prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has insisted that his country will press on with its fight against hamas. translation: i want to be clear, translation: i want to be clear. the _ translation: i want to be clear, the war _ translation: i want to be clear, the war is _ translation: i want to be clear, the war is ongoing, l translation: | want to be| clear, the war is ongoing, it is ongoing, we will continue it until we achieve all our objectives. we will eliminate hamas and we ensure that the day after hamas, there will be no factor who will continue educating their children to hate and eradicate israel, so we will continue eliminating in hamas, in the north, by the way and in the south, we will continue the effort. our senior international correspondent orla guerin has the latest on the deal and the ongoing conflict. just a warning, some of the images in this report are distressing. a reminder of how all this began on october 7th, hamas gunmen storming across the borderfrom gaza, hunting israelis to kill or capture. around 240 were taken hostage. among them, shiri bibas, trying to shield her two little boys from the horror all around them ten—month—old kfir had just started crawling. ariel, who's four, loves climbing and batman. now they and their mother are expected home in the coming days, along with dozens of other women and children. they don't know yet that hamas killed their grandparents. shiri's cousin, yifat, is caught between hope and torment. i don't know what kind of children will come back to us. the trauma, what they saw. and until i see them in my own eyes, i don't believe any lists of names and i don't believe any news coming today from...anywhere. i need to see them in my own eyes. i need to hold my cousin in my arms. sobbing. but for many in gaza, just the anguish of goodbye. hassan lost his niece, three brothers and his grandmother. relatives say they were killed by an israeli air strike on a residential building. if the ceasefire starts tomorrow as planned, it is too late for this family. gaza is teeming with grief and desperation. this was the struggle for a few bottles of water. the truce will clear a path for hundreds of trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies. for now, gaza keeps burying its dead, with more than 100 bodies in this mass grave. the next few days may bring quiet, but israel and hamas have said that after the truce the war will resume. orla guerin, bbc news, tel aviv. there's been a flurry of diplomatic activity around the hostage negotations, with qatar and other arab states playing a major role. on wednesday, the us thanked its partners in the middle east for helping to mediate. us president biden thanked egypt's president in a phone call on tuesday calling the leadership of abdel fattah el—sisi and qatari's emir sheikh critical in reaching a deal. us secretary of state, antony blinken thanked the saudi foreign minister for negotiating to bring aid to the gaza strip. and earlier, national security council spokesman, john kirby, echoed these statements, calling the deal a �*significant step�*. this was a deal that took weeks and weeks of hard work across the administration. the team on the administration. the team on the ground, here at the security council and personal leadership by president biden and we think it is a significant step in the right direction. we get more than 50 hostages released back with the family, including what we hope is free americans including a toddler. we are grateful for all the work that went into securing this deal, including from our partners, and obviously prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his work. a shortwhile ago i spoke to the political correspondent of the times of israel, tal schneider about the hostage deal. she's been following developments from tel aviv. thank you forjoining us. if i could start by talking about the hostages. that has been back and forth today about timing. what do we know now about when hostages will be released?— released? right now, we're talkin: released? right now, we're talking about _ released? right now, we're talking about not _ released? right now, we're talking about not before - talking about not before friday. it was supposed to start on thursday but a couple of hours ago, israel's national security adviser said that the papers that were supposed to be signed by hamas and the qatari is were not signed. earlier yesterday we were told no papers need to be signed so it is obvious that things are not smooth and they are not very clear but we are dealing with a terror organisation. it is not like it is a state entity so huge problems with that. is any suggestions _ huge problems with that. is any suggestions to _ huge problems with that. is any suggestions to say _ huge problems with that. is any suggestions to say the - huge problems with that. is any| suggestions to say the hostages may not be released?