lucy williamson “oining us from east * fire. lucy williamson “oining us from east jerusalem. m east jerusalem. thank you very from eastjerusalem. thank you very much indeed. today we have seen the release of 1a israelis, three foreign nationals and 39 palestinian former prisoners from israeli jails. stay with us, there more coming up here on bbc news. hello, this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak with the headlines. israel confirms that 16 israeli hostages and three foreign nationals are now backin and three foreign nationals are now back in israel on the third day of a four—day pause in fighting in gaza. amongst the 1a four—day pause in fighting in gaza. amongst the 16 released israelis was abigail edan, a four—year—old girl with dual israeli us nationality. and as part of the deal, 39 palestinian detainees have now also been released by israel. meanwhile, the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has himself visited gaza for the first time since the start of the conflict. he told his troops, "we will continue until victory." and this is the scene live in ramallah, in the we

lucy williamson has that story.fore the prisoners arrived, israelis and palestinians met at beitunia checkpoint. the meeting place marked in the sky with tear gas. the return of 39 prisoners today, a moment of happiness for theirfamilies, but also a moment of victory for palestinians across the west bank. this woman was waiting for her 27—year—old daughter serving a 12 year sentence for trying to stab an israeli security guard. translation: i thank god for this, i'm so happy. - for sure, hamas are the ones who released her, but i don't want to say, i don't want trouble. i think this is a sign for the palestinians and the israelis to continue with this ceasefire and stop the war. we would like that this happen without the hostage of hamas, without the hostage of the israelis. the israelis were not allowed these people to get out. a quarter of the population here has spent time in israeli jails. this, the first prisoner release in almost a decade, is a moment for his son to remember. as night fell, a few hamas flags a

lucy williamson, bbc news.turning to other news now, the pogue's front man has died at the age of 65. he was discharged from hospital last week after being treated for in cap a lightest. he fronted the band from 1982 until the band broke up into any 14. they are best known for their christmas hit song "fairytale of new york." david cilento reports. >> ♪ there was christmas eve, babe in the truck tank an old man said to me ♪ ♪ >> happy christmas, i pray god it is our last. a bleak drink song duet about lives gone wrong is not your normal christmas classic. but it was a trademark. >> ♪ i turned my face awaand dr♪ >>'s band the pogue's, brought a rambunctious attitude to irish folk. born out of his years in the london punk scene, shane hooligan, as he called himself, won a literary scholarship to public school. >> ♪ as i wandered down the long lonesome highway ♪ reporter: he was behind it all a writer, a rare talent. he created beauty and poetry out of hard lives and harder drinking. something he understood well.

thank you lucy williamson live injerusalem. heard, his appealfrom international agencies to take care of israeli hostages in gaza. ' :: ., ., ., , gaza. over 150 of a hostages men, women, children, _ gaza. over 150 of a hostages men, women, children, babies, - gaza. over 150 of a hostages men, women, children, babies, who - gaza. over 150 of a hostages men, women, children, babies, who is. women, children, babies, who is taking care of them? who is holding a ten—month—old baby? i'll tell you, ruthless terrorists are holding him hostage in gaza. we call on the international organization, especially the red cross to use every tool at their disposal to gain access to our hostages. to make sure they are receiving the medical care they are receiving the medical care they need. 0ur hostages are not lost. we won't sit around and hope they are found. we will rescue our hostages at all costs. it is our duty, it is our moral responsibility of the israeli defence forces. it's why we fight. and why we must keep on fighting until all of our

now as we continue to watch those live pictures, joining us now on the line, our correspondent lucy williamson. and the occupied west bank. lucy, we sawjubilant scenes and the occupied west bank. lucy, we saw jubilant scenes there yesterday as prisoners were released by this time yesterday. we've had these delays, what is happening where you are now? right, this sounds like we are have communication problems here. we can't make contact with lucy at the moment. so we'll keep trying, lucy williamson our correspondent in the west bank. let's head tojerusalem with our correspondent tom bateman. it seems that the problems have been ironed out now, do we know what stage the release process is at? while we know it is due to take place tonight. that's all we have been told, and remember we are six hours on now from the disagreement, what they agreed time of release is supposed to be. and as you were saying, we've had what seemed like a convoluted delay because of those issues that hamas was accusing israel of not letting trucks into the north of gaza, of what they claim is manipulating the lists of pa

lucy williamson, bbc news, gaza. there's much scruitiny of israel's operation at al—shifa hospital.s been met with claim and counterclaim. so what do we know for sure? here's our analysis editor ros atkins to explain. sophie, thank you. bbc verify has been examining the different sources of information we have on this. israel describes the al—shifa hospital as "the main headquarters for hamas' terrorist activity." this idf animation, posted in late october, claims to represent a hamas tunnel system underneath the hospital. but, having been inside al shifa since early wednesday, israel's yet to produce evidence of the tunnels. it has allowed the bbc and fox news to film at the hospital, though only locations of israel's choice. this is what they found. israel also released its own seven—minute video which bbc verify has analysed. a watch visible in that video suggests it was filmed a few hours before the bbc arrived. and this idf video was posted, then deleted, and then reposted, this time without a section referring to an israeli soldier who'd been held hostage. i don't know when th

