O'clock. This is Sky News. Attend live from Jerusalem tonight, the hostages free after 48 days in captivity. 24 hostages will soon be reunited with their families, some elderly, the youngest only two years old. In return, 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prison and greeted by jubilant supporters.

Let's go.

But there was gunfire in the middle of the truce as those trying to return home to northern Gaza were reportedly targeted.

Also coming up in the program, rioters in Dublin are told they brought shame on Ireland, with the damage likely to cost millions. Former Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, to be released on parole in January after ten years in prison for murdering his girlfriend.

Plus three, two, one.

The festive row over a wonky Christmas tree with concerns it could be a safety risk. And we'll take a first look at tomorrow's front pages in our press preview from 1030 right through to midnight.

Good evening from Jerusalem on the first day of the first truce agreed in this war. Tonight, 24 hostages, including a toddler and a great grandmother, are preparing to reunite with their families. Seven weeks after the brutal attack which shocked Israel, they were handed to Egyptian authorities at the Rafa border crossing and then to officials from the Red Cross. They're now being cared for by Israeli doctors. They are only the first. Many more are expected to walk free in the coming days. More than 230 hostages were captured by Hamas on October 7. 80 of them were women and children. Today, 13 Israelis were released from Gaza and taken across the border. The eldest was 85 year old great grandmother Yafar Adam. Two and a half year old Aviv Katz Asha was freed, along with her sister and mother. And so too was Ohad Mundas, who celebrated her birthday in captivity. Sky's middle east correspondent Alistair Bunkel has tonight's first report.

After seven weeks being held captive, this video filmed by Hamas, was the first glimpse the world had of some of the hostages in Gaza. Some of the Hamas fighters, dressed in military fatigues and wearing balaclavas, helped the hostages out of a car and into the care of the Red Cross. They looked uncertain, dazed, but physically well. As the hostages left Carnunis and Gaza, they were cheered by Palestinians at the side of the road, two peoples at war. But the relief of a ceasefire at last evident on both sides. After 48 days in captivity, the hostages crossed from Gaza into Egypt and freedom among them 13 Israelis, ten Thai nationals and a Filipino from the Rafa border. They were driven the short distance into Israel, through the border fence, back onto home soil and into the hands of the Israeli military. Among the 13 Israelis released were nine year old Ohad Mundar and his mother, Karen, and grandmother Ruth. Her husband is still thought to be in Gaza. Danielle Alone and her six year old daughter Amelia were also amongst the freed, as were mother, Doren Asher, with her two young daughters, Aviv and Raz, and 85 year old Yafa Ada, who was paraded into Gaza on a golf buggy seven weeks ago.

77 year old Hannah Katsir was proclaimed dead by Palestinian Islamic Jihad only a few days ago. But today she was released from Gaza alive. In central Tel Aviv, the Museum Plaza, which has now become a somber vigil for the missing, was filled with the music of hope. After seven exhausting weeks of desperation, they danced as the news came through. This is a moment of hope and joy for Israelis, but hope in the context and knowledge that many still remain hostage inside Gaza. Not until all the hostages are released will Israel really celebrate. Until then, there are many families still waiting for their own Freedom Day.

There are a lot of more than 200 out there that we don't know whether they are alive or not. The continuing nerve wrecking situation is, of course, continued.

On board the Israeli military helicopters waiting to fly the hostages to hospital were children's, ear defenders and mobile phones for the hostages to immediately call their relatives. The Israeli authorities have been preparing for this moment for weeks. Many of the hostages will come out with no idea what happened. Family homes have been destroyed and children will be told that they are now orphans. Life as they knew it will never be the same again.

There's protocol on how to approach them, how to speak with them, what information to give them, which questions to answer, and which questions are better off to be unanswered at this stage by this soldier.

The hostages are now being cared for in hospitals across Israel. They will stay there for as long as they need to. On Saturday, it is expected that more will be released. Israel is finally starting to get its people home.

Well, alistair joins us live now from Peter Tikva where the Schneider medical hospital is. And Alistair, we've had a bit of an update from the hospital. We understand some of the hostages are there tonight.

All the 24 hostages that were released today, the Israelis and the foreign nationals Thai and Nepalese, have now been taken to medical facilities. Two helicopters arrived here in the last hour. They brought with them eight of the hostages. We're told that they are in good condition. They're now being checked over by doctors and nurses here. There is a wing of the hospital that's been sectioned off to give them privacy. And we had an update within the last couple of minutes from the director.

