A shaky ceasefire in Gaza
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 17 January 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
There was widespread jubilation at the announcement that a deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire in Gaza. Netanyahu's government is still to formally approve the deal that would bring to an end 15 months of conflict. The deal includes the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners. But how exactly will it work? And, more importantly, will it last?
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Guest: Samer Al-Atrush, Middle East Correspondent, The Times.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Producers: Edward Drummond, Olivia Case.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode of The Story is sponsored by Sky, where you can watch the brand new Sky original drama Lockerbie, |
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| 0:59.0 | I'm Manvine Rana. |
| 1:13.6 | It had been a long time coming. After eight months of non-stop negotiation by my administration, a ceasefire and a hostage deal |
| 1:22.6 | has been reached by Israel and Hamas. As the announcement of a deal finally came, the Middle East lit up. |
| 1:32.3 | On TV screens across the region, people watching Al Jazeera saw one of their correspondents in Gaza |
| 1:51.6 | who'd chronicled the horrors of the war for months. |
| 1:55.3 | Now, clutching his microphone and talking emotionally into the camera as live on air, he began to unstrap his helmet |
| 2:03.7 | and tear off his body armour. He said they'd exhausted him for too long. As he announced |
| 2:14.6 | the news of the ceasefire, the jubilant cheering crowds around him lifted him onto their shoulders and began to dance. |
| 2:22.3 | Hope was returning to the war-battered streets of Gaza. |
| 2:31.3 | 50 miles away in Jerusalem, there was an overwhelming sense of relief for many. |
| 2:37.8 | We've been waiting so long for our hostages to finally come home, praying, hoping, |
| 2:42.6 | and now it's finally happening, and we're so excited. |
| 2:45.7 | But within hours, hope was dissipating. |
... |
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