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem.n seven weeks since hamas launched its attack in what has been described as israel's largest intelligence failure for 50 years. bbc verify and the bbc�*s arabic service have found that hamas — a designated terrorist group by the uk government — held multiple training exercises planning the attacks in plain sight of israel — and posted the evidence on social media. here's our defence correspondent jonathan beale with more details. the scale and brutality of the hamas attack on october seventh shocked the world. it was the biggest loss of life in israel since thejewish state was created and it shook and traumatised the country to its core. it's also raised many questions for israel's much—vaunted security and intelligence services. bbc arabic and bbc verify have been analysing evidence posted on the online messaging service telegram. it shows that hamas in gaza had been openly training for attacks inside israel for almost three years. these red dots show the sites, from the far north of

lucy williamson is at the checkpoint, and she sent us this update shortly before the prisoners arriveducy: you might be able to see behind me the green flags of hamas. many people here credit hamas would securing this release, saying we would like it to have happened without the hostages taken by hamas, for without those hostages, israel would never have released these prisoners. to israel, the people being released tonight have been arrested, have been charged on security grounds. but to the people here, they are the victims of israel's occupation. there's been more tear gas fired by the israeli forces towards the crowd here. they were really crowded around the red cross cars demanding to know where the palestinian prisoners were. there is a rising sense of frustratn that has been building here for hours now, and it's at the point of boiling over. rajini: lucy williamson reporting from the checkpoint. to discuss that aspect of today's news in more detail, we can go live to a lawyer and cofounder of military court watch, an organization which monitors the treatment of children in israe

lucy williamson, bbc news, gaza. christian: strong pictures there. talk about the situation that saudi arabia has raised tonight about that operation in the hospital. they said that, as far as they are concerned, this was a blatant violation of inteational humanitarian law, and that is complicating negotiations. there are reports of a deal which would ensure that 50 hostages are released in turn for longer humanitarian pause, between three and five days. that deal is being brokered by qatar. there has been no response so far from israelis about these reports, but as part of the agreement, hamas would have to devote a complete list of remaining israeli citizens held in gaza, while israel would have to release palestinian women and children from israeli jails. israel would also have to increase humanitarian aid allowed into the strip. but it is not just a case of getting the aid in, its about distributing it. we spoke to julia tuma, director of communications for the you and agency for palestinian refugees. she told me that humanitarian operations acro

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. christian: pain lucy joins us this evening.some detail to give you. we have been told by the foreign ministry in qatar that those released from israeli prison include 30 minors and three women, and 11 israelis have been released including three french citizens, two german citizens, and six argentinian citizens. what is the public mood around the two day extension, lucy? lucy: i think there has been a lot of support for the extension on both sides. here in israel the government is doing something of a juggling act with its two main priorities, destroying hamas and getting the hostages back. it is under a lot of pressure from the army and military not to pause for too long, not to give hamas too much time to regroup. and it is under pressure from the families of hostages here in israel. they have been running a big public campaign to do everything they can to get every chance to get every last hostage out. i think this two day pause is popular, but the government is caught somewhere in between these two pressure. christian: i kno

lucy williamson, bbc news, southern israel.y says that at least 4,000 children have been killed since the start of the war and thousands more left injured, with some facing life—long disabilities. israel disputes the figures, but the world health organization believes the numbers are credible. yogita limaye, who's injerusalem, has been working with freelance journalists in gaza to bring us this report. what must it take for a mother to comfort her child... ..when reality is so devastating? two—year—old fatima was stuck under the rubble of a bombing in gaza three weeks ago. her parents had tried for 14 years to have a baby. and then fatima was born. translation: what is her fault? what did she do wrong? we have to constantly give her painkillers. as soon as the effect of one wears off, i give her another. her life revolves around painkillers, and every other day she undergoes surgery. trapped in gaza, under the constant threat of being bombed. hospitals fill up with more wounded children. amira, 13. seven of her brothers were ki

