Newshour

The Israeli cabinet is meeting to approve the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement. Some relatives of the hostages say it should have come months ago, but several ministers have threatened to resign if it is ratified. We hear from Jerusalem and from Gaza.Also in the programme: why atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, were the highest ever last year, and what that means; and we get a tour of the luxury Roman spa just discovered in the ruins of Pompeii.(IMAGE: The Israeli Security Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meeting ahead of the full Cabinet meeting which is expected to approve the Gaza ceasefire agreement, Friday 17th January 2025 / CREDIT: Israel Government Press Office / Koby Gideon)

Itamar Ben-Gvir is a far right politician who, if he does resign, could bring down the Israeli government. He says a ceasefire would be a win for Hamas,Also on the programme: the American director David Lynch, whose work included films like The Elephant Man and Blue Velvet as well as the TV series Twin Peaks, has died at the age of 78. Nicholas Cage, the star of his classic film Wild At Heart, pays tribute: and animal rights campaigners in France are celebrating the saving of a tame wild boar named "Rillette", who was named after a meat pâté. We hear from the woman who saved him.(Picture: Israel's Minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Credit: Reuters)

An Israeli cabinet meeting to ratify the ceasefire agreement for Gaza between Israel and Hamas is delayed, with the government accusing Hamas of reneging on the terms. We hear from a member of the governing coalition and from Hamas, which denies Israel's accusation. We also hear from one man in Gaza about his hopes for the deal - and from the family of one Israeli hostage. And we talk to the co-author of a new study reassessing the number of those killed in Gaza, who explains why current estimates are likely to be far too low.(Photo: A Palestinian child jumps down from the rubble of a building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, ahead of a ceasefire set to take effect on Sunday, in Khan Younis, Gaza, 16 January, 2025. Credit: Hatem Khaled/Reuters)

After 15 months of war, Hamas and Israel have agreed a ceasefire agreement which will come into force on the 19th January. The deal will enter a 42-day first phase, after which the second phase of the ceasefire and further release of hostages will need to be agreed. We speak to the brother-in-law of one the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, an Israeli Member of the Knesset who is opposed to the deal, a Palestinian journalist living in Gaza and a representative of UNRWA, the main United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. Also in the programme: how wildfires in LA have destroyed thousands of homes in working class neighbourhoods. Photo: Palestinian supporters celebrate news of a ceasefire with Israel, in Berlin, Germany, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben