January 15, 2025

♪♪ >>> HELLO, EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO "AMANPOUR & CO. " HERE'S WHAT'S COMING UP.

THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT AND HAMAS REACH A CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT.

WE HAVE THE LATEST ON THE LONG-AWAITED MOVE, THE HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL.

WE SPEAK TO SHARONE LIFSCHITZ, WHOSE FATHER WAS KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS, AND TO MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, PRESIDENT OF THE PALESTINIAN NATIONAL INITIATIVE.

ALSO ON THE PROGRAM, MY EXCLUSIVE CONVERSATION WITH THE OUTGOING U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN.

IT IS HIS LAST TV INTERVIEW BEFORE LEAVING HIS POST.

>>> THEN THE U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF TOM FLETCHER JOINS THE SHOW TO TALK ABOUT THE CEASEFIRE NEWS, AS WELL AS THE TALE OF RUSSIA'S ONGOING WAR IN UKRAINE.

♪♪ >>> "AMANPOUR & CO." IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- THE ANDERSON FAMILY ENDOWMENT JIM ATTWOOD AND LESLIE WILLIAMS CANDACE KING WEIR THE SYLVIA A.

AND SIMON B. POYTA PROGRAMING ENDOWMENT TO FIGHT ANTISEMITISM THE FAMILY FOUNDATION OF LEILA AND MICKEY STRAUS MARK J. BLECHNER THE FILOMEN M. D'AGOSTINO FOUNDATION SETON J. MELVIN THE PETER G. PETERSON AND JOAN GANZ COONEY FUND CHARLES ROSENBLUM KOO AND PATRICIA YUEN, COMMITTED TO BRIDGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN OUR COMMUNITIES BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG JEFFREY KATZ AND BETH ROGERS AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

>> WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM, EVERYONE.

I'M CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR IN WASHINGTON, D. C. A CEASEFIRE HOSTAGE RELEASE AGREEMENT HAS BEEN REACHED BY THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT AND HAMAS.

A SENIOR U.S. OFFICIAL CONFIRMS TO ME.

NOW THIS DEAL HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING FOR HOSTAGE FAMILIES IN ISRAEL AND FOR PALESTINIANS IN GAZA, WHO HAVE BEEN UNDER AN ENDLESS ASSAULT FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.

I SPOKE ABOUT THIS BREAKTHROUGH IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN.

I STARTED BY ASKING HIM WHAT EXACTLY THE CEASEFIRE MEANS, AND WE SPOKE JUST AS IT WAS BEING ANNOUNCED.

>> FIRST, THE FIRING STOPS.

HAMAS, ISRAEL STOP FIRING.

ISRAEL PULLS BACK ITS FORCES.

HOSTAGES BEGIN TO BE RELEASED.

PRISONERS COME OUT OF ISRAELI JAILS AND GO BACK.

AND WE SURGE HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO PEOPLE WHO SO DESPERATELY NEED IT.

ALL OF THAT HAPPENS DURING A SIX-WEEK PERIOD.

BUT ALSO DURING THAT SIX WEEKS, WE HAVE TO NEGOTIATE THE UNDERSTANDINGS TO GET TO A PERMANENT CEASEFIRE SO THAT ISRAEL PULLS ALL OF ITS FORCES OUT OF GAZA, HAMAS DOESN'T COME BACK IN, AND THERE IS THE NECESSARY GOVERNANCE, SECURITY, RECONSTRUCTION ARRANGEMENTS SO THAT GAZA CAN MOVE FORWARD.

>> IS THAT SORTED?

>> THAT'S NOT SORTED.

WE'VE WORKED ON IT INTENSELY FOR THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN MONTHS, INTENSELY, BUT QUIETLY, WITH OUR PARTNERS AND WITH OTHERS.

I THINK THERE ARE SOME BASIC UNDERSTANDINGS THAT WE'VE REACHED, BUT THE CEASEFIRE ITSELF HOPEFULLY WOULD CONCENTRATE MINDS AND GET PEOPLE TO WHAT'S NEXT, TO GET THAT DAY AFTER POST FLIFK PLAN IN PLACE.

>> SO SPEAKING AS YOUR SUCCESSOR IS UNDERGOING SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS, SENATOR MARCO RUBIO, DO YOU THINK THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WILL TAKE YOUR BALL AND ROLL WITH IT DOWN THE LINE, OR WILL THEY SAY HEY, NICE TRY, GUYS, BUT WE DON'T CARE.

>> OF COURSE, IT WILL BE UP TO THEM.

IT WILL NOT ONLY BE UP TO THEM, IT WILL BE UP TO THE PARTIES AND ALL CONCERNED.

I THINK THERE IS A STRONG IMPETUS AMONG ALL INVOLVED NOT ONLY TO HAVE THIS CEASEFIRE THAT HOPEFULLY WILL ACHIEVE IN THE COMING HOURS OR CERTAINLY DAYS, BUT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S PERMANENT.

ISRAEL DOES NOT HAVE AN INCENTIVE TO REMAIN BOGGED DOWN IN GAZA WITH AN INSURGENCY BLEEDING IT, CONTINUING TO PUT PRESSURE ON ITS ECONOMY, ON ITS RESERVES.

THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE CERTAINLY DON'T NEED A CONTINUATION OF GAZA.

COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT THE REGION DON'T WANT THAT.

SO I THINK THERE IS GOING TO BE ASSUMING THE CEASEFIRE IS REACHED, STRONG, STRONG PRESSURE FROM ALL SIDES TO MAKE SURE THAT IT BECOMES PERMANENT.

AND THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT I THINK IS THROUGH THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE.

BUT IT WILL BE UP TO THE ADMINISTRATION TO DECIDE WHETHER TO TRY TO CARRY THAT FORWARD, WHETHER IT HAS SOME OTHER WAY OF DOING THIS.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, THOUGH, GET THE CEASEFIRE, MAKE IT PERMANENT.

>> I DON'T KNOW WHETHER YOU AGREE, BUT MANY ANALYSTS ARE SAYING THAT ACTUALLY, TRUMP'S ARRIVAL HAS JUMP-STARTED THIS AND HAS FOCUSED PEOPLE'S MINDS AND AT LEAST GOT THIS CEASEFIRE TO BE SERIOUS.

AS YOU SAY, IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE PRESIDENT PLANNED BACK IN MAY AND ET CETERA.

THERE ARE PEOPLE LIKE VERY PROMINENT ISRAELI HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR WHO SAYS THIS IS NOT A GREAT DEAL, THIS INTERIM ONE.

IT'S ONLY ABOUT 30 HOSTAGES.

MANY, MANY HAVE DIED IN THE INTERIM SINCE MAY.

THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE MUCH EARLIER.

AND I KNOW YOU OFTEN USG BLAMES HAMAS FOR ITS ROLE IN DELAYING.

BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SAW WHAT IT'S MAR GAVIN SAID.

HE BASICALLY SAID ME HAVE SUCCESSFULLY PREVENTED ANY CEASEFIRE DEALS FOR THE PAST YEAR, AND WE STILL WANT TO PREVENT THIS ONE.

HOW DO YOU REACT TO THAT?

AND ARE YOU WILLING TO AGREE THAT ALSO ISRAEL HAS HELD UP WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN THE BIDEN CEASEFIRE WHICH COULD HAVE SAVED MANY LIVES, MANY, MANY MONTHS AGO?

>> SO SHOULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED MONTHS AGO?

YES.

COULD IT HAVE HAPPENED MONTHS AGO?

YES.

WERE THERE OCCASIONS WHEN EACH SIDE DID THINGS THAT MADE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO GET THIS OVER THE FINISH LINE?

YES, INCLUDING ISRAEL.

BUT PREDOMINANTLY, IT'S BEEN HAMAS.

AND CERTAINLY IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, HAMAS HAD REFUSED TO ENGAGE.

WE FINALLY GOT IT TO REENGAGE.

AND IN THESE LAST WEEKS IN PARTICULAR, HAMAS HAS BEEN THE PARTY THAT'S HELD BACK ON FINALLY GETTING TO YES.

BUT WE'VE MANAGED TO PUSH TO A POINT WHERE, AS I SAID, WE'RE ON THE BRINK.

LOOK, I THINK WHAT THE BASIC DYNAMIC HAS BEEN IS THIS.

FIRST, WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT WAS THAT THERE HAD TO BE AN AGREEMENT THAT THIS WOULD PROCEED IN TWO PHASES.

THAT WE'D HAVE THESE SIX WEEKS WHERE EVERYONE STOPS FIRING, ISRAEL PULLS BACK, HOSTAGES COME OUT, PRISONERS ARE RELEASED, HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE GOES IN, AND FINAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR AN ENDURING CEASEFIRE ARE MADE.

FOR MONTHS HAMAS WOULDN'T ACCEPT THAT.

THE PRESIDENT WENT FORWARD, WENT PUBLIC IN MAY, VERY END OF MAY, EARLY JUNE WITH A DETAILED PROPOSAL FOR THAT.

AND THEN WE WENT AROUND THE WORLD.

AND EVERYONE CAME OUT IN SUPPORT OF IT, INCLUDING THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL.

