qatar is a major hamas financier. qatar blames israel for hamas attack on october 7.ystem are friends at the foundation for the defense and democracy. qatar has leaders, qatar host a political office in delhi which only now just closed. qatar amplifies hamas messaging on the state on al jazeera but yes it is owned by qatar. back to masa political takeover in gaza in 2007. qatar patronage has not moderated hamas. qatar was suspended by the gulf cooperation council over its ties to terrorism in 2017 saudi arabia, uae, by rain, several ties back then with qatar. qatar host large number of u.s. troops while we reestablish our lease there with qatar i will never know. they are trying to play at both sides. they play politicians and america. they bought billionaires in america. they bought several special interest in america. they bought sporting events but look at us, aren't we great? no you are not great for their funding anti-semitic organizations in our country and our colleges and universities. yes, qatar is a terrorist supporting regime that is moderating in this deal

>> there is a follow up mechanism that egypt, qatar and us are going to handle. it will be placed in cairo. and this follow up actually will be a joint team from the three countries that will monitor the implementation of the agreement, and everything has been agreed upon and will be in place, hopefully on the day of the execution. thank you. >> thank you. >> reuters. thank you. >> prime minister, congratulations. andrew mills from reuters. can you talk a little bit more about this follow up mechanism? if elements of the agreement put in place tonight are violated, what will happen? who is it that is going to report and that that that a violation has happened? >> and how will that violation be communicated to the parties, the world, the guarantors of this agreement? thank you. well, this is this is what i have just mentioned to becky. there is, there will be a follow up mechanism that all the parties will be placed in egypt, and they will follow up the implementation of the agreement. there will be a reporting mechanism for any violation, and those violations wil

thank ou ve sponsored by qatar home. thank you very much — sponsored by qatar home.y much for _ sponsored by qatar home. thank you very much for talking - sponsored by qatar home. thank you very much for talking to - sponsored by qatar home. thank you very much for talking to us i you very much for talking to us and perhaps we can talk again when you have some more news of your brother—in—law. thank you very much for your time. your brother-in-law. thank you very much for your time.- very much for your time. thank ou. very much for your time. thank yom and _ very much for your time. thank yom and we — very much for your time. thank you. and we will— very much for your time. thank you. and we will keep - very much for your time. thank you. and we will keep you - you. and we will keep you up—to—date with any development is on the situation in the middle east as we wait to hear news about when the delayed israeli cabinet meeting to approve the ceasefire will take place. no word on that at the moment but it was expected earlier. let's look at some other news from today.

it ceasefire negotiations in qatar. , ., ., qatar. it is quite hard to define exactly _ qatar. quite hard to define exactly what - qatar. it is quite hard to define exactly what is i define exactly what is happening behind closed doors in qatar, in doha. but we are receiving positive signals, it seems like, from all parties. as you mentioned, the phone call between president biden and prime minister benjamin netanyahu last night is being seen as a positive development. the israeli intelligence chiefs stayed in qatar over the weekend to continue the negotiations there and again that was being seen as a positive development. we heard last night that prime minister benjamin netanyahu was meeting with some of his cabinet colleagues, ministers who are opposed to a deal, who want the war to continue and want to infect resettle gaza. we understand he was trying to persuade them not to resign from the government. it seems persuade them not to resign i from the governm-eems media outlets. the israel forei . n media outlets. the israel foreign minister - media outlets. the israel foreign

in recent days, negotiators from both sides have been holding indirect talks in qatar.dent in jerusalem, emir nader, gave us the latest. we understand from mr benjamin netanyahu's office that the list of 3a names that hamas has shared with the media, including the bbc, is actually a list given by israel to mediators as early as july. a list given by israel to mediators as early asjuly. as you mention, on that list there are a number of elderly, young, female soldiers, some children who are understood, who hamas has previously said were dead. the israeli side has asked for information on the, about the names on the list, has asked for information about their condition for each person, whether people are alive or not. hamas, we understand, has asked for time. a beginning, initial period of ceasefire in order to ascertain the status of the hostages that they have. now, the publication of the list has been seen as a form of pressure on prime minister netanyahu. his spokesman has said today that it is a form of psychological warfare by hamas. hamas just published on saturday