— may not be released? well, it is hard to _ may not be released? well, it is hard to tell. _ may not be released? well, it is hard to tell. i _ may not be released? well, it is hard to tell. i do _ may not be released? well, it is hard to tell. i do believe - is hard to tell. i do believe that only when we see the hostages in israel we will know that they were released. up until then, that they were released. up untilthen, i mean, israel has been tricked and deceived by the terror organisation so many times, usually during the ceasefire and pauses, they kidnap, shoot and refill and do lots of things though it is really problematic to predict anything. i would say have to see the first batch of people here in israel on and then every day ten or 12 people, up until 50 and until they are not here, nothing is finalised. the prime minister _ here, nothing is finalised. the prime minister has said that once the ceasefire is over, the war will resume. is there support for that position in israel? , , ., ., israel? yes, first of all, he also said — israel? yes, first of all, he also said after— israel? yes, first of all, he also said after the - israel? yes, first of all, he also said after the first - israel? yes, first of all, hej also said after the first 50, they may extend the ceasefire or a pause day by day, based on the additional 10—12 people every day, up to around 80. so this may take up to a week or so of this pause. later on, when we have 80 people back in, we know they abducted 240 people, so, i mean, there are still lots of people held in gaza, and i do believe that the government and israel's goal is to keep the fight until hamas is destroyed as a terror organisation, so there is huge support in israel for that goal as well as returning more people. it is hard for me to predict what is going to take place but the government hopes if they are continuing the military pressure than this will bring the abducted people back or get israel closer to a situation where we can get all of the people back, but, you know, things are so fragile and things are so dire, often the civilian side that aside, but also israel, the despair is everywhere so it is really hard to predict what is next.- to predict what is next. when --eole to predict what is next. when people see — to predict what is next. when people see the _ to predict what is next. when people see the situation - to predict what is next. when people see the situation in i people see the situation in gaza at the moment, at the moment the innocent civilians, the effects of the bombings has had on them, the humanitarian crisis and loss of life, what is the view to that? no-one wants to — is the view to that? no-one wants to see _ is the view to that? no-one wants to see kids _ is the view to that? no-one wants to see kids and - is the view to that? no-one l wants to see kids and civilian death anywhere but we do see that with the assistance of idf, people were able to evacuate themselves and before that hamas block people from evacuating, and we also see the huge amount of tunnels. everybody asking, how come the arab side does not have shelter? we see the entire time as providing shelter for the terrorists but they are not providing anything for the people. so we do hope that people. so we do hope that people will be able to be saved from the atrocities by escaping to the southern part of gaza strip, yet, we are fully aware of the mass devastation going on on the other side.- on on the other side. before the attacks _ on on the other side. before the attacks on _ on on the other side. before the attacks on october- on on the other side. before| the attacks on october seven and what we have seen the weeks after that, we had seen protests against the prime minister, against benjamin netanyahu, what is the mood amongst israelis now in relation to the president doctor with the prime minister, rather, is the support that? the support is very low. against low point in every types of public polling. having that, since we are at war and we're losing people on a day by day basis and also we are bombardment from 11 on and from the southern, you know, from gaza, we are still suffering from rockets, because of the situation of the war, do not think there a mass movement for him to go but we do expect that once the situation is more stabilised, and i don't have to tell you when that will take place, he might be under huge public pressure to go but it is still too early to know anything. i mean, for him, i think it is a bit of a lose— lose situation because even if he has managed to get the people back, the horrific outcome of this war and the devastation of the entire region, in the southern part of israel, 22 villages torture we have 200,000 internally displaced people, so all this people, internally displaced, murdered, raped, this comes with huge anger towards the government, even if hamas will be destroyed. tail government, even if hamas will be destroyed-— be destroyed. tal schneider, olitical be destroyed. tal schneider, political correspondent - be destroyed. tal schneider, political correspondent for i be destroyed. tal schneider, l political correspondent for the times of israel, in tel aviv, thank you forjoining us. thank you for “oining us. thank ou. turning now to a major incident that disrupted the us border with canada for much of wednesday. two people died after a vehicle exploded at rainbow bridge. a crossing point along the border near niagara falls, in western new york. eyewitnesses say the car accelerated at a high speed — you can see it here in the very top of the frame — before hitting a fence and bursting into a ball of fire. four border crossings in the area were closed and the incident led to airport closures and other disruption as the fbi took over the investigation. we