Of the hospital about half an hour ago. I was thrilled to be the one to receive four children, three mothers and a grandmother to the best and most caring hands here at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel. Their physical condition is good, and they're currently undergoing medical and emotional assessment by the medical and psychological team here at Schneiders.

So that was the CEO of the hospital. But, alastair, day one, I guess you can call it a success everything has gone according to plan, but there are many nervous people wondering if this truce will hold. It is, of course, extremely fragile.

I don't think you're ever going to build trust between Hamas and Israel, but I think what today might have done is built some confidence between the two sides that each can stick to their side of this truce agreement. It is day one in what is supposed to be a four day truce, a truce that a lot of people hope will last longer than four days. In the hope that Hamas will find and agree to release more hostages, we started today in the center of Tel Aviv in the hostage and missing square, the permanent vigil. As I showed in my report, it was the moment that the ceasefire came into force. Israel and Gazans were holding their breath. I think there'll be many on both sides tonight letting out a cautious sigh of relief.

Indeed, alistair, thank you so much for that update. Now, almost every Palestinian family in the West Bank is thought to have had a relative detained by Israel at some point, often in jails inside Israel. Today, 39 women and teenagers walked free as part of the deal between Israel and Hamas and were greeted by jubilant crowds. One of them told Sky News her people owned this land and that her children will continue the resistance. She was speaking to our international affairs editor, Dominique Wagon.

Israel delivered its side of the bargain after a barrage of tear gas. Then the coach appeared on board. The released Palestinian prisoners, reveling in their liberation, welcomed in ecstatic scenes by the West Bank crowd. How do you feel? I feel fantastic. Why? It's the winning win. If we die, it's Shahada. And if we live, this is going to happen. Israeli occupation authorities had banned any celebration of the homecoming, but that was comprehensively ignored. The Euphoria could not be suppressed. This is what they've been waiting for. Their women and children return from Israeli jails, from the cross back into the West Bank. To Israelis, they are terrorists on board. To these people, they are heroes of the resistance against Israel's occupation. Hamas will claim this as a victory. Their green flags waved over the crowd. Despite Israel's best efforts, this will only make Hamas stronger. On the West Bank, the prisoners defied Israeli orders not to talk to the cameras. Hanan Barguti had been in jail for two months without trial and had this message for her captors we are the.

Owner of this land. They are the terrorists. They are the ones who took our land. They are persecuting us, and that's how they create resistance inside us. Our small children, when they grow up, they will become resistance. Even the unborn children would become hammers, whether Israel likes it or not.

There'd been a tense buildup all day. Israelis moving in to clear the area. Terrifying some in the crowds. Right, get in the vehicle. They are not want peace. No end for all this. And Gaza will come here. As darkness fell, there were clashes between Palestinians and Israelis and a number of casualties. But this is what Palestinians will remember from this evening scenes that may be repeated now in coming nights. Their brothers and sisters released into freedom and Hamas taking the credit. Dominic Waghorn, sky news on the West Bank.

And in a moment, we will be speaking to Dominic. But first, inside Gaza, residents took advantage of the pause in the fighting to head back to their homes that they fled weeks ago. But witnesses say some of them were met with gunfire as they reached the final checkpoint. Trucks full of aid did roll over the border, though, with many hospitals now desperate for fuel and medical supplies. Sky special correspondent Alex Crawford reports.

As soon as the truce came into force, the trucks began rolling. This is what they've been crying out for inside Gaza, critical aid food, medicine and fuel finally being delivered during the agreed lull. And hundreds took to the road to try to reach stranded children, parents, friends still trapped in the north. They hesitated at the Israeli checkpoint dividing south from north. So many have been displaced without taking anything with them. They're anxious to see if they have homes to return to. Then shots rang out. They waved white flags, but the firing went on. Witnesses told us Israeli snipers fired directly into the crowd, wounding several. The Israeli military said they'd warned the north was off limits. This was their response. More panic, more mayhem, and more blood spilled, with one man appealing in Hebrew, Arabic and English for peace.

Stop. Kill our children, our movement, our Yas. We are peace people. We hate the war. We want peace. We deserve to life.

Like all the nations, the scramble to save lives and limbs in Gaza didn't stop. Lull or not, those who'd held on to life this long after nearly seven weeks of bombings must have thought they'd made it. But the fresh casualties on the day the truce kicked in now join the thousands of others struggling in a health system which has utterly collapsed. Our crew, who managed to reach the now abandoned Indonesian hospital found a pitiful sight mattresses strewn all over the floor where dozens of wounded had taken refuge. Filthy, chaotic scenes through every corridor, which speak to some of the torment these people went through before the hospital staff were forced to evacuate, taking whichever patients were strong enough to be moved. And they found multiple dead bodies. We counted at least 20 in this one spot. The center of Gaza City has been obliterated. This was once the hub of the Gaza Strip, bustling and full of people, now pitted with craters. And any building still standing is uninhabitable. And there are thousands of bodies still buried under rubble. But the break in the bombing is the first glimpse of hope in nearly seven weeks, and they are clinging on to that.

Alex Crawford, Sky News.

Well, Washington has been pushing for this pause in the fighting for several weeks, and tonight, President Biden said he hoped the ceasefire would last for several days. Have a listen.

I want to thank all three leaders for their personal partnership to get this done. I spoke with the Emir and President Elsisi and the Prime Minister, Netanyahu again on Wednesday to confirm the elements of the engagement. As I said, today's, release are the start of a process. We expect more hostages to be released tomorrow and more of the day after and more of the day after that. Over the next few days, we expect that dozens of hostages will be returned to their families.

President Joe Biden will Dom's here to give us a bit of a summary of the day. I mean, a truly significant day. So many things that could have gone wrong actually didn't go wrong. But there are many more days ahead.

There are many more days. And I think we've seen extraordinary scenes in Gaza, and we have been transfixed by the plight of the hostages, haven't we, for seven weeks? Those extraordinary pictures of grandmothers being dragged away in golf, buggies boys being taken away by men with guns. So to see those same grandmothers coming back and to be cheered out by Palestinians as they go through Hannunus is extraordinary. But I think what we've seen on the West Bank as well has been equally significant, if not more, because what we've seen there has actually strengthened Hamas. It's not the kind of prisoners who've been released or their number, and we'll see many more in the days ahead. It's the way in which they've been welcomed back. The Israelis tried to stop any kind of celebration, any sense of jubilation to their homecoming. Instead, they've come back. They've given interviews. We've seen the green flags of Hamas waved over their coaches. Nothing that Israelis can do about that. And this is going to strengthen Hamas. And we'll see this day after day for the days to come. And that's important, because, as we've heard from a number of people, israel can't beat Hamas just in a military sense.

And in fact, the more it beats them in a military sense, the more the spirit of resistance could get strengthened. You have to beat them in terms of hearts and minds as well, in the minds of Palestinians. The only way you do that is to give Palestinians a political solution towards the two state solution that Joe Biden believes in and is believed to be the only real way out of this conflict. Ultimately, Hamas does not believe in an Israeli state. He doesn't believe in the right of Jewish states to exist. It's an enemy to the two state solution. Anything that strengthens Hamas on the West Bank is a problem for the two state solution and it's going to make it even harder for Israel to deal with Hamas, not just in a military sense, but also in an ideological sense as well.

Tom, thanks so much for all of your reporting throughout the day on what's been an incredibly significant day. Well, tonight, the people of Gaza have a moment of pause, of respite because obviously the bombardment has stopped for now and will stop if this truce holds over the next four days. And, of course, for the families of the hostages. 13 hostages released, children, women, elderly have made their way back home to Israel after seven weeks of trauma that this nation has also suffered. There's dual suffering and we'll have to wait and see what happens over the coming days. But for now, Gillian, back to you in the studio.

Yalda, thank you. In other news this evening, ireland's police force have mounted a significant security operation in Dublin tonight and have made a number of arrests to prevent a repeat of last night's disorder. The country's prime Minister, Leo Varadka, has condemned rioters as criminals filled with hate, who love violence and chaos. The trouble began after a man stabbed three small children and a teacher outside a city center primary school. Here's our island correspondent, Stephen Murphy.

Sunrise in Dublin and the damage became clear. City workers started a massive cleanup operation in the small hours. This was unlike anything seen here before.

Those involved brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland, and brought shame on their families and themselves. They're filled with hate. They love violence, they love chaos and they love causing pain to others.

Three busses were burnt by the rioters. At least 13 shops were looted. Eleven guard of vehicles were destroyed. Dozens were arrested. Numerous police officers were injured, one seriously, in a night of extreme disorder. The scale of the rioting and the destruction it caused is pretty much unprecedented here in Dublin. The police simply lost control of sections of the inner city for hours. So the question today has to be asked, was this a policing failure?

There's no failure. This is regrettably how protests have moved on and now we have to graduate and have a proportionate response to that.

The rioting stemmed from a horrific daytime stabbing attack at a primary school in the city center. Three children, aged five and six, and a teacher in her 30s were injured. A five year old girl is still critical. The suspect was subdued by passersby and remains in hospital almost immediately. Online speculation about his nationality was amplified by right wing anti immigration figures. The fire had its spark. The influence of the far right in Ireland is on the rise, according to a research body.

So really what we've seen, and especially over the past year, is a huge increase in mobilization coming from far right groups and their ability to kind of root their way into communities across the country and to get people onto the streets, mostly by spreading fear and hatred and often just blatant lies and misinformation.

As the cleanup continues, the Irish government has pledged to modernize hate crime legislation. Within weeks, the police will review its public order tactics this riot a lesson in the weaponisation of fear into incendiary anger. Stephen Murphy, Sky News, Dublin.

Car manufacturer Nissan is to invest more than 2 billion pounds to build new electric versions of its popular Duke and kashkai models at its Sunderland plant, supporting thousands of jobs. The announcement came less than two months after the Prime Minister delayed the transition to electric vehicles by five years our business correspondent Paul Kelso reports from Sunderland.

If you promise to invest in British industry, you can expect government help. Make it 2 billion pounds and the Prime Minister and Chancellor will even pitch in. They joined the production line in Sunderland as Nissan announced plans for a new battery gigafactory, its third to power future electric vehicles. Nissan and its partners are tripling their investment in the UK to 3 billion pounds this is our largest car plant. Its future is safeguarded, protecting thousands of jobs and also transitioning to new electric vehicles.

So it's a huge vote of confidence.

In the UK and in our automotive industry. It's only 18 months since Boris Johnson was here, hailing a 1 billion pound investment in battery production. This new factory means future electric models of the best selling cash kai, the Duke and the already all electric Leaf will be built here. It's an early return on the Chancellor's commitment this week of 2 billion pounds to fund green car technologies and further shores up the UK auto industry. Nissan's investment means it will have three battery factories producing three different electric models. In July, Indian conglomerate Tata, the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, announced a 4 billion pound battery factory in Bridgewater. BMW has confirmed it will build electric minis in Oxford using imported batteries. And Stalantis, owner of Vauxhall, Peugeot and Fiat, will build small electric vans at Elsmere Port this announcement come just two months after the Prime Minister delayed the transition to electric vehicles by five years, something the Office of Budget Responsibility thinks may have hit demand. But the commitment of up to 200 million pounds of public money here suggests he knows the UK cannot afford to be left behind, even if the industry is keener on electric than he is.

While the UK will wait till 2035 to ban petrol and diesel cars, nissan's President told me they're sticking to their plan to go all electric by 2030. The market is evolving at many speeds, so I think it's not a matter of the timing, rather how we are going to anticipate the future and to do what we have to do. So for me, as far as our strategy is concerned, we are keeping the way we are and we want to deliver as much as possible something to safer, cleaner and inclusive world to the customer. Electric cars are still pricier than their carbon emitting competitors, but mass production at Britain's biggest plant must help close the gap. Paul Kelso, Sky News, in Sunflower.

Former Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison on parole in January, 10 years after he shot and killed his girlfriend through a bathroom door. But the mother of this victim, Reeva Steenkamp, claimed the 37 year old had not been rehabilitated and was still lying about what happened. Our Afghan correspondent Yusra El Bagir was outside the prison as parole was granted.

The murder story that captured the world and saw a heroic Olympian fall from grace. Nearly eleven years ago, Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reva Steenkamp, and after close to a decade behind bars, he's been granted early release as his lawyers left the prison grounds, spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services in charge of monitoring the parole laid out the conditions.

The parole placement for Mr. Oscar Pistoras has been confirmed effectively from the 5 January 2024.

These parole terms, which include community service and anger management, have been welcomed by Reva's mother, June Steenkamp, who wants them to be consistently upheld while he serves the rest of his sentence outside of prison.

If that's what the law says, and if those are the rules, then we need to question the rules. We can't question those who interpret the rules and make decisions on those rules because I think that leads leads to chaos and mayhem.

This correctional facility is where Oscar Pistores has been living as a prisoner since 2016. It's also where his parole hearings has.

Taken place and where he'll walk out.

As a free man under parole conditions. His family were hoping he'd be home by Christmas, but he's now due to stay here until the start of next year. Yusrael barrel. Sky News, pretoria.