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

that of qatar, egypt and the us and getting those today.— getting those today.day. that is the shadow foreign - getting those today. that is l the shadow foreign secretary following david lammy, the uk foreign secretary, who has urged israel to back the ceasefire deal, speaking in the british house of commons, answering a two state solution should be the destination. we will bring you much more on all this, and if you want to follow events on the comments you can go to the iplayer and website which are being updated. you are watching bbc news with special coverage of the middle east. live from london, this is bbc news. anticipation in gaza after months of destruction, as the world waits for the israel — hamas peace deal to take force. but israel's cabinet is still due to vote on the deal — after delaying it — accusing hamas of �*backtracking the group says it remains committed. live at hostage square in tel aviv where the loved ones of those held in gaza wait nervously to see if they will be heading home. in other news, sir keir starmer arrives in kyiv to sign a

qatar $9 million, canada 8.6 million, germany 8.5 million. how were you able to track this money and how easy was it come up with these numbers? guest: it feels painfully hard. think tanks are not required to disclose their funding and when found this more than a third of them disclose tock about their funding we call them dark money think tanks. but most of those who disclose we get sort of a partial transparency this they might release the numbers of funders but no dollar amount or release some dollar amounts but you don't relevance know how much funding is coming in. but we had it scour their websites annual reports being the financial documents where we could track it we did. you can see system of the sources for every donation you see the source where we got the information but it was really hard to do and this process took almost a year to put together. one of the goals is we look or virus it not tack a year or something it found them and just go to or website and if they have a suspicion of somebody with a conflict of interest income g

tell us how qatar and egypt have been involved in these negotiations as intermediaries? well, they are both _ intermediaries? , well, they are both very _ intermediaries? , well, they are both very important - are both very important intermediaries. egypt is a neighbouring country that borders with bowel —— that borders with bowel —— that borders with bowel —— that borders with gaza and qatar is a state that is embedded in their constitutions to have mediation as a core part of its foreign policy and its security and so engaging as intermediaries in one of the most important conflicts or a war is, globally, really showcases the soft power and importance of both players in the region and, you know, from the region and, you know, from the qatari perspective, they have been involved in mediating after the afghanistan war and even the ukraine war and, but really, i 1535

what role did qatar play and what will qatar's role be like in the future? as i mentioned earlier, at the end of the day, it all goes back to the parties of the agreement. we in qatar and our partners and the arab republic of egypt. at the end of the day, we are mediators. we are trying to bring viewpoints closer together and bridge any gaps between the two sides. of course, the success of the agreement depends on a number of factors, and there are a number of variables that are happening around this. i cannot go into the details. however, as i stated earlier in the past few days, let's go from the qatari prime minister for president joe biden on this hostage deal that will end the fighting in gaza. >> he has at long last, i can announce a cease fire on a hostage deal has been reached between israel and hamas for more than 15 months of conflict that began with hezbollah's brutal massacre on october the 7th. more than 15 months of terror for the hostages, their families, the israeli people, more than 15 months of suffering by the innocent people of gaza fight

cnn's becky anderson is in doha, qatar. and, bianna, you spent most of the day today at hostage square in tel aviv. what's the reaction there yeah, jake, for most of these families, especially those that would be included in the first phase, the 33 hostages that would be released over the course of six weeks. >> sunday cannot come soon enough. >> i have to say the mood at hostage square was a bit subdued. >> it definitely was not celebratory. there were people reflecting upon, yes, good news that hostages would come home, but nobody called this a perfect deal. and there's a lot of concern about the remaining hostages that would only be released in phase two and then phase three. i spoke with a woman who was there in hostage square, and here's how she described the mood. >> but i think, you know, it's not a celebratory mood because everyone knows it's not a perfect deal. >> but i think every single hostage that didn't come back, it's as if we can save the whole humanity. so on the one hand, there's relief and hope that some

