this is what a spokesperson for the israel defense forces had to say about the situation. we will rescue our hostages at all costs. it is our duty, it is our moral responsibility of the israel defense forces. it is why we fight and why we must keep on fighting until all our hostages are home. with more on the hostage release, here's our senior international correspondent orla guerin in tel aviv. inseparable — and coming home tonight. emma and yuli, twin girls just three years old, released with their mother sharon. their father is still being held in gaza. they'll be picked up by military helicopter. like these boys, freed last night. the government here has been sharing footage of every release. israelis very invested in this and the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, needs a victory — even a partial one. already savouring her freedom, margalit moses, who is 78. she tells hospital staff in tel aviv they are amazing. so is she. freed from gaza on friday after almost 50 days in captivity. already a survivor of cancer, and now of hamas. some homecomings are overshadowed by sorrow. hila has been reunited with her uncle, yair rotem. but her mother, raya, yair�*s sister, was not freed by hamas, though israel says mothers and children were supposed to be released together. yair says his niece is still finding her voice. well, hila is whispering because she says that the terrorists that held them told them to keep it low all the time, especially at night — they didn't allow them to talk a lot at night. and in the day they were always making them quiet, told them to keep it quiet. so she got used to whispering. now her voice is very low. hila turned 13 today, with balloons and a cake at the hospital. but without her mother. applause herfamily say she's doing well, on the surface at least. she's not afraid to go to sleep. she is eating. she's not afraid to turn off the light. i think she's doing pretty well here. again, i still don't know how deep the scar in her heart is. i think we will find out later. israel's prime minister was grim—faced today, touring bullet—riddled homes where hamas went on a killing spree on october the 7th. he insists israel will eliminate this enemy. for now, it's had to do a deal with hamas to get some of its hostages back. orla guerin, bbc news, tel aviv. sisters erez and sahar kalderon are among those released. earlier, their uncle spoke about their return. this spoke about their return. is a momentous day in o| lives. this is a momentous day in our lives. we are super excited but we have not yet fully processed what has happened. i'm finding it difficult to go from a state of endless anxiety about their fate to a state of relief and jov- fate to a state of relief and joy. i believe it will take time. this is an exciting and heart filling moment but we also understand it is the beginning of a difficult rehabilitation process for them, they are still young and have had a unbearable pursuance. we will do this hand—in—hand. residents of areas devastated by israel's bombardment of gaza have also used the pause in fighting to go back to their homes — or what's left of them — as new images of the destruction there emerge. our middle east correspondent, lucy williamson, sent this report from jerusalem. sometimes the impact of war hits hardest when the fighting stops, when the drones overhead are filming, not firing. in the al—zahra district of khan younis, residents return to reclaim their homes, clinging to the smallest remnants of their earlier life. islands of normality in a vast, distorted world. in gaza city, the dead have been cut off from the living by weeks of fighting. among them, ali mahdi's father and nephew. he returned to find them lying dead in front of their house. translation: my father - and my nephew were martyred 14 days ago. when the truce came i was able move my father's body and bury him at my house. the truce, his first chance to return and bury them. translation: what did we do? we are neither hamas nor fatah and we have never held a weapon in our lives. food and fuel are being trucked into gaza during the pause in fighting, but many people are struggling to find enough to eat. the situation in khan younis is catastrophic, people are waiting for days to get a bag of flour. this was gaza before it became a battlefield, its buildings and its population densely packed. "a shield for hamas," israel said. no match for modern weapons. in areas like beit hanoun, few buildings have been spared. this brief window on to gaza's new landscape may be closing soon. the present, hard to look at. the future, hard to see. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. we can speak live now to professor amin saikal, professor of middle eastern studies at the australian national university. thank you for talking to bbc news. give us your take on the significant of the extension of this truce, for another two days? i this truce, for another two da 5? ~ this truce, for another two da s? ~ , days? i think it is quite important. _ days? i think it is quite important, important l days? i think it is quite - important, important from the factor that a number of hostages will be released and also a number of palestinian prisoners will be released from israeli jail. it will also give an opportunity for more aid to get through to the people of gaza, and to provide an opportunity for humanitarian agencies to reorganise themselves, because they have been going through a very tough time, and delivering food and looking after themselves at the same time, and further, it will also give some time to mediators, especially qatar and joe biden administration to work further pauses if that is possible. but if there is not another pause or a long—term ceasefire, then the fighting will be resumed, and as part of that, both sides in the conflict are also taking advantage of the pause in order to regroup and we organise themselves.