hello. i am caitriona perry. you are very welcome. it's a significant moment in the nearly—two—month—long israel—gaza war as a temporary four—day humanitarian ceasefire to release hostages has begun. eight of the 2a hostages have arrived at israel's schneider children's medical center. they are expected to be reunited with their families after they undergo a medical and emotional assessment. earlier, israel said the hostages released by hamas in gaza are all in good health following initial checks at an israeli airbase. let's recap some of what's happened in the last 2a hours. in exchange for the hostages�* freedom, 39 palestinian prisoners have also been released. the detainees — 2a women and 15 teenage boys — were freed from israeli jails to the west bank. 10 thai hostages and one filipino have also been released from gaza in a separate agreement

mediated by qatar and egypt — they're being taken to a medical centre south of tel aviv. the un says 137 trucks of goods entered gaza on friday carrying humanitarian aid. this makes it the biggest humanitarian convoy received since the war�*s start on october 7. israeli media says hamas has named 13 hostages for release on saturday. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel is working to get more hostages home. we have now completed the return of our first abducted children, their mothers, additional women. children, their mothers, additionalwomen. but children, their mothers, additional women. but i stress to you, the families, and you, citizens of israel, we are committed to returning all our people abducted. this is one of the goals of the war and we are committed to achieving all of the goals of the war. the us played a major part in securing the ceasefire deal and president biden says they won't stop until all the hostages are home. today has been the product of a lot of hard work and weeks of personal engagement. from the moment hamas kidnapped these people, i, along with my team,

have worked around the clock to secure the release. we saw the first results of this effort with the release of two american hostages in late october, followed by the release of two israeli hostages. i've consistently pressed for a pause in the fighting for two reasons — to accelerate and expand humanitarian assistance going into gaza, and two, to facilitate the release of hostages. our correspondent tom bateman has more on the hostage release and what's expected next. it was in a hospital close to tel aviv that eight of the israeli hostages were taken. they were the four children released today and for women. three mothers and one grandmother. the director of that hospital said they were in good physical condition. but that they were carrying out further medical and emotional checks on them. we have also had the other is really hostages going to other hospitals and the thai nationals and the one filipino

also release, being checked as well. that is the israeli side. as far as the palestinian side was concerned, 39 palestinians released from israeli custody. they were taken, most of them, to the occupied west bank, and reunited with their families, and some take into their homes in occupied eastjerusalem. so far as the framework of the deal has gone on 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, qatar. but the conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging. think about the weeks of war that led up to this, the unprecedented nature of the fighting that we have seen, and the brutality of the events that sparked all of this. so there remains a risk that things can still go wrong.

having said that, we now go into day two with the israelis saying that they have been handed a list via qatar from hamas of the next batch of hostages to be released, so the hopes will be that this can all be repeated once again on saturday. some families of the freed hostages are relieved to have their loved ones headed home, but they say their thoughts are with those who are still beind held. translation: i'm happy that i have received _ translation: i'm happy that i have received my _ translation: i'm happy that i have received my family - translation: i'm happy that i have received my family back. | have received my family back. i'm allowed to build joy and it is ok to shed a tear. that is a human thing. but i'm not celebrating. i will not celebrate until the last of the hostages returns. —— allowed to feeljoy. the bbc�*s clive myrie reports on the loved ones of hundreds more hostages seized by hamas awaiting their release. in tel aviv, tonight, on the big screen, a film with a happy ending. 13 israeli hostages no longer

at the mercy of hamas. now reunited with families, whose lives have been on hold, until their loved ones were freed. unsure if their relatives were alive or dead. yafa adar, at 85, is the oldest of the hostages released today. a mother of three and grandmother of eight. members of three families on kibbutz nir oz are now free. it is where many of the residents were either killed or kidnapped. including children like ohad munder, described as a gifted child abducted along with his mother keren and his grandmother ruth. ohad celebrated his ninth birthday whilst still a hostage. his friends made him