can see some live pictures from the scene in niagara falls. there is still heavy police presence as investigation continues. new york governor kathy hochul updated reporters earlier. there is no evidence at this time that this was a terrorist attack and that is what i want to make very clear to the public, just to calm everybody down. it is really important because based on what is happening in other parts of the world, everyone is on edge and this is on an international border and we are always open to vulnerability there but this was... i will not call it an accident, we do not know what the intention of the driver was if it was intentional and how they drive that, we do not know that. joining me live is viktoria hallikaar, spectrum news i multimedia journalist based in buffalo. thank you forjoining us. we note this was not a terrorist incident but what did happen earlier? ., ~' incident but what did happen earlier? ., ~ ., , ., , earlier? you kind of summarised it a little bit. _ earlier? you kind of summarised it a little bit, at _ earlier? you kind of summarised it a little bit, at around - it a little bit, at around 11:30 a.m., there was a cow that accelerated, it hit a barrier and flew up into the air before crashing into the checkpoint on the rainbow bridge between the us and canada. from what we heard from eyewitnesses, it was like something out of a movie, looking up and seeing a car flying. amanda said he thought it was a planet first before getting a better look at it. it crashed down and burst into flames and it was really scary for a few hours because you never know what is going on. there was that fear it could be a terrorist attack and that was lingering over the entire area for multiple hours until we got that confirmation that it was not terrorist related, it seemed like an accident. and that relieved a lot of people. the border crossing was closed for a few hours while it was unknown what happened. everyone is on the move for thanksgiving. those hours had on movement?— thanksgiving. those hours had on movement? like settlement busiest travel _ on movement? like settlement busiest travel day _ on movement? like settlement busiest travel day of _ on movement? like settlement busiest travel day of the - on movement? like settlement busiest travel day of the year i busiest travel day of the year and one of the year and 104 border crossings in the area that you could use to get into canada from us or vice—versa and there were a lot of people who we spoke to when we on scene that might that i'm trying to get across, do you know when the bridge will open, do you know when i can see my friends and family and at that point we had them but as the day progressed and we got more information and other bridges started opening when they came up started opening when they came up to to tell them we recommend going 20—30 minutes down to buffalo to take one of those, go buffalo to take one of those, 9° up buffalo to take one of those, go up the western area, taking that bridge because they are open now and there was a sense of relief that they weren't having to spend their days away from their friends and family as they played and they could go along with what they had for thanksgiving. go along with what they had for thanksgiving-— thanksgiving. what is the situation _ thanksgiving. what is the situation now _ thanksgiving. what is the situation now at - thanksgiving. what is the situation now at the - thanksgiving. what is the - situation now at the moment? was all my pictures a few moments ago and there is still a police presence at the crossing. a police presence at the crossing-— a police presence at the crossin.. , , , crossing. yes because the brid . e crossing. yes because the bridge remains _ crossing. yes because the bridge remains closed - crossing. yes because the bridge remains closed at i crossing. yes because the i bridge remains closed at this point. there is still an investigation into what happened and what crash into the border patrol area and we have to make sure where the explosion was that checkpoint is still safe for people to come through so that area is still closed off when i was leaving, they were taking some of the barriers away from the surrounding area because do you can expect to see those police cars that are still looking better as the investigation continues until the bridge reopens. continues until the bridge reopens-_ continues until the bridge reoens. �* ., ~ reopens. all right. thank you very much — reopens. all right. thank you very much of— reopens. all right. thank you very much of course, - reopens. all right. thank you very much of course, thank. reopens. all right. thank you i very much of course, thank you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news: sam altman has been reinstated as the ceo of 0penai just days after his surprised ouster. the company said it reached an agreement in principle for altman to return with a new initial board. altman took to x to say that he was quote "looking forward" to returning to 0penai and building of its strong partnership with microsoft. violent clashes marred the world cup qualifier between brazil and argentina on tuesday. the match at rio's maracana stadium was delayed by half an hour after a fight erupted between fans. the argentina team attempted to calm the situation, condemning police for charging at