AND AT THAT POINT, HAMAS WAS ISOLATED AND IT SIGNED ON TO THAT FRAMEWORK.

AND EVER SINCE, AS I SAID, WE'VE BEEN WORKING TO IMPLEMENT IT TO GET THE FINAL ARRANGEMENTS.

BUT THERE HAVE BEEN TWO DYNAMICS THAT I THINK HAVE REALLY HELD THINGS BACK MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

ONE, HAMAS WAS HOPING, HOPING, HOPING THAT THE CAVALRY WOULD COME TO THE RESCUE, THAT IT WOULD GET A WIDER WAR WITH LEBANON AND HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN.

AND THE ACTIONS WE TOOK ALONG WITH ISRAEL MADE IT CLEAR THAT THE CAVALRY WAS NOT COMING TO THE RESCUE.

IT COULDN'T COUNT ON THAT.

SECOND, IT HOPED BY HOLDING BACK PRESSURE WOULD MOUNT ON ISRAEL TO GIVE IN AND TO AHEAD CCEDE TO THE TERMS OF A CEASEFIRE DEAL.

AND THERE AGAIN THAT HASN'T HAPPENED.

SO I THINK AS WE LOOK AT IT, AS WE'VE SEEN IT, YES, HAVE THERE BEEN MOMENTS WHEN THINGS HAVE HAPPENED ON ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER THAT MADE IT HARDER TO GET IT OVER THE LINE?

YES.

BUT FUNDAMENTALLY, IT'S BEEN HAMAS, BUT NOW WE'RE AT THE POINT WHERE HOPEFULLY HAMAS SEES THAT THE ONLY WAY FORWARD IS THROUGH THE CEASEFIRE.

>> JUST FINALLY ON THIS ISSUE, BEN GAVIR AND HIS ILK, THEY ARE EXTREME FIRE BRANDS THE U. S. HAS SANCTIONED IN THE PAST.

THEY WANT SETTLEMENTS.

THEY WANT TO STAY IN GAZA.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE POINTS TO A PERMANENT STAY THERE IN SOME PARTS.

ARE YOU SURE?

IS USG SURE THAT ISRAEL WILL PULL OUT OR THAT IT WILL STAY FOR, I DON'T KNOW, MONTHS, YEARS AFTERWARDS?

>> WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THIS, CHRISTIANE.

FIRST, IT'S OUR POLICY, AND IT'S BEEN OUR POLICY VERY CLEARLY, INCLUDING PRINCIPLES THAT I LAID OUT MONTHS AGO AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT IN TOKYO, THAT THERE CAN'T BE A PERMANENT OCCUPATION OF GAZA, THAT ISRAEL HAS TO PULL OUT.

THAT THE TERRITORY OF GAZA SHOULDN'T BE CHANGED.

AND OF COURSE IT OBVIOUSLY CAN'T BE RUN BY HAMAS TO USE AS A BASE OF TERRORISM.

THE CEASEFIRE DEAL ITSELF REQUIRES THE ISRAELI FORCES TO PULL BACK.

AND THEN, ASSUMING YOU GET TO A PERMANENT CEASEFIRE, TO PULL OUT ENTIRELY.

BUT THAT'S WHAT'S SO CRITICAL ABOUT THIS POST CONFLICT PLAN AND NEED TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT ON ARRANGEMENTS, BECAUSE THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING IN PLACE THAT GIVES ISRAELIS THE CONFIDENCE THAT THEY CAN PULL OUT PERMANENTLY AND NOT HAVE HAMAS FILL BACK IN, AND NOT HAVE A REPEAT OF THE LAST REALLY DECADE.

>> I WANT TO ASK YOU IN THE BROAD PICTURE, BECAUSE I WAS ACTUALLY QUITE, I DON'T KNOW, STUNNED THAT I SAW PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP RETWEET A POSITION BY A FORMER U. S. OFFICIAL, JEFFREY SACKS, AS YOU KNOW WELL, HE CALLED BENJAMIN NETANYAHU A MEAN, RUDE SOB, DARK AND ALL THE REST OF IT, AND ALLUDED TO THAT IT'S HIM RUNNING THE SHOW AND NOT USG.

USG, THE BIGGEST, BIGGEST BACKER OF ISRAEL HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO CHANGE THE DYNAMIC IN ANY APPRECIABLE FORM.

A, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF PRESIDENT TRUMP?

DO YOU THINK THAT'S A MESSAGE, THAT HE PLANS TO BE HARDER THAN MAYBE YOU?

AND ALSO, DO YOU THINK THAT THE TAIL HAS OFTEN BEEN WAGGING THE DOG, THAT NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT RESPECTING INTERNATIONAL LAW, GETTING HUMANITARIAN AID IN, ALL OF THE REST OF IT, YOU KNOW, YOUR CLIENTS HAVE IGNORED YOU BY AND LARGE.

SO I'M WONDERING WHETHER YOU THINK IT'S TIME TO REASK THE QUESTION THAT FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP DID DURING PARTICULARLY FRAUGHT NEGOTIATIONS WHO IS THE F'ING SUPER POWER HERE?

>> SO FIRST, I FOCUSED LESS ON PERSONALITIES AND MORE ON POLICIES.

WHAT IS A GIVEN COUNTRY ACTUALLY DOING?

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO THE INDIVIDUAL.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

SECOND, I THINK WHAT'S BEEN MISUNDERSTOOD AROUND THE WORLD IS ASCRIBING TO ONE INDIVIDUAL, OR MAYBE A SMALL GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS THE POLICIES THAT ISRAEL IS PURSUING THAT MANY PEOPLE DON'T LIKE.

I THINK THIS IS A REFLECTION OF 70, 80, 90% OF ISRAELIS FOLLOWING THE TRAUMA OF OCTOBER 7th.

AND ASCRIBING THIS TO ANY ONE INDIVIDUAL I THINK IS A MISTAKE AND ACTUALLY LEADS YOU TO MAYBE DRAW THE WRONG CONCLUSIONS.

THIS IS WHERE THE COUNTRY IS.

AND THE POLICIES THAT THE GOVERNMENT'S PURSUING ARE REALLY A REFLECTION OF THE COUNTRY, EVEN, EVEN MANY PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE THE PRIME MINISTER.

SO THAT'S ONE THING.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT.

YOU HAVE A TRAUMATIZED SOCIETY, JUST AS YOU HAVE A TRAUMATIZED PALESTINIAN SOCIETY BECAUSE OF THE HORRORS THAT CHILDREN, WOMEN, AND MEN HAVE HAD TO ENDURE IN GAZA, CAUGHT IN THIS CROSSFIRE OF HAMAS' INITIATION THAT THEY DIDN'T START AND ARE POWERLESS TO STOP.

>> AND WE WILL HAVE MUCH MORE OF THIS INTERVIEW ON THE ISRAEL- HAMAS CEASEFIRE ON THE BIG PICTURE IN THAT REGION AND ON THE REST OF THE BIDEN FOREIGN POLICY LEGACY WITH MY ENTIRE INTERVIEW WITH SECRETARY BLINKEN ON TOMORROW'S SHOW.

AND HERE'S WHAT PRESIDENT BIDEN SAID ABOUT THIS DEAL.

ESSENTIALLY, THE ONE HE HAMMERED OUT IN MAY.

>> THE DEAL IS STRUCTURED IN THREE PHASES.

PHASE ONE WILL LAST SIX WEEKS AND INCLUDES A FULL AND COMPLETE CEASEFIRE, A WITHDRAWAL OF ISRAELI FORCES FROM ALL THE POPULATED AREAS OF GAZA, AND, AND THE RELEASE OF A NUMBER OF HOSTAGES HELD BY HAMAS, INCLUDING WOMEN AND ELDERLY AND THE WOUNDED.

AND I'M PROUD TO SAY AMERICANS WILL BE PART OF THAT HOSTAGE RELEASE IN PHASE ONE AS WELL.

AND THE VICE PRESIDENT AND I CANNOT WAIT TO WELCOME THEM HOME.

IN EXCHANGE, ISRAEL WILL RELEASE HUNDREDS OF PALESTINIAN PRISONERS.

AND DURING PHASE ONE, THE PALESTINIANS CAN ALSO RETURN TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS IN ALL AREAS OF GAZA.

AND THE SURGE OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IN GAZA WILL BEGIN.

AND INNOCENT PEOPLE CAN HAVE A GREATER ACCESS TO THESE VITAL SUPPLIES.

YOU KNOW, DURING THE NEXT SIX WEEKS, ISRAEL WILL NEGOTIATE THE NECESSARY ARRANGEMENTS TO GET PHASE TWO, WHICH IS A PERMANENT END OF THE WAR.

LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN, A PERMANENT END OF THE WAR.

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DETAILS TO NEGOTIATE TO MOVE FROM PHASE ONE TO FACE TWO, BUT THE PLAN SAYS IF NEGOTIATIONS TAKE LONGER THAN SIX WEEKS, THE CEASEFIRE WILL CONTINUE AS LONG AS THE NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE.

I HAVE SPOKEN TO THE AMIR OF KUWAIT AND THE PRESIDENT OF EGYPT, AND WE HAVE PLEDGED TO MAKE SURE THE NEGOTIATIONS WILL KEEP MOVING FORWARD FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES.

