hello. live from london, this is bbc news. hamas claims the youngest is really hostage, ten—month—old kfir bibas, as well as his brother and mother, have died in an israeli air strike. strike. israel is investigating. hopes the truce between israel and hamas can be extended for a second time. talks continue in qatar. heavy fighting in the occupied west bank leaves several dead. israel says it killed two militant commanders. the palestinian health ministry says israel killed two micro—children. and nato foreign ministers discussed the ukraine war. the us insists there is no sense of fatigue in their support for ukraine. the answer here today at nato is clear and unwavering. we must and we will continue to support ukraine.

hello. welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. the armed wing of hamas says that the youngest israeli hostage in gaza, ten—month—old baby kfir bibas, as well as his brother ariel and mother shiri, were killed in an air strike on the gaza strip. the bbc is checking the claim, which it does not been able to verify. the group are among the highest profile civilian hostages yet to be freed. a special appeal had been issued for their freedom after they were not in their freedom after they were not in the group freed on tuesday. in a statement, the idf said hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the gaza strip. hamas must be held accountable. hamas�* actions continue to endanger

the hostages, which include nine children. they must immediately release our hostages. the bbc�*s diplomatic correspondent paul adams gave us an update. ten—month—old kfir, nine months old when he was snatched and now ten months old, has become in some ways, particularly in the last few days, the face of the missing hostages. hopes had been really high that in this current phase of the exchange of hostages for palestinian prisoners, that the bibas family, kfir, his brother bibas, would be released. hamas have issued a statement saying three members of the family had died as a result of an israeli air strike. they did not give any further details. we have heard that the israeli defence forces have been in touch with the

bibas family to inform them of this claim, and it is only a claim at this stage, and so this is going to cause enormous anxiety, because we are reaching the point at which all of the children, and there are still about eight or so children who have not been released, we are going to reach the point where all of the children will have been released as a result of this process that has now been going on for, this will be the sixth day, and if the bibas family are not on that list, and if this claim from hamas is confirmed, this claim from hamas is confirmed, this will be a devastating blow to the families, theirfriends, and frankly the country as a whole. we had heard reports from israel saying that hamas had handed the family, at least the mother and two micro children over to a separate group. we heard that yesterday.

there have been many claims of this kind that have circulated throughout the last several weeks. the response from israel has usually been to say that they either cannot confirm it or to remind the audience that this is an organisation proscribed as a terrorist organisation, an organisation that carried out the dreadful massacres in october the 7th, so there has been not much desire to put any credence behind any specific statement surrounding the fate of any of the hostages. in fact, there was one claim earlier that a hostage had been killed, which turned out not to be true. there will still be people hoping, praying, that the same applies to the bibas family. as i say, it is only a claim from hamas at the moment. we don't know which group was holding the family. there are

supposed to be a number of hostages still being held by palestinian islamic microjihad and other groups described as criminal groups in the gaza strip. it is thought hamas have been trying to account for everyone, in some places to make sure people were returned under its jurisdiction, if i can use that term, but as to where and how the bibas family... whether this claim is true, and where any of these events occurred, we simply do not know at this stage. paul adams reporting there. let's speak now to our security correspondent frank gardner. we are hearing a lot of positive noises about the possible extension of this truce, which is meant to run out at the end of today. how are the talks going, do you know?

so, that is depressing news for israel. the talks have been going pretty well, because both israel and hamas would like to see a temporary extension of the truce, because there are more hostages to come out. more than half those hostages seized on october the 7th are still in captivity in gaza. the problem is that hamas, which spearheaded those grisly raids on october the 7th, don't necessarily, or didn't have a handle on where they are being held, and as paul adams mentioned there, there is more than one militant group in gaza. there is palestinian islamichhad and others. so, hamas, which is doing the negotiation for gaza, as it were, for its part of the equation, is having to try and locate those hostages and get them under its wing so it can offer them up under its wing so it can offer them up to israel and say, look, here are