the crowd with night—sticks drawn. king charles iii honored the k—pop music group blackpink on wednesday for their work in raising awareness about climate change. the honor comes on the second day of south korean president yoon suk—yeol�*s visit to london. charles made blackpink members honorary members of the order of the british empire. the honors were presented during a ceremony at buckingham palace. you're live with bbc news. in the netherlands, exit polls show populist leader geert wilders is heading for a dramatic victory in the dutch general election. the exit poll published on wednesday projects wilders's party for freedom would win 35 out of 150 seats, nine seats ahead of its closest rival, frans timmermans�* labour party and green left alliance. if confirmed, this result could shake up dutch politics and society. after the early exit polls were released, geert wilders declared in a victory speech that his party "can no longer be ignored." i have been politics for 25 years and this is the happiest day of my life far in politics. we became the number one party by far stop it is what a lot of people, if you are familiar ago, would call you mark. it happened today, so i'm very proud and very happy and brings a feeling of responsibility. struggle to find parties tojoin him in government. the three big parties behind wilders have indicated they have little desire to work with him. 0ur correspondent anna holligan has more from the hague. it is further safe therapy shockwaves through dutch politics and society. many people would have expected another person first female feminist of the netherlands leader of the right and liberal conservative party, yet now many are accusing her, opponents are accusing her of opening the door to get builders by saying she would be prepared to govern with them, something her predecessor had ruled out. get builders surprised most people's expectations with this result governing commission. that will not be an easy task because so many of the parties working with him and yet with such a huge proportion of the vote it looks like it will be very difficult for them to maintain their position and already some items never having to over —— estimate anti— islam, anti—immigration radical freedom party leader geert wilders. he also talked about taking netherlands out of the eu with the next referendum. all of this is still up if geert geert wilders can't convince enough other parties to enter into a governing coalition with him, that task will put the next biggest party which is on the other side of the political spectrum labour alliance load by frans timmermans who gave up his european commissionjob timmermans who gave up his european commission job to come back and leave this block. they give you a sense of how polarised society is. one of the main tasks of the next coalition government will be to try to unify the people who have dealt with such a huge blow, such a punishment to the governing commission. —— coalition. in india, officials say they were confident the 41 workers trapped in a tunnel could be rescued by thursday afternoon. the workers who were building the tunnel became trapped inside when part of it caved in on 12 november due to a landslide. authorities have been able to supply the men oxygen, food, and water through pipes inserted through the debris. rescuers have now drilled three—quarters of the way through the debris of a collapsed road tunnel in uttarakhand state. for more on this story, let's speak to our south asia correspondent, samira hussein, who's there at the scene. seems like the rescue mission is coming to a successful and. both matthew lamb are right now by continuing and from what officials have told us they are making good progress. if you look right behind me you will see that the mouth of the tunnel and inside there they are drilling a hole, and once they drill that whole thing is that this type of 100mm or white, rather, and that's what they want the construction workers to climb out through —— 100mm. the last time we got an update they said they were more than three quarters of the way through and they believe they have to get about 57 metres to reach those workers that attracted side. what conditions are the workers in respect them to the very early on is done the same are using to give them in food and water, oxygen, and they've been able to communicate that they are in good health. communicate that they are in good health-— good health. rescue officials maintain now _ good health. rescue officials maintain now don't - good health. rescue officials maintain now don't like i good health. rescue officials maintain now don't like that l maintain now don't like that and in 12 days they are still in good health. nevertheless you see down the hilljust to my right there are quite a few ambulances that are ready for when they come out. there were already four ambulances inside the tunnel in we don't know whether there are in fact any injuries underneath. rescuers maintain their own good health that they are in good spirits. have friends and family members begun to gather and patient of the release?