steve witkoff that when speaking to him when i was in qatar, uh, urged him to, uh, be physically in qatar because the commitment and guarantees that the incoming president gave to the commitments of the united states, uh, to get us to where we are, were essential. so i think everyone stepped up, uh, including the qatar's, egypt, and everyone involved. but again, it is a bit bittersweet. as for the first phase, my son is not on that list as well as five other u.s. citizens. and i think that the united states still has a commitment to us to get us united with my son. so he is not on the u.s. citizen. >> forgive me. so he is not on the list in this first phase. and this current deal exactly why we wish to speed up as much as possible to the second phase that hopefully all the other hostages can be released. and as a dual citizen, your son was an american and an israeli still is and still is. what? what is your message to the incoming trump administration about? i spoke to another family member of a of a hostage yesterday who was very, very clear in saying that he is concerned that after this

mediators in qatar say the major obstacles have been overcome.talking about the prospects for that ceasefire and also injecting caution because after so many false dawns in the past few minutes, treasury minister tulip siddiq it is good to be cautious. in the past few minutes, treasury minister tulip siddiq resigns, after growing pressure over an anti—corruption investigation in bangladesh. trump's pick for defence secretary — pete hegseth — vows to restore a "warrior ethos" to the military — but is grilled by senators over his views on woman in combat. we can no longer count on reputational deterrence, we need real deterrence. for thank as she visits patients at the staff of the hospital that treated her. negotiations to agree a ceasefire in gaza

dennis, we are told that qatar is going to announce this deal. it is as we was described, and it's based in large part on what president biden proposed last may and what was almost agreed to in july when the hamas negotiator was assassinated and it, you know, fell apart since then and we've lost a lot of hostages in the intervening time as well. one just last week. so 33, not 34 are going to be released and it will be triggered once there is an announcement and the israeli cabinet approves it and the security cabinet first, and then there is going to be a 48 day, a 48 hour period before the hostages actually start coming out. but your your takeaway from all of this and how it potentially it's the middle east. we all know the setbacks but potentially it could reshape the region. >> well i think we need to put it in a context. and i would say there's two elements to it. one is israeli military achievements, obviously within gaza, which have come at a very high price. but israeli military achievements have changed the balance of power in the region.

he gave us the latest details on the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in qatar.xactly what's happening behind closed doors there in qatar, in doha. but we are receiving positive signals, it seems like, from all parties, as you mentioned, the phone call between president biden and prime minister benjamin netanyahu last night is being seen as a positive development. the israeli intelligence chiefs stayed in qatar over the weekend to continue the negotiations there. again, that was being seen as a positive development. and we heard last night that prime minister benjamin netanyahu was meeting with some of his cabinet colleagues, ministers who are opposed to a deal, who want the war to continue and want to, in fact, resettle gaza. we understand that he was trying to persuade them not to resign from the government. so it seems like he's doing the work politically inside israel in order to pave the way for a deal. but we don't know exactly when it might come. obviously prime minister. sorry. president biden's term finishes in a week. and there's behind all of this, thi

he gave us the latest details on the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in qatar.ng positive signals. it seems like from all parties. as you mentioned the phone between president biden and benjamin netanyahu last night has been seen as a positive development. there is reallyjust —— intelligence chiefs stayed in qatar over the weekend to continue the negotiations and again that was seen as a positive development. and we heard last night that prime minister benjamin netanyahu was meeting with some of his cabinet colleagues, ministers who are opposed to deal and who want war to continue want to resettle gaza, we understand he was trying to persuade them not to resign from the government. it seems like he is doing the work politically inside israel in order to pave the way for a deal but we don�*t know exactly when it might come. obviously president biden�*s term finishes in a week and behind all of this there is this threat from incoming president trump that if some sort of a deal is not reached before he takes office then all hell will be unleashed so the momentum do