video messages. happy birthday. the youngest to be released are aviv and raz asher, aged just two and four, and their mother doron. they were visiting relatives who lived on the kibbutz. we told their story three weeks ago. their father yoni showed us a video of them being taken to gaza by their captives. but a reminder tonight that the 13 israelis whose lives can now begin again had to leave more than 200 others behind. candles and prayers for those lives still on hold, the happiness of a whole nation tempered by continuing fear. now to the 39 palestinian prisoners released. they were accused of a range of offences, from throwing stones to attempted murder. they were released at a checkpoint in the occupied west bank and greeted by a crowd waving flags. the group will soon be allowed to return home, according to israel's prison service. the detainees were chosen from a list of 300 women

and minors compiled by israel. the vast majority are being held on remand while awaiting trial. the bbc�*s lucy williamson was on the ground throughout the day amid the celebration and reaction in the streets. the israeli army has already tried to push back the crowd of young palestinian men gathered here at the beitunia checkpoint. this is where the palestinian prisoners are due to be released in a little while and meet with their families. but as you can see, this doesn't just affect 39 families here in the palestinian territories but actually, also a lot of other people besides — it is a much bigger political issue. and the atmosphere today is pretty tense already. we have had tear gas and rubber bullets fired by the israeli army towards the crowd, stones thrown back, tear gas canisters thrown back towards the troops. the crowd has been growing here at the checkpoint as four o'clock has come and gone. this is where the palestinian prisoners are due to be released and meet their

families but you can see, it is notjust families that have gathered here, there is an awful lot of young palestinian men and children, some of them are saying how important this was for palestinians generally. we have just had more tear gas fired in this direction. there is a real rising sense of frustration here, people gathered around the red cross car, demanding to know where the prisoners are. there is a real sense of rising impatience here at the beitunia checkpoint. minutes later, another vehicle surrounded, this time injoy. inside, 39 prisoners, women and teenagers. this is a small victory for palestinians, in a war that has already exacted a very heavy price. to israel, the prisoners being released tonight are a "security threat". to those gathered here to receive them, they are victims of israel's occupation — and their release is a symbol.

earlier, i spoke to mara kronenfeld, the executive director of the us national committee for the un reliefs and works agency for palestinian refugees. thank you forjoining us, mara kronenfield. what sort of conditions are your colleagues in gaza reporting? we are at nearly 2a hours on from the ceasefire — does it seem to be holding? we are very happy of course and welcome news of the ceasefire, although it is of course limited, as well as the release of hostages and visitors. this, we really are, though, calling for a much longer, in fact a permanent humanitarian ceasefire, because the conditions have been so difficult and in fact we have 2.2 million people in gaza living under deplorable inhumane conditions. and it is really a human tragedy at a level, at an extreme level.

we know that, as your colleague said, 137 trucks of humanitarian aid had got in today, which is far more than the average of some 35—45 trucks that can get in, that have been able to get in since october 21. this is extremely helpful, given the lack of water, food, medicines, othersupplies across the gaza strip, but pre this conflict, there were 500 trucks daily. so there will still be many in need, although, of course, we welcome this expanded aid. and mara, how much of that aid has made its way to your own organisation, to unra, for giving out to the people there? all of the trucks that come in through rafah, whether they come in from the world health organization,

the world food programme or elsewhere, they are met by unrwa at the inside of rafah, so unrwa is the organisation, the primary logistics partner that is able to take those goods and disperse them to what is nowi million displaced palestine refugees and palestinians more broadly across the gaza strip. and many of these million people are staying in completely overcrowded conditions. there is one school, a school that should have only been able to have 2000 individuals, now holds 39,000 people stop and we are talking about one shower for every 4000 5000 people, a bathroom may be for 5000, 6000 people. on that note of displaced people, we're hearing that israel has told those in gaza not to try to return to their homes in the north while this ceasefire is under way. are your colleagues on the ground reporting that

many are trying to do that? i don't have any information about that. i do know however that one of the aspects of the ceasefire, and of course we hope it is extended into a permanent one, is that unrwa is able to get needed resources to those in the north who had been suffering so much. we hope our ability to get aid there will increase, i have to say on a personal note, our colleague who works at unrwa usa, hejust lost his brother and his brother's wife and theirfour children who are in the north in gaza city. so there were air strikes up untiljust a couple of, at least up until a couple of hours before this ceasefire took hold, tragically.

