He shared his joy and relief following the release and said he hopes he will see both women next week. 0h, oh, ive been waiting for this moment for a long time for two weeks. I havent been sleeping for two weeks. Tonight, im going to sleep good. I spoke with my daughter earlier today. She sounds very good. She looks very good. She was very happy. And shes waiting to come home. Lets bring you more now on the fate of those two american hostages freed by hamas. Us President Joe Biden spoke with the two women after their release on friday, telling them that their government will fully support them as they recover and heal. And Secretary Of State Anthony Blinken said hes relieved the women have been released but reminded reporters that many others are still being held. There are still 10 additional americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict. We know some are being held hostage by hamas, along with an estimated 200 other hostages held in gaza. They include men, women, young boys, young girls, elderly people from many nations. Every single one of them should be released. Our correspondent Barbara Plett usher brings us more from inside the halls of the state department. The release of the hostages disrupted the day here at the state department. We were sitting down for the Daily Briefing and then we were told that it would be delayed for two hours because of Breaking News. Now, they didnt say what the Breaking News was, but we knew what it was. And so when we returned to the briefing room, there was another delay and then Secretary Of State Antony Blinken came out to speak. And this was an important moment for him, because he has really been pressing for the release of the hostages during his recent trip to the region, engaging in Shuttle Diplomacy between israel and the arab states. He was pressing for this, especially in qatar, which has taken the lead in trying to negotiate the release of the hostages because it has relations with hamas. There is a hamas office in doha, so qatar has been working very hard on this. The Foreign Ministry there released a statement saying there had been days of continuous communication to get to this point with all parties, and saying that the qataris would continue talks with hamas and with the israelis to try to get the rest of the hostages released, and hopefully that would help to de escalate the situation. Hamas said that it was releasing these hostages for humanitarian reasons, but it also said that it was in talks with qatar and egypt to talk about releasing the rest of the civilian hostages if the Security Arrangements or if the Security Arrangements or if the Security Environment allowed and reports suggest that they were saying that if the air strikes would stop, this could be a possibility. Mr blinken was asked whether he saw this as a window of opportunity to follow up. He didnt really go there. He said that the us position was all hostages should be released immediately and unconditionally, and he said he would not take at Face Value Anything that hamas said. Michael allen served as special Assistant To The President at the National Security council, and gave his assessment of the release of the hostages. So i think it might give israel some hope that the Qatar Negotiation Channel with the leaders of hamas who are there in doha might bearfruit. They may they may give the Hostage Negotiations channel more time to work before going into gaza. Welljust have to see whether this is an isolated incident where hamas decided it was in their interest for these two american hostages to be let go or whether its a sign that they might be able to do more negotiations, perhaps hamas hostages for ones that israel has in prison for whatever crimes they might have committed. Rabbi meir hecht knows both judith and Natalie Raanan personally. He spoke to my colleague Caitriona Perry after the news of their release. Judith prays every week in our congregation, for every sabbath, every holiday, and we miss her. And shes been a part of our congregation in such an important way, and as a family friend, someone who would come to our home every sabbath, parade around the house with our baby and bring over gifts for the children. Really, our hearts are filled with gratitude to almighty god for this miracle. And again, we continue to pray and ask everyone to pray for the release of the other 200 plus hostages in the hands of hamas terrorists. And what more can you tell us aboutjudith and natalie . As you say, theyre members of the congregation there. What kind of women are they . What kind of role do they have in the community there . Judith and natalie are really special people. Judith is the most kind, giving, sharing, generous person, someone who is always first to be there for other people in their time of need. She is a woman who would, as i said, come over and bring gifts for the children. Shes someone who loves life, loves humanity. Her daughter natalie is the same. Like mum, like daughter, these are people who have a love for every human being. And they are both artists, which means that they have a special touch of spirituality in their soul something that theyre able to convey through the beauty of