West Midlands police is to be put into special measures following a series of failings, including poor investigations. The Inspector of Constabulary said the force, the country's second largest, is to be moved into an enhanced level of monitoring. The watchdog also raised concerns about how the force safeguards vulnerable people and manages sex and child abuse offenders. The chief constable of West Midlands Police said he completely disagrees with the decision. Wonky half dead. And like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it's not how you'd expect residents to describe their Christmas tree. But in one small town in Cambridgeshire, a festive row has broken out with concerns their 30 foot high conifer could now be a safety risk. Rachel Venables reports.

From the moment this tree went up in the town center, local residents couldn't help but notice that something was just a little off and by about 45 degrees. It's amazing. I think it's so funny, but it's actually beautiful as well and it's unique.

Does it look Christmassy to you? Doesn't look Christmassy to me.

I just think the volunteers have done a wonderful job to put it up and we shouldn't really be knocking them, should we?

It may be all right when it's up at nighttime and not bendy. The best view of the now infamous wonky tree is enjoyed by this butchers across the street. And people preordering their Christmas turkey can talk of little else.

This is typical for March to have a tree as big as it is, half dead and half leaning into the street. You see people outside taking pictures and that. Yes, it's quite funny.

Yeah.

What about you? When you see it, and I don't know if you've been watching it, have you sort of grown to love it? Are you sort of getting more nervous about it?

I'm getting more nervous because every time you sort of glance over, it seems like it's leaning and leaning more and minute you're going to think it's going to be in the road or waffle in the market square or crashing someone's car or something. But, yeah, I just got to sort of look it and laugh, really.

Well. Once this tree went up, there was a huge debate online, a fair bit of criticism as well. And responding to that, the lights committee said that they ordered the tree almost a year ago. They say it's all down to the supplier and down to luck, really, what the size and condition of the Christmas tree is. But they have said that they will pass along the feedback about the tree not being straight in the hope that next year's tree is a better one. Whatever controversy exists around the tree, it didn't keep the crowds away from the annual Christmas lights switch on. And no doubt local leaders will be hoping that in the very best spirit of Christmas, people can forgive the wonky tree. Rachel Venables, Sky News, March.

What's a bit of wonkiness between friends at Christmas? That was Sky News at Ten. Coming up, we'll take first look at tomorrow's newspapers in the press preview tonight, we're joined by the CEO of Total Politics Group, Mark Wallace, and the Guardian convist, Zoe Williams. Amongst the stories we'll be discussing, the Eye has the headline free after 48 days picturing just a small handful of the hostages released by Hamas as part of the agreed prison swap. We'll be discussing that and other stories. Be right back.

Welcome back. You are watching Sky News. In just a moment, the press preview a first look at what's on the front pages as they arrive. But first, our top stories. 24 hostages have been released by Hamas under the ceasefire deal they have been held in Gaza since the attack on Israel nearly seven weeks ago. They included women, children and a group of Thai farm workers. Israel confirmed tonight it has released 39 Palestinian prisoners as part of the agreement and said during the truce they will continue preparation for the next stage of their Gaza operation. Ireland's police force have mounted a significant security operation in Dublin tonight and made a number of arrests to prevent a repeat of last night's disturbances. You are watching the Press preview. First look at what's on the front pages as they arrive. It's time to see what's making the headlines with the CEO of Total Politics Group, Mark Wallace and the Guardian columnist Zoe Williams. They'll be with us from now until just before midnight, so let's see what's on some of those front pages for you now. Well, the eye has the headline free after 48 days. Picturing just a small handful of the hostages released by Hamas as part of the agreed prisoner swap.

The Times declares at last freedom for some. The Mirror has a nearly identical headline. The Financial Times says a truce has taken hold in Gaza. The Guardian describes the war as having been paused. And according to the Telegraph, the chief executive of Comic Relief has resigned after disagreeing with the charity's stance that there should be a ceasefire in Gaza away from matters in the Middle East. The Mail calls for the end of the freeze on personal income tax thresholds which the paper brands a stealth tax. The Express speaks to the broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Ranson as she undergoes treatment for cancer. And in a week when the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, was forced to deny swearing about the town of Stockton ontes in Parliament. The Star calls it a Garden of Eden and a reminder that by scanning the QR code you'll see on screen during the program, you can check out the front pages of tomorrow's newspapers while you watch us. And we are joined tonight by Mark Wallace and Zoe Williams. Welcome to you both. Let's start with the front page of The Eye and the headline there Free after 48 Days.