the timing was announced by mediators in qatar, who've played a key role in the talks.onth, and follows a strike on the city on new year's day. tiktok says it will "go dark" in america on sunday unless the government acts to stop a legal ban coming into effect. on friday, the supreme court upheld legislation banning the video—sharing app unless its chinese owners sell it to an american company. donald trump has indicated he wants to find a way to keep it available. hello, i'm samantha simmonds let's get more from the middle east, where the ceasefire in gaza is due to begin within 2a hours. mediators in qatar have announced it will take effect from 8.30am sunday israel/gaza time - that's 0630 gmt. after hours of discussion, the israeli cabinet gave final approval to the ceasefire and hostage release

steve witkoff and urge him to be present physically in qatar where having mr.ve witkoff give a commitment of the incoming trump administration, all the things being negotiated, has been a critical. they definitely stepped up and we have to be thankful this is happening. unfortunately, only 33 are coming out, meaning there are still 65 families that are waiting for their loved ones to come down including my family and four other u.s. families as well. we just need to ask the president and his team, the also met mr. michael waltz a few weeks ago, and we saw his commitment, the incoming special president -- and we are positive they will get does to the finish line. there is a 42 day gap between phase one and phase two, the incoming administration trying to shorten that period of time because of there is one thing that is predictable in the middle east is that it is unpredictable. getting hopefully things done as quickly as possible. >> martha: we hope that for you. this is so painful, i cannot imagine. a look at this beautiful picture of your family and your son a

and turkey and qatar don't want this war to go on.tween pressure on those two sides, you got a deal. geoff: david makovsky, there was a temporary cease-fire that was in place in november of 2023 that fell apart after a week. it fell apart on the eighth day. what's different about this agreement or what's different about the climate that might suggest the cease-fire deal might be more enduring? >> like you said, that was the last big point was november, when 105 hostages were released for a few days of cease-fire. this is a much more ambitious effort in terms of not just a few days, but at least 42. and we hope it's extended. your heart goes out to the families of these hostages who are being reunited and also to the people of gaza who are going to get relief. i agree with hussein ibish that there's been a convergence of factors here. i mean, i agree with president biden when he said it happened because of the extreme pressure on hamas that it's been under, and nick schifrin and his setup piece about that, losing hezbollah they were fi

the limitation of the agreement would be guaranteed by qatar, egypt and the us. they have been leading the negotiations. the negotiations over the second phase, as we were saying, would begin by the 16th day of phase one are expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, including israeli male soldiers, and a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of israeli soldiers. that is going to be another sticking point, because israel on the ground. as situation on the ground. as part of the ceasefire deal, humanitarian aid would be flooded in. another line coming through. the limitation of the agreement would be guaranteed by qatar, egypt and the us. they have been leading the negotiations. the negotiations over the second phase, as we were saying, would begin by the 16th day of phase one are expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, including israeli male soldiers, and a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of israeli soldiers. that is going to be another sticking point, because israel says it will not permanently withdraw from g

the timing was announced by mediators in qatar, who've played a key role in the talks.iktok says it will "go dark" in america on sunday unless the government acts to stop a legal ban coming into effect. let's get more from the middle east, where the ceasefire in gaza is due to begin in less than 2a hours. mediators in qatar have announced it will take effect from 8.30am sunday israel/gaza time - that's 0630 gmt. jon donnison reports from jerusalem. a new dawn gaza and for the homeless and the hungry, finally some hope. we homeless and the hungry, finally some hope. we hope, by the name _ finally some hope. we hope, by the name of _ finally some hope. we hope, by the name of god, _ finally some hope. we hope, by the name of god, that - finally some hope. we hope, by the name of god, that today - finally some hope. we hope, by the name of god, that today is. the name of god, that today is the name of god, that today is the last day of war. we hope there will not be any violations of the ceasefire. the people are tired, we are tired, from displacement, from illnesses, from