— to regroup and we organise themselves. ~ ., , ., ~ , themselves. what you think is most likely — themselves. what you think is most likely to _ themselves. what you think is most likely to happen - themselves. what you think is most likely to happen next, i themselves. what you think is | most likely to happen next, we have the two day extension, is that a previewed to a long—term ceasefire or as you say could the hostilities begin again in earnest? �* , the hostilities begin again in earnest? �*, , ., earnest? it's possible that it could be a — earnest? it's possible that it could be a pretty _ earnest? it's possible that it could be a pretty to - earnest? it's possible that it could be a pretty to a - could be a pretty to a ceasefire, simply because israeli is a very determined to get their hostages back. and the prime minister benjamin netanyahu is under a lot of pressure domestically, to achieve this goal. at the same time he has made it absolutely clear, in the absence of any further pauses, he will resume the war and that could be a more bloodied and more destructive because this time the israelis will be coming through all of gaza, including khan younis in the south, on a mission of search and destroy. and as a result we could see a lot more heart aches and of course disappointment on the part of not only the people of gaza but also the international community. for gaza but also the international community-— community. for the international - community. for the - international community, do community. for the _ international community, do you believe this conflict, this war has really got everybody�*s attention on the future for this region, for example a two state solution, has it confirmed that even more outside of the middle east and outside of the middle east and outside of the us?— outside of the us? whatever one's view — outside of the us? whatever one's view of _ outside of the us? whatever one's view of hamas - outside of the us? whatever one's view of hamas and - outside of the us? whatever one's view of hamas and the j one's view of hamas and the israeli responses, the whole development has really changed the international paradigms, very much in favour of a two state solution because there is no better alternative and president biden and also a number of other supporters, international supporters of israel have made this absolutely clear. and i think whatever way war ends, there would have to be a political resolution of the conflict. military actions or military campaign can work up to a point but beyond that what you really need is a comprehensive plan for peace between the two sides. and i think that is what is going to be very needed and i think that is what the international community will have to remain absolutely focused on and the united states plays a very critical role. �* ., �* ., role. and for ben'amin netanyahu * role. and for ben'amin netanyahu and h role. and for benjamin netanyahu and his - role. and for benjamin - netanyahu and his government that were recently elected there has been a profound shift in israeli politics to mix —— domestically they will have to navigate now?— domestically they will have to navigate now? absolutely, once the war has _ navigate now? absolutely, once the war has ended _ navigate now? absolutely, once the war has ended in _ navigate now? absolutely, once the war has ended in whatever. the war has ended in whatever way it does, the prime minister is going to come under a lot more pressure and i think that could result in a major shift in israeli politics, i mean at the moment, his cabinet is dominated by extremists, who do not even want to recognise the existence of the palestinians, i think it will come a point as level hits will have to prevail some of the reasonable people who want a peaceful settlement of this crisis to take over israeli leadership. i think there is going to be need for a change of israel in israel and also the palestinian authority would have to be beefed up, there is also a need for change at that level.— at that level. interesting, aood to at that level. interesting, good to get _ at that level. interesting, good to get your - at that level. interesting, - good to get your perspective. professor amin saikal, thank you. let's get some of the day's other news now. the un chief has urged world leaders to take decisive action to tackle climate change when they meet at the cop28 summit in dubai later this week. antonio guterres was speaking on his return from antarctica, where sea ice cover hit an all—time low. almost two million people in ukraine and russia have been left without power after hurricane winds, heavy rain and snow cut electricity lines and caused widespread flooding. more than 2000 towns and villages in ukraine have been left in the dark as wind speeds reached for than 140 kilometres per hour. police in sierra leone say they're continuing the man—hunt for people involved in what the government has described as a planned and co—ordinated attack on the capital. gunmen broke into an armoury and several prisons in freetown on sunday, enabling the escape of almost 2000 inmates. 