lucy williamson, bbc news, jenin.month—old baby — the youngest hostage being held in gaza — has been killed with his mother and four—year—old brother. hamas — which is designated a terrorist organisation by the uk government — claims they were killed by an israeli air strike. 16 more hostages have been released from gaza tonight in exchange for palestinian prisoners. here's our senior international correspondent, 0rla guerin. baby kfir. a nation has been waiting for him to come home. but tonight, a claim from hamas that the ten—month—old was killed by israel's bombardment of gaza. hamas says his four—year—old brother, ariel, was also killed. along with their mother, shiri, who tried so hard to protect them as they were taken hostage. the israeli army says it is a cruel claim, and they are investigating. relatives say they are waiting for the military to confirm, or hopefully refute it. just yesterday, a cousin was pleading for the children's release. we love them so much. they are a tiny baby that we hold and we pass

lucy williamson, bbc news southern israel.ncil has been meeting to discuss the situation in gaza. the head of the world health organization told delegates that the health system was on its knees, with half the territory's 36 hospitals no longer functioning. dr tedros adhanom ghebreyesus also recalled growing up during war in ethiopia, saying he understood what the children of gaza must be going through. i understand what the children of gaza must be going through because as a child i went through the same thing. the same. the sound of gunfire and shells whittling through the air. the smell of smoke after an airstrike. air. the smell of smoke after an air strike. tracer bullets in the night sky, the fear, the pain, the loss. these things have stayed with me throughout my life. i know the smell, the image of war. i, i know what war means. when my mother heard gunfire at night she would make our sleep under the bed with more mattresses on top of one bed in the hope we might be protected if a shell fell in a house, a mother's inst

lucy williamson with a rare glimpse inside al—shifa hospital.labour leader, sir keir starmer, says he "regrets" the loss of 10 of his shadow ministers. they quit theirjobs over the party's stance on the gaza conflict. a total of 56 labour mps backed an snp amendment calling for a ceasefire. our political correspondent hannah miller reports. ceasefire now! the calls are getting louder, both outside parliament and in. every minute, every hour, every day we wait is another orphan, another grieving mother, and another family wiped out. we need a full and immediate ceasefire now. my constituents have demanded this and i will not refuse them. there is nothing humanitarian about letting children - eat a little today, only. to bomb them tomorrow. the only humanitarian way forward is an immediate ceasefire. - keir starmer lost ten of his front bench team, including eight shadow ministers, and saw 56 of his mps rebel, all voting in favour of the snp's amendment for a ceasefire. among them is prominent, now former, frontbencherjess phillips. in a resignati

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem.ahmy, associate professor of political science at long island university. thank you very much for your time. this is a welcome development, especially those who have been pushing for that extension. it could these temporary agreements continue? or will itjust get harder and harder? or will it “ust get harder and harder? . ., ., harder? thanks for having me. of course. _ harder? thanks for having me. of course, seeing _ harder? thanks for having me. of course, seeing the - of course, seeing the reunification of children with their parents is heart—warming and welcome, and after this four days which are set to expire tomorrow, having two more days of reprieve, of course, is welcome. at these humanitarian pauses are not a conduit for a permanent cease—fire at this stage. the details right now are centred on prisoner exchange and humanitarian aid, but not on what is a take to start a foundation for a cease—fire or for a long and dominant peace regime. i think the war is going to take a ver

lucy williamson, bbc news, gaza.amme says civilians in gaza are in a desperate situation. wfp's executive director says... "with winter fast approaching, unsafe and overcrowded shelters, and the lack of clean water, civilians are facing the immediate possibility of starvation". almost half of the population of gaza is under the age of 18. ricardo pires is unicef�*s communication manager — he told me about the dire conditions faced by children in gaza. it's been 41 days now of a relentless nightmare for hundreds of thousands of children in the gaza strip. starvation might be just yet another dark chapter in that in this narrative of horror that they've been living since since october seven. so we know children are still injured. some of them are under the rubble. actually, nearly 2000 children are missing and could be under the rubbles, including children who've been separated from their families. we know at least 4.6 thousand children have reportedly been killed since the beginning of the conflict. so in 41 days and

lucy williamson, bbc news, be'eri.eople could get on with the economy, it's heard. they said mrjohnson was obsessed with the idea. here's chris mason. casually dressed, controversial and not exactly shy when it comes to slagging off other people and institutions. how is your eyesight, mr cummings? oh, and you probably remember dominic cummings for driving 260 miles during lockdown and visiting barnard castle in county durham to test his eyesight. i swear by almighty god that the evidence i shall give shall be the truth... mr cummings comes across in public as mild—mannered. he was rather less than that in his private written observations about people he worked alongside. you called ministers useles- . . morons. bleep. ..in e—mails and whatsapps to your professional colleagues. my appalling languages is obviously my own, but myjudgement of a lot of senior people was widespread. in listen to how dominic cummings were, described a seniorfemale cummings were, described a senior female colleague. "we cannot keep dealing wit