his presidency, president elect donald trump taking credit as well, and was given credit by those in qatar and in egypt who helped negotiate this. they gave credit to both the biden administration and the incoming trump administration. >> yeah, it's been a tumultuous period the last four years in foreign policy from afghanistan to ukraine, relations with china, and of course, the crisis here in the middle east. certainly his crowning achievement, i think, on his tenure in terms of foreign policy, the guns are expected to fall silent on the 19th of the month this sunday. and some of those hostages will start to be released back to their loved ones and hopefully an enduring peace process will settle in. that is a legacy worth having. david. >> ian pannell our chief foreign correspondent ian, my thanks to you as always. our coverage continues on abc news live. abc news.com. we're going to return you to regular programing. i'll see you tomorrow night for world news tonight. good night. >> this has been a special report from abc news. >> always live. abc seven news starts right now. >> red flag

there was a trump effect also, i think, on qatar and egypt. they want to please president trump, and that means they wanted to show how they could do things that would benefit or be responsive to what it is he wants. >> yeah. >> let me i'm going to let you continue. >> but we have some of the reporting on what you're saying. >> so i want to kind of match it up for viewers. >> again, this is a major truce today. >> and so the times says what you say, ambassador, that this was broadly similar to a three phase framework publicized by president biden in may with the six week ceasefire. they've reviewed even a copy of the agreement. as this was all unfolding today. the same report notes that donald trump's threats that all hell would break loose if no deal was reached before his inauguration might have helped motivate hamas's leadership. and i want to play a little bit more from the president today to the ambassador's point. >> i also note this deal was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented for the most

qatar will spare no effort to help the families and the gaza strip and doing everything necessary toeviate the suffering of the gaza strip. since october 8, we in the state of the tar say no effort with the constant -- under the constant watchful eye. we worked day and night to reach this moment and since our remediation efforts succeed up last november to guarantee release of 109 hostages in return for a number of palestinian prisoners. we have been working continuously in order to prevent bloodshed and put an end to the war machine for restore hope for our region and a prosperous future that will allow our people to dream of a better future for 411 days, meetings, context with our partners and both sides of the conflict until we reach this long-awaited moment today. however, today begins a responsibility for both sides will be supported by international community and the mediators in order to achieve complete success. at this is what we will be focusing on in the coming days d weeks. i would like to express thanks to all of our partners in the region and internationally for their s

we appreciate and thank the efforts of all international mediators — united states, qatar and egypt —re hamas stands in accordance with the agreement. idf troops will continue to be deployed and operate and to do everything, everything to protect the citizens of israel. our mission is not over until every single hostage comes home. as pa rt of as part of the agreement, 200 palestinian prisoners have been released from israeli jails. we arejust released from israeli jails. we are just seeing from egyptian media that 70 of those freed palestinian prisoners have arrived in egypt. a large numbers of the others are going to the west bank and our correspondentjohn donnison is in ramallah. describe the scenes, john.— in ramallah. describe the scenes, john. ., , scenes, john. you can see the three prison — scenes, john. you can see the three prison bosses _ scenes, john. you can see the three prison bosses behind i scenes, john. you can see the i three prison bosses behind me. those arrived about 20 minutes ago and pretty chaotic scenes as the prisoners got off. a very large crowd and we saw

mediators in qatar say, the major obstacles have been overcome.jerusalem and washington. donald trump�*s pick for defence secretary faces senate confirmation a hearing. live pictures from the proceedings when he answers some of those questions, whether he is fit to lead the military. we will carry that live. here, the prisons watchdog warns that drones used to fly weapons into high—security jails, are a threat to national security. and the princess of wales meets patients at the royal marsden hospital — as she thanks staff, who cared for her, during cancer treatment.