THEN WHEN PHASE TWO BEGINS THERE WILL BE AN EXCHANGE FOR RELEASE OF LIVING HOSTAGES, INCLUDING MALE SOLDIERS AND ALL REMAINING ISRAELI FORCES WILL BE WITHDRAWN FROM GAZA, AND THE TEMPORARY CEASEFIRE WILL BECOME PERMANENT.

AND FINALLY, PHASE THREE.

ANY FINAL REMAINS OF HOSTAGES WHO HAVE BEEN KILLED WILL BE RETURNED TO THEIR FAMILIES, AND A MAJOR RECONSTRUCTION PLAN FOR GAZA WILL BEGIN.

THIS, THIS IS A CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT I INTRODUCED LAST SPRING.

TODAY HAMAS AND ISRAEL HAVE AGREED TO THAT CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT.

AND THE WHOLE ENDING THE WAR.

YOU KNOW, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE FOLLOWED THE NEGOTIATIONS CAN ATTEST THE ROAD TO THIS DEAL HAS NOT BEEN EASY.

I'VE WORKED IN FOREIGN POLICY FOR DECADES.

THIS IS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST NEGOTIATIONS I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED.

AND WE'VE REACHED THIS POINT BECAUSE, BECAUSE OF THE PRESSURE ISRAEL BUILT ON HAMAS BACKED BY THE UNITED STATES.

HAMAS' LONG TIME LEANER SINWAR WAS KILLED.

HAMAS' LARGEST SUPPORTER IRAN LOST IN ATTACK BY ISRAEL.

THOSE ATTACKS FAILED AFTER ORGANIZING THE COALITION OF NATIONS TO STOP THEM.

AFTER I ORDERED THE SHIPS AND PLANES TO COME TO ISRAEL'S DEFENSE, WE ALSO SHAPED ISRAEL'S STRONG AND CALIBRATED RESPONSE, DESTROYING IRAN'S AIR DEFENSES.

BUT AVOIDING AN ESCALATORY CYCLE OF AN ALL-OUT WAR.

THE UNITED STATES ALSO ORGANIZED A COALITION OF 20 COUNTRIES TO STAND UP TO ATTACKS BY THE HOUTHIS, INCLUDING THEIR MISSILE ATTACKS IN ISRAEL.

THEN HEZBOLLAH, ANOTHER HAMAS' STRONGEST BACKERS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKENED ON THE BATTLEFIELD, AND ITS LEADERSHIP WAS DESTROYED WITH OUR SUPPORT, ISRAEL NEGOTIATED A CEASEFIRE WITH THEM.

AND AFTER THAT, LEBANON FINALLY ELECTED A NEW PRESIDENT.

>> NOW BIANNA GOLODRYGA HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THESE DEVELOPMENTS FROM TEL AVIV, AND SHE'S JOINING ME NOW.

BIANNA, WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?

ARE YOU WITH HOSTAGE FAMILIES, AND WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?

>> CHRISTIANE, I'M IN HOSTAGE SQUARE, WHICH HAS TURNED INTO A SORT OF TRIBUTE LOCATION FOR FAMILY MEMBERS, FOR ISRAELIS TO COME GATHER AND BE THE VOICE FOR THE HOSTAGES OVER THE LAST 466 DAYS.

AND I HAVE TO SAY THE MOOD HERE IS A BIT SUBDUED.

THERE AREN'T THAT MANY PEOPLE HERE TONIGHT.

THERE'S A SENSE IN THE AIR, AS SOMEBODY JUST TEXTED ME, THAT I THINK SPEAKS TO THE OVERALL MOOD, AND THAT IS THAT IT IS SO TENSE, YOU CAN CUT IT WITH A KNIFE.

WHAT A ROLLER COASTER THIS HAS BEEN.

AND I THINK NOT ONLY DOES IT SPEAK TO THE FACT THAT WE'VE BEEN CLOSE TO A DEAL BEFORE AND NEVER GOT OVER THE FINISH LINE, BUT NOW WE ARE HERE, AND THESE FAMILIES ARE STILL NOT CONFIDENT, I WOULD SAY, THAT THEY WILL BE SEEING THEIR LOVED ONES.

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN I WAS TOLD OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS, WHICH IS WHY SEVERAL OF THESE FAMILIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THAT INITIAL FIRST TRANCHE, FA AS PHASE THAT WILL BE RELEASED, THE 30, ARE HESITANT TO SPEAK OUT BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO JEOPARDIZE WHAT THEY KNOW IS A VERY FRAGILE DEAL.

I SPOKE WITH THE MOTHER OF ONE OF THE FEMALE IDF SOLDIERS WHO JUST SAYS THAT WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, HOPING FOR THE BEST, BUT THEY DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING THAT COULD JEOPARDIZE A REUNION WITH THEIR CHILDREN.

AND I THINK THERE IS ALSO SOME, YES, ANTICIPATION, OPTIMISM, EXCITEMENT ABOUT THESE HOSTAGES COMING HOME, BUT I THINK NOW THAT IF WE ARE REALLY TALKING ABOUT JUST A MATTER OF DAYS, THERE IS A BIT OF NERVOUSNESS AND APPREHENSION AS TO WHAT WILL THESE HOSTAGES BE COMING HOME LOOKING LIKE, FEELING LIKE.

WHAT WILL THEIR --WHAT WILL THEIR MENTAL HEALTH BE PHYSICALLY.

WE REMEMBER LAST YEAR AFTER JUST 50 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY HOW WEAK, HOW DEHYDRATED, HOW MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTED THE HOSTAGES WERE THAT WERE RELEASED THEN.

ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE TRAUMA THAT THEY'VE ENDURED NOW 466 DAYS LATER.

AND WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM OTHERS IS JUST THIS IS THE DAY THAT HAS TAKEN WAY TOO LONG TO COME.

IT'S BEEN 15 MONTHS AS A NUMBER OF FAMILIES HAVE TOLD ME EVERY DAY, HAS FELT LIKE OCTOBER 7th FOR THEM.

AND YES, THEY BLAME HAMAS, AND THE ONUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON HAMAS TO RELEASE THESE HOSTAGES.

BUT MANY OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, CHRISTIANE, AND I KNOW YOU'VE SPOKEN WITH MANY OF THE FAMILY MEMBERS AS WELL, FEEL THAT THEIR GOVERNMENT ALSO ABANDONED THEM IN A SENSE IN NOT AGREEING TO EARLIER DEALS, DEALS VERY SIMILAR TO THE DEAL AGREED TO NOW MONTHS AGO, WHERE THERE WAS A REAL PUBLIC SCHISM, YOU'LL RECALL, BETWEEN PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU AND THE FAR RIGHT ELEMENTS OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND THE DEFENSE ESTABLISHMENT.

FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER YOAV GALLANT, MANY VIEW HIS PUBLIC STANCE IN SPEAKING OUT AGAINST NETANYAHU'S POSITION NOT TO AGREE TO A DEAL AS TO ONE OF THE REASONS WHY HE WAS ULTIMATELY FIRED.

THE DEFENSE ESTABLISHMENT AT THE TIME SAID THAT THE SITUATION ALLOWED FOR A CEASEFIRE AND HOSTAGE DEAL.

THAT WAS IN JULY.

AND CHRISTIANE, YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED IN AUGUST, WHEN YOU SAW SIX ISRAELI HOSTAGES KILLED BY HAMAS, ONE OF THEM HIRSH GOLDBERG-POLIN, ANOTHER DARK, DARK DAY IN ISRAEL.

YES, THERE IS EXCITEMENT, BUT A, THEY'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN THEY SEE IT, AND B, THERE IS JUST A BIT OF APPREHENSION AND SADNESS THAT IT'S TAKEN THIS LONG.

>> RIGHT.

AND THERE ARE ONLY A FEW OF THEM, RELATIVELY SPEAKING.

AND I WONDER WHETHER YOU KNOW WHO IS COMING OUT.

DO THE FAMILIES, HAVE THEY BEEN TOLD, IS THERE A LIST OF NAMES ABOUT WHO'S COMING OUT?

AND ADDED TO THAT, YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT THE OBSTRUCTIONISTS.

WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HAMAS.

BUT ALSO ABOUT THE EXTREME RIGHT WING FIRE BRANDS, LIKE BEN GAVIR WHO IS STILL SAYING HE WANTS TO TOPPLE THE GOVERNMENT OVER THIS.

HE HAS SUCCESSFULLY PREVENTED ISRAEL THE LAST YEAR FROM GOING INTO A HOSTAGE AND CEASEFIRE DEAL THAT COULD HAVE SAVED THE LIVES YOU'VE JUST BEEN TALKING ABOUT.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT THAT?

>> WELL, AS THE LAST 48 HOURS, WE'VE SEEN MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITION, THE FORMER PRIME MINISTER COMING TO BIBI NETANYAHU'S RESCUE AS A LIFELINE SAYING DO NOT USE THE THREATS COMING FROM THE FAR RIGHT MEMBERS OF YOUR GOVERNMENT BIN GAVIR AND THEIR THREATS TO LEAVE YOUR GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE WE WILL STEP IN, IF THAT IS YOUR NUMBER ONE CONCERN.