and indeed we have spoken to hani on this programme, so please do pass on our condolences. how hopeful are you that this ceasefire might be extended beyond these initial four days? i am — all i can say is we hope desperately. people cannot continue to live under these conditions. these are mothers and fathers and doctors, pharmacists, teachers who, some of them have reported actually today that they have been wearing the same clothes for 45 days straight. they have to stand in line to use the restroom, to wash themselves, and they are fearful even in the south, fearful, even within unrwa installations, fearful of being killed by our strikes. we have had 69 unrwa buildings that have been impacted by this, 23 have been directly, these are clear violations of international humanitarian law, and the truth is one —— no—one is safe in gaza right now. the ceasefire must be extended, it has to be permanent. mara, we have heard of some individuals trapped in the al—shifa hospital still, some medics and patients there without water and electricity, they are reporting they have no medical supplies.

will there be any effort or can there be any effort to rescue those people during this time? i am hopeful that with this ceasefire, we are hopeful we can get more aid, as i mentioned, to the north of the strip. i know my colleagues will be doing everything they can to get aid in the northern part of the strip, where al—shifa hospital is. ok, mara kronenfeld of unrwa usa, thank you forjoining us. some gazans are 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. this image is from may. now, it's a neighbourhood 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 is, again, before the war. so, firstly, if we look at this corner of the image, you can see this residential block here, really urbanised. you can see this large tower block. i'm going to show you what this looks like after — this is, again, taken from the latest satellite imagery from yesterday. all of that brought down to rubble. before, you can see those green patches of area, the tower block that's there. and after. i'm actually going to show you another detail in this image. so, if you look up here, this is a large empty courtyard. you can see there from the satellite image in may. and this is what it looks like after.

now, i'm going to show you what this looks like, a bit more zoomed in, just to show you. so, this is what that area looks like. this is an image. this is an image, is a symbol on the israeli flag, the star of david, and it's carved into the ground. and we've actually confirmed this with footage that the idf have released on 17 november using machinery. and they've made these lines that we saw, the symbol i've just showed you, and we've geolocated this to be the exact same spot on that satellite image. and the intense bombardment and israeli advance has had a massive impact on gazan civilians. over the past few weeks, we've seen videos of people fleeing the north with possessions in hand — women, men, children fleeing the north. and we have some idea of how many people have been displaced. so, this is data taken from the un of how many people have been displaced during the war. so, on 8 october, we know that about 123,000 people were being displaced.

and on 16 october, that number increased to a million. and the latest data we have is from 21 november, so that is 1.7 million people. that's just over three quarters of the whole of gaza's population. earlier, i spoke with itay milner, spokesperson and consul for media affairs at the israeli consulate in new york about the deal. thank you forjoining us. what can you tell us about the condition of the hostages who have been released today? what we know so far is that some of them were taken to hospitals for treatment because they did have some medical issues, especially the older ones, and some of them were released home already. in general, i can say that there was severe injuries or severe medical conditions. it seems generally all right. some of them do need treatment. the

situation was _ them do need treatment. the situation was described by a family member of some of the hostages that today was a breath of fresh air, that there was hope in the air. could this be the start of the endgame, do you think?— you think? this is certainly a red liuht you think? this is certainly a red light in _ you think? this is certainly a red light in a _ you think? this is certainly a red light in a very, _ you think? this is certainly a red light in a very, very - you think? this is certainly a red light in a very, very darkj red light in a very, very dark tony mcavoy ray of light. but it's far from being the end of the start of the end. this operation has two objectives. one is to bring all of the hostages home and the second is to eliminate hamas. the first objective, we still have more than 200 hostages in gaza and there is no sign of release to them, even after this deal, and them, even after this deal, and the second is to eliminate hamas, that is an objective that will only be achieved when hamas is gone or at least has no capability to attack israel. so looking at this deal, then, it's obviously for four days. do you think there is any possibility it could be extended beyond that at this