20 people died in the attacks. north korea says its recently launched military spy satellite has taken photos of the white house, the pentagon and aircraft carriers at a us naval base in virginia. state media said the north korean leader, kimjong—un, was presented with the pictures. the greek prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis says he's deeply disappointed by the cancellation of a meeting that was due to be held with rishi sunak in london. it's after mr mitsotakis said the parthenon sculptures, or elgin marbles, should be returned to athens. rishi sunak was reported to have been irritated by the comments. the sculptures, which are currently in the british museum, were removed from the parthenon in the 19th century. 0ur political editor chris mason has more on the diplomatic row. the greek prime minister has beenin the greek prime minister has been in the uk for the last couple of days and made the labour leader kyah simon and was due to meet the prime minister tomorrow. was due to meet the prime ministertomorrow. —— keir minister tomorrow. —— keir starmer. ministertomorrow. —— keir starmer. he was spelling out why he thinks that elgin marbles should be returned to chris. if i marbles should be returned to chris. ., , ., , ., ., chris. if i told you you would have the _ chris. if i told you you would have the mona _ chris. if i told you you would have the mona lisa - chris. if i told you you would have the mona lisa and - chris. if i told you you would have the mona lisa and cut. chris. if i told you you would| have the mona lisa and cut it in half, do you think viewers would appreciate the beauty of the paintings? this is exactly what happened with the parthenon sculptures. this is not exactly — parthenon sculptures. this is not exactly new _ parthenon sculptures. this is not exactly new but - parthenon sculptures. this is not exactly new but what - parthenon sculptures. this is not exactly new but what is l parthenon sculptures. this is i not exactly new but what is new is written is exploring a loan agreement. technically alone rather than a move does not need a change in the law and could happen regardless of what politicians have to say. but there is a difference between there is a difference between the conservatives and labour. the conservatives say that elgin marbles belong here and it is reckless for any british politician to suggest this is subject to negotiation. who were they referring to? keir starmer. he said they would not stand in the way of the museum coming to some loan arrangement if they were in government but they would not change law. they reckon rishi sunak is pathetic. the greeks think... i do not speak greek, but the answer was, no. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the covid inquiry continues later. yesterday it heard from london mayor sadiq khan who accused the government of failing to keep him informed about the severity of covid in early 2020. this morning, the communities secretary michael gove will give evidence. and the former deputy chief medical officer professor damejenny harries is due to give her evidence in the afternoon. the first transatlantic flight powered only by what's called sustainable aviation fuels is due to take off from london in the morning. the journey by virgin atlantic has been part funded by the government. it will not carry paying passengers. airlines see it as a major milestone in achieving green flights. we will have a lot more on that in our business in 20 minutes. former bosses of the retail chain wilko's will be questioned by mps later today about the company's collapse. lisa wilkinson, a former chair of the business and the founder's granddaughter, is among those who've been summoned by a parliamentary select committee. you're live with bbc news. new zealand's new government says it plans to scrap the country's ban on smoking to fund tax cuts. the legislation, introduced under the previous government, would have banned cigarette sales next year to anyone born after 2008. health organisations say they are shock and appalled by the decision. smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in new zealand, and the policy had aimed to stop young generations from picking up the habit. we can speak now to ben youdan, who is the director of ash new zealand — that's action on smoking and health — an organisation campaining for tobacco control measures. i assume you are not happy at all about this decision? ida. i assume you are not happy at all about this decision?- all about this decision? no, it is very disappointing - all about this decision? no, it is very disappointing because | is very disappointing because it has been a long time coming to get this and game policies and they were truly world leading. we have seen massive reductions in smokers in new zealand, much like the uk with people switching over to vaping unless harmful alternatives. that gave the government the confidence to put in measures that would spell the end of tobacco smoking. the single biggest killer of people here in new zealand. it is very disappointing to reverse particularly as the current party in government supported it. it is a u—turn, a slap in the face of decades of campaigning. it the face of decades of campaigning. the face of decades of camaiuanin. , ,., campaigning. it definitely is a u-turn campaigning. it definitely is a horn and — campaigning. it definitely is a u-turn and new _ campaigning. it definitely is a u-turn and new zealand - campaigning. it definitely is a . u-turn and new zealand inspired u—turn and new zealand inspired many other country to follow suit, including the uk. ijust wonder if actually what this means going forward