— the release? friends and families _ the release? friends and families have _ the release? friends and families have been i the release? friends and families have been here| the release? friends and i families have been here for ten days and at the beginning there was a lot of anger frustration at the rescue. they were not working fast enough and they did not feel they were getting information. i got a chance to speak with one family member whose cousin esther inside and he has been here for the last eight days and he said that i was able to go inside to the tunnel, i was able to speak to my cousin and he was able to tell me, don't worry, i'm going to be ok, i'm going to get out, don't worry samira hussain at the mouth of the tunnel. thanks for all those _ the mouth of the tunnel. thanks for all those details _ the mouth of the tunnel. thanks for all those details and - the mouth of the tunnel. thanks for all those details and keep i for all those details and keep you up—to—date here on bbc news as to how the rescue mission goes. today marks 60 year since the assassination of us presidentjohn f kennedy in dallas, texas. mr kennedy was shot and killed while riding in a presidential motorcade through dealey plaza by lee harvey oswald during a visit to the state in 1963. the tragedy defined a generation of americans, including current us president biden who was a college student at the time. mr biden marked the anniversary with a statement: thank you very much for watching. i am caitriona perry in washington, dc. stay with us here on bbc news, our website, and you can find bbc news on your favourite social media platform. thanks for watching. you take care. bye—bye now. hello. we're all under the influence of mild atlantic air at the moment. so temperatures were higher on wednesday than they were tuesday. around the moray firth, actually, we had 15 degrees celsius, well above average. but it's all about to change. by the end of the day ahead, the cold air�*s established across northern scotland, and across all parts, that arctic air is with us for the start of friday. in fact, it's sitting behind this weather front here. so some wetter weather rolling south across scotland through the remainder of the night towards the central belt. really mild and murky to the south of that, some drizzle around the coasts and hills in the west, some hill fog as well. so a fairly unpleasant rush hour for central parts of scotland, southern scotland. that rain pushes its way southwards through the day. further south, though, after a little bit of a grey and murky start, some dampness around, perhaps a little bit more optimistic of getting some sunshine through those clouds during the course of the afternoon because it gets windier. the wind helps to break up the cloud. it's mild, though. wetter for the afternoon across parts of northern ireland and northern england. windier as well here — gusts of about 50 miles an hour — but gusts of perhaps 60, 65 miles an hour picking up across scotland, pushing those heavy frequent showers and turning to snow by the end of the day across the northern isles and continuing to blow southwards through the night, blowing that rain out of the way. not much rain left on that weather front by the time it gets to the south and temperatures should still hold up, but it will be far colder further north to start friday morning. and those snow showers initially at lower levels, probably lifting onto the hills through the day, but it will feel a lot colder. we'll really notice that, even where we keep some cloud around, i think, but particularly for scotland and for eastern parts of england, these are maximums. but i think add on the effect of that wind still blowing a gale across northern and eastern areas, potentially it will feel much, much colder than we've become used to. and, actually, by saturday morning, a widespread frost to greet us, but that means plenty of sunshine. and just a few showers still, as we see on friday, pestering eastern coastal counties. still that keen breeze here and a wind chill, but i think the winds easing elsewhere. fewer showers around and we should see not as high temperatures as friday, but actually without the wind, probably not feeling quite as bitter. still another cold start on sunday, but a question mark as to how quickly the rain comes in from the west. it does look as though we'll still see a good deal of dry, bright weather. the best of the sunshine in the morning. fired on friday, re—hired on tuesday. sam altman has returned to 0penai's top job, but can things really stay the same at the tech pioneer? plus, we'll have the latest on the fight to make expensive cancer drugs affordable to the 1.4 million people seeking treatment in india. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm suranjana tewari. we begin with the latest twist in the saga that rocked silicon valley this week. confirmation came from 0penai itself, the artificial intelligence pioneer saying on x it had struck a deal for its co—founder sam altman to be reinstated as its chief executive. the news came just days after the shock announcement that he had been ousted by the firm's board. the debacle has shone a spotlight on some of the biggest players in al and raised more serious questions about how the companies that control the nascent technology are run. earlier i spoke to wei sun, an ai expert from counterpoint research, who told me how the ai community in china has reacted to the news. the whole ai community, at least in china, are sleepless, watching the news and the story unfolds every minute, and it does make a big impact,