time? fist extended beyond that at this time? �* , ,., �* , , time? at this point, it's very hard to say- _ time? at this point, it's very hard to say. hamas - time? at this point, it's very hard to say. hamas has - time? at this point, it's very hard to say. hamas has a . hard to say. hamas has a history of failing to deliver on truth and ceasefires. we had a situation like that in 2014. but you don't have to go this far. even today, they did not keep it totally and we can only wait and see if they will do it for the rest of the four days. after those four days, there is a possibility to extend it but i don't think it will happen for more than a day or two, maybe three. since we do have to resume the operation. find maybe three. since we do have to resume the operation. and on that, the issue _ to resume the operation. and on that, the issue of _ to resume the operation. and on that, the issue of the _ to resume the operation. and on that, the issue of the military . that, the issue of the military operation, israel has warned those in gaza not to try to return to the north, not to go to their homes during this seaside period and there are reports in fact that those who have tried have been fired upon by israeli soldiers. why not let those people try to salvage what is left of their homes and bury their dead? i

what is left of their homes and bury their dead?— bury their dead? i cannot confirm _ bury their dead? i cannot confirm those _ bury their dead? i cannot confirm those reports - bury their dead? i cannot | confirm those reports but bury their dead? i cannot - confirm those reports but what i can say is that right now, the northern part of gaza, gaza city, is a closed military compound. it has to be secured because we have lots of troops over there and we know that hamas is trying to encourage civilians to go to the north because they are looking for these kind of fractions. we are trying to prevent it, mostly not with our firearms, but we need to wait and see how that goes on. need to wait and see how that noes on. ., ., , goes on. the united nations sa s, goes on. the united nations says. though. _ goes on. the united nations says, though, that _ goes on. the united nations says, though, that three - says, though, that three quarters of the population of gaza has been displaced now, 1.7 million people or thereabouts. can you understand and they hear that the israeli military will not let them go to these areas that people have concerns that they may be kept out of those areas on a permanent basis?-

out of those areas on a permanent basis? this is by no means a permanent _ permanent basis? this is by no means a permanent situation. | permanent basis? this is by no i means a permanent situation. we have two objectives to this operation, like i mentioned, and we have no intention of keeping civilians from going back to their homes right after. it could take time. but there is one organisation to blame for all of that and it is hamas and the international community and the un wants to blame someone, they need to do it with hamas. if blame someone, they need to do it with hamas.— it with hamas. if we look, then, it with hamas. if we look, then. at _ it with hamas. if we look, then, at the _ it with hamas. if we look, then, at the al-shifa - it with hamas. if we look, . then, at the al-shifa medical then, at the al—shifa medical hospital also in the northern part of gaza there, the doctors there have said to our bbc arabic colleagues that there are about 200 patients and medics there that they have no water, no food, no electricity, no medical supplies. can there be any effort to try to rescue those people, to evacuate them? there are efforts all the time by the idf. there is a humanitarian corridor and there

is also aid from the idf to remove people who want to move and there's also permissions for people who to stay or cannot move, they are permitting them to stay and not only that, they are providing medical treatment. so, that's definitely something that the idf is on it.— definitely something that the idf is on it. these individuals are reporting _ idf is on it. these individuals are reporting they _ idf is on it. these individuals are reporting they don't - idf is on it. these individuals are reporting they don't have| are reporting they don't have that and, in fact, the idf destroyed their water connections, their electricity connections.— connections, their electricity connections. that's simply not true. connections. that's simply not true- that's — connections. that's simply not true. that's simply _ connections. that's simply not true. that's simply not - connections. that's simply not true. that's simply not true. i true. that's simply not true. we took some journalists too, i don't know if the bbc went there, but we took a lot of foreign journalists to the al—shifa hospital is a vacancy themselves and they could see thatis themselves and they could see that is not true. the themselves and they could see that is not true.— that is not true. the bbc did no there that is not true. the bbc did go there but _ that is not true. the bbc did go there but they _ that is not true. the bbc did go there but they were - that is not true. the bbc did go there but they were very | go there but they were very tightly, we were very tightly corralled by the idf and were not permitted to do anything independently other than that which the idf permitted my colleagues to view so there