Pictured there some of the Israeli hostages being released. A good news day, but reservations because there are still many more people who have been kept.

I mean there are reservations from literally every side, including all kind of external agencies. The ceasefire is only four days. The hostage swap obviously has left a lot of people, a lot of Israeli hostages still in Gaza. The release of Palestinian prisoners has obviously reignited an absolute furori over the way Israel in particular treats child know they've been censored internationally for trying children without their parents present and without them being able to understand the language in which they're being tried. So actually there's a huge amount of very difficult further conversations to have. Nevertheless, obviously it's a breakthrough. Obviously it signals a change in TAC. Obviously, I mean, I say obviously, but I would be surprised if it didn't result in either a longer than four day ceasefire or more ceasefires down the road.

And that's the hope that it will be a permanent ceasefire. Certainly those are the soundings that are coming out from the region and particularly.

I hope, I mean obviously, as you say, Zoe. It's a four day agreement. Israel said that it's willing to extend it day by day based on continuing release. And I think it's obviously, as they've said, a but not the only major goal of their operation in Gaza and operation since the atrocities of the 7 October has been released, has been to skew the release of these hostages.

But they have also said that once the ceasefire, however long it will be extended for, is over, they are going to continue the war.

Yes, and you can see Benjamin Netanyahu's comments today were that securing the release of hostages is one of the goals, but they intend to fulfill what he refers to as all the goals of their operation. That does, of course, include what they've stated to be the destruction of Hamas militarily. But before that, I think you're absolutely right. The first thing to focus on is these people, 48 days after being snatched from their homes amid unspeakable atrocities around them. Goodness knows what some of them may have suffered and experienced since that time. Elderly people and, well people, small children, the relief for their families that they are free, the angst for the families of the 200 or so further hostages. We still don't know exactly who and how many people are being held because Hamas and others haven't said. One of the hostages released today is reported to have been allegedly claimed to have been dead a few days ago by Islamic Jihad. And so the angst of those who are the loved ones of those who've not yet been released continues.

There is something, isn't there, because Netanyahu has really come under fire from families, precisely because the first three weeks of the fighting, he did not seem like he was movable on this. He did not seem like he was open to a hostage swap. He did not seem like he was open to any kind of ceasefire in the service of a hostage swap. So it is worth wondering whether this doesn't signal something either in regards to his mindset or in regards to his strength within his own cabinet.

I mean, I think a couple of things we don't know. We don't know how long these negotiations have been going on. For obvious reasons, they're not conducted in public. So it could be that they're extremely recent, it could be that they've been longer running. We do know from, and I think it was in the VT, the report earlier, that the preparations to receive released hostages have been put in place over quite some time preceding this. It's undoubtedly the case that within Israel the political environment has shifted and actually there has been a growing movement around the families of hostages. There is, of course, also an existing voice, rightly so, within Israel, for the victims of israeli victims of terrorism in previous years, some of whom are very understandably, very concerned, to see people convicted of terrorist offenses being released in return.

For this kind of isn't the main that isn't the main opposition, but that's.

In the mix too.

What I'm saying is in the mix. But if you look at the pressure Miletanyahu's under, he's under pressure from the center and he's under pressure from the center of his own political environment. And anything to the left of the center is being put him under pressure for a long time. So I think what this signals is not that there's this kind of side voice about what to do about previous conflicts. I think it signals that his strength in his own agenda, which was very much not hostage focused at the start, you will recall he actively said he didn't want to talk about the hostages in kind of key discussions.

Well, some of the families reported in the papers today that exactly that he didn't want to talk about the hostages, and it didn't seem to be his focus. His focus was to wage war and they felt that they weren't being listened to. Let's look at the Times to talk about what we saw in the West Bank and thousands of Palestinians gathering outside the Offer military prison that's to witness the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Yes, and I think it actually this image that's so bold and so clear on the front page of the Times underscores a little bit what we were just saying. This is a picture of armed and masked men escorting elderly people and vulnerable children. But I do think it's quite important. I don't think all the coverage so far of this deal and this exchange has fully reflected, I think some of it's become too close to risking the idea of equivalence between who is being released by Hamas innocent civilians and who is being released by the Israelis. Some, but not. I completely agree with you about the criticisms of the Israeli handling, particularly of some child internees. But some of those who are being released, who are convicted of things like stabbing attacks, petrol bombings and so on, I think it's really important that we make clear there isn't an equivalence between who's being swapped. This isn't hamas releases hostages, israel releases hostages. And so it is important that we make that clear and put in that light. It is troubling, I think, in some ways to see crowds celebrating the return of people who were in prison in Israel for, for example, stabbing police officers.