lucy williamson's report contains sims distressing images.is where hamas has its underground headquarters, it's now surrounded by israeli troops. translation: we were staying on the fifth floor, and then - we found bombs falling on us. my niece was killed. she was already wounded from before, but now she's dead. tanks filmed inside this children's hospital, a sign that the battle between israel and hamas is closing in. the streets around these places of refuge now so dangerous that even those who want to leave sometimes can't. tonight, the director of al—shifa hospital said shooting had started again there. there seemed to be used several incidents at the hospital today, and tonight the director said the shooting had started again with hundreds of critically ill patients too ill to be moved. israeli forces are now deep inside gaza. the bombed—out buildings say as much about the difficulty of reaching their enemy as about israel's military might. translation: the army has started employing i new methods against those inside the tunnels and to

lucy williamson, bbc news, betunia. using the temporary truce to return to their homes — but many have been destroyed. bbc verify has been analysing exclusive satellite images showing the widespread destruction in gaza. merlyn thomas is in the bbc verify hub with more. but first, this image is from may. now it's a neighborhood of beit lahiya between gaza city and the northern border with israel. and a reminder, this is what it looked like before the war began. now, as you can see here, these are densely populated areas, lots and lots of residential blocks, as you can see here. now, i want you to follow this as i go and show you what this looks like after. and this image, this is the latest satellite image that we've got. this was taken yesterday. and as you can see here, that is the majority of destruction of those buildings on the eastern side. just to show you again, this is what it looked like before and this is what it looked like after — buildings brought down to rubble. and i want to show you another image. this i

lucy williamson there.they have killed a suspect involved in an attack on a checkpoint injerusalem. at least four people were shot, including one who was critically injured. two others suffered light injuries. the police said all the injured were members of security services. in the uk, the labour leader, sir keir starmer, says he "regrets" the loss of ten of his shadow ministers. they quit theirjobs over the party's stance on the gaza conflict. a total of 56 labour mps backed an snp amendment calling for a ceasefire. our chief political correspondent henry zeffman said he didn't think the resignations would change labour's stance on the issue of gaza. i think the resignations reflect the fact that labour's stance isn't changing. it is worth noting this is a big rebellion, it is the biggest parliamentary rebellion there has been against keir starmer�*s leader ship and his whip as they call it, since he became labour leader almost four years ago. that is embarrassing for him. but his supporters say, look, he

williamson lucy with a rare glimpse into shifa hospital in gaza. —— lucy williamson.say they have killed three suspects involved in an attack on a checkpoint injerusalem. at least four people were shot, including one who was critically injured. two others suffered light injuries. the police said all the injured were members of security services. colonel moshe tetro is the head of co—ordination and liaison at cogat, the israeli defence ministry body handling civil affairs in gaza. i spoke to him a little earlier. i asked him about whether what's been observed at al—shifa hospital so far amounts to an operational command centre. iam sure i am sure that you already know and understand the core strategy of hamas is to operate from within civilian facilities, from within the population. as we have shown in another hospital, as we know from other places where they are operating from, un facilities, from inside schools, from around civilian shelters etc, we are currently conducting the search operation in shifa hospital. we have shown what we have found until now. and when w

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem.er, the head of palestine/israel program and senior fellow, arab center washington dc, about understand gaza's humanitarian needs and how the war is shaping public opinion here in the us. do you think this temporary ceasefire and the aid come again albeit a drop in the bucket as aid organisations have said, can alleviate some of the suffering of civilians in gaza? well, not if this is a temporary pause or a humanitarian pause and it should go without saying that there is nothing humanitarian about a pause in war crimes. we need them to stop completely. the situation in gaza is catastrophic. the humanitarian situation cannot be described in words. the images that i think the entire world is getting a chance to see now during this break in the fighting, makes clear that the destruction is massive, that the target was widespread civilian infrastructure and we have seen tremendous damage to the health system and really all forms of life in the gaza strip... if i could jump in... crosstalk

lucy williamson, bbc news, southern israel.rate, we have been saying this in the last weeks, without a safe humanitarian space, without fuel for the hospital and without safety for the civilians and healthcare civilians and healthca re workers, civilians and healthcare workers, this is the result, and this is exactly what is happening now in these hours. so we have a healthcare system thatis so we have a healthcare system that is collapsed, you are saying. there are hospitals in the north of gaza that are not anymore working or are working, and i can tell you and did indeed al quds hospital electricity is almost running out and there is just a bit of fuel that they are using for infants and incubators and intensive care units. but then of course this is not a fully functioning hospital and this will not last for long, so this situation is really catastrophic stop there have been clashes outside of hospitals in northern gaza, in terms of the safety of patients and healthcare workers, how safe are they? they are not. the reality