ten more hostages. we would like another day of extension of the truce. there are growing voices in the israeli security and military establishment that are growing uneasy that every day this truce lasts, it will be harderfor them uneasy that every day this truce lasts, it will be harder for them to resume theirfight lasts, it will be harder for them to resume their fight against hamas to try and crush its military capability. but certainly, everyone in the region outside of israel wants not only the truce to extend, but for it to turn into a permanent ceasefire, and there are even indications the us is starting to think that way too. yes, we saw this tweet from president biden saying continuing down the path of violence and war would be giving hamas what they seek. it does suggest a change of tone. do you think the pressure is getting to joe tone. do you think the pressure is getting tojoe biden? i tone. do you think the pressure is getting to joe biden?— getting to joe biden? i think it is, es. he is getting to joe biden? i think it is, yes. he is under— getting to joe biden? i think it is, yes. he is under pressure - getting to joe biden? i think it is, yes. he is under pressure from i getting to joe biden? i think it is, i yes. he is under pressure from two angles. one, from within his own party. the democratic party is very unhappy at the massive casualties inflicted on ordinary palestinian

civilians. the figures of 13,000 plus people killed, 6000 children killed, coming from the hamas run health ministry but largely supported by independent aid agencies, those i really intolerably high figures for this campaign, and he is under a bit of pressure domestically but also internationally from america's allies in the region, from qatar, which hosts a massive us base, from saudi arabia, egypt and jordan. these are all friends of the us in the region, and they are all telling washington, you have got to do more to restrain israel's actions in the gaza strip, and some countries, saudi arabia and others, have said the un security council permanent members are not doing theirjob, because they were very quick to criticise russia for killing civilians in ukraine but have not been very effective in restraining

israel. that is their view. so, yes, a lot of people seized and that tweet and said, this looks like america is going 180 and that, having said it supported israel's opposition to a ceasefire 100%. it now seems to be wavering. it seems ambiguous, because us officials have now been backtracking, saying, no, the us is totally supportive of israel, but behind the scenes, we know there is displeasure being expressed about the level of civilian casualties. not only until the truce to cold, but what is going to happen next, because israel has made it clear that once they hostage releases are over, they are going to carry on with their assault, intensify it, and move to the south of the gaza strip. there, 1.7 million displaced gazans are currently crowded. how is israel going to protect those if it is carrying out a full—scale military campaign against hamas there? it

carrying out a full-scale military campaign against hamas there? it was israel who told _ campaign against hamas there? it was israel who told them _ campaign against hamas there? it was israel who told them to _ campaign against hamas there? it was israel who told them to go _ campaign against hamas there? it was israel who told them to go there, wasn't it? what about what is going on in the west bank at the moment? how concerning is that? it is concerning. the violence has been rising there for some time, predating october the 7th. in fact, it was rising incidence of clashes between israeli settlers and palestinian residents, villagers who have lived there all their lives, and in some cases clashes between palestinians and the idf, israel defence forces. because of that rising violence, the israeli security establishment thought on october the 6th, if they had to worry about anywhere, it was the west bank. gaza, well, we have got this, we have $1 billion wall and we are safe. we don't have to worry about that. will not risk a war with us. well, of course, they got that catastrophically wrong, but all the stuff that has been going on in gaza, and it is horrific what has been going on there, and what happened in october the 7th, the

barbaric attacks against civilians in southern israel, that has all taken the spotlight off what is going on in the west bank. there are a number of incidents of israeli settlers attacking palestinians and essentially trying to push them out of what they considerjudaea and samaria and what the rest of the world considers the west bank and the future palestinian state, and in some cases, there are reports that the idf, israel present a defence forces, are simply standing back and not protecting those palestinian villages. at the same time, they have been carrying out raids into palestinian areas, such as janine, ——jenin, the refugee camp there, and the idf have gone in looking for perpetrators of violent incidents. what is the depressing thing about this is, as prisoners are released in exchange hostages, more and more palestinian prisoners are simply going to be put into israeli jails,