the mediator qatar says the major obstacles have been overcome.ceasefire. point before, to reaching a ceasefire. us congress receives a report stating donald trump's re—election prevented him from being convicted of trying to overthrow the 2020 result. and as strong winds are forecast to return in los angeles, nine people are charged in connection with looting. hello, i'm lucy hockings, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. it has taken months, but all the signs are that we are now closer than ever to seeing a ceasefire in the gaza war, which would see an exchange of israeli hostages and palestinian prisoners. the deal is highly complex, and is not yet fully agreed. it's being brokered by the government of qatar, and just a short while ago, a spokesman for the foreign ministry gave this update. this war should have been

he is a professor of international relations at qatar university.of the world will have been on the release of the israeli soldiers today. what effect do you think hamas �*s stadium but handover will have? obviously, hamas was taking 0bviously, hamas was taking advantage of the day. in other words, hamas is trying to say that everyone is talking about, but we are here, we have seen today the military men in uniform, they look good. they were doing a lot of messaging, the first message was being sent to the israelis themselves, that the government argument that hamas was on the brink of defeat is totally baseless, given the variety and number of people showing up for the handover of the captives. so this is a very important message because they want the israeli public to realise that hamas if it is impossible and the only way forward is by putting out of pressure on the israeli government to continue the ceasefire. but israeli government to continue the ceasefire.— the ceasefire. but how successfully _ the ceasefire. but how successfully do - the cea

president biden sent mcgirk out to qatar, he's been camped out in qatar, day in, day out, trying to tighten up these details and get this done. we have coordinated with the incoming administration to present a united message to all the party which is says it is in the american national security interest, regardless of party, regardless of outgoing or incoming administration, to get this deal done as fast as possible. and now we think those details are on the brink of being fully hammered out and the parties are right on the cusp of being able to close this deal. whether or not we go from where we are now to actually closing it, the hours and days ahead will tell. but i believe it is there for the taking and we'll do everything we can to push it across the line. reporter: historians one day will right the -- write the history of the biden foreign policy. probably summarizing it in two or three sentences. what would you say for these two or three sentences? mr. sullivan: we made america stronger, we made our enemies weak eric and we kept out of war. reporter: i didn't hear you mention afghani

negotiators are talking in qatar with hopes of a ceasefire deal in gaza within reach.d include the gradual release of israeli hostages in exchange for palestinian prisoners. there have been growing calls to release the director of a northern gaza hospital, who the israeli army detained in a raid last month. he was arrested as the israeli military force to patient and medical staff to leave the hospital in northern gaza. israel says it suspected him of holding a rank in hamas and its been investigated by israeli security forces. i've been asking his son if he knew how his father was and what conditions he was facing imprisonment. conditions he was facing imrisonment. ~ . . ., ., imprisonment. according to the -risoner imprisonment. according to the prisoner who — imprisonment. according to the prisoner who was _ imprisonment. according to the prisoner who was there, - imprisonment. according to the prisoner who was there, he - imprisonment. according to the | prisoner who was there, he went out from the jail, he is not good. apparently that is fine. but he is suffering

paid for it on the payroll of qatar. would you mind going back and repeating what you said, in case people did not hear the involvement of your law firm and precisely what you were doing for the government of qatar? >> yes, senator, i was very proud of that work. it was anti-human trafficking in advance of the world cup. and human trafficking has been something that's been very important to me my entire career, especially when i was attorney general. >> and you also made it clear that you had a number of practitioners within the firm working on it. so this narrative that you were getting $115,000 a month from qatar is correct or not? >> not correct. >> okay. thank you. i, i want to talk a little bit about well, first off i want to go back to you should be happy that so many comments have been directed towards kash patel, whose confirmation i am supporting. in fact, i'm meeting with him today because that means they're out of stuff for you. so if it comes up again, you will once again know that you've got a great reputati

