Hamas to continue releasing Israeli hostages

Hello. As Hamas says it will continue releasing Israeli hostages, Alice Cuddy speaks to the parents of four Israeli women recently freed from captivity in Gaza about their ordeal. Ahead of the Munich Security Conference, Frank Gardner explains how US President Donald Trump's plans for Ukraine will affect the summit. Earlier on Thursday, the German city was the site of a suspected car attack - but police say they don't believe it's related to the high-profile gathering. Scroll down to read about what we know so far.

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Hamas says hostages to be freed as planned

Hamas accused Israel of violating the deal by failing to allow the agreed amount of aid into Gaza, which Israel denied. Credit: Reuters

Hamas said it would continue releasing hostages as scheduled, raising hopes that the Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel can hold and a resumption of the war be averted. An Israeli government spokesperson did not comment on the development, but stated that the ceasefire would end if Hamas did not free three living hostages on Saturday. Hamas had earlier said it was postponing releases over what it claimed were Israeli violations of the deal. Hostages who have recently been released have shed new light on their time in captivity. The parents of four women have told Alice Cuddy about how their daughters were abused, including being starved and threatened by armed men.

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Ukraine key focus at security conference

The US has dashed Kyiv's hopes of joining Nato, a key ambition of President Zelensky. Credit: EPA

US Vice-President JD Vance, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and up to 60 other world leaders are due to convene in Germany over the next three days for the annual Munich Security Conference. It's a key summit at a time when, some argue, the current world security order is at risk of crumbling.

What can we expect from the conference?

Over the next 72 hours we will be hearing from President Trump's team what the details of their plan for Ukraine will be. Some of it is still to be worked out after his envoy, retired US Army General Keith Kellogg, travels to Kyiv next week.

What is the impact of Trump's position on a peace deal in Ukraine?

President Trump has effectively pulled the rug out from Ukraine's negotiating position by conceding, via his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, that restoring Ukraine's territory to where it was before the first Russian invasion in 2014 is simply "not realistic". An even greater shock has come with the news that President Trump held an apparently cordial 90-minute phone call with President Putin, thus abruptly ending the West's three-year freeze in talking to the Russian leader that has been in place since the time of the invasion.

What does this mean for the Nato military alliance?

Nato's unity is badly dented as, clearly, there is a wide difference of opinion over Ukraine between Washington and Europe. One wants the war to end as quickly as possible, even if it means conceding to many of Moscow's demands. The other still believed, at least until this week, that the best way to win a lasting peace would be to keep up the pressure on Moscow until its army was exhausted and it agreed to peace terms more favourable to Ukraine.

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And finally... in Italy

Drone footage shows Europe's most active volcano spewing smoke and lava on a snowy Mount Etna. Lava and ash emissions have increased in the last few days, primarily from the summit craters. Take a look.