The girl you're talking about who stabbed a police officer a sorry, it's a quote mark, because she was tried and this is actually a matter of public record she was tried. Not understanding what the process was. The idea that you could convict somebody when they don't understand the language they're being tried in.

Just so I completely clear, the quote marks mean you're disputing that people have been released.

Are.

I'm disputing that you can call somebody guilty when the terms of their trial.

You're disputing the person who stabbed a police officer, the person who did an attempted stabbing attack the arsenal, the lady who exploded a gas canister.

And she was a child when that crime was committed and she didn't understand the procedure, so she couldn't there is no way of calling that due process. Now, obviously, I wasn't there. I don't know what happened, but I can't look at that and say, oh, that person definitely did stab a policeman, or definitely was convicted correctly. If the actual due process in the trial of a child isn't upheld, which.

It hasn't been, I mean, I think it's difficult to debate when we don't know the detail.

That's what justice is for.

Go back to what I was just saying. If you have a crowd of people who believe they are welcoming home people who are treating as heroes because they believe they have attacked Israeli no, that's a problem.

They're welcoming them because they were imprisoned as children and they missed them and they didn't know why they were imprisoned.

I mean, they did know why, but you're just disputing the mark, honestly.

There are international agencies who have called into question so many child convictions in Israel that this is a real thing.

They weren't all children that were released. No were adult women. And it's something that the IDF wanted to stop, as you say. That the celebratory mood. That's something that they banned, but obviously was completely ignored.

Well, I mean, from a garzin point of view, if you're going to get bombed anyway, and then somebody says, don't cheer, I don't see what I think. What Israel might do next, from a Garzan point of view, is so unknowable and so the proportion of it is so unknowable that I doubt very much that they could have much say over how people behave in a crowd.

On this we agree. I think the likelihood of Garzans, or indeed residents of the West Bank following IDF orders about what to say and do is extremely low. I'm still troubled by what appears to me to be lionization and celebration of people who've done really bad things.

Nobody's lionizing terrorists.

Hamas have essentially a cult of lionizing terrorists.

Hamas are terrorists, so they are lionizing.

Terrorists, but there is a major cult of lionizing terrorists.

No attempt at all to say if somebody celebrates when their teenager comes back from a prison sentence, which they thought unjust to begin with, and many impartial observers agreed with them, I think you're pushing the point to say that that's wrong, for them to look happy.

Well, I'm skeptical. Every member of the crowd was a parent.

I think you're not going to agree on this. We can't go into the Minutiae, the legal system, and whether those that were found guilty were actually guilty. That's not our place to do that here. Let's look at the Ft weekend and the fact that this truce is ongoing. Really looking at the likelihood of will it last? I mean, so far, it's gone according to textbook. It's amazing. It's been absolutely, completely smooth.

And I think this shows a number of different I mean, firstly, mercifully, it's begun as it's begun, and I very much hope it continues, I hope it holds and it succeeds in seeing the release of the hostages and continuing beyond those four days. As I say, it says a number of different things. It certainly does say something about the political pressure that Net nyahu is under. It says something about the rightful importance that Israeli society places on seeing these hostages return. It also says something about the pressure that Hamas in particular is feeling from the Israeli campaign, because the expectation was there was a lot of speculation that this was all part of a cunning ploy to enmesh the IDF in Gaza City, and then Ali Bunkel was saying Hezbollah would swoop in the Iranians together. It was part of a grand plan. Now, since Hamas made a variety of very severe miscalculations and it has been brought to the table as well, I.

Don'T think Hamas it depends what you think. Their calculation was right. I mean, the American intelligence of their calculation was that they were intending they have this kind of necropolitical disregard for the lives on either side and they were intending to provoke a disproportionate Israeli response. And so they've succeeded.

And Mark, we're going to have to leave it there for the break. Much more coming up afterwards. But in the meantime, the Mail calls for an end for the freeze on personal tax thresholds. We'll be discussing that next. Do stay with us.