israel wants them deported to a third country, would that be qatar, or egypt?ome issues to be ironed out but it appears the main obstacle is holding up the main obstacle is holding up the agreement at the last minute have been resolved and the hope is it will go into place as early as sunday and the first hostages will be released then.— the first hostages will be released then. �* ., ., released then. another thing to ask ou released then. another thing to ask you about. _ released then. another thing to ask you about, we _ released then. another thing to ask you about, we are - released then. another thing to ask you about, we are talking i ask you about, we are talking about the release of palestinians held injails and of hostages held by hamas since those attacks. we are also talking about aid and aid distribution as well. because gaza has been starved of essential supplies now for months on end. we have heard from the who just now saying they think it will be possible to ramp up aid to 600 trucks per day to gaza if new routes and crossings are opened. yes,

negotiated with qatar and equip's help. and in recent days, with president-elect donald trump's mideast envoy. president biden said today, they all used one voice. in israel tonight, families of hostages gathering in tel aviv. our correspondent was right there. they hope their loved ones will come home alive. and the celebrations and the relief on the streets of gaza tonight, hoping much-needed help for civilians will now make it in. again, americans are among the hostages, and or foreign correspondentfioufi burridge is in tel aviv. tom? >> reporter: yeah, david, we were here when families got the news that finally, after more than 460 days, there was a deal. take a look behind me. this is a makeshift tunnel. the type of tunnel that the hostages have been held in. these faces, a daily reminder of the missing. but families don't know tonight whether or not their loved ones are dead or alive, and that includes americans. a sense of relief in the stwreets of tel aviv and gaza tonight. after israel and hamas agree to a cease-fi

i want to -- i met today with the prime minister of qatar, sheikh mohammed thani. i want to thank him for his incredible efforts as well as all the other mediators, egypt and of course the united states, the outgoing administration and the incoming administration. they were extremely extremely helpful. this is the key to opening the door. we still have so many, so many hostages in gaza in the dungeons of gaza going through barbaric torture. one of them is the grandfather of daniel lefschitz right here, daniel, stand up. daniel is a 36-year-old israeli, a wonderful guy. the family comes from kibbutz near oz. it's a kibbutz which was devastated, burned, and abducted and raided by terrorists, and many hostages were taken hostage, including his grandfather and his grandmother. his grandmother, yochet, a heroine in and of herself, was freed. and she's unbelievably strong and impressive. his father, grandfather oded, who's 84 years old, has been there in captivity. he's in the list for the first round. oed is a huge peace activist. oed would volunteer for palestinians in

some will go from rafah crossing into egypt and then go into turkey and qatar.age from some of the... there is progress and hundreds and thousands of palestinians are able to go to the north. right now... the road where people are supposed to work to the north and we had some gunfire in the last hour or so, warning some gunfire in the last hour orso, warning fire, but some gunfire in the last hour or so, warning fire, but it seems the egyptian and qatari mediators have been in constant negotiations with israeli and hamas and have achieved something relating to the issue. israelis have asked the mediators for proof of life from hamas for the civilian hostages that israel is demanding her release and it seems that hamas has given the egyptian proof of life for the hostages. what makes the egyptian hopeful that the israelis will allow hundreds of thousands of people to return back to the north. fin thousands of people to return back to the north.— back to the north. on that because — back to the north. on that because as _ back to the north. on that because as you _

they're there already, and they're going to be deported to countries including qatar and turkey. there's about 100 or so who've been brought here today, they will be allowed to return to their families, their homes in the west bank. many of them have been in prison for years. and it's really a big moment for palestinians here. the prisoner issue is a massive one. most families in the west bank will have had a family member or a friend who's been held in israeli prison at some point. and these images today, it has to be said, hamas will make hay from them because they'll say, look, we are the force that is getting our prisoners out. reporting from ramallah in the occupied west bank. as we've mentioned, 70 palestinian prisoners, including some of the most serious offenders have been deported. they've now arrived in egypt before travelling on to other neighbouring countries. we can go to cairo now and speak to our gaza correspondent, rushdi abualouf. i want to ask you about something the red cross has released according to reuters in the last few minutes. they said that the red cros