THAT IS A TEMPORARY BAND-AID, OF COURSE, AND THERE DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY INDICATION AT THIS POINT THAT THEY WOULD ULTIMATELY LEAD AT LEAST NOW.

BUT YOU'RE RIGHT.

THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF INTERNAL FRUSTRATION AS TO WHY THIS GOVERNMENT HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO AGREE TO A DEAL SOONER THAT WOULD HAVE SEEN MORE HOSTAGES COME HOME.

THIS LIST, FROM WHAT WE KNOW, THE 33 NAMES ON THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS LIST AND DEAL ARE QUITE SIMILAR TO THE LIST THAT ISRAEL HAD PUT FORWARD OVER THE SUMMER.

WHAT IS NOT KNOWN RIGHT NOW IS HOW MANY OF THOSE HOSTAGES ARE ALIVE OR WILL BE COMING HOME, SADLY, IN BODY BAGS.

WHO IS EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED IN THIS FIRST PHASE ARE WOMEN, ARE CHILDREN.

THERE ARE TWO CHILDREN THAT THE BIBA CHILDREN AND HIS BROTHER ARIEL, NO INDICATION WHETHER OR NOT THESE CHILDREN ARE ALIVE RIGHT NOW.

AND THEN MEN OVER THE AGE OF 50.

AND THOSE WHO ARE SERIOUSLY ILL AND WOUNDED.

>> BIANNA, THANK YOU.

IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARILY IMPORTANT, IF LIMITED DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE SUFFERING SO DEEPLY.

AND WE'RE GOING TO TURN NOW TO WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE CIVILIANS INSIDE GAZA.

IF THE CEASEFIRE HOLDS, IT WILL, ACCORDING TO SECRETARY BLINKEN IN THE PARAMETERS OF THIS DEAL PROVIDE AN IMMEDIATE OPPORTUNITY FOR A SURGE OF MUCH NEEDED AID INTO GAZA.

SO JOINING ME TO TALK ABOUT THIS IS THE U.N. HUMANITARIAN RELIEF CHIEF TOM FLETCHER.

AND YOU ARE JOINING ME FROM KYIV.

BUT LET'S FIRST TALK ABOUT THE DISASTER IN GAZA AND YOUR IMMEDIATE REACTION, BECAUSE IT WILL COME UNDER YOUR AUSPICES TO GET HELP TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT IN GAZA.

>> WELL, OBVIOUSLY, I DON'T WANT TO GET AHEAD OF THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS AROUND THE CEASEFIRE DEAL, AND WE'LL BE WATCHING THOSE WITH AVID INTEREST, AS OF COURSE WILL PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS.

AND I'M SURE THE U. N. SECRETARY GENERAL WILL BE OUT SWIFTLY WITH HIS REACTION IF A DEAL IS ANNOUNCED.

BUT YOU'RE RIGHT.

MY JOB AND THE JOB OF MY COLLEAGUES IS TO BE READY FOR THIS MOMENT.

AND WE'VE BEEN PREPARING FOR MONTHS.

WE KNOW THAT THIS COULD OPEN UP A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO GET LIFE-SAVING SUPPORT IN.

IT'S DESPERATELY, DESPERATELY NEEDED, AS WE'VE DISCUSSED BEFORE.

THE SITUATION IN GAZA, IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES IS DIRE AT THE MOMENT.

IF A DEAL COMES, IT WILL BRING HUGE RESPITE TO PEOPLE THERE, AS IT WILL BRING RESPITE OF COURSE TO THE FAMILIES OF THE HOSTAGES AND THE HOSTAGES THEMSELVES.

SO WE'RE WAITING.

WE ARE HOPING FOR GOOD NEWS, AND WE'LL BE READY.

WE'LL BE READY TO SCALE UP TO GET THOSE TRUCKS MOVING THROUGH.

BUT LET ME ALSO STRESS IT WILL BE VERY, VERY TOUGH.

A CEASEFIRE DEAL DOESN'T SUDDENLY MAKE THIS AN EASY SITUATION IN WHICH TO DELIBERATE.

THE SECURITY SITUATION REMAINS VERY, VERY TOUGH.

WE'RE BARELY ABLE TO GET A FRACTION OF THE AID THROUGH THAT WE NEED TO AT THE MOMENT.

AND THAT WON'T SUDDENLY CHANGE.

SO WE'LL HAVE TO WORK IN A VERY AGILE CREATIVE WAY.

BUT WE'LL ALSO WORK WITH AMBITION, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE PEOPLE SO BADLY NEED.

>> AND TOM FLETCHER, YOU TALK ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES IN TERMS OF ACTUAL LOGISTICS.

WE KNOW THAT THE NORTH, FOR INSTANCE, HAS BEEN BESIEGED.

PEOPLE LITERALLY ARE CUT OFF BY THE ISRAELI FORCES THERE.

WE KNOW ALSO THAT THERE HAS BEEN A MASS OF LOOTING BY ARMED GANGS.

THERE IS NO POLICING THERE IN GAZA.

WE'VE HEARD, AND I'D LIKE YOU TO CONFIRM IF YOU KNOW IT, THAT CERTAIN ENTITIES ARE PUTTING A HUGE PREMIUM EVEN ON FOOD AND HUMANITARIAN AID THAT CAN GET THROUGH TO MAKE IT UNAFFORDABLE FOR THE PEOPLE IN GAZA RIGHT NOW.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU ENVISION GETTING THROUGH THOSE CHALLENGES AND ACTUALLY WHETHER UNRWA, YOUR HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATION CAN WORK, GIVEN IT'S BEEN SANCTIONED BY ISRAEL AND MAY EVEN HAVE ITS FUNDS PULLED BY THE U. S. YOU NEVER KNOW.

>> WELL, PEOPLE ON THE GROUND ARE DESPERATE, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE TO TRY SO HARD TO GET THAT AID IN.

AND THERE ARE MASSIVE SECURITY CHALLENGES THERE.

OFTEN, THE VOLUNTEERS WHO ACCOMPANY OUR CONVOYS ARE TARGETED BY ISRAELI TROOPS.

BUT ALSO, AS YOU SAY, WE DO FACE THE THREAT OF ARMED PALESTINIAN GANGS WHO ARE LOOTING THOSE TRUCKS AT A SIGNIFICANT SCALE.

NOW, WE KEEP WORKING.

WE TRY TO STAY AND DELIVER NO MATTER THE ODDS.

BUT IT HAS BECOME INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT IN RECENT WEEKS AND MONTHS.

THE CEASEFIRE, IF IT COMES, AND LET'S HOPE IT DOES, DOES CHANGE THAT DYNAMIC.

BUT IT STILL LEAVES US WITH A HORRENDOUSLY DIFFICULT SITUATION, AND WE'LL HAVE TO WORK IN A VERY FLEXIBLE WAY TO TRY TO GET THE AID THROUGH DESPITE THAT.

NOW, AS YOU SAY, THE ADDITIONAL CONSTRAINT WE FACE IS THE IMPENDING KNESSET LEGISLATION, ISRAELI LEGISLATION ON THE FUTURE OF UNRWA.

AND WE'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR THROUGHOUT THAT THERE IS NO PLAN B HERE.

WE RELY COMPLETELY ON UNRWA, PARTICULARLY FOR DELIVERY OF EDUCATION AND HEALTH SERVICES.

OTHER AGENCIES CAN SCALE UP AND DELIVER AS MUCH AS THEY CAN TO SAVE LIVES, BUT FOR THAT CRUCIAL, CRUCIAL WORK IN THE EDUCATION, HEALTH SECTOR AND BEYOND, WE REALLY RELY ON OUR PARTNERS AT UNRWA.

>> AND JUST MY LAST QUESTION ON GAZA BEFORE ASKING YOU ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DISCOVERING IN UKRAINE ON THE HUMANITARIAN FRONT, WHAT OTHER MAIN NEEDS --OBVIOUSLY FOOD.

WHAT ABOUT DISEASE?

WHAT ABOUT MEDICAL CONDITIONS?

WE KNOW THAT PART OF THE ISRAELI IDF STRATEGY HAS BEEN TO ESSENTIALLY DESTROY MUCH, IF NOT MOST OF THE HOSPITALS.

THEY CLAIM THEY ARE HAMAS HIDEOUTS.

BUT THEY ARE THE ONLY PLACES TO TREAT PEOPLE.

AND AS YOU SAY, THAT SORT OF SKIN DISEASES, ALL OF THAT.

VACCINATIONS, WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN GAZA RIGHT NOW?

>> WELL, I'M AFRAID TO SAY IT'S EVERYTHING.

OF COURSE WE'VE GOT TO GET MASSES OF FOOD IN.

WE'VE GOT TO GET MEDICAL SUPPLIES IN.

AS YOU SAY, HOSPITALS HAVE PRETTY MUCH ALL BEEN LEVELED.

SO MEDICAL SUPPLIES ARE DESPERATELY, DESPERATELY NEEDED.

WE NEED TO GET SHELTER IN.