lucy williamson, bbc news, israel.aking to mark regev, senior advisor to the israeli prime minister and former israeli ambassador to the uk — he responded to allegations the al shifa hospital in gaza is being directly targeted. you've got to remember that the head of the hospital was appointed by hamas. and if hamas is still controlling the hospital, so people are restricted in what they can say, they can only follow the hamas line. that is, unfortunately, the reality. i just want clarity on that. you said you don't think so. so is that a no? that hospital is not being directly targeted by israeli missiles? we don't directly target hospitals. we target hamas and we target hamas positions. that is our policy. but if they are operating, as you contend, from that hospital, then would you say you are directly targeting hamas within that hospital? i don't believe that's correct. i haven't been updated of exactly what's going on on the ground. but from previous experience, i know we don't target hospitals. we target hamas po

lucy williamson, bbc news, southern israel.e on the situation on the ground i spoke to a spokesperson at the international federations of red cross and red crescent societies. we really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us. i just want to start with these reports that the health care system in the gaza strip has essentially collapsed. can you walk us through the situation on the ground there right now? yeah, the situation i would say is desperate. we have been saying this in the last weeks that without proper humanitarian aid, without safe humanitarian aid, without safe humanitarian space to operate, without fuel for the hospitals and without safety for civilians and health care workers, this would have been the result and it's exactly what is happening now in these hours. we have an health care system that has collapsed, where mainly there are hospitals in the north of gaza that are not working or are barely working and i can tell you that in a palestine crescent hospital now, electricity is almost running out and t

lucy williamson, bbc news, southern israel.ant to take a deeper look at one key issue in the conflict. un agencies and exports —— experts warned that women and girls are facing devastating and at times disproportionate consequences. in gaza, 67% of all civilians killed our women and children. 0n the seventh of october women and children were among those taken hostage by hamas, a designated terror group by the uk and us. while war does not discriminate based on gender, it does impact those caught in its crosshairs in different ways. here is our chief international correspondent elise doucet speaking to our colleagues. elise doucet speaking to our colleagues-_ elise doucet speaking to our colleague— colleagues. they used to be this phrase _ colleagues. they used to be this phrase and _ colleagues. they used to be this phrase and was - colleagues. they used to be this phrase and was gone i colleagues. they used to be| this phrase and was gone by, women and children first, first on the boat, first on the train, first on the bus, pr

lucy williamson, bbc news, southern israel.lomatic correspondent paul adams has more on israel's strategy. these israelis argue these are places where hamas fighters have based themselves and consequently there are intense battles going on around those hospitals. these really say they are not targeting hospitals per se and they are trying to get these civilian populations at are clustered around them to try to leave. also starting to think about evacuating the hospitals themselves so that israel can concentrate on dealing with hamas. there is a small development on that front. the israelis said they will evacuate babies from al—shifa hospital to a safer location. we have had no extra details or confirmation from the palestinian side, very difficult to get through to any of these hospitals at the moment but this suggested that the israelis recognise as they are camped out on the perimeter of some of these hospitals, the situation is becoming untenable inside. they need to address the very, very real humanitarian needs of the pat

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. our senior international correspondent, orla guerin, who's in tel aviv. more agonising hope for the families of the israeli hostages, as there will now be two more days to bring more of them out to safety. but what complicates things is that they're not all under the control of hamas but of several groups. it's an extremely complicated thing. what we have been told that, for the next two days, ten hostages should be released each day. hamas has said as many as a0 other hostages are not under its control. many are believed to be in the hands of a rival organisation, palestinian islamic jihad. we don't know what kind of hostages may be released tomorrow. will it once again be women and children? the youngest known hostages is a ten—month—old baby and there is understandably tremendous concern in israel about that very young child. there is no sign of that child being released so far. he is being held with his four—year—old brother. there is speculation that perhaps these two children ar

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem.professor amin saikal, professor of middle eastern studies at the australian national university. thank you for talking to bbc news. give us your take on the significant of the extension of this truce, for another two days? i this truce, for another two da 5? ~ this truce, for another two da s? ~ , days? i think it is quite important. _ days? i think it is quite important, important l days? i think it is quite - important, important from the factor that a number of hostages will be released and also a number of palestinian prisoners will be released from israeli jail. it will also give an opportunity for more aid to get through to the people of gaza, and to provide an opportunity for humanitarian agencies to reorganise themselves, because they have been going through a very tough time, and delivering food and looking after themselves at the same time, and further, it will also give some time to mediators, especially qatar and joe biden administration to work further pauses if that is p

