Hello and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service,
coming to you live from London with me, John Donison.
And we're going to start the programme in the Middle East.
US-led efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal to end the war in Gaza have come to nothing ever
since Israel shattered the last one back in March when it resumed the conflict with full force.
Today, though,
Hamas has given its response to the latest proposal put forward by the United States.
The Islamist group says it's prepared to release 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of a further 18 who are dead.
That would be in exchange for more Palestinian detainees held in Israeli jails.
But Hamas also expressed strong reservations about the deal
because it didn't include guarantees on aid and,
crucially, permanently ending the war in Gaza,
something it has been insisting on throughout the process.
Well, Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz,
has told the Palestinian group to accept or, in his words, be annihilated.
So let's go to Jerusalem and our correspondent, Barbara Plett-Usher.
And, Barbara... I guess on the face of it,
this looked like progress, but it doesn't really sound like anything has really changed.
No, and it's sounding less and less like progress, actually.
So you had the response where Hamas basically said yes on the one hand,