art. For more on the hostages returning home, and the wider regional conflict, i spoke with north Dakota Republican senator kevin cramer. Senator, thank you very much Forjoining Us on bbc news tonight. I first just want to get your reaction to the news that two american hostages have been released. Well, first of all, its impossible to be anything other than pleased by it joyful about it, grateful, frankly, that at least a couple more people are free and they get to be reunited with their families. And thanks to everybody in the value chain that made that possible. Senator, are you confident that this is a sign, perhaps, that other hostages might also be released . Well, you know, its obviously. Wed like to get them all released, and right now would be a good time to do it since we couldnt get it done sooner. That said, hostages are hostages for a reason. Usually theyre used for some motivation, and so well see. But obviously two today is great, and lets hope that it leads to two later and two again and again and again. But in the meantime, we still need to be diligent, do everything we can to identify where they are, and do everything we can to get them released, either by diplomatic means or by force if necessary. Hopefully diplomatic means will do it. But this is where we need our friends in the region, like the qataris and like egypt and our other friends in the region, to help us with the diplomatic side of things. And that seems to be what happened here. I dont know what, if anything, hamas gets out of this or if theyre going to demand anything going forward. But were just grateful for these two for now. I want to ask you about what we saw from President Biden on thursday evening. He has said that hes asking congress for more than 100 billion in funding for israel, for ukraine, also some money for the us mexico border. And he said in his address that its a smart investment thats going to pay dividends for American Security for generations. Do you agree . Well, i agree that it can, but weve got a long ways to go to make it the type of package that actually does have forward leaning opportunities that does in fact secure the Southern Border of the United States of america as well as other countries� borders. So were going to obviously have to work it over in the United States senate, and certainly the house will as well. Its a collaborative process that gets to something that can actually pass. I dont think the amount is so horrible. That doesnt bother me. In fact, i wouldnt mind if it was twice as much, as long as its put to a use that does in fact secure oui future. But at the same time, part of why were here at the moment we are is because weve been projecting weakness both out of the white house, and frankly out of the country for the last few years, as weve really neglected our military. Weve neglected rebuilding. So, senator, could ijump in there and just ask you. Could i ask you what youd like to see then instead from President Biden . Sure. What id rather see, quite honestly, is a United States of America National defence supplemental. And yes, ukraine is part of that. Yes, israel is part of that. Certainly, the Southern Border has to be the most important part of that, because what good is it to secure other nations if were not going to secure our own . But i think we need to recognise that weve been taking a peace dividend, really for decades, and its caught up to us. We have a 60 year old Nuclear Deterrent and we need to modernise that. Our strategic posture is not what it needs to be. So what im saying is, lets rebuild our weapons systems, lets modernise our weapons systems, lets put more money into intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and next generation war fighters and make sure that the world is safer because the United States is stronger, much like Ronald Reagan and Maggie Thatcher did when they won the cold war without firing a shot. So you said, senator, that this request would need some work in the senate, in congress. If you look over at the house at the moment, theyve been without a speaker for two weeks. It doesnt look like the process is going to get resolved any time in the next few days, at least. What is your message to your colleagues in the house . Well, first of all, i would say to individual members of the house and i have many good friends over there, i served there for six years i would say, you exist for the congress. The congress does not exist for you. Put aside your petty differences and whatever disagreements you might have on an individual basis and look at the collective. And that is your colleagues, the other 434 members, whats good for the institution, whats good for the country and whats good for the world. Because right now, part of that projection of weakness, unfortunately as a republican it pains me to say this but part of that projection of weakness is coming from the message coming from the House Of Representatives and the chaos thats ensuing over there. Because when a small group of people can sort of force the vast majority of people into a Compromising Position or a chaotic position, were not projecting the kind of strength that the United States needs to project. So its