YOU KNOW, IT'S THE HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE WE HAVE AVAILABLE, WE NEED TO GET CASH INTO PEOPLE'S POCKETS SO THEY CAN ACTUALLY BUY THOSE ESSENTIAL PROVISIONS TOO.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN GETTING IN AS MUCH AS WE CAN, AND WE'RE ABLE TO TELL YOU HOW BLEAK THAT PICTURE IS.

I THINK AS THE WORLD I HOPE NOW GETS A CHANCE TO GET IN, WE'LL REALLY GET A SENSE OF HOW DIRE THE SITUATION IS.

AND I HOPE THAT WILL FOCUS PEOPLE'S MINDS ON THE SUPPORT, ON THE FINANCE THAT WE'LL HAVE TO RAISE TO HELP RESPOND TO THOSE IMMEDIATE NEEDS, BUT ALSO TO THEN START TO REBUILD THE CRUCIAL CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE IN GAZA WITHOUT WHICH NO DEAL, NO CEASEFIRE WILL REALLY BE SUSTAINABLE.

>> AND LET'S SWITCH TO WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW, UKRAINE.

YOU'RE IN KYIV.

THERE HAVE BEEN MASSIVE RUSSIAN ATTACKS.

A BIG UKRAINIAN COUNTERATTACK INSIDE RUSSIA.

WHAT IS THE --WHAT HAVE YOU DISCOVERED SINCE YOU'VE BEEN THERE ON THIS TRIP IN TERMS OF HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN UKRAINE?

>> WELL, I EXPERIENCED THOSE SIGNIFICANT RUSSIAN ATTACKS EVEN THIS MORNING AS WE ARE MOVING BETWEEN MEETINGS, AND I WENT OUT TO THE FRONT LINES, IN EASTERN UKRAINE, DONETSK.

I WAS IN KHARKIV YESTERDAY.

I'VE BEEN OUT SEEING THE LOCAL GOVERNORS, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY MEETING THE PEOPLE WE'RE HERE TO SERVE, ASKING THEM WHAT THEY NEED.

I'VE MET A LOT OF THE EVACUEES FROM THE WAR ZONE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR SHELTER.

THEY'RE LOOKING FOR FOOD.

THEY OFTEN NEED ESSENTIAL SUPPORT IN FINDING THE BASIC DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN DESTROYED AS THEY'VE HAD TO LEAVE SO QUICKLY AND THEIR HOMES HAVE BEEN FLATTENED.

SO THINGS ARE DESPERATE FOR THEM.

I ALSO THINK THERE IS A MASSIVE NEED FOR SUPPORT ON CLEARING UNEXPLODED MOON INITIATIVE UNITIONS.

WE MUST SCALE UP THERE.

TOMORROW LUNCH WITH MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE FELIPE GRANDE, HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES WILL LAUNCH THE 2025 ACTION PLAN FOR THE FUNDING WE NEED, $2.6 BILLION, TO REACH MILLIONS OF UKRAINIANS WITH THAT SUPPORT, AND WE'LL MEET PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY TO SET OUT WITH HIM WHAT THE NEEDS ARE AND HOW WE MUST RESPOND.

THE UKRAINIANS HAVE COPED WITH THESE YEARS OF WAR WITH EXTRAORDINARY RESILIENT AND YOURJ.

COURAGE.

WE IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUSTN'T LOSE OUR HEART, OUR COMPASSION.

>> WE ALSO HEAR, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE NOT SO MUCH IN KYIV, BUT MAYBE.

THE FURTHER YOU GO OUT TO THE FRONT LINE, MORALE IS VERY, VERY STRETCHED, AS STRETCHED AS THE MILITARY IS.

THEY'RE BASICALLY LACKING IN PEOPLE TO SEND TO THE FRONT LINE, RECRUITS, COMPARED TO RUSSIA, WHO OBVIOUSLY ARE SUFFERING GREAT LOSSES AS THEY, YOU KNOW, MAKE THIS FIGHT.

WHAT IN YOUR TRIPS TO THE WAR ZONE, WHAT DID YOU PICK UP IN TERMS OF MORALE?

>> SO I TALKED TO MANY CIVILIANS AS WELL AS TO THE GOVERNORS IN THE PROVINCES THAT ARE MOST AFFECTED BY THE WAR, AND YES, THERE IS A WEARINESS AMONG THE POPULATION.

OF COURSE THERE IS.

THIS IS YEARS OF WAR, YEARS OF DISPLACEMENT, DESTRUCTION.

THEY'RE IN A DESPERATE SITUATION.

YOU ALSO HEAR THE DETERMINATION TO CARRY ON.

YOU HEAR OPTIMISM, THAT SENSE THAT THEY WILL TRY TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES.

HOWEVER DISRUPTED, HOWEVER DESPERATE THE SITUATION IS THAT THEY FACE.

YOU KNOW, I LEARNED A NEW WORD ON THIS TRIP, WHICH WAS SHARED WITH ME BY PARENTS AT AN UNDERGROUND SCHOOL 7 METERS UNDER GROUND, AND IT MEANS THAT THE WAY THAT A COMMUNITY WILL RALLY TOGETHER TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER IN TIMES OF REAL STRESS, OF REAL ANXIETY.

AND WE'RE SEEING THAT HERE FROM THE UKRAINIAN CIVILIANS.

AND I THINK WE NEED SOME GLOBAL HERE AS WELL.

WE NEED TO RESPOND WITH THE SAME LEVEL OF COMPASSION AND SOLIDARITY.

>> WELL, WHAT COULD YOU DO RIGHT NOW?

WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN IN THE WAR ZONE THAT'S GAZA, WHICH IS A MUCH SMALLER ALBEIT BESIEGED AND VERY CONCENTRATED AND VERY URBAN, LESS PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY, BUT HUGELY DEGRADED AND BASICALLY BOMBED TO RUBBLE.

WHAT LESSONS, IF THERE ARE ANY, I DON'T KNOW, DO YOU AT THE U.N.

TRANSFER FROM THE GAZA WAR ZONE TO A UKRAINE WAR ZONE IN TERMS OF TRYING TO BRING HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE?

>> WELL, WE HAVE TO KEEP ON TRYING TO GET THE AID THROUGH.

AND OF COURSE THE INTENSITY OF THE KILLING OF CIVILIANS HAS BEEN MUCH GREATER IN GAZA THAN IT HAS BEEN FOR UKRAINIAN CIVILIANS.

BUT THIS WAR HAS LASTED MUCH LONGER.

AND YOU EXPERIENCE IT HERE IN KYIV AND OTHER CITIES I'VE BEEN TO, EVEN THE CONSTANT PRESENCE OF THE DRONES, THE PRESENCE OF THE SIRENS THAT NEED TO BE IN AND OUT OF THE BUNKERS AS WE'VE BEEN OVER THIS WEEK.

YOU KNOW, THIS IS A REALLY HARD WAR TO BE LIVING THROUGH FOR CIVILIANS.

THERE ARE PARALLELS IN BOTH CASES.

THERE WILL BE A NEED TO CLEAR MUNITIONS.

THERE ARE PARALLELS AROUND THE NEED TO GET SCHOOLS OPEN, TO GET HEALTH FACILITIES UP AND RUNNING.

BUT THE REAL COMPARISON HERE, THE REAL THREAD THAT JOINS THESE CONFLICTS IS THAT WE'RE IN A MOMENT WHEN THE WORLD SEEMS DISTRACTED, WHEN IT SEEMS TO BE TURNING ITS FACE AWAY FROM THESE CRISES THAT IT'S BECOME SOMEHOW TOO DISTRACTED, THAT IT'S SOMEHOW GOT TOO DIFFICULT TO RESPOND.

AND WE AS THE U.N., BUT AS THE HUMANITARIAN MOVEMENT ARE SAYING WE MUST NOT LOOK AWAY.

WE MUST NOT LOOK AWAY FROM GAZA.

WE MUST NOT LOOK AWAY FROM SUDAN.

WE MUST NOT LOOK AWAY FROM THE SITUATION HERE IN UKRAINE.

WE FACE A MOMENT WHERE HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS ARE UNDERFUNDED, WE'RE OVERSTRETCHED, AND WE'RE LITERALLY UNDER ATTACK IN PLACES LIKE GAZA, AND AS I'VE BEEN HEARING, HERE IN UKRAINE.

IT'S A TOUGH TIME TO DO HUMANITARIAN WORK.

BUT WE'RE DETERMINED TO STAY, AND WE WILL STAY AND DELIVER.

>> AND JUST BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A HUMAN STORY, IT'S WINTER.

IN GAZA, WE'RE HEARING THAT THE TENTS THAT THEY WERE DISTRIBUTED LAST YEAR HAVE BECOME TATTERED, THAT THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CLOTHES FOR THIS WINTER.

IN UKRAINE, WHERE YOU ARE AND IN KYIV, THERE IS ANOTHER MASS ATTACK ON THE ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO THAT MEANS HEAT AND HOT WATER AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY NEED.

WHAT IS THE STATE?

CAN UKRAINE GET THROUGH ANOTHER WINTER, YOU KNOW, WARM?

>> WELL, IT WAS PRETTY DESPERATE THERE OUT IN THE EAST AND I EXPERIENCED THAT.

THE STRIKES ON POWER FACILITIES DO TAKE THEIR TOLL, AND THEY TAKE A TOLL ON THE CIVILIAN POPULATION PRIMARILY.