no one is paying attention to the big, long—term problem and challenge, which is to find a solution to israelis and palestinians to live side by side, whether it is a two state solution or in some form. they both have a right to live there, but under the current leadership, with hamas vowing to destroy israel and israel vowing to destroy israel and israel vowing to destroy israel and israel vowing to crush hamas, it's very hard to see how there is a way forward at the moment. thank you, frank gardner. let's go to bahrain and bring in a research fellow at the international institute of strategic studies. thanks forjoining us. can we talk about the additions to the truce which is due to finish today, wednesday, in terms of what the key players are looking for? what is the motivation behind the key players? there are conflicting reports of the moment about the parameters of the

potential extension of the truce. it is not entirely certain for how long the different players want to extend the different players want to extend the truce for. there are reports hamas would be willing to extend and forfour hamas would be willing to extend and for four days, hamas would be willing to extend and forfour days, and hamas would be willing to extend and for four days, and the hamas would be willing to extend and forfour days, and the numbers of captives and prisoners on both sides, what they would be. i think all sides need this extension. it is all sides need this extension. it is a government under domestic pressure to show a concrete result for its strategic result, and strategic dividend for its military operations so far, and to show it is serious about pursuing the objective of leveraging its captains that are held in hamas' custody. hamas has been using the pressure tactic of linking israeli air strikes with deaths of israeli captors held in gaza and to say that those air strikes have been responsible for the deaths of those israeli captives, and that obviously places

the netanyahu government under even greater pressure domestically, and poses difficult choices about what the resumption of military operations would entail. at the same time, hamas obviously want a respite from the airand time, hamas obviously want a respite from the air and ground attacks. it is also politically important for hamas to show that it is able to secure the release of palestinian prisoners and detainees from israeli prisons. there are currently thousands of palestinian prisoners and detainees, including a few hundred children, many of whom are held without charge or trial for extended periods of time. the various parties here or have domestic interests, essentially, in seeking an extension of this policy. what did you make of what we were just talking about there with our correspondent frank gardner about america seeming to shift in tone slightly? how much of an influence

do you think that is having? i slightly? how much of an influence do you think that is having?- do you think that is having? i think it is significant. _ do you think that is having? i think it is significant. the _ do you think that is having? i think it is significant. the us _ do you think that is having? i think it is significant. the us is - do you think that is having? i think it is significant. the us is the - it is significant. the us is the main party which has leveraging of israel, which is able to influence israel's strategic and military calculations. no one else has the ability to do that the same way the us does, and in reality, the civilian casualty toll of israel's military operations has been extremely significant, over15,000 extremely significant, over 15,000 dead, extremely significant, over15,000 dead, including 6000 children, and the number of children that have been killed alone by israeli operations far exceeds what we have seenin operations far exceeds what we have seen in previous years. you do wonder what is going to happen if, as we were talking about, after this truce and is in the operation moves southward in gaza, you wonder how much worse things will get, because so many people are there, aren't they? they have fled there, aren't they? they have fled the north, as they were told to by israel, and are now in the south. that's exactly right. the population

of 2 million is now concentrated in more or less 50%, roughly speaking, of gaza's territory. they fled there and it is really reassurances that this would be a safe zone. israel is now claiming that hamas' leadership has shifted southwards, and i think there is concern not only among international countries but also in the us that a shift in military operations southwards would result in a massive civilian casualties at all. i think the issue here is that israel's military operations haven't really resulted in much progress towards israel's stated objectives. hamas's leadership appears to be intact, hamas appears to be in control, it is able to negotiate exchanges and releases of captives and prisoners, so it is a massive toll, and exchange, and as a price for a military campaign that hasn't

achieved much.— for a military campaign that hasn't achieved much. whether those goals are achievable _ achieved much. whether those goals are achievable in _ achieved much. whether those goals are achievable in themselves - achieved much. whether those goals| are achievable in themselves because its goal is to wipe out hamas, isn't its goal is to wipe out hamas, isn't it and the question is whether that is even possible, i suppose. exactly, and if it is possible within parameters, in terms of civilian casualties, that would be acceptable to anyone, really. it is highly questionable, and that is what we have been saying at the start, without a political horizon, there really is no way to ensure that hamas, which exists in order to resist this occupation, as it brands itself to be, there would be no way of inflicting a military or political defeat on hamas. i think we also have to pay close attention to what is going on in the west bank, because the level of violence there has been quite significant. over 230 people killed since october the 7th. we are now seeing that israel is exploiting the lull in