lucy williamson, bbc news, southern israel.podcast the conflict on bbc sounds. the uk economy flatlined between july and september, according to the latest figures from the office for national statistics. interest rates rises have hit all areas of the economy especially new housebuilding and consumer spending. 0ur economics editor faisal islam reports. when construction companies are going bust, house building, like at this new development in sussex, can grind to a halt. and so can the entire economy. five minutes away at the lansing industrial park, the effects of fewer new houses have a knock—on impact at the factory for newly built kitchens. we're currently tracking at around 30% down as a general market around house build new sites, and that in turn of course is impacting our business heavily. so, certainly for us as a business it is a growth problem, not an inflation problem. so, inflation can always be tackled by different measures, and it all comes back to the market decline that we have seen across housebuilding as an i

lucy williamson, bbc news, beitunia. ukraine continues — its capital, kyiv has come under fire again. authorities say the city has been hit by the largest russian drone attack since the full—scale invasion began. officials said more than 75 iranian—made shahed drones were fired at the capital — and all but one were shot down. kyiv�*s mayor says at least five people were injured. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky called the strikes an act of "wilful terror." it comes as winter is closing in on ukraine and the war is ticking closer to its two year anniversary. for more on all of this, i spoke with evelyn farkas who's the executive director of the mccain institute. we appreciate you joining us here on bbc news. the largest drone attack on keep sentences full scale invasion by pressure began. what do you think in an attack on this kind of scale is signalling?— signalling? i'm not surprised because i — signalling? i'm not surprised because i actually _ signalling? i'm not surprised because i actually was - signalling? i'

lucy williamson, bbc news, southern israel. situation on the ground, we spoke to a spokesperson for the international federations of the red cross and red crescent societies. , ., ., societies. the situation i would say _ societies. the situation i would say is _ societies. the situation i would say is desperate, | societies. the situation i - would say is desperate, frankly speaking. we have been saying this in the last week that without proper humanitarian aid, without a safe space where to operate, without fuel for the hospital and without safety for civilians and healthcare for civilians and healthca re workers, for civilians and healthcare workers, this would be the result. and that is exactly what is happening in these hours. we have a system that has collapsed, you are saying. there are mainly hospitals north of gaza are that are not working anymore or barely working anymore or barely working and i can tell you that in a palestinian hospital, electricity is almost running out and they are using just a bit of fuel for inf

lucy williamson, bbc news. we've been seeing scenes of celebration in the west bank tonight.g received by palestinians? i releases of prisoners are being received by palestinians? i think as all palestinians _ received by palestinians? i think as all palestinians living _ received by palestinians? i think as all palestinians living under - all palestinians living under captivity because of an ongoing occupation for 56 years apart side and 75 years of colonialism it's a bit of a relief. but it will not be lasting. despite the fact that they are released back into society because israel remains a single authority and sovereign from the river to the sea. and rules by military dictate in racist apartheid regime, ellie of these palestinians are much more can be rearrested for being on the wrong side of the street, driving on a segregated road, digging beneath the ground for water to going to pray injerusalem without a military permit. so all of this is within a context with that i also want to highlight because of context for the audience that israel could have achieved this relea

lucy williamson, bbc news, southern israel.pondent rushdi abualouf in khan younis in gaza's south, who gave me the latest on the fighting there. the situation remain the same, very tense situation around the al shifa hospital, the biggest medical centre for the entire of gaza strip, and the fighting was intensified around the hospital with thousands of people still trapped inside, people who are fleeing from nearby refugee camps, taking the hospital as shelter, there were about 50,000 people. but now, the number i think is down to less than 10,000 is down to less than 10,000, according to some people who are inside the hospital. most of them left when the corridor was opened. today, the situation was very dangerous throughout the day, so leaving the hospital was quite risky, but very few people who made it out of the hospital here in khan younis, thousands of people continue to take this journey through salah al—din road into the southern area, the area that israel asked 1.2 million people to go south. very few of them were fro

lucy williamson with the rare glimpse inside shifa hospital in gaza.ice say they have killed three suspects involved in an attack on a checkpoint injerusalem. at least four people were shot, including one who was critically injured. two others suffered light injuries. the police said all the injured were members of security services. colonel moshe tetro is the head of co—ordination and liaison at cogat, the israeli defense ministry body handling civil affairs in gaza. i asked him whether what's been observed at al—shifa hospital so far, amounts to an operational command centre. i am sure that you already know and understand the core strategy of hamas is to operate from within civilian facilities, from within the population. as we have shown in another hospital, as we know from other places where they are operating from, un facilities, from inside schools, from around civilian shelters etc. we are currently conducting the search operation in shifa hospital. we have shown what we have found until now. and when we will finish this operation, of course we

