five years later, at the end of the �*90s, him and all the palestinian leadership understood and realised that we were being played by the israeli government, because they doubled the number of settlers and settlements. and i think it's also fair to say that i didn't have access to my father to discuss with him, unfortunately, what happened recently, and i would also point that it's weird to me that whenever i talk to any western journalist, they always focus on october 7th. they never want to talk about what happened

hamas has issued a statement, saying a deal was possible hamas has issued a statement, saying a dealhas not happened and then it has not happened and it has escaped from grass at the last minute. i think, certainly, it feels like, because of the added pressures on the whole process of a change in american administration, it creates this sends around, this might be the last chance this particular structure of deal ahead of a new incoming trip administration, and therefore thatis administration, and therefore that is also putting pressure on the process and i think perhaps why we are seeing increasing signs that it is close, although i would add a caveat to that, matthew, is my sense from the ministration behind the scenes as they believe this is not imminent, to coin a phrase. whether that means it is not what happened in the coming hours and immediate days, wejust in the coming hours and immediate days, we just don't know stub at my sense is they think not imminent, but even trying to work to a kind schedule that would see real progress by the end of this month. , ., , , month. yes,

hamas has never been so alone, not only on the battlefield, but also on social media.us are upstaging the scenes of horror from gaza, so they are also feeling further isolated. that is also a positive trend, and i do think something will happen, but not today. if something will happen, but not toda . ., , �* something will happen, but not toda. ., , �* ., today. if it doesn't come to ass today. if it doesn't come to pass on _ today. if it doesn't come to pass on this _ today. if it doesn't come to pass on this fan _ today. if it doesn't come to pass on this fan does - today. if it doesn't come to pass on this fan does go i today. if it doesn't come to j pass on this fan does go on today. if it doesn't come to - pass on this fan does go on the trump administration, what do you anticipate there, in terms of pressure from what will then be of course president trump? well, president trump has been very clear. he said i want it all to end before i am president, i want to be the president, i want to be the president of peace. he's the guy who likes to make deals, he wants to

hamas is at its weakest point.nd is been the longer they wait, the worse the terms will be, do you get a sense that they are shifting and that the deal could be in reach? i shifting and that the deal could be in reach?- shifting and that the deal could be in reach? i am glad to be here- _ could be in reach? i am glad to be here- we — could be in reach? i am glad to be here. we need _ could be in reach? i am glad to be here. we need to _ could be in reach? i am glad to| be here. we need to remember could be in reach? i am glad to i be here. we need to remember is that both sides, hamas and the of the israelis are dealing with internal issues and hamas is pretty much weekend which doesn't necessarily make it easier to reach an agreement thatis easier to reach an agreement that is implementable and sustainable. in other words, who is going to speak for everyone who is going to say, all right, the rest of you, stand down on this. that's one problem to consider. the other is, it's all a question of the definitions. if t

it they would like his remains back and hamas is not giving it back.because they don't have leadership and they have been effective in estimating the hamas leadership. it has a feel of a mop up operation but from the beginning october 8th, the day after, it was pretty clear how hamas reacting and responding to negotiations over the fate of hostages. had they did not have control of all of them and didn't know where all of them were. >> john: they were split up different factions, too. with a betting man he thinks iran capitulated with hamas before the 20th? >> if they have the power and authority and control of hostages, i would think that is coming especially iran leaving on hezbollah this week and hamas not far behind to take the offer with israel for an agreement. >> john: the ayatollah is worried about trump erato brent, great to see you, thank you so much. >> sandra: north carolina reeling from hurricane helene on this tuesday and shining a light on an organization that has been crucial to recovery so far. the vice president of wine to wateinr is

so you see a cease—fire between hamas and israel potential putting in and to what the houthis are upago we had reports from both israel and palestinian negotiators that they were about 90% of the way done negotiating a cease—fire and that it was coming imminently however as he mentioned earlier, there were more attacks today, is really attacks against journalists more attacks today, is really attacks againstjournalists in gaza as well as hospitals, hospital employees passing away as well as children who were in the hospital. so that we expect would set back cease—fire discussions. would set back cease-fire discussions.— would set back cease-fire discussions. ., . ., discussions. correct me ifi am wronu discussions. correct me ifi am wrong but _ discussions. correct me ifi am wrong but you _ discussions. correct me ifi am wrong but you were _ discussions. correct me ifi am wrong but you were actually i wrong but you were actually in gaza a few months ago, briefly, but where do you think it stands as to where the to comment until an official investigation is complete. the azerbaijan ai

what hamas is now saying is that this has delayed the negotiations further.n netanyahu, has said that the hamas negotiators renege on a things that they agreed on before, that they agreed on before, that they agreed on before, that they were lying, that they were hampering the talks. spare a thought for the people in gaza who are desperate for a ceasefire, for this violence and relentless shelling to stop but also for aid, badly needed aid, to come in. yet again, the un and other agencies have said that gaza specific areas are on the fringe of a famine. but spare a thought for their families in israel waiting for word on when their loved ones might come back home. that, told a few days ago, in a notable change of tone from the israeli government, from the prime minister's office, that israel negotiators have come back from qatar after significant negotiations, palestinian negotiators telling the bbc that its 90% there bar a few issues, that has now changed and they say that the talks are continuing but it does feel like it's back to the drawing board. one mor