fighting in gaza to ramp up operations injenin. the number of people being arrested there is absolutely massive, and the civilian casualty toll in jenin absolutely massive, and the civilian casualty toll injenin over absolutely massive, and the civilian casualty toll in jenin over the absolutely massive, and the civilian casualty toll injenin over the past 48 hours has also been significant, including children that seem to have been killed by israeli snipers, and so this is a very dynamic context. we need to pay close attention to all these things, not only in gaza, but what is going on in the west bank at the moment.— but what is going on in the west bank at the moment. thank you very much for talking _ bank at the moment. thank you very much for talking to _ bank at the moment. thank you very much for talking to us. _ much for talking to us. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. an inquest has heard four teenagers drowned after their car overturned on a camping trip in north wales. jevon hirst, harvey owen, wilf fitchett and hugo morris were found in an overturned, partially submerged car in gwynedd on the 21st of november.

a search was launched after the teenagers from shrewsbury failed to return home. new data suggests the rising cost of renting and a fall in available properties is causing families to move to smaller homes. campaigners are warning that the state of the market is also leaving older renters struggling with short—term tenancies in their retirement. courts in england and wales could soon be sentencing fewer people to shorterjail terms and instead handing out more rehabilitative community sentences. new proposals from the sentencing councilfor the two home nations says judges and magistrates should be focusing more on reforming offenders. the plans also include advice to courts to think twice before jailing women because of the impact on children. your life with bbc news. 160 israeli hostages are still being held in gaza, but they are reported not to be being held by hamas but by

other islamic groups. what do we know about them? i'm joined now by jerome drevon, senior analyst injihad and modern conflict, crisis group. asi as i mentioned, there are several of these groups. can you talk as to who they are? yes, according to the available information, we think a few groups have participated in the attacks on over the seven. first, have participated in the attacks on overthe seven. first, hamas, have participated in the attacks on over the seven. first, hamas, which is by far the largest group and holds most hostages. then there are smaller entities. the main one is palestinian islamicjihad, which is aligned with hamas and says similar strategic objectives but differs in terms of means. they don't believe in politically participation or government, just military participation. then there are local leftist groups, who are not by far is important as palestinian islamic jihad and hamas.

so are they all coordinated somehow? does hamas coordinate things? we had heard about how some hostages may have been sold on or passed on to these groups, and in terms of the negotiations, are people like the people in qatar negotiating with hamas, and then hamas talks to these other groups? or our people in qatar talking directly to these groups? how does that work, do you know? it is very much a hamas led operation. hamas sorted out all the details and tactical plans, then asked other groups tojoin them tactical plans, then asked other groups to join them a few hours before the beginning of the operation, so while other groups have also seen stages, hamas is directing other political negotiations through its leadership in qatar. some of the groups are in agreement with hamas on that front, so they coordinate yesterday, ten hostages were liberated, but it seems as though they were held not by hamas but by palestinian islamic

jihad. the fighters of both groups were present yesterday during the exchange of prisoners.— were present yesterday during the exchange of prisoners. hamas has said at some _ exchange of prisoners. hamas has said at some point _ exchange of prisoners. hamas has said at some point it _ exchange of prisoners. hamas has said at some point it is _ exchange of prisoners. hamas has said at some point it is trying - exchange of prisoners. hamas has said at some point it is trying to i said at some point it is trying to locate all the prisoners, giving the impression itjust doesn't know where they all are. is that really true? it seems that the large majority of the hostages are held by hamas. palestinian islamicjihad seems to have 30 hostages, so minus the 10—12 released yesterday, but it seems according to all information, there are approximately ten hostages that might be held by other actors, including localfamilies, potential including local families, potential gangs, including localfamilies, potential gangs, and so on, which is much more difficult to assess and coordinate these groups in order to organise these groups in order to organise the liberation. but these groups in order to organise the liberation.— these groups in order to organise the liberation. but you are saying hamas does _ the liberation. but you are saying hamas does control _ the liberation. but you are saying hamas does control those - the liberation. but you are saying hamas does control those groups the liberation. but you are saying - hamas does control those groups can occur for once those hostages released, they would get released, right? or are you saying it is not that simple? or are you saying it is not that simle? ., , ., .,, or are you saying it is not that simle? ., , ., ~ , simple? no, they would most likely release it, but _ simple? no, they would most likely release it, but then _ simple? no, they would most likely release it, but then still _ simple? no, they would most likely release it, but then still presents i release it, but then still presents difficulties, because if you