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem.ed by a senior lecturer at the university of sydney. thanks for your time here on bbc news on newsday. while we have been reporting extensively on the latest announcement that came in about the extension of the temporary truce, your reaction was largely unexpected lines given all the expectations on the run up to its. i expectations on the run up to its. ~ ., �* expectations on the run up to its. ~ . �* ., , its. i think ian bremer was riaht in its. i think ian bremer was right in a _ its. i think ian bremer was right in a way _ its. i think ian bremer was right in a way - _ its. i think ian bremer was right in a way - all- its. i think ian bremer was | right in a way - all different right in a way — all different sides including israel, hamas and international community are all in favour of an extension. swaps, more swap. the only ones who may be against it are very tiny sliver at the kind of far end of the israeli public, but most israeli public is certainly supportive. in terms of l

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem.is yousef munayyer, the head of palestine israel program and senior fellow, arab center washington dc. very good to have your back and thank you forjoining us. i want to start with some of the pictures we saw, the devastation in gaza and people gathering in line for food and supplies. do you think this temporary ceasefire and the aid come again albeit a drop in the bucket as aid organisations have said, can alleviate some of the suffering of civilians in gaza? ~ ., of the suffering of civilians in gaza?— of the suffering of civilians in gaza? ~ ., , , ., in gaza? well, not if this is a temporary — in gaza? well, not if this is a temporary pause _ in gaza? well, not if this is a temporary pause or- in gaza? well, not if this is a temporary pause or a - temporary pause or a humanitarian pause should go without saying that there is nothing humanitarian about a pause in war crimes. we need them to stop completely. the situation in gaza is catastrophic. the humanitarian situation cannot be

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem.ts attack in what has been described as israel's largest intelligence failure for 50 years. but analysis for the bbc reveals that hamas held multiple training exercises planning the attacks in plain sight of israel over 3 years and posted the evidence on social media. so how did the israeli government miss it? here's our defence correspondent jonathan beale. bbc arabic and bbc verify have been analysing evidence posted on the online messaging service, telegram. it shows that hamas in gaza had been openly training for attacks inside israel for almost three years. these red dots show the sites, from the far north of the gaza strip to the very south, where training took place, with hamas joined by other palestinian factions. we've geolocated most of the images of those training operations, with the four larger dots here representing major drills, which took place every year since 2020. each was code—named strong pillar. let's look more closely at one training camp, less than a kilometre f

lucy williamson went to meet him. darwish he was being taken out ofjail for a court appearance. 2a hours later, he's back with his family near ramallah, one of the first prisoners to be released under the israeli deal with hamas. he was arrested in april and convicted by military court of throwing molotov cocktails at israeli soldiers. his father said last night was the first time he had seen or spoken to his son in seven months. "the reunion was indescribable," he said. his first word to his son as he met him off the bus, "my love." mohammad told me he was dizzy with happiness as he stepped off the bus to meet his family. you spent seven months of your life... since the october 7th attacks, he said the only source of information inside the jail was new arrivals. he said they sometimes arrived with broken teeth and large cuts to the head that were left untreated. translation: the next day they took out the cookers, l the tv and the radios, all communications were removed. we were totally isolated. they only gave us on

lucy williamson, bbc news, gaza. 0sama hamdan is a senior representative of hamas in lebanon.nd has been responding to the israeli claims that the al shifa hospital is a hamas stronghold. all those weapons were not in shifa. there is no center or control room for hamas in this hospital. we avoid all the hospitals all the time. the israelis, they have said that about rantisi hospital and they were lying. they said that about al-quds hospital and everyone realised that they were lying and now everyone is watching their lies. even with the support of the united states administration, which is a very silly and stupid support because you can'tjust believe netanyahu, who is a liar and everyone knows that. as the medical situation in gaza remains dire, a limited number of patients have been moved to nearby egypt, on wednesday a group of cancer patients who crossed from gaza were flown to turkey. but egypt's foreign minister sameh shoukry says efforts to provide medical support should be concentrated within gaza. he also said there was no truth to reports that israel and the us had pr

lucy williamson, bbc news, southern israel.a spokesperson at the international federations of red cross and red crescent societies. we really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us. i want to start with these reports that the health care system in the gaza strip has essentially collapsed. can you walk us through the situation on the ground there right now? i4541431111. walk us through the situation on the ground there right now?— ground there right now? well, the situation i would _ ground there right now? well, the situation i would say _ ground there right now? well, the situation i would say is _ ground there right now? well, the situation i would say is desperate. j situation i would say is desperate. we have been saying this in the last weeks that without proper humanitarian aid, a safe humanitarian aid, a safe humanitarian space to operate, without fuel for the hospital and without fuel for the hospital and without safety for civilians and health care workers this would have been the result and it is exactly what

