He shared his joy and relief following the release and said he hopes he will see both women next week. 0h, oh, ive been waiting for this moment for a long time for two weeks. I havent been sleeping for two weeks. Tonight, im going to sleep good. I spoke with my daughter earlier today. She sounds very good. She looks very good. She was very happy. And shes waiting to come home. Lets bring you more now on the fate of those two american hostages freed by hamas. Us President Joe Biden spoke with the two women after their release on friday, telling them that their government will fully support them as they recover and heal. And Secretary Of StateAnthony Blinken said hes relieved the women have been released but reminded reporters that many others are still being held. There are still 10 additional americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict. We know some are being held hostage by hamas, along with an estimated 200 other hostages held in gaza. They include men, women, young boys, young girls, elderly people from many nations. Every single one of them should be released. Our correspondent Barbara Plett usher brings us more from inside the halls of the state department. The release of the hostages disrupted the day here at the state department. We were sitting down for the Daily Briefing and then we were told that it would be delayed for two hours because of Breaking News. Now, they didnt say what the Breaking News was, but we knew what it was. And so when we returned to the briefing room, there was another delay and then Secretary Of StateAntony Blinken came out to speak. And this was an important moment for him, because he has really been pressing for the release of the hostages during his recent trip to the region, engaging in Shuttle Diplomacy between israel and the arab states. He was pressing for this, especially in qatar, which has taken the lead in trying to negotiate the release of the hostages because it has relations with hamas. There is a hamas office in doha, so qatar has been working very hard on this. The Foreign Ministry there released a statement saying there had been days of continuous communication to get to this point with all parties, and saying that the qataris would continue talks with hamas and with the israelis to try to get the rest of the hostages released, and hopefully that would help to de escalate the situation. Hamas said that it was releasing these hostages for humanitarian reasons, but it also said that it was in talks with qatar and egypt to talk about releasing the rest of the civilian hostages if the Security Arrangements or if the Security Arrangements or if the Security Environment allowed and reports suggest that they were saying that if the air strikes would stop, this could be a possibility. Mr blinken was asked whether he saw this as a window of opportunity to follow up. He didnt really go there. He said that the us position was all hostages should be released immediately and unconditionally, and he said he would not take at Face Value Anything that hamas said. Michael allen served as special Assistant To The President at the National Security council, and gave his assessment of the release of the hostages. So i think it might give israel some hope that the Qatar Negotiation Channel with the leaders of hamas who are there in doha might bearfruit. They may they may give the Hostage Negotiations channel more time to work before going into gaza. Welljust have to see whether this is an isolated incident where hamas decided it was in their interest for these two american hostages to be let go or whether its a sign that they might be able to do more negotiations, perhaps hamas hostages for ones that israel has in prison for whatever crimes they might have committed. Rabbi meir hecht knows both judith and Natalie Raanan personally. He spoke to my colleague Caitriona Perry after the news of their release. Judith prays every week in our congregation, for every sabbath, every holiday, and we miss her. And shes been a part of our congregation in such an important way, and as a family friend, someone who would come to our home every sabbath, parade around the house with our baby and bring over gifts for the children. Really, our hearts are filled with gratitude to almighty god for this miracle. And again, we continue to pray and ask everyone to pray for the release of the other 200 plus hostages in the hands of hamas terrorists. And what more can you tell us aboutjudith and natalie . As you say, theyre members of the congregation there. What kind of women are they . What kind of role do they have in the community there . Judith and natalie are really special people. Judith is the most kind, giving, sharing, generous person, someone who is always first to be there for other people in their time of need. She is a woman who would, as i said, come over and bring gifts for the children. Shes someone who loves life, loves humanity. Her daughter natalie is the same. Like mum, like daughter, these are people who have a love for every human being. And they are both artists, which means that they have a special touch of spirituality in their soul something that theyre able to convey through the beauty of art. For more on the hostages returning home, and the wider regional conflict, i spoke with north Dakota Republican senator kevin cramer. Senator, thank you very much Forjoining Us on bbc news tonight. I first just want to get your reaction to the news that two american hostages have been released. Well, first of all, its impossible to be