NewsHour

President Trump's Middle East envoy has told a packed rally of relatives of Israeli hostages and their supporters in Tel Aviv that they were coming home. Steve Witkoff's remarks come ahead of Monday's expected release of 48 living and dead hostages by Hamas, as part of the Gaza peace deal. Mr Witkoff praised President Trump -- to cheers -- as well as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu -- whose name was booed. We speak to a doctor at one of the Israeli hospitals where they're expected to arrive.

Also, protests in Madagascar, where at least twenty two people have been killed in recent weeks.

And the Hollywood actress Diane Keaton has died. She was 97. Known for her versatility, Diane Keaton first became famous in the early 1970s when she appeared in the Godfather films. She later won an Oscar for her role as Woody Allen's love interest in the 1977 romantic comedy, Annie Hall.

(Photo: U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks at "Hostages square", flanked by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 11, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

Donald Trump says Hamas is gathering the Israeli hostages "now", adding that he's confident the Gaza deal he helped broker will "hold".

As thousands of Palestinians have begun returning to Gaza's north and Hamas has until midday on Monday to release the hostages, we hear from the Gaza Strip and assess what Hamas and Israel are likely to do now.

Also in the programme: Donald Trump has said he could impose an additional 100% tariff on imports from China from next month after Beijing's move to tighten its rare earths export rules; and MTV, the world's first 24-hour music broadcaster, is to stop showing rolling pop videos in just about every country except the United States.

(Photo shows Crowds of Palestinians making their way up a narrow coastal road to Gaza's north. Credit: Haitham Imad/EPA)

Palestinians in Gaza returning to their homes following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas say they've been shocked by the scale of destruction. Also on the programme, The Venezuelan opposition leader and democracy activist, María Corina Machado, has been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize; and, the green turtle has been rescued from the brink of extinction in what scientists are calling a major conservation victory.

(Photo: Palestinians react near rubble following Israeli forces' withdrawal from the area, after Israel and Hamas agreed on the Gaza ceasefire, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 10, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Venezuela's opposition leader and pro-democracy activist María Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

For years, she has campaigned against Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, whose 12-year rule is viewed by many nations as illegitimate. We'll speak to one of her close allies about what difference the award might make.

Also in the programme: Thousands of displaced Palestinians are heading back to what's left of their homes as a ceasefire comes into effect in Gaza; how AI-controlled weapons could become a reality on the battlefields of Ukraine; and a new species of pre-historic marine reptile that's just been identified by scientists.

(Photo shows Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at a protest on 9 January 2025. Credit: Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage release deal, paving the way for a possible end to the conflict in Gaza. Also on the programme, a Hungarian author of apocalyptic novels wins the Nobel Prize for Literature.

(Photo: Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, reacts, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire, at the "Hostages square", in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

US President Donald Trump says Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of his Gaza ceasefire deal.

We'll speak to the father of one of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza and get reaction from Gaza City. We also assess the chances and the many obstacles that remain in the way of a lasting peace deal.

Also on the programme: this year's Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to the Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai; and the celebrated Chinese pianist Lang Lang on his new album.

(Photo: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio updates President Trump on the Gaza proposal on September 22 at the White House. Credit: Reuters)

Former FBI director James Comey has pleaded not guilty in a US federal court to charges of making false statements to Congress and obstruction of justice.

Also on the programme: President Trump has called for the jailing of Illinois governor and Chicago mayor, accusing them of not doing enough to ensure the safety of federal immigration officers who are conducting raids in Chicago; France's outgoing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu says President Emmanuel Macron could nominate a new prime minister in the next 48 hours; and the award-winning musical 'Les Misérables’ turns 40.

(Photo:James Comey, former director of the FBI, is seen in a frame grab from a video feed as he is sworn in remotely from his home during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing exploring the FBI's investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian election interference in Washington, on the 30th of September 2020. Credit: U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary/Handout via REUTERS)

The price of gold has hit a record high of more than $4,000 an ounce as investors look for safe places to put their money over concerns about economic and political uncertainty around the world.

Also in the programme: Is time running out for France's President Emmanuel Macron? And we meet the woman trying to become the first person on record to walk the length of Saudi Arabia, from north to south.

(Photo: Gold bars at bullion house in Mumbai. Credit: Reuters/Arko Datta/File Photo)

The attacks saw over 1,200 people killed and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages. It was the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. Israel responded by launching a military offensive in Gaza which has killed more than 67,000 people, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Its figures are seen as reliable by the UN and other international bodies. We'll hear from Eli Sharabi, an Israeli hostage held for almost five hundred days in the tunnels of Gaza, and ask how the last two years have re-shaped the region.

Also on the programme: how the victims of the Mynanmar military junta are suing a Norwegian telecoms firm; and the newly-crowned Nobel Prize winner, Fred Ramsdell, recalls how his digital detox was interrupted by the news of his win.

(Photo: People attend a ceremony in Tel Aviv to mark the two-year anniversary of the Hams-led October 7th attacks on Israel. Credit: REUTERS/Shir Torem)

Israelis are marking two years since Hamas's attacks on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Meanwhile mediators at talks on the US Gaza peace plan are reported to have reached an understanding with Israel and Hamas on a five-point framework for negotiations.

Also in the programme: the Nobel Prize for Physics; and some good news about humpback whales in Australia.

(Photo: Israelis visit memorials at the site of the Nova music festival, near Re'im, on the second anniversary of the 07 October 2023 Hamas attacks, near the Gaza border, southern Israel, 07 October 2025. Credit: Atef Safadi EPA/Shutterstock)