time to get over it. Now, if in fact its hard to get over it, turning to the humanitarian situation in gaza, and several trucks loaded with food, water and medicine are still stuck in egypt. The un Secretary General visited the rafah crossing on friday. He said aid should be moving in the next day or so. Andrew harding has more from al arish in northern egypt, close to the gaza border. High above the egyptian desert, a consignment of humanitarian aid on its way towards the besieged territory of gaza. This Military Plane from nearby jordan has brought medical equipment, including bandages and syringes. Theyjoin other supplies being offloaded here in egypt, just a few kilometres from the Border Crossing into gaza. And inside gaza today, more signs of growing hunger and desperation, people scrambling to buy a few remaining chickens in crowded cities that remain entirely cut off from the outside world. No wonder there is such pressure to get this aid in. This is an operation fraught with risk. The aim is to channel vast amounts of humanitarian aid into gaza through one narrow Border Crossing, amid continuing israeli air strikes, amid genuine israeli fears that this route could be used by their enemy hamas to smuggle in more weapons, and amid the constant risk that at any moment an Israeli Ground offensive could put a stop to all of this. But first the border itself needs to open, a logjam of over 100 trucks packed with aid still stuck on the egyptian side as negotiations drag on. So when the United Nations Secretary General arrived at the border this afternoon, he did not hide his frustration. Behind these walls, we have two Million People that are suffering enormously, that have no water, no food, no medicine. Nearby, an angry crowd demanding the border be opened and the siege of gaza lifted. Andrew harding, bbc news, egypt. Gaza elbursh 2200 20 10 this is an affluent neighbourhood much of Northern Gaza is now in ruins. 0ur reporter adnan el bursh, has sent us this report from one area thats been heavily bombed. This is an affluent neighbourhood in central gaza. 0vernight, its been completely destroyed. 32 tower blocks, each containing dozens of flats, are now totally gone. Translation they told us to evacuate at around 8. 30 or 9. 00 at night. We ran through the streets. Then israel started bombing the area nonstop from nine until seven this morning. You can see all of this destruction. Umm salim lived in one of these blocks of flats. She tells me all the families in her tower are now living stranded in the streets of gaza, with nowhere to go. Other residents say many people remain trapped. Translation we cannot bring people out from under the rubble. Ambulances cannot get here. We cannot pull the bodies out. People are screaming, but we cannot pull them out. Last nights attack took many residents by surprise, as people told me that it has been a relatively calm area in gaza. As we were filming here, a new warning came in from the israeli army, telling people to evacuate. We have now left because its dangerous. But the reality is, for many people still there, there is nowhere safe to go. Adnan el bursh, bbc news, from central gaza. Bushra khalidi is west bank policy lead for oxfam, who is originally from gaza and has been working on the aid response there. She shared an Emotional Message from one of her colleagues whos in gaza. He said, the situation is getting worse day after day. Finally, i managed to get bread forfive shekel, but it will only last for half a day. When i was walking to the bakery, i saw people who came from Gaza Sleeping in their car because they were not able to find shelter. I saw people sleeping in shops, in the streets, on the asphalt, without any mattresses nor blankets. Its a terrible situation theyre suffering. On my way back home, i found two children alone. They were crying. They told me they were in an unrwa shelter, but their parents went to get food and didnt come back. Were looking for them. We cant find them. I was afraid to lose those children, so i took them to a shop owner from khan younis who knows the area and maybe could help them. We dont have electricity, we dont have water. Were buying fuel at double its costs. We rented a generator at a high costjust to pump water for two hours. We were able to buy water for double the price, but it can only cover the need for one day. Were not hungry. We have a little food, but very limited choices, every day, i hear my daughter and my son � dad, i want to return back to gaza. � � why, dad . � � i want to go back to gaza because i want my uniform. � i want to go and play football. � it� s difficult to go. The situation is risky. Insha� allah, you� ll get your uniform and you can go back to the football club. My children are deeply affected by what happened at the hospital the day before yesterday. They are scared. They didn� t know how to make sense of it. It� s difficult to understand why people are being targeted like this and they are afraid they will be targeted ina similarway. We truly hope for a future where everyone is happy and safe and where the humanitarian rules are followed, to ensure protection for all. The fallout from this war is having an impact in the