our middle east correspondent lucy williamson and cameraman dave bull were taken to the hospital laste israeli defence forces, who wanted to show weapons and other materials found there. they're now back injerusalem and lucyjoins us from there. reports from inside the hospital there has been fresh gunfire they are and is really defence officers have been sent into new areas of the hospital. as you say, we were taken in last night by the israeli army and had about 30 minutes on the ground under tight military supervision. we couldn't talk or meet with any palestinian doctors or patience, and i have to say that the pictures, not the words, and our report had to be passed through a military sense of —— doctors and patience. the israeli are keen to show what they have found at the hospital and also to stress that this is the beginning of their search destination act. —— their search destination act. —— their search destination act. —— their search there. we are inside the gaza strip with the israeli army. they are taking us to gaza city and the al—shifa hospital which, over the last few d

a little later in this programme, we'll be hearing from lucy williamson, who's been following events our middle east correspondent tom bateman is injerusalem with the latest. as with the latest. far as the framework of this deal as far as the framework of this deal has gone in day one, i think the prisoner exchange element of this has been shown to have been extremely successful. givenjust to have been extremely successful. given just how challenging it has been for the two sides to pull this deal together through the mediator, r. but conditions on the ground were made extremely challenging. —— were made extremely challenging. -- qatar. think about the weeks of war that led up about the weeks of war that led up to this, the unprecedented nature of the fighting we have seen and the brutality of the events that sparked all of this. so there remains the risk that things think —— can still go wrong. having said that we now go into day two with the israelis saying they have been handed a list via qatar from hamas of the next batch of hostages of the next batch of hostages of the next batc

lucy williamson has more.ers arrived, israelis and palestinians met at beitunia checkpoint. the meeting place marked in the sky with tear gas. the return of 39 prisoners today, a moment of happiness for theirfamilies, but also a moment of victory for palestinians across the west bank. amna was waiting for her 27—year—old daughter serving a 12 year sentence for trying to stab an israeli security guard. translation: i thank god for this, i'm so happy. - for sure, hamas are the ones who released her, but i don't want to say, i don't want trouble. i think this is a sign for the palestinians and the israelis to continue with this ceasefire and stop the war. we would like that this happen without the hostage of hamas, without the hostage of the israelis. the israelis would not allowed these people to get out. a quarter of the population here has spent time in israeli jails. this, the first prisoner release in almost a decade, is a moment for his son to remember. as night fell, a few hamas flags appeared in the crowd

lucy williamson, bbc news. let's return to orla guerin.e to end in a few hours. is there any word on a possible extension? it's hanging in the balance tonight. talks have been going on in carter involving —— in doha involving egypt and qatar, the talks have been difficult, told us in the last hour the chances of an extension were only 20%. israel's cabinet has been meeting tonight to discuss the same issue. clearly in the last few days the deal has been fraying. there have been arguments about who was being handed over, hostages have been released late in the day. if there is no agreement on another extension then tomorrow morning at 7am local time that ceasefire will expire and just add we've had antony blinken here today, the us secretary of state, telling israel that there cannot be a repeat of the massive loss of civilian life that happened in the north of gaza if and when it resumes its offensive. firia in the north of gaza if and when it resumes its offensive. orla guerin, thank you. — resumes its offensive. orla guerin, thank you. in

lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. we can speak live to lucy, she joins us from jerusalem. told by the foreign ministry in qatar that those released from israeli prisons include 30 miners and three women. i told you earlier, 11 israelis have been released ii israelis have been released including three french citizens, two german citizens and six argentine citizens. in response to the extension today what the public mood around the extension? i extension today what the public mood around the extension?— around the extension? i think there has been a — around the extension? i think there has been a lot _ around the extension? i think there has been a lot of— around the extension? i think there has been a lot of support _ around the extension? i think there has been a lot of support for - around the extension? i think there has been a lot of support for the i has been a lot of support for the extension on both sides. here in israel the government is doing something of a juggling act with its main priorities, destroying hamas and getting hostages back. it's under a lot of press

with the very latest here's lucy williamson.en by locals as places of shelter, by israel as hiding places for hamas. at al—shifa hospital, the displaced live side by side with the wounded. the line between them sometimes very thin. "why?" she's screaming. israel says this is where hamas has its underground headquarters. it's now surrounded by israeli troops. translation: we were staying on the fifth floor, and then - we found bombs falling on us. my niece was killed. she was already wounded from before, but now she's dead. tanks filmed inside this children's hospital, a sign that the battle between israel and hamas is closing in. the streets around these places of refuge now so dangerous that even those who want to leave sometimes can't. tonight, the director of al—shifa hospital said shooting had started again there. translation: we have over 60 patients in intensive care, - 50 babies in incubators and 500 patients on dialysis. they can't be treated anywhere else in gaza. we are staying here with the injured and the displaced.