negotiate with a group like palestinian islamicjihad, you speak about a political entity, so in that way, it is easier to negotiate. but if it is unknown or lesser known actors, including families, clans, etc, it makes it more complicated, because they are not military organisations per se. it is interesting to think thatjust a family could be holding these hostages in the house. it is extraordinary to think that. in terms of relations to me extraordinary to think that. it terms of relations to me hamas fighters on the ground and terms of relations to me hamas fighters on the groun- fighters on the ground and the olitical fighters on the ground and the political wing _ fighters on the ground and the political wing in _ fighters on the ground and the political wing in qatar, - fighters on the ground and the political wing in qatar, how i fighters on the ground and the| political wing in qatar, how are relations between the two of them? officially, the relationship is that hamas' particle board is largely based abroad, so they make this citizens there were decisions they have, managing relationship with state like qatar and so on. then they give directives to the military wing, who then decides the practical implications of armed violence. so the leadership in qatar can know

about the forthcoming large—scale operation and agree about it, but they would not know the practicalities, because it is of no use for them, and for security reasons, you would not share that across countries. really interesting to talk to you. thank you very much. jerome drevon, thank you very much. let's move on. a perfect solar system, six light years away, has six planets about the same size, which have barely changed since their formation of the 12 billion years ago. these undisturbed conditions make it ideal for learning these undisturbed conditions make it idealfor learning how these undisturbed conditions make it ideal for learning how the worlds were formed and whether they host life let's now speak to our science correspondent. hello, pallab. oh, we will see a report.

our solar system had a violent beginning. worlds crashed into each other as they formed, disturbing their orbits. eventually, it led to planets are vastly different sizes that we know today. but if we travel through space 100 light—years, we find another solar system, but one that was created in much calmer conditions without so many violent collisions. the system has six planets, or of a similar size. their orbits haven't been disturbed, and so are in perfect harmony. it also has a bright star that makes it easier to study the atmospheres for signs of life. easier to study the atmospheres for signs of life-— signs of life. this solar system has such unique _ signs of life. this solar system has such unique properties. _ signs of life. this solar system has such unique properties. it- signs of life. this solar system has such unique properties. it is- signs of life. this solar system has such unique properties. it is so - such unique properties. it is so bright, that the light will allow us to do so many studies from telescopes, around their atmospheres, how they formed and evolved, we never had the chance of observing such a bright system with so many planets all at once, until

now. astronomers have discovered thousands of solar systems in the past 30 years. none of them are so well—suited to study planets formed as a newly discovered one. i well-suited to study planets formed as a newly discovered one.- as a newly discovered one. i think it 'ust as a newly discovered one. i think it just makes _ as a newly discovered one. i think itjust makes me _ as a newly discovered one. i think itjust makes me really _ as a newly discovered one. i think itjust makes me really excited. i itjust makes me really excited. every _ itjust makes me really excited. every day, _ itjust makes me really excited. every day, we are finding new, exciting — every day, we are finding new, exciting systems that will allow us to learn _ exciting systems that will allow us to learn more about these planets, that will_ to learn more about these planets, that will test our models and our current— that will test our models and our current understanding. so is _ current understanding. so is this solar system the perfect solar system because it gives you the perfect laboratory to find out how planets are created? exactly, so everything about this system _ exactly, so everything about this system is — exactly, so everything about this system is ideally suited for the information we need to find out. so we have _ information we need to find out. so we have the — information we need to find out. so we have the right star, the planets are in_ we have the right star, the planets are in a _ we have the right star, the planets are in a really interesting configuration, and because of that, we know_ configuration, and because of that, we know that nothing too dramatic can have _ we know that nothing too dramatic can have happened over the billions of years— can have happened over the billions of years since they formed. this— of years since they formed. this perfect solar system, published in the journal nature, will help astronomers discover exactly what