anything other than pleased by it joyful about it, grateful, frankly, that at least a couple more people are free and they get to be reunited with their families. And thanks to everybody in the value chain that made that possible. Senator, are you confident that this is a sign, perhaps, that other hostages might also be released . Well, you know, its obviously. Wed like to get them all released, and right now would be a good time to do it since we couldnt get it done sooner. That said, hostages are hostages for a reason. Usually theyre used for some motivation, and so well see. But obviously two today is great, and lets hope that it leads to two later and two again and again and again. But in the meantime, we still need to be diligent, do everything we can to identify where they are, and do everything we can to get them released, either by diplomatic means or by force if necessary. Hopefully diplomatic means will do it. But this is where we need our friends in the region, like the qataris and like egypt and our other friends in the region, to help us with the diplomatic side of things. And that seems to be what happened here. I dont know what, if anything, hamas gets out of this or if theyre going to demand anything going forward. But were just grateful for these two for now. I want to ask you about what we saw from President Biden on thursday evening. He has said that hes asking congress for more than 100 billion in funding for israel, for ukraine, also some money for the us mexico border. And he said in his address that its a smart investment thats going to pay dividends for American Security for generations. Do you agree . Well, i agree that it can, but weve got a long ways to go to make it the type of package that actually does have forward leaning opportunities that does in fact secure the Southern Border of the United States of america as well as other countries� borders. So were going to obviously have to work it over in the United States senate, and certainly the house will as well. Its a collaborative process that gets to something that can actually pass. I dont think the amount is so horrible. That doesnt bother me. In fact, i wouldnt mind if it was twice as much, as long as its put to a use that does in fact secure oui future. But at the same time, part of why were here at the moment we are is because weve been projecting weakness both out of the white house, and frankly out of the country for the last few years, as weve really neglected our military. Weve neglected rebuilding. So, senator, could ijump in there and just ask you. Could i ask you what youd like to see then instead from President Biden . Sure. What id rather see, quite honestly, is a United States of America National defence supplemental. And yes, ukraine is part of that. Yes, israel is part of that. Certainly, the Southern Border has to be the most important part of that, because what good is it to secure other nations if were not going to secure our own . But i think we need to recognise that weve been taking a peace dividend, really for decades, and its caught up to us. We have a 60 year old Nuclear Deterrent and we need to modernise that. Our strategic posture is not what it needs to be. So what im saying is, lets rebuild our weapons systems, lets modernise our weapons systems, lets put more money into intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and next generation war fighters and make sure that the world is safer because the United States is stronger, much like Ronald Reagan and Maggie Thatcher did when they won the cold war without firing a shot. So you said, senator, that this request would need some work in the senate, in congress. If you look over at the house at the moment, theyve been without a speaker for two weeks. It doesnt look like the process is going to get resolved any time in the next few days, at least. What is your message to your colleagues in the house . Well, first of all, i would say to individual members of the house and i have many good friends over there, i served there for six years i would say, you exist for the congress. The congress does not exist for you. Put aside your petty differences and whatever disagreements you might have on an individual basis and look at the collective. And that is your colleagues, the other 434 members, whats good for the institution, whats good for the country and whats good for the world. Because right now, part of that projection of weakness, unfortunately as a republican it pains me to say this but part of that projection of weakness is coming from the message coming from the House Of Representatives and the chaos thats ensuing over there. Because when a small group of people can sort of force the vast majority of people into a Compromising Position or a chaotic position, were not projecting the kind of strength that the United States needs to project. So its time to get over it. Now, if in fact its hard to get over it, turning to the humanitarian situation in gaza, and several trucks loaded with food, water and medicine are still stuck in egypt. The un Secretary General visited the rafah crossing on friday. He said aid should be moving in the next day or so. Andrew harding has more from al arish in northern egypt, close to the gaza border. High above the egyptian desert, a consignment of humanitarian aid on its way towards the besieged territory of gaza. This Military Plane from nearby jordan has brought medical equipment, including bandages and syringes. Theyjoin other supplies being offloaded here in egypt, just a few