hasn't been a fully independent verification of the situation there in al—shifa but we will have to take that up on another occasion because we're out of time for now, a time milner of the israeli consulate in new york, thank you forjoining us. —— itay milner. turning to other news. the associated press is reporting that derek chauvin, the former minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering george floyd, has been stabbed by another inmate in prison. ap says derek chauvin was seriously injured in the incident. the attack reportedly happened at a federal prison in arizona. ap is citing the bureau of prisons, saying an inmate was attacked on friday afternoon before being taken to hospital for treatment, but they did not name the inmate. the murder of george floyd led to mass protests around the world. we'll bring you more on that developing story when we get it. let's turn to some more important news around the world. the world food programme has warned that afghan families being forced to return from pakistan will struggle to feed themselves through the winter. thousands are rushing to the border as pakistan

mandates that all 1.7 million afghans living in the country illegally must leave. islamabad has so far not listened to calls from refugee agencies to reconsiders its deportation plans. pakistanjustified its decision, saying afghan nationals had been behind suicide attacks, smuggling and other crimes on pakistani territory. former paralympic champion oscar pistorius will be released from jail on parole, a prison review board has decided. in 2016, a south african court sentenced the now 37—year—old to more than 13 years behind bars for murdering his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. he's due to be freed january 5th, after serving half his sentence. using prosthetic legs, he become a world—renowned athlete known as the �*blade runner'. riots and street violence in dublin on thursday night prompted the biggest police response in irish history, according to the country's justice minister. the outbreak followed a knife attack in the city that injured

three children and a school care assistant. officers arrested 34 people. vehicles were set on fire and shops were looted. before we go, a look at mount etna in sicily, which is seeing some activity. bubbling lava is seen in this video, streaming down the europe's tallest volcano's snow—covered slopes. a flight alert has been issues for the area. —— a flight alert has been issued for the area. stay with us here on bbc news. i'm caitriona perry. to stay with us. —— do stay with us. hello again. many of you will have had a dry day of weather on friday with plenty of sunshine around. blue skies like these pretty commonplace across the country. however, it certainly was quite chilly, wasn't it? temperatures on thursday reached 15 degrees — well above average. but compared with that for some, temperatures were seven degrees lower on friday and actually quite a bit below average for the time of year. now, what followed from that sunny day is these clear skies which took us into the first part of the night. temperatures have been dropping like a stone and already are well below freezing in many areas underneath these clear skies.

the exception to that really cold theme is across northern and eastern scotland and the eastern side of england, where there's a bit of a breeze around and that mightjust keep the frost at bay. however, i think in the very coldest areas in the countryside, we could see temperatures as low as minus six. that's potentially even the case across our very coldest areas of southern england. so, a freezing cold start to the day on saturday but your weekend getting off to a sunny start as well and for most, that's the way the weather's going to stay all day — just blue skies and sunshine overhead with barely a cloud in the sky. the exceptions — again northern and eastern scotland, down the eastern side of england. there'lljust be a few showers which occasionally could graze some of our coastal areas but otherwise, it's dry and it's cold with temperatures typically between about five and seven degrees celsius. we are going to see some change in the weather picture as we head, though, into the second part of the weekend as this area of low pressure moves in off the atlantic. a cold and frosty start to the day. and as this cloud comes over the top of that really cold air near the surface, it's going to be one of those days

where temperatures are very slow to rise and actually, most of the day it will stay really, really cold. for scotland and a good part of eastern england, should stay dry with sunshine for most of the day but out west, you'll see some thicker cloud working in. a bit of damp weather for northern ireland, wales and western england and eventually, you might see temperatures climb to about 9—11 degrees — but really late in the day. the area of low pressure, then, pushes eastwards sunday night, bringing some rain. that clears off into the continent. as it does so, it will shove back our way some cold air that originates from europe and scandinavia. so, next week, it stays very cold. into that cold air, occasionally, there'll be some weather systems, probably mostly bringing outbreaks of rain, but i can't completely rule out a few flakes of snow as well.

all voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. on ukraine's southern border security is being tightened. conversation over radio not to keep its enemies out, but to keep its own men in. explosion

since the start of russia's invasion, it's been illegalfor men who can fight to leave, but thousands are trying... ..some helped by corrupt officials. we've been given exclusive access to the border forces in ukraine and moldova. we meet some of the men risking it all to leave... ..and those trying to stop them. we investigate how many are escaping and why they don't want to fight.