wider region with protests breaking out injordan, lebanon and egypt in response to the al ahli Arab Hospital explosion in gaza. Iran is urging muslim countries to sanction israel following the deadly explosion. Some countries in the region are calling for an immediate ceasefire. In a rare move, the Egyptian Government approved and even organised dozens of locations for protesters to gather. And in the west bank, crowds clashed with israeli forces. Smoke from burned tires filled the streets as protesters hurled rocks at security personnel. On israel� s northern border, with lebanon, there have been regular exchanges of gunfire between the Israel Defence forces and hezbollah, the group designated as a Terror Organisation by many western governments, and which, like hamas, is financially backed by iran. The Israeli Military is now evacuating thousands more residents near the frontier, this time from the city of kiryat shmona. It� s the Largest Community forced to move out as concerns grow that the Israel Gaza Conflict could spread. Anna foster, has that story, from northern israel. A threat so close you can see it. This hezbollah Observation Post is metres from an israeli town. And that� s why even more of this border is now emptying out. Today, kiryat shmona, a community of 20,000. But leaving isn� t easy. In the shelter, zehavit waits with a husband and three children. She has cancer, but since the war began all her medical appointments have been cancelled. Translation theyre evacuating today and i asked them to take i the sick people first. I know they evacuated others, but no one has reached out to me. The feeling is very scary, that� s why i want them to evacuate my family as soon as possible. Even underground, efrat doesn� t feel her twins are safe. She says the law bans locking the door of these public shelters and she fears another massacre, like the one in the south. This is israel� s defence. Thousands of soldiers digging in as the people move out. This is what� s been happening all the way along the border. Fields turned into Forward Operating bases, Artillery Shells are being prepared, armoured vehicles are being readied. Israel has been doing as much as it can to strengthen and fortify this border. These Reserve Forces know that everything is different now. Not my first war, and i have never have seen such massive amounts of of units, all across israel, trained on scales we� ve never seen before at least not in my lifetime. These are some of israel� s darkest moments, and here, they hope there aren� t even harder days to come. Anna foster, bbc news, on the israel lebanon border. During his prime time speech to the nation on thursday night, President Biden tied the conflict in the middle east, to russia� s war in ukraine. He said it was up to the United States to stand up to hamas and vladmir putin, to protect us interests, and prevent even more violence worldwide. Mr biden said he� d be calling on congress for billions of dollars more in aid to ukraine. Earlier my colleague Caitriona Perry spoke about this to former Us Ambassador to ukraine, william taylor. Ambassador taylor, thanks Forjoining Us. Just quickly to get your reaction, first of all, to what President Biden announced yesterday insofar as it relates to the ukraine assistance. Caitriona, this was a highly anticipated speech. I will say there have been many people urging President Biden to make a prime Time Oval Office speech, laying out the rationale for support to ukraine. Many people understood that support, understood that rationale, were eager to hear the president lay it out for the american people. So when it came last night, it was very welcome. It was obviously paired with the new war on israel palestine, israel hamas, but that probably added to the urgency. So it was well anticipated. I thought it made the case for support to both sides, to both the israelis as well as the ukrainians fighting off attacks from terrorists. Is there a risk when you look at the atrocities that happened in israel, the crisis that� s currently happening in gaza, that attention moves away somewhat from what� s happening in ukraine . You� re exactly right. And it reminds us the atrocities that are happening, that happened and maybe are happening, in israel, in gaza, remind us of the atrocities that happened and are happening in ukraine. We remember, almost 20 months ago, when the russians first went into ukraine and they got very close. They got very close to kyiv, the capital. And then the ukrainians pushed them out, pushed the russians back out, and when the ukrainians went into the towns, the small cities where the russians had occupied for a couple of weeks, they were horrified. And the killings, the torture, the rapes, the abductions of children the horror we are reminded byjust the events over the past week of the same thing. So it reminded us of the urgency of support for ukraine and the support for the israelis in this war. How key is the relationship between President Biden and president zelensky . They were speaking as recently as last night and president zelensky again making a call for more of these high powered missiles. He feels like they are making a difference in the