these far—away planets are made from, how they evolved, and critically, whether they may be home to life. let's speak now to aim tucson, who you saw in that report, a phd student who is author of the research paper. shejoins us student who is author of the research paper. she joins us from cambridge. lovely to see your enthusiasm there! are clearly very exciting times. explain how you discovered this? this was a really big international effort, working with telescopes from nasa and esa. we discovered the system using the transit method, so we are looking at these stars for the tell—tale signs of exoplanets, which cause small drops in the star's brightness.— which cause small drops in the star's brightness. what does that mean? yes. _ star's brightness. what does that mean? yes, this _ star's brightness. what does that mean? yes, this system, - star's brightness. what does that mean? yes, this system, what i star's brightness. what does that| mean? yes, this system, what we star's brightness. what does that - mean? yes, this system, what we did was, we mean? yes, this system, what we did was. we used — mean? yes, this system, what we did was. we used a _ mean? yes, this system, what we did was, we used a nasa _ mean? yes, this system, what we did was, we used a nasa space _ mean? yes, this system, what we did was, we used a nasa space telescope| was, we used a nasa space telescope to observe the star, and we saw that

the star occasionally got slightly dimmer, and that tells us there is probably a planet there. in this case, we found we had signals of six different planets. it took some detective work, but after quite a lot of input, we figured out there were six tenants, and that they spanned the sorts of different distances from the star, so some are quite close to the star, about a nine day orbit, which is very hot, and some, which are a bit further away, on a 60 day orbit, which are a bit cooler. but when you say a bit cooler, i think the coolest is about 600 degrees, isn't it?! in terms of what that means for potential life, what is that? .. , _ that means for potential life, what isthat? , is that? exactly, when we say cool, this is not solar— is that? exactly, when we say cool, this is not solar system _ this is not solar system temperatures, but still much other than that. but it is interesting that we are able to push out of these further planets that will be more amenable to life. the interesting thing about this solar system is, we have six planets so far, but there is nothing to say

there might not be more planets further away from the star, and they would be in the special region for the habitable zone where water possibly exist on the surface of the planets. this is your phd already, but it will pretty much take up the rest of your time forever, won't it?! yes. your time forever, won't it?! yes, this was led _ your time forever, won't it?! yes, this was led by — your time forever, won't it?! yes, this was led by one _ your time forever, won't it?! yes, this was led by one of _ your time forever, won't it?! yes, this was led by one of my - this was led by one of my collaborators in chicago, they have been collaborating from one of the esa telescope sites, but exactly. this will be really exciting to work on in the future. i know many of my collaborators are already doing additional studies. and this will be perfect for the james webb space telescope, which is able to look into the atmospheres of these planets, which is incredible. it is amazing to think we could figure out what is in the atmospheres of these planets hundreds of light years away! it is. thank you so much for talking to us about it. lovely to hear from you. amy tucson, phd student. that's all from me for now. stay with us on bbc news.

hello. many of us are used to wearing the hats and the gloves. now there's every indication it's going to stay cold for the rest of the week and into the weekend. sharp night frosts and occasional wintry showers here and there. now, let's have a look at the satellite picture and you can see the distribution of cloud today. the clearer spells are in the centre of the country here, and this is where it's going to be coldest through the evening hours. temperatures barely above freezing in some areas. the milder spot there in plymouth at around about eight and in the channel islands, nine. so the forecast then for the late afternoon and into the evening hours shows some wintry showers across scotland, the northeast of england, icy conditions also forming along that north sea coast, possibly into east anglia as well.

elsewhere, clear spells and cold, below freezing pretty much across most of the country.