previously what we have had is hamas' negotiating position and it has insisted it wants to see a fullfrom the gaza strip in order to release those hostages that it still holds. israel, meanwhile, has been insisting that it wants to have the right to act against any threats that it sees emanating from gaza. it has not wanted to commit to a pull out or ending the fighting in return for getting those hostages back home. now it does seem from some of the sources we have been hearing that hamas is prepared to accept that israel may remain in strategic positions inside gaza. we have had the israeli defence minister saying that israel must have security control for its military and the gaza strip in future and it must have full freedom of action. those were his words, comparing the situation there to what is currently the situation in the occupied west bank. fits currently the situation in the occupied west bank. as always, thank ou occupied west bank. as always, thank you so — occupied west bank. as always, thank you so much _ occupied west bank. as always, thank you so much for— occupied we

we heard hamas have been bringing back force of their own.to stop some of these raids by local criminal gangs, one particularfamily is one particular family is operating one particularfamily is operating it is said with impunity. while the israelis looked on. at the same time others are critical of hamas saying they are the key culprits stealing food, and israelis have been critical of hamas for 14 months taking supplies. a really difficult situation for charities on the ground. it makes their work even harder. they are warning once again in particular the un today, that the problem in terms of hunger as we move deeper into winter is getting much worse for the 2.3 million palestinians in the gaza strip. senior emergency 0fficer louise wateridge from the united their lives every day. who are looting the trucks? we heard from the israeli government blaming hamas for stealing aid, who do you say is doing it? our understanding is that these are criminal activities, criminal gangs. we are not permitted by the israeli authorities to have a permanen

it has fundamentally been hamas and hamas at various moments believing it could get hezbollah in, iran in and other iranian backed proxies in. now, it knows the calvary is not coming to the rescue and it cannot depend on or even really think about that precisely because of what we just talked about. hezbollah can't and won't do it. iran can't and won't do it. that has concentrated minds among hamas leadership about meeting to bring this to a conclusion but you are also dealing with an organization where decision-making is very challenged and very difficult. just that piece alone is hard in the communications piece is not easy. so you are also dependent on a small number of individuals who may not have the same pragmatic framework that we would bring to this so all of that said, look, i am hopeful. you have to be. we are going to use every minute of every day of every week that we have left to try to get this done but i don't want to hazard a guess as to what the probability is. it should happen. it needs to happen. we need to get people home. we need to get the cease-fire. we need to g

to pressure from anti-somatic pro-hamas mobs.cluded the united nations office for coordination of humanitarian affairs revising the death toll down by 50% because it relied on false information provided by the hamas controlled ministry of health. [applause] and most egregiously, it included on the rug, perhaps the most revealing of all which had a hamas data center underneath its gaza headquarters have a nearly 2 dozen of its staff members directly involved in the october 7 terrorist attack with another 100 terrorist ties that's why we need to define the unwrought and ÃÃ and of course it included the absurdly misnamed human rights council composed of some of the world's worst human rights abuses having a standing anti-semitic enagenda item related israel and adopting resolution stating that israel should be held responsible for war crimes while failing to condemn the atrocities and barbarism committed by hamas even secretary-general could terrorist could not bring himself to condemn hamas after the recent murder of six hostages i

israel said hamas had been using the school as a command centre.inside a family house. amid the efforts they are pushing on with the ceasefire. the times of israel has cited israeli officials�* confirmation that hamas has provided signs of life for several hostages still held in gaza. earlier i spoke to aaron david miller, senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. he also formerly served in the us state department with a focus on middle east policy. i asked him how he rates the chances of a deal being struck soon. my experience in israeli—palestinian negotiations is they only have two speeds, slower and slower but the closer you get to an actual agreement and remember we are talking about a limited exchange in phase one, the closer you get to an agreement the tougher the negotiating postures of both sides. i think there is a reasonable chance that that by the end of the year the first week injanuary he could have a limited agreement which could exchange 3a and his relays are demanding an additional ten available soldiers in t

more celebrations today in the north, in the city of hama. rebels�* advance across the country has been lightning—fast. and outside the strategically vital city of homs, islamist—led rebels are streaming towards the city centre, reportedly freeing hundreds from the prison there. of syria's president, bashar al—assad, there is little sign. this does now feel like the dying days of the al—assad regime, a family dynasty that has held syria within its brutal grasp for more than half a century. but where is the syrian army in all of this? because they mostly seem to be surrendering or defecting. but tonight syrian state television did put out a video with the impression that the al—assad regime is still very much in charge. the reality is syria's army is weak. without enough support from russia, iran and hezbollah, it has been unable to hold back the rebels. we do have some pictures of the syrian army. here they are today crossing the border into iraq to get away from the fighting. assad had really been absent, and this tells you a great deal abou