SO PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING.

BUT THAT'S WHY WE FOCUS SO MUCH SUPPORT ON GETTING THEM TO SHELTERS, GETTING THEM SOMEWHERE WARM, GETTING HOT FOOD INTO THEIR STOMACHS, AND HELPING THEM THINK ABOUT HOW THEY RELOCATE, WHERE THEY CAN REBUILD THEIR LIVES WITH THE SUPPORT THAT WE CAN GIVE THEM.

IT'S DESPERATE.

IT'S REALLY DESPERATE.

AND THESE WINTERS ARE VERY, VERY HARD.

BUT THERE IS RESILIENCE THERE.

THERE IS COURAGE.

BEHIND ALL THESE STORIES AND THEIR DESPERATELY SAD STORIES OF TRAGEDY AND DESPAIR, I ALWAYS FIND HOPE AND OPTIMISM AND A SENSE OF DIGNITY FROM THOSE WHO ARE ESCAPING THESE WARS, THIS DESIRE TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES.

THEY WANT WHAT WE ALL WANT.

THEY WANT SECURITY, JUSTICE, OPPORTUNITY.

THEY WANT THE GET THEIR KIDS TO SCHOOL.

THEY WANT TO LIVE A MORE NORMAL LIFE.

AND THEY'RE DESPERATE FOR THE GUNS TO FALL SILENT.

AND WE HAVE GOT TO BE HERE WITH THEM.

WE'VE GOT TO SHOW THEM THAT SOLIDARITY.

WE NEED THAT REFRESH OF THE WAY THAT THE WORLD DEALS WITH THOSE IN THE DIREST OF NEEDS.

>> TOM FLETCHER, U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>>> AND BACK TO THE ISRAEL-GAZA CEASEFIRE.

AS WE KNOW, IT HAS NOT BEEN FORMALLY ANNOUNCED BY THE PARTIES THEMSELVES, EVEN THOUGH THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION, SENIOR OFFICIALS HAVE ANNOUNCED IT.

AND JUST A NOTE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES, THERE ARE SEVERAL UNRESOLVED POINTS REMAINING.

BUT THEY EXPECT THEM TO BE SETTLED TONIGHT.

SO LET'S JUST LAY THAT OUT THERE, GIVEN HOW MANY TIMES IN THE PAST THIS HOPE HAS BEEN TORPEDOED.

LET'S ALSO SAY THAT DONALD TRUMP HAS BEEN POSTING THAT THIS, AS WE CALLED IT, EPIC CEASEFIRE WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT HIS ELECTION.

AND IT IS CONSIDERED A FACT THAT HIM AND HIS INCOMING ADMINISTRATION HAVE JUMP-STARTED AND BROUGHT AT LEAST THIS LIMITED, NOT EPIC, LIMITED CEASEFIRE INTO POSSIBLE OPERATION AT THIS TIME.

SO LET'S BEGIN AND BRING IN POLITICIAN MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI.

HE IS PRESIDENT OF THE PALESTINIAN NATIONAL INITIATIVE PARTY, AND HE IS JOINING ME FROM RAMALLAH IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK.

MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, WELCOME BACK TO THE PROGRAM.

FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, AS A PALESTINIAN POLITICIAN, A, DO YOU THINK THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN?

I KNOW YOU'RE IN THE WEST BANK AND NOT IN DOHA OR TEL AVIV OR GAZA.

DO YOU THINK THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN?

>> YES, I DO.

I THINK WE'RE CLOSER TO A DEAL THAN ANY TIME BEFORE FOR SEVERAL FACTORS.

I DO NOT UNDERMINE, UNDERESTIMATE THAT HE COULD TORPEDO THE AGREEMENT AS HE DID FOUR TIMES BEFORE.

THAT IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT.

THIS TIME HE KNOWS VERY WELL IF HE WANTS TO STOP THIS DEAL, HE WOULD BE CONFRONTING ALSO TRUMP AND THE WHOLE WORLD AND ALL THE MEDIATORS AND EVERYBODY THAT HAS PUT HOPE IN ACHIEVING THE CEASEFIRE.

I THINK THE SAD THING, I'M ALMOST SURE WE WILL HAVE A DEAL.

BUT THE SAD THING IS THAT WE COULD HAVE HAD THIS DEAL BACK ON THE 3rd OF JULY LAST YEAR.

AND WE COULD HAVE SAVED AT LEAST 10,000 LIVES OF PALESTINIANS WHO WERE KILLED DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME.

AS A MATTER OF FACT, I HOLD NETANYAHU PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR NOT ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN.

AND BECAUSE OF THAT, NOT ONLY 10,000 PALESTINIANS WERE KILLED, BUT ALSO MANY ISRAELIS, ESPECIALLY SOME ISRAELI PRISONERS WERE KILLED BECAUSE OF ISRAELI BOMBARDMENT.

>> AND OBVIOUSLY YOU KNOW THAT HAMAS HAS ALSO PLAYED A RECALCITRANT POSITION.

VERY, VERY SLOW, FOOT-DRAGGING, AND WANTED, YOU KNOW, AS SECRETARY BLINKEN TOLD US, EXPECTED THE CAVALRY TO COME TO ITS RESCUE.

AND, AGAIN, LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST ON BOTH SIDES.

DO YOU --YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT TRUMP AND --WELL, LET ME ASK YOU.

WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK THE ARRIVAL OF DONALD TRUMP HAS PLAYED?

YOU SAID WHAT IT DID TO THE ISRAELIS.

BUT WHAT ABOUT TO HAMAS?

HAVE THEY ALSO HAD THEIR MINDS FOCUSED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, TRUMP SAID ALL HELL WILL BREAK OUT IF THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN?

>> WELL, MAYBE THIS HAD A LITTLE EFFECT.

BUT THE REALITY IT WAS PROMISING WE ALREADY HAD.

GAZA WAS IN HELL ALREADY.

AND PEOPLE WERE SUFFERING ALREADY.

TWO MILLION PEOPLE STARVING.

TWO MILLION PEOPLE WERE SUBJECTED TO DISEASES.

MY MEDICAL COLLEAGUES TELL ME ALL THE TIME THAT EACH PERSON IN GAZA WAS GETTING SICK THREE TIMES A MONTH BECAUSE OF LACK OF CLEAN WATER, BECAUSE OF LACK OF HYGIENE, BECAUSE OF LACK OF FOOD, BECAUSE OF THE COLD WEATHER.

AND SO MANY OTHER FACT --BECAUSE OF LACK OF SHELTERS.

90% OF THE HOUSES IN THE NORTH OF GAZA ARE RUINED.

80% OF ALL HOUSES IN GAZA ARE DESTROYED.

SO PEOPLE ARE ALREADY IN HELL.

THE CHANGE HERE IT HAPPENED BECAUSE I THINK NETANYAHU -- MANIPULATED BIDEN AND THIS ADMINISTRATION SO MANY TIMES AND UNDERMINED AND DESTROYED ANY POTENTIAL FOR AGREEMENTS, AS I SAID, FOUR TIMES BEFORE.

THIS TIME HE KNEW HE HAD NO ABILITY TO MANEUVER ANYMORE BECAUSE HE HAS NO LEVERAGE.

IN THE PAST, WHEN HE OBSTRUCTED BIDEN AND CHEATED BIDEN MAYBE AND MADE BIDEN, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT LIE FOR HIM, HE KNEW THAT IF HE HAS A CONFRONTATION WITH BIDEN, HE WILL HAVE A LEVERAGE OF THE SUPPORT OF TRUMP.

NOW TRUMP IS SAYING STOP THE WAR.

TRUMP IS SAYING ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

AND THAT'S WHY HE KNOWS, NETANYAHU KNOWS VERY WELL THAT HE CANNOT PLAY GAMES WITH TRUMP.

HE CANNOT DO TO TRUMP WHAT HE DID TO BIDEN.

AND HE DOESN'T HAVE THE LEVERAGE ANYMORE.

BUT BESIDES THAT, THERE IS ALSO A LOT OF INTERNAL PRESSURE ON ISRAEL.

I THINK WE REACHED THIS POINT NOT BECAUSE HAMAS CHANGED THEIR POSITIONS STRATEGICALLY, NO.

I MEAN, THEY HAVE ALREADY MADE SO MANY CONCESSIONS.

WE REACHED THIS POINT BECAUSE NETANYAHU UNDERSTOOD THAT HE CANNOT RESIST THE PRESSURES ANYMORE FROM INSIDE ISRAEL AND FROM OUTSIDE ISRAEL.

>> MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, AS YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR PLUS OF THIS HORRIBLE WAR IN RESPONSE TO WHAT HAMAS DID, THE HORRIBLE MASSACRES IT COMMITTED INSIDE ISRAEL OCTOBER 7th HAS JUST BEEN A COMPLETE AND UTTER DISASTER.

DO YOU THINK HAMAS ALSO HAS BEEN WEAKENED?

YOU SAY ISRAEL HAS NO LEVERAGE.

BUT WHAT LEVERAGE DOES HAMAS STILL HAVE?

HEZBOLLAH IS GONE.

IRAN HAS BEEN WEAKENED.

ALL --NOT GONE.