i spoke to the emir of qatar today. i look forward to speaking with president sisi soon.we're pressing hard to close this. the deal we have a structure would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to israel and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the palestinians who have suffered terribly in this war that hamas started. they've been through hell. so many innocent people have been killed. so many communities have been destroyed. the palestinian people deserve peace and the right to determine their own futures. israel deserves peace and real security. and the hostages and their families deserve to be reunited. and so we're working urgently to close this deal. and as we deal with media challenges, in my view, we have to look to the future. i urge the next administration to carry forward two issues that have been central to my presidency, and which shaped the future of my view on artificial intelligence. we are in the lead, and we must stay in the lead. we must not. offshore artificial intelligence, as he once did with computer chips an

uh and then i was really grateful to meet um with ambassador altan of qatar. indeed, where they were making substantial purchases of south carolina made being boeing 7 87-10. and so my constituents um can see the benefit of foreign direct investment and foreign sales of exports, imports. the port of charleston has recently been dredged to 52 ft for super panamax container ships. and so we, we can see the benefit of my constituents substantially. not all can see the benefit of a strong america and a dynamic america and the mutual benefit of trade around the world. >> i just got back from israel and it was just as this cease fire in lebanon was being negotiated and there was, there were there's mixed feelings in israel about the cease fire for all kinds of reasons. there was a general understanding that that the government was under pressure from the biden administration to wind the conflict to an end. there was concern that the people of the north, the israelis who have been displaced from the north are not going to be secure when they going back to their homes

turkey and qatar don't want this a permanent war. on hamas to push them in that direction and in israel there is a tremendous pressure from the public to get hostages out and from the military, to end the war which has become militarily pointless. they are just bleeding soldiers. they lost ten soldiers last week, thatis lost ten soldiers last week, that is quite a lot for the israeli military. d0 that is quite a lot for the israeli military.— that is quite a lot for the israeli military. do you think the imminent _ israeli military. do you think the imminent change - israeli military. do you think the imminent change in - israeli military. do you think the imminent change in the | israeli military. do you think. the imminent change in the us administration had anything to do with this latest push? the threats from _ do with this latest push? tie: threats from donald do with this latest push? tue: threats from donald trump, do with this latest push? tt2 threats from donald trump, no. they are empty bluster. he said he will unleash all

in the qatar prime minister thanked the incoming middle east's envoy. so do donald trump and his team deserve credit for this? karine: look, everybody will want some credit. get that. that's how this goes when something good happens. and it's not unusual at all. and you said it in your question to me, there was a framework put forward and it was put forward by the president back in may, may 31 of last year. and it was endorsed by the world. and you see a president that's done everything that he can. this is someone that has foreign policy experience, decades of foreign policy experience. he understands what it means to bring people together. he understands what it means to get a deal done. he also said in his remarks how difficult it was to negotiate. negotiating is incredibly hard. and this wasn't easy but we got it done. . this is someone who speaks from experience and this is, again, not an easy thing to get done. but as we have said and i have said multiple time, i think jake sullivan said this recently when he was here on monday, we were able to wo

an israeli delegation is currently in qatar for talks with mediators on a possible ceasefire.her stories making news. after 23 years — roadworks on the aa65 head of the valley road in south wales are finally finishing. the 28—mile, £2 billion upgrade was designed to bring prosperity to one of the uk's most deprived areas. it's been one of the uk's most expensive and complex road upgrade projects this century. the government says an overhaul of the nhs app will make it easier for patients needing non—urgent care in england, to decide where they are treated. it's part of a plan to tackle waiting lists. patients will be able to choose from a range of providers — including within the private sector — as well as book tests and appointments. ru paul's drag race uk star james lee williams — better known as drag queen the vivienne — has died aged 32. publicist simonjones said the performer, who died over the weekend, was "an incredibly loved, warm—hearted and amazing person". drag race judge michelle visage said she is �*utterly heartbroken�* at the news. you're live with bbc news. in