I think the most surprising thing is I looked at the numbers first and I thought, Ah, okay, the number for the year ending June, it's higher than ever. But then what was interesting is I looked further down and we see this very substantial revision of calendar year 2022, which suggests then that we're perhaps on a downwards trajectory. But there's a big caveat there. Remember that these are provisional figures and they could be revised. We wouldn't expect them to be revised quite so largely as they were in 2022, but that is still a possibility. So we've got people coming to beat doctors, nurses, but the really striking thing, care workers. So 100,000 visas going to care workers and senior care workers. And this results from a liberalization of our immigration system last year that made it possible for what the government had previously classed as lower skilled care workers to come in. I mean, we know this is an industry that's crying out for workers, but of course, critics have observed immigration can only ever be a short term solution to skill shortages in that sector. And it disincentivizes the government from investing more in that industry to improve paying conditions and attract more British workers, about roughly half and half between students and workers.

The government has already acted to restrict the ability of master's students to bring partners and children in 2022. That was about 75,000 from January. Next year, it will no longer be possible for one year master's students to bring their dependents. That will have a role in bringing down the numbers. But I think it's really important to go back to those changes, the post Brexit immigration system, because while it was so much more restrictive for EU citizens now, net migration, more EU citizens leaving than coming in, it was actually more liberal for non EU citizens. A lower salary threshold. People could come into work earning a lower salary, they could come into jobs that were lower skilled. Before, Brexit had to be graduate level jobs requiring degrees. Now it's a level or equivalent education. And then under Boris Johnson, the introduction of the graduate route, the visa that allows students to stay in on the UK, in the UK for two to three years after graduating. So these in combination are all adding up to these figures and it will be really interesting to see whether the Government is serious about introducing what would be a reversal of policy restrictions on this.

Welcome back. You are watching the press preview. Still with me, Mark Wallace and Zoe Williams taking us through the papers this evening. Let's have a look at the front page of the Daily Telegraph and this story about the Comic Relief chief who's quit his position. This is Eric Salama. I think that's how you pronounce it. He's left allegedly over Comic Relief taking a stance on calling for a ceasefire. What more detail do we know about this story?

So, basically, Comic Relief signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire, which many, many charities and other agencies were signing at the time. They apparently did not consult the board, which is what Eric Salamar has resigned over. It's surprising to me because he was due to exit in March 2024 anyway. So resigning prematurely over a governance issue, which won't be his problem in a couple of months, seems to signal a very great state of agitation on that. I'm surprised that Comic Relief didn't anticipate and therefore discussed that that would have been the case, but Mark is less surprised than me.

Well, I think that's normal, I suppose. It's certainly a bit easier to resign when you're stepping down a few months later. Well, I think on the governance thing, if you're on the board of a charity, comes from really, really serious responsibilities and some really serious risks if it's done wrong. But it may also be a question of personal opinion that's not entirely clear.

Well, he's stepping down because management took an approach to an issue which I thought was profoundly wrong and which I could not live with.

Yeah. And I do think it's a valid interpretation to say that, signing this statement, but as far as I'm aware, Comic Relief has never called for Hamas to stop its regular firing of missiles in peacetime prior to but that is taking sides to some degree, isn't it?

Comic relief, the calling for a ceasefire has been quite widespread. It's been the UN line for at least two and a half.

The United Nations has said a variety.

Of somewhat dubious no, honestly, if you look at the UN if you look at the Unhcwr, we read that's what.

He was not like. This is uncontroversial. I mean, the Labor Party has been riven over the issue. For example, one of my own local councilors has basically been either resigned or chucked out. The Conservative Party.

The fact that British politics manages to tie its neckers in a twist about.

It not just British politics that's river.

But it is not that controversial for a charity which is well dominated.

There is disagreement over called for. Just very quickly, the male story. Just take us through that very quickly, we want to end the stealth tax.

Mark, this is really, really interesting. Obviously, this is coming a couple of days after the awesome statement. One of the big criticisms, this was a criticism of Gordon Brown for many years, rightly? It's been a criticism of the Conservatives, particularly of Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt, the idea of fiscal drag. So you keep tax rates down, but you keep thresholds the same. While wages rise, more people get caught in higher rates and effectively by stealth tax. The Conservatives used to oppose this when Gordon Brown did it. They've come in for a lot of stick over continuing to do it, and now they're saying, well, maybe in the budget in the spring, or maybe in a manifesto in the spring, we might be willing to undo this if you vote for us. I would argue belated, but it shows that it's hurting.

Mark must leave it there. And Zoe, thank you so much. See you in the next hour. Let's take a look at the weather for you now.