I DON'T MEAN GONE.

BUT THEY'VE ALL BEEN WEAKENED.

AND SINWAR IS DEAD.

AND SINWAR'S DEPUTY IS DEAD.

SURELY THERE IS A LOT OF PRESSURE ON HAMAS AS WELL.

IT ALSO HAS TO DECIDE HOW NOT JUST THIS PHASE, BUT A SECOND PHASE IS GOING TO GO.

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IF THIS CEASEFIRE WORKS OUT?

IS THE SECOND PHASE IN THE NEXT SIX WEEKS AND BEYOND?

>> WELL, I DO HOPE THAT THE NEXT PHASE WILL BE A SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT HOW TO TRANSFORM THIS TEMPORARY CEASEFIRE INTO AN END OF THE WAR.

AND THAT'S WHAT WE NEED.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

SO MANY LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST.

SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED.

JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, I THINK ACCORDING TO ALL STATISTICS, GAZA HAS LOST 10% OF ITS POPULATION.

THAT MEANS NOT ONLY THEY KILLED PEOPLE, BUT PEOPLE WHO WERE INJURED AND PEOPLE WHO WERE TORTURED TO DEATH.

10% IS A HUGE NUMBER.

IF WE APPLY THAT TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PROPORTIONATELY, YOU WOULD BE TALKING ABOUT 32 MILLION AMERICANS KILLED SINCE THE LAST 15 MONTHS.

THAT'S MORE THAN ANYBODY CAN TOLERATE.

SO THE SUFFERING IS HUGE.

AND I DON'T HAVE TO REPEAT TO YOU THAT WHAT WE SEED BEFORE MANY TIMES, THAT 7th OF OCTOBER WAS NOT A BEGINNING.

IT WAS A RESULT, A RESULT OF WHAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT, THE MAIN PROBLEMS.

WHAT WE NEED NOW IS NOT JUST A CEASEFIRE THAT WILL HOPE I WILL BECOME AN END OF THIS WAR, BUT WE NEED TO DEAL WITH THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM, THE CAUSES THAT LED TO THE 7th OF OCTOBER, AND IN PARTICULAR THE LONGEST OCCUPATION IN MODERN HISTORY.

ISRAEL HAS BEEN OCCUPYING WEST BANK, GAZA AND JERUSALEM FOR MORE THAN 57 YEARS.

THE LONGEST ETHNIC CLEANSING MAYBE IN THE REGION WAS ISRAEL HAS ETHNICALLY CLEANSED 70% OF THE POPULATION SINCE 76 YEARS.

NOW THEY SAY THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO COME BACK HOME THE PLACES THEY WERE DISPLACED FROM.

SO ETHNIC CLEANSING, APARTHEID, OCCUPATION, ALL THESE ARE THE ROOT CAUSES OF THIS PROBLEM.

AND THAT'S WHAT THE WORLD SHOULD BE DEALING WITH, AND WHAT WE SHOULD BE DEALING WITH, BECAUSE WE WANT THE REMOVE THE CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM.

WE WANT NOT ONLY TO TREAT, AS I SAY THAT AS A MEDICAL DOCTOR, NOT ONLY TO TREAT THE SYMPTOMS, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE DISEASE.

AND THE STARTING POINT IS TO PRESSURE ISRAEL TO END THE OCCUPATION, TO END THE SYSTEM OF OPPRESSION OF ANOTHER PEOPLE FOR THE SAKE OF BOTH PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS.

>> AND DR. BARGHOUTI, THAT'S YOUR VIEW OF THAT SIDE.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE VIEW OF YOUR SIDE?

I KNOW YOU'RE NOT A MEMBER OF THE P.A.

BUT THE P.A.

IS OSSIFIED.

IT'S LITERALLY NOT DONE MUCH OR ANYTHING FOR ITS PEOPLE FOR MANY YEARS.

AND I KNOW YOU AGREE WITH THAT AS WELL.

PART OF THE SECOND PHASE OF ALL OF THIS IS TO HAVE A REFORMED P. A.

TO TRY TO BECOME, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP IN GAZA AS WELL.

AND THE LAST THING IN OUR INTERVIEW THAT SECRETARY BLINKEN TOLD ME IS THE UNITED STATES REMAINS COMMITTED TO A PALESTINIAN STATE.

SO HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR SIDE NEEDS TO GET WITH THE PICTURE IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS FINALLY HAPPEN FOR YOUR PEOPLE?

>> WELL, I THINK THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION, CHRISTIANE, AND I THANK YOU FOR THAT.

IN REALITY, THE BIG QUESTION HERE IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN LATER.

AND THE REFORM IN THIS CASE SHOULD NOT MEAN MORE SECURITIZED PALESTINIAN.

GREATER SECURITY COOPERATION, GREATER SECURITY APPARATUS.

SHOULD IT MEAN DEMOCRATIZATION OF THE PALESTINIAN NATION.

SHOULD IT HAVE WHAT YOU HAVE IN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD, THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE OUR LEADERS FREELY AND DEMOCRATICALLY.

AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE CALLING FOR THE FORMATION OF A UNIFIED NATIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR NATIONAL CONSENSUS GOVERNMENT ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT WE CONCLUDED TOGETHER WITH ALL OTHER PARTIES WHICH HAS NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED YET.

THE BEST WAY OF DEALING WITH THE SITUATION IS TO HAVE A UNIFIED GOVERNMENT THAT GUARANTEES THE UNITY OF WEST BANK AND GAZA AND NOT THE SEPARATION OF GAZA FROM THE WEST BANK AS SOME WESTERN LEADERS WANT TO DO.

AND AS ISRAEL WANTS TO DO.

A UNITY BETWEEN THEM WOULD GUARANTEE THE BEST DUAL POSSIBILITY FOR A PALESTINIAN STATE.

BUT ALSO, WE WANT THIS PALESTINIAN STATE NOT TO BE AN AUTOCRATIC SYSTEM.

WE WANT TO NOT BE CONTROLLED BY SECURITY PRESSURE.

WE WANT PEOPLE TO WILLINGLY WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN BUILDING A FUTURE OF PEACE BY DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION.

DEMOCRACY IN MY OPINION IN OUR CASE IS A PRECONDITION FOR A TRUE, JUST AND LASTING PEACE.

BECAUSE WHAT WE NEED IS NOT ANOTHER AGREEMENT IMPOSED ON PALESTINIANS THAT WILL NOT WORK, AS HAS HAPPENED TO OSLO AGREEMENT.

WHAT WE NEED IS SOMETHING THAT PALESTINIAN PEOPLE AGREE AND ACCEPT.

AND WHAT WE WANT IS NOT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE OF THE WORLD.

WE WANT TO HAVE PROSPERITY.

WE WANT TO HAVE PEACE.

WE WANT TO HAVE JUSTICE, AS WAS SAID, WE WANT OUR CHILDREN TO HAVE PROPER EDUCATION.

WE WANT OUR SICK PEOPLE TO GET PROPER MEDICAL CARE.

BUT THAT REQUIRES REALLY TRUE REFORM, AND REFORM HERE MEANS DEMOCRATIZATION AND NOT OPPRESSING PEOPLE WITH YET ANOTHER FORM OF OPPRESSION.

>> RIGHT.

SO YOU'VE PUT YOUR PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY ON NOTICE.

WE'LL SEE IF THEY ARE UP TO THE TASK.

AND IF THERE IS A CHANCE TO ACTUALLY PUSH THIS AHEAD IN THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS CEASEFIRE DEAL.

MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, THANKS FOR JOINING US.

>>> NEXT, I'M JOINED BY SHARONE LIFSCHITZ.

HER MOTHER, YOCHEVED, WAS ONE OF THE FIRST HOSTAGES RELEASED BACK IN OCTOBER '23.

BUT HER 83-YEAR- OLD FATHER ODED REMAINED CAPTIVE IN GAZA.

SHARONE, YOU'VE BEEN WITH US SO MANY TIMES THROUGHOUT THIS TERRIBLE JOURNEY THAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN ON, AND IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK TODAY.

TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE FEELING JUST AT THIS INITIAL LIMITED DEAL HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, CHRISTIANE.

IT'S ONE WAY FOR ME TO VERIFY MAYBE SOMETHING IS HAPPENING, BECAUSE WE ARE MEETING AGAIN, AND THERE'S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME WHERE NOTHING REALLY HAPPENED.

BUT IN THAT NOTHING, SO MANY PEOPLE DIED.

AND THIS IS A MOMENT WHERE WE MIGHT SOON SEE SOME OF THE FAMILIES BEING REUNITED WITH THEIR LOVED ONES.

MY FIRST INSTINCT IS JUST TO DO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS DEAL DOESN'T CRUSH, THAT IT DOESN'T STOP BEFORE ALL THE HOSTAGES COME BACK, THE WAR ENDS, THERE IS A CEASEFIRE.

BOTH SOCIETIES CAN START BUILDING THEMSELVES UP AGAIN.

>> SHARONE, I SEE THAT YOU'RE STILL IN LONDON.

YOU HAVEN'T GOT ON A PLANE AND GONE BACK.

DO YOU KNOW WHETHER YOUR FATHER IS ON THE LIST TO COME OUT?