counteroffensive. They are clearly making a difference. And when president zelensky was here in washington a couple of weeks ago, he made exactly this request, the long range missiles. And apparently he got a willing response from President Biden, but they didn� t announce it. The americans, we didn� t announce that we were going to provide these weapons, these long range missiles, and they� ve now shown up on the battlefield. And i� m sure yesterday, when President Biden talked to president zelensky, president zelensky made the case again for these and i� m sure thanked President Biden for these long range missiles, which they� ve already used. The ukrainians have put them to good use. Ukrainians have gone deep into occupied territory, still in ukraine, but the russians occupy territory in ukraine, and the ukrainians have used these new weapons that president zelensky convinced President Biden to give when he was here before and are now employed. He thanked them for these because they� re used and they are using them to great effect. And remember for the very latest on the israel gaza war, you can head over to our website that� s bbcnews. Com or check out our app. We have reports from our correspondents in israel, gaza, and around the world. And all the reaction about our top story today the release of two us hostages held by hamas. Stay with us here on bbc news. That� s all from us here in washington, we leave you with these pictures of london as we hand off to our colleagues there. They� ll take over at the top of the next hour with updates on all of your headlines. Thanks for watching us on bbc news. Do stay with us. Hello. For some places, the flooding situation could get worse before it gets better not least in Eastern Scotland, where we have this new red warning from the met office. Further rain through the day on saturday, falling on top of what we� ve already had. This is friday� s rainfall radar. The rain was pretty relentless across Eastern Scotland and also northern england, parts of east anglia, the north midlands, north wales. Huge amounts of rain. We� ve seen widespread flooding and this met Office Amber Warning remains in force through the first parts of saturday morning. But of greatest concern, i think, is this red warning covering parts of angus and southern aberdeenshire a further 100mm of rain, further significant flooding and a danger to life. Amber warnings covering larger parts of eastern and Northern Scotland as this rain just keeps on coming through the day tomorrow. For england and wales, broadly speaking, a drier day. This band of showery rain will push eastwards. Could see hefty downpours skirting the southeast corner. Northern ireland probably having some of the best of the weather largely dry, just the odd shower, some spells of sunshine. Windy in the South Of England and the channel islands. Still windy in north east scotland. But for many northern parts of the uk, not as windy as it has been. Temperatures north to south 8 16 degrees. Now, this heavy rain continues into saturday evening but it will clear northwards overnight, this band of Showery Rain Pushing away from Eastern England and then, things do turn drier. Yes, a few showers, i think there� ll be some mist patches around as well, but a drier start to Sunday Morning as an area of low pressure tends to swirl away north eastwards. And this very, very weak ridge of High Pressure you can� t see much of it here on the Weather Chart but there is some slightly higher pressure just toppling through, and that means drierweather, more in the way of sunshine. Yes, there will be some showers but certainly not as wet as it has been. Lighter winds, temperatures of 12 16 degrees, so a much calmer day to end the weekend. But then, as we head into next week, well, another area of low pressure looks set to push up from the south. This one probably not as potent but it will still bring further rain in places where we really do not need it. So, the outlook for next week is pretty unsettled. There will be some heavy rain around at times. It will be quite windy but with some drier interludes. Voiceover this is bbc news. We will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. Yeah. So if you can just start off just introducing yourself and, you know. 0k. My name is enrique tarrio, and i am the International Chairman of the proud boys. Chanting whose streets . Our streets whose streets . Our streets on 6january 2021, a mob of protesters stormed the us capitol. More than 1,000 people are facing charges. The most notorious is enrique tarrio. He� s banned from everything. He� s the most banned person in the world. Tarrio was the leader of a right wing extremist group. He stands accused of trying to overthrow the us government. Well, the proud boys were central because they were ready and willing to fight. Whose streets . Our streets so was tarrio the puppet master, or Something Else . I think he was kind of nerdy when he was younger. All of a sudden with proud boys, he was the fonz. I think he� s very interested in his image. I think he might be a charlatan, to be perfectly honest. Tarrio is loved and loathed in equal measure
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