kilometres from the Border Crossing into gaza. And inside gaza today, more signs of growing hunger and desperation, people scrambling to buy a few remaining chickens in crowded cities that remain entirely cut off from the outside world. No wonder there is such pressure to get this aid in. This is an operation fraught with risk. The aim is to channel vast amounts of humanitarian aid into gaza through one narrow Border Crossing, amid continuing israeli air strikes, amid genuine israeli fears that this route could be used by their enemy hamas to smuggle in more weapons, and amid the constant risk that at any moment an Israeli Ground offensive could put a stop to all of this. But first the border itself needs to open, a logjam of over 100 trucks packed with aid still stuck on the egyptian side as negotiations drag on. So when the United NationsSecretary General arrived at the border this afternoon, he did not hide his frustration. Behind these walls, we have two Million People that are suffering enormously, that have no water, no food, no medicine. Nearby, an angry crowd demanding the border be opened and the siege of gaza lifted. Andrew harding, bbc news, egypt. Gaza elbursh 2200 20 10 this is an affluent neighbourhood much of Northern Gaza is now in ruins. 0ur reporter adnan el bursh, has sent us this report from one area thats been heavily bombed. This is an affluent neighbourhood in central gaza. 0vernight, its been completely destroyed. 32 tower blocks, each containing dozens of flats, are now totally gone. Translation they told us to evacuate at around 8. 30 or 9. 00 at night. We ran through the streets. Then israel started bombing the area nonstop from nine until seven this morning. You can see all of this destruction. Umm salim lived in one of these blocks of flats. She tells me all the families in her tower are now living stranded in the streets of gaza, with nowhere to go. Other residents say many people remain trapped. Translation we cannot bring people out from under the rubble. Ambulances cannot get here. We cannot pull the bodies out. People are screaming, but we cannot pull them out. Last nights attack took many residents by surprise, as people told me that it has been a relatively calm area in gaza. As we were filming here, a new warning came in from the israeli army, telling people to evacuate. We have now left because its dangerous. But the reality is, for many people still there, there is nowhere safe to go. Adnan el bursh, bbc news, from central gaza. Bushra khalidi is west bank policy lead for oxfam, who is originally from gaza and has been working on the aid response there. She shared an Emotional Message from one of her colleagues whos in gaza. He said, the situation is getting worse day after day. Finally, i managed to get bread forfive shekel, but it will only last for half a day. When i was walking to the bakery, i saw people who came from Gaza Sleeping in their car because they were not able to find shelter. I saw people sleeping in shops, in the streets, on the asphalt, without any mattresses nor blankets. Its a terrible situation theyre suffering. On my way back home, i found two children alone. They were crying. They told me they were in an unrwa shelter, but their parents went to get food and didnt come back. Were looking for them. We cant find them. I was afraid to lose those children, so i took them to a shop owner from khan younis who knows the area and maybe could help them. We dont have electricity, we dont have water. Were buying fuel at double its costs. We rented a generator at a high costjust to pump water for two hours. We were able to buy water for double the price, but it can only cover the need for one day. Were not hungry. We have a little food, but very limited choices, every day, i hear my daughter and my son � dad, i want to return back to gaza. � � why, dad . � � i want to go back to gaza because i want my uniform. � i want to go and play football. � it� s difficult to go. The situation is risky. Insha� allah, you� ll get your uniform and you can go back to the football club. My children are deeply affected by what happened at the hospital the day before yesterday. They are scared. They didn� t know how to make sense of it. It� s difficult to understand why people are being targeted like this and they are afraid they will be targeted ina similarway. We truly hope for a future where everyone is happy and safe and where the humanitarian rules are followed, to ensure protection for all. The fallout from this war is having an impact in the wider region with protests breaking out injordan, lebanon and egypt in response to the al ahli Arab Hospital explosion in gaza. Iran is urging muslim countries to sanction israel following the deadly explosion. Some countries in the region are calling for an immediate ceasefire. In a rare move, the Egyptian Government approved and even organised dozens of locations for protesters to gather. And in the west bank, crowds clashed with israeli forces. Smoke from burned tires filled the streets as protesters hurled rocks at security personnel. On israel� s northern border, with lebanon, there have been regular exchanges of gunfire between the Israel Defence forces and hezbollah, the group designated as a Terror Organisation by many western governments, and which, like hamas, is financially backed by iran. The Israeli Military is now evacuating thousands more residents near the frontier, this time from the city of kiryat shmona. It� s the Largest Community forced to move out as concerns grow that the