for the country taking this step. well, i ho -e it country taking this step. well, i hope it does _ country taking this step. well, i hope it does not _ country taking this step. well, i hope it does not become - country taking this step. well, i hope it does not become a i i hope it does not become a setback for other countries and thatis setback for other countries and that is definitely a real concern and i think what the government has discovered in the first few days is this is totally distracted from the fact they have been sworn in as a new government because pretty much every story has been doing a u—turn on such an important piece of legislation and particularly the global scrutiny of what was happening in new zealand as well. what is also important to recognise is we have been making good progress on smoking and so this was legislation that was going to keep our smoking rate down so we are pretty upset that they have reversed this legislation but also, at the moment, trying to work out how to salvage as much as we possibly can so it does not undo some of the success and progress in the last few years. what about the argument of this kind of legislation feels the black market are young people who want to smoke will smoke anyway and find a different way of finding cigarettes. it is anyway and find a different way of finding cigarettes.— of finding cigarettes. it is a bit of a false _ of finding cigarettes. it is a bit of a false argument. . of finding cigarettes. it is a | bit of a false argument. the smoking rate in young people that we literally have maybe 3000 young people smoking in the entire country so there is not a black market or a demand for a black—market and most of the people still smoking here are probably older people who have smoked for a really long time and so we do not have a youth smoking problem here anymore so the importance of the policy was helping to nudge those people still smoking towards safe alternatives and accompanied by measures and investments supporting the last couple of hundred thousand smokers left in new zealand to create and avoid premature illness and death as a result. thank you for talking to us. from ash new zealand, action for a smoke three 2025. does that smoke free. a tiny sample of rock and dust taken from an asteroid hundreds of millions of miles from the earth has arrived in the uk for study. the fragments were scooped up by nasa from the asteroid bennu in 2020, and delivered in a capsule to the utah desert two months ago. scientists hope the study of its molecules will provide insights on how water and life came to earth. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle has more. a piece of asteroid from deep space has finally arrived at london's natural history museum. london's natural history museum-— london's natural history museum. , ., ., , museum. we separated out these fragments. site _ museum. we separated out these fragments. site is _ museum. we separated out these fragments. site is here _ museum. we separated out these fragments. site is here have - fragments. site is here have been waiting _ fragments. site is here have been waiting years - fragments. site is here have been waiting years for - fragments. site is here have been waiting years for the l been waiting years for the chance of a close—up look and to look their gloved hands on this precious extra terrestrial material. ,. , , , material. -- scientists. it is be ond material. -- scientists. it is beyond our _ material. -- scientists. it is beyond our wildest - material. -- scientists. it isj beyond our wildest dreams. material. -- scientists. it is. beyond our wildest dreams. it is an incredible rock, very black with tiny bits of white in it. we found each little grade looks a bit different to each grain so it will keep us busy for years trying to figure it all out. busy for years trying to figure it all out-— it all out. the sample comes from these. _ it all out. the sample comes from these, 500 _ it all out. the sample comes from these, 500 metre - it all out. the sample comes| from these, 500 metre space rock called bennu, collected by a nasa spacecraft. packed into a nasa spacecraft. packed into a casual and brought back home. after landing in the utah desert it was secured and now distributed to scientists around the world. it distributed to scientists around the world.- around the world. it is incredible _ around the world. it is incredible to - around the world. it is incredible to see - around the world. it is incredible to see this | around the world. it 3 incredible to see this material up incredible to see this material up close, grab from an abstract hundreds of millions of miles away. there is not much in here, a few milligrams, but for scientists this is a treasure trove. every single tiny grade will be analysed in the hope is they could answer some of the biggest questions we have about our solar system. biggest questions we have about oursolarsystem. in biggest questions we have about our solar system.