WE UNDERSTAND --I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THIS IS ACCURATE, BUT SOME HAVE SAID THE DEAL INCLUDES MEN OVER THE AGE OF 50.

AND OF COURSE YOUR FATHER IS IN HIS 80s.

>> YEAH.

MY FATHER SHOULD BE ON THAT LIST.

AND SO I WOULD BE ON THE PLANE SOME MOMENTS SOON.

I HAVE FAMILY IN LONDON.

I HAVE FAMILY IN ISRAEL.

IT SEEMS THAT THERE WILL BE THREE PEOPLE A WEEK BEING RELEASED.

SO IT MIGHT TAKE SOME TIME BEFORE, YOU KNOW, HE WOULD COME BACK.

ALL OF US ARE VERY APPREHENSIVE.

WE ALL HOPE TO SEE OUR LOVED ONES.

WE KNOW MANY OF THEM ARE NO LONGER ALIVE, AND IT WILL BE THE END OF A HUGE JOURNEY FOR THREE FAMILY AT THE TIME OR THEREABOUT.

AND I VERY MUCH I FEEL --I FEEL REALLY OVERWHELMED BY IT.

YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN SO LONG OF JUST TRYING TO GET TO THIS POINT.

I ASK MY MOM, AND SHE JUST, YOU KNOW, SHE JUST SAYS "I BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT. "

AND A LITTLE BIT I FEEL THE SAME.

IT WAS WHEN I SAW MY MOM ACTUALLY COMING OUT OF WHEREVER SHE WAS UNDERGROUND THAT IT BECAME REAL.

AND IN THAT MOMENT, YOU ALSO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH THEY HAVE CHANGED.

>> GOSH, I MEAN, YOU SAW HOW YOUR MOTHER HAD CHANGED.

I DON'T DARE ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR FATHER.

YOU STILL BELIEVE THAT HE'S ALIVE, CORRECT?

>> YOU KNOW, I CAN'T ASK AN OLD MAN TO STAY ALIVE FOR 467 DAYS IN THESE CONDITIONS.

I CAN TELL HIM THAT IF HE HAS STAYED ALIVE, IT'S A WONDERFUL MIRACLE.

I DID NOT BELIEVE MY MOM WAS ALIVE, AND SHE RETURNED TO US.

I --I -- I FIGHT FOR HIS RETURN.

>> AND SHARONE, THREE A WEEK IS ALMOST ANOTHER TORTURE.

IT'S DRIP, DRIP, DRIP.

IT MUST BE INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT FOR FAMILIES TO HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT.

YOU KNOW, OUR COLLEAGUE BIANNA, WHO IS IN TEL AVIV SAID A LOT OF THE FAMILIES HAVEN'T YET COME TO HOSTAGE SQUARE.

THEY'RE NOT REALLY TALKING YET, BECAUSE LIKE YOU, THEY'RE KIND OF NERVOUS.

THEY DON'T WANT TO SPOIL THE DEAL.

THEY DON'T WANT TO SAY ANYTHING THAT COULD TORPEDO THIS.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW THEY'RE FEELING?

THEY'RE NOT COMING OUT REALLY YET AND EXPRESSING THEMSELVES.

>> I THINK THAT IT'S NOT A GOOD MOMENT TO EXPRESS YOURSELF, BECAUSE IN EFFECT, NOBODY IS HUGGING THEIR LOVED ONES YET.

NOBODY KNOWS, YOU KNOW, THE FATE OF THEIR LOVED ONE FOR SURE.

THERE IS SO MUCH AGONY COMING OUR WAY AS WELL AS JOY.

AND WE HAVE TO HOLD OURSELVES AND BRACE OURSELVES FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT.

AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT BEING PART OF A COMMUNITY IN WHICH ONE IN FOUR WAS EITHER MURDERED OR TAKEN HOSTAGE, THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE I LOOK FORWARD TO SEE BEING HUGGED BY THEIR FAMILIES.

AND THAT WILL BE AN AMAZING, AMAZING THING FOR ME.

AND I THINK FOR MY MOM AND MY FATHER, THIS, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE BEEN PART OF THIS COMMUNITY ALL THEIR LIFE.

AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THESE PEOPLE COMING BACK TO US.

>> YOU KNOW, YOU'VE BECOME --I'M JUST GOING TO SAY IT.

I'M SURE YOU DON'T THINK IT.

BUT FOR US YOU'VE BECOME SORT OF AN UNOFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON FOR HOSTAGE FAMILIES.

YOU'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, WILLING OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO BARE YOUR SOUL AND TO TALK ABOUT THIS HORROR THAT YOU HAVE BEEN, LIKE ALL THE OTHER FAMILIES, ENDURING.

WHAT HAS IT ACTUALLY BEEN LIKE FOR YOU, NO MATTER YOUR STRENGTH INSIDE, NO MATTER THE FAMILY WHO YOU HAVE AROUND YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS, WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE FOR THESE LAST 15 MONTHS?

>> IT'S REALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SUM IT.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND YOU THINK THEY ARE THERE.

THEY ARE UNDERGROUND IN GAZA.

THEY ARE ALIVE AND THEY ARE THERE.

AND, YOU KNOW, NOTHING GETS YOU OUT OF BED LIKE THAT FEELING, THAT THEY ARE THERE.

YOU ARE HERE.

THEIR VOICE HAS BEEN SHUT, AND YOUR VOICE IS HERE.

AND IF I CAN SPEAK ON THEIR BEHALF, IF I CAN IN ANY WAY CONTRIBUTE, AND, YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T BEEN ALONE.

ALL THE FAMILIES IN THEIR OWN WAYS HAVE BEEN DOING SO MUCH, YOU KNOW.

PEOPLE --PEOPLE HAVE RISEN OUT OF THE MOST PROFOUND ATROCITIES TO SPEAK FOR THEIR LOVED ONES AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF YOU TO SAY THAT.

I FEEL THERE HAS BEEN MANY AMAZING AMBASSADORS FROM THE FAMILIES OF THE HOSTAGES DOING THE WORK, DOING WHAT THEY CAN EACH IN THEIR OWN WAY TO SEE A MOTHER WHO'S TWO SON IN GAZA COMING OUT AND SPEAKING IS PROFOUND FOR ME.

>> I MEAN, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.

THE STRENGTH AND THE COMMITMENT AND THE SOUL OF SO MANY OF THE FAMILIES HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY NOTABLE OVER THIS LAST 15 MONTHS.

AND SO I WANT THE ASK YOU AS WELL, KIND OF CONNECTED TO THAT, WHEN YOU HEAR SOMEBODY LIKE BIN GAVIR, THIS FAR RIGHT FIREBRAND EXTREMIST WHO ACTUALLY NOW AFTER ALL THESE MONTHS ADMITS PROUDLY THAT HE AND HIS, YOU KNOW, COLLEAGUES IN GOVERNMENT PROPPING UP YOUR GOVERNMENT HAVE ACTIVELY WORKED AGAINST BRINGING YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS HOME FOR THE LAST 15 MONTHS AND STILL WANT TO PREVENT IT, I E STILL WANT TO TOPPLE THIS GOVERNMENT, TOPPLE ANY DEAL.

THEY HAVE NOT PUT YOUR PEOPLE AS A PRIORITY.

>> YOU KNOW, I HAVE A FRIEND WHOSE SON WAS MURDERED BY PARAMILITARY AND THE I. R. A.

AND HE TOLD ME VERY EARLY ON THAT I DON'T NEED TO DISH REVENGE FOR THOSE PEOPLE.

LIFE DISHES REVENGE ON YOUR BEHALF.

BELIEVE THAT.

THESE PLACES IN HELL IS THE CURE FOR THIS, YOU KNOW.

THE BLOOD AND TORTURE OF SO MANY PEOPLE OVER SO LONG IS, YOU KNOW, HE CLAIMED IT.

IT'S HIS.

HE DIDN'T DO IT ALONE.

WE HAVE AN ENEMY IN HAMAS THAT IS REALLY HORRENDOUS.

HAMAS HAS BEEN HORRIFIC TO THEIR OWN PEOPLE.

THE FANATICS ON BOTH SIDES HAVE FAR TOO LONG BEEN ABLE TO SET THE TONE.

THEY HAVE CAUSED SO MUCH SUFFERING IN THIS REGION.

I THINK ALL OF US THAT BELIEVE IN LIFETIME AND AGAIN I WILL SAY IT, WE HAVE TO STAND UP AND SAY FANATICS ON BOTH SIDES, WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY FOR YOU NOT TO BE IN CHARGE.

WE NEED BETTER LEADERS.

WE DON'T NEED HIM AS THE HEAD IN THE GOVERNMENT, AND WE DON'T NEED HAMAS.

WE NEED PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN LIFE.

>> SHARONE LIFSCHITZ, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US AGAIN.

>> THANK YOU.

>> AND THAT'S IT FOR OUR PROGRAM TONIGHT.

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ORG/AMANPOUR.

WE'LL HAVE MUCH MORE OF MY INTERVIEW WITH TONY BLINKEN IN TOMORROW'S SHOW.

THANKS FOR WATCHING, AND DO JOIN US AGAIN TOMORROW NIGHT.