us presidentjoe 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 antony blinken said he s relieved the women have been released, but reminded reporters that many others are still being held. there s still ten additional americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict. we know that some of them 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 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 didn t say what the breaking news was, but
under its founder, ataturk. i m travelling the country to understand how all of these diverse cultures were brought together. from the burial grounds of the god kings of ancient anatolia. to the turquoise coast, where queen cleopatra is claimed to have once bathed. to an original ottoman coffee house in gaziantep. and the hotel frequented by the founder of the republic here in istanbul. welcome to turkey. now this has to be the best possible way to arrive in istanbul down the mighty bosphorus. it s this body of water that separates the city but also separates continents. and look at that, that silhouette with the domes, the minarets just popping up above the horizon. that is dolmabahce palace. that s where the founder of the republic, mustafa kemal ataturk, set about the business of transforming turkey. and from the past to the present, this is taksim district, the heart of modern istanbul. getting an ice cream in turkey seems like a bit of an extreme sport. i mean, it s ve
i think china s got a big struggle to come, and the big struggle is going to come with its shrinking population. the appalling destruction at the al ahli al arabi baptist hospital in gaza, whoever may have been responsible for it, has overshadowed the hastily arranged visit to israel by president biden. yes, he was there to offer america s total, wholehearted sympathy and support to israel in the wake of the 7th of october raids. but he was also there to urge israel in the strongest way to use discretion and moderation if and when it invades gaza, and very likely also to attempt to persuade israel of the need for a humanitarian corridor to allow water, food and medicines into a waterless, poor and hugely overcrowded enclave. but what about the wider picture? lyse doucet, the bbc s chief international correspondent, is in southern israel and we caught up with her in between showers of rain. in previous military operations, and i was there in gaza for the one in 2014, the israe
now this has to be the best possible way to arrive in istanbul down the mighty bosphorus. it s this body of water that separates the city but also separates continents. and look at that, that silhouette with the domes, the minaretsjust popping up above the horizon. that is dolmabahce palace. that s where the founder of the republic, mustafa kemal ataturk, set about the business of transforming turkey. and from the past to the present, this is taksim district, the heart of modern istanbul. getting an ice cream in turkey seems like a bit of an extreme sport. i mean, it s very. it s for you. she laughs one vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, pistachio. tram bell dings these european style heritage trams have their roots back in 1871, when they were horse powered and later became electric. i love a tram. that s notjust because i m from melbourne. something quite nice about the pace of it and also, going right through the middle of the city. everyone s scarpering out of the way. it
were in israel visiting family. hamas said the pair were freed for humanitarian reasons . the white house says that president biden has spoken to the released us hostages and theirfamily by phone. in a statement issued shortly after their release was secured, president biden said. us secretary of state antony blinken has said he was relieved the women had been released but reminded that many others are still being held. there s still ten additional americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict. we know that some of them 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 we