— our solar system. in this polished _ our solar system. in this polished section - our solar system. in this polished section we - our solar system. in this| polished section we have our solar system. in this i polished section we have a our solar system. in this - polished section we have a tiny particle — polished section we have a tiny particle of bennu and we can start— particle of bennu and we can start to _ particle of bennu and we can start to see all the information it can tell us about_ information it can tell us about the history of bennu. the ultra close-up _ about the history of bennu. iie: ultra close—up view about the history of bennu. "iie: ultra close—up view of about the history of bennu. i"i9 ultra close—up view of this spec provides a map of the miracles and elements in the rock. —— minerals. it is a relic from the early solar system and scientists find it is rich in carbon and water. how did it get there? we think things like bennu brought that water. we will study and see if it is similarto water. we will study and see if it is similar to the water on the earth and if we find similarities in ——it will give us an idea of where the water came from. us an idea of where the water came from-— came from. the uk has so far been sent _ came from. the uk has so far been sent about _ came from. the uk has so far been sent about a _ came from. the uk has so far been sent about a teaspoon l came from. the uk has so far| been sent about a teaspoon of material but there might be more to come because some of the space rock is still stuck in the sample container, two of its 35 screws proving tricky to undo so neutrals are being developed to retrieve every last bit of bennu. the material here shared with universities around the uk so expect a slew of discovery and out of the well discoveries along the way. rebecca morelle, bbc news. christmas has arrived at the white house. the first ladyjill biden unveiled this year's decorations on monday. the theme for 2023 is magic, wonder and joy. it's inspired by how children experience the holiday season. the decorations include 98 trees throughout the white house, over 33,000 ornaments, and 72 wreaths. it took more than 300 volunteers from across the country a week to decorate the rooms and corridors. hello. it's cold out there. it's going to stay cold for the rest of the week into the weekend and probably into next week, too. in fact, there's no sign of any mild weather returning. now, how about tuesday itself? 0bviously cold, bright, if not sunny for many of us. now, here's the satellite picture. here's all that drizzly, cloudy weather that many of us experienced on monday. it's moving away towards the east and behind it, the skies are clearing. so clear skies through the early hours and into tuesday morning. and it will have been a pretty chilly start to tuesday, with those temperatures around freezing or below in the north and only around three or four degrees across central england and the south, too. but as i say, lots of sunshine around and at the very least, a bright start. now, these northerly winds are pretty cold. they're also pushing in some wintry showers, particularly to the scottish hills. some of these showers might be clipping the north—east of england. now, let's have a look at the highs, if you can call them that. around four degrees in glasgow, seven in liverpool will match that in norwich and in the southwest — there around nine degrees celsius. and then tuesday evening into wednesday, this cold front will be moving southwards across the uk from north to south. so introducing slightly colder air, and also the chance of one or two wintry showers once again. so wednesday, most likely those wintry showers occurring in the north of the country, maybe clipping the northeast, and also some areas a little bit further south. showers, i think, in the south—west will be mostly of rain. again, a lot of sunshine around on wednesday and it's a cold air, in fact, temperatures really struggling in the north. this is more like january, really. so two degrees in glasgow, around about five or six degrees in the south of the country. and then on thursday we think this area of low pressure, this weather front, will stay just to the south of us where it might graze the very far south of the country. but i think, for most of us, it's a case of dry weather. but of course, it's staying cold. this is what we call the anomaly map. so the blue colour indicates temperatures below average, and then you've got above average values there for portugal and spain, just iberia, really, and maybe parts of the mediterranean. so much of the continent staying cold. here's the outlook for the days ahead and into the weekend. you can see single figure temperatures in some places. really struggling to stay much above freezing, so wrap up warmly. bye—bye. live from london, this is bbc news. finding a way out of the crisis. the german government unveils a new budget to allow the country to borrow more. but can europe's largest economy get itself out of the doldrums? sparks flying. tesla sues the swedish transport agency after postal workers stopped delivering licence plates for the ev maker. and jet zero — the first trans—atlantic flight using 100% sustainable fuels is due to take off in a few hours' time. we will talk you through the top business stories. we start in germany where, late on monday, the country's ruling coalition unveiled a supplementary budget that will temporarily lift a self—imposed cap on borrowing. this after berlin was forced to freeze most new spending commitments after a constitutional court blocked the government's spending plans. the budget, which still needs to be approved by parliament, will see germany suspend its constitutionally enshrined debt brake for a fourth year in a row in order to borrow an extra 45 billion euros. chancellor 0laf scholz�*s government is fighting its way out of a crisis that has triggered warnings about growth and an industry exodus. david marsh is chairman of the official monetary and financial institutions forum — an independent think tank for central banking, economic policy and public investment.