there will be no hamas presence there.that, you know that the negotiations are still far off. and just tell us about the impact on the region. and you've been travelling around. you've been to bethlehem, a town whose name is so synonymous with christmas. but again this year, very little sign of any celebration. it's interesting because i was in bethlehem last year when christmas was cancelled for the first time, out of respect and out of deep sorrow, of course, because of the war in gaza. and you go back this year and i was speaking to people that i spoke to last year and they say, you know, this year feels worse because the hope is fading. when is this going to end? and you feel that the people in bethlehem are torn. on one hand, they feel that their city is a shadow of itself. no celebrations, no famous christmas tree, no tourists, no pilgrims, and a lot of local businesses are struggling to make ends meet. and yet they feel that they cannot celebrate. one local woman said, "how can we celebrate when our brothers and sis

positions fighters in hama, and heading to homes. well, i think this is maybe it's as important as affordable, fallible because uh, as we mentioned before, honda is a highly symbolic because uh the city is the 4th largest city and syria is the product center location in the center of city. i go next that used to the west no to the, to the south. and it's also a just sent to the other white villages, which is very important also to the west of the of the city where we are expecting to have otherwise the christian community of president bashar assad. yeah, i do rely on the government for protection. i think exactly, and the opposition is running actually is to calm them down because you have been courting for them at for them not to not to get to panic because of the, of the advance of the opposition because as we have the vision, indeed there's today talking about them and forgiveness and talking about that they are not seeking revenge because of the, you know, the deeds of the, of that easy inside the, that thing actually it's gone d

from hama to homes through our stand until beasley was also operational. yesterday, some groups tried to claim that they had blocked the road and attacked our monserrat. but all this information was refuted to access to the road towards homes and miss yob remains unrestricted. all roads under the control of the syrian government remain open to the claim that these roads were closed. was refuted within days some elements supporting the armed groups tried to block the homes, found the road. however, the syrian army reacted immediately and secured the route on all roads leading to hama are now under government control and protected northwest in syria. how seen that was to define saying i was supposed to just minutes is digging in building fortifications and preparing for new classes in the region. circulating online, one of the main groups spicing base syrian armies. is hyatt a to read all song? a for a call from the out in this were a friends which used to be a bronze of al qaeda, the united nations, as well as russia. honestly us are among those who designa

revising the death toll by 50% relying on false information provided by hamas -controlled ministry. most egregiously, the most revealing of all, data center under gaza headquarters nearly two dozen staff members directly involved in the october 7 attacks. [cheering] the human rights council composed of the world's most agenda items related to israel in the resolution stating that israel should be held responsible. and does not bring himself to condemn it. and last week 24 to 14. around the world. biden and kamala harris months to block israel from entering rough. in the sanctions while pressuring israel to stand down in the face of iran's unprecedented attacks. joe biden and kamala harris israel not to respond in self-defense escalating attacks displaced over 80000 israelis. joe biden and kamala harris chose to abstain from voting on critical council resolution which failed to condemn hamas or tie the release of hostages cease-fire deals in the use of terrorism and put them stopping the war they didn't start in the first place. ... instantly disqualify her from any office, let alone

i don't think it will| impact that much, as long as hamas could keep the hostage, it has the pressure to lose more than this, so it seems to me that they will continue to push to get some kind of fair deal. what israelis want is the full surrender and defeat, which i don't think hamas is able to do at the moment. this is like a suicide for them. it seems to me that hamas will continue to push to get some kind of deal that can declare after the war some level of victory after all of this disaster.— victory after all of this disaster. ., ~ , ., disaster. thank you, indeed, forjoining — disaster. thank you, indeed, forjoining us. _ south korea's parliament will vote shortly on whether to impeach the acting president han duck—soo less than two weeks since he was appointed as the country's political crisis continues. han is accused of helping aid president yoon suk yeol�*s short—lived attempt at martial law and refusing to appoint new justices to the constitutional court. the country's deputy prime minister has urged mps to reconsider the impeachment motion. at the same time, the constitut

in aleppo they celebrate as he drove to the city and claimed to have entered hamas. syria has experienced more than 13 years of civil war with civih nearly half a million people since 2011. >> this was a frozen conflict. it's been going on since 2011. added in the last 72 hours rebes went all the way to aleppo the forces that had a line with the syrian government have let their guard down. >> according to that uk -based war monitor the syrian observatory for human rights they claim more than 370 people heard that also involves a mimilitary personnel and civilis have been killed just since wednesday alone. they estimate that number is a lot higher. anita: just a stunning turn of events there. stephanie bennett thank you so much for that report. >> amor more on the unrest in te middle east let's bring in former ambassador to the u.s. mr. ambassador, great to have you with us today but we're just talking to alex hogan about the frustration being felt obvious about the hostage family. by a fair proportion of the israeli population. the hezbollah deal, cease fire has not