‘Peace’ on paper, but catastrophe continues on the ground in Gaza
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the three months since the US unveiled a 20-point Gaza plan, more than 400 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured in near-daily Israeli attacks. Gaza has been fragmented, with Israel controlling over half its territory. Is this "peace plan" truly about peace?
In this episode:
- Mohammed Mhawish (@mohamhawish), Journalist and Writer
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Chloe K. Li, Noor Wazwaz, and Tamara Khandaker, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Fatima Shafiq, and our host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Kylene Kiang.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:08.0 | Today, where are Palestinians in the so-called Gaza Peace Plan? |
| 0:16.0 | Their future is being debated without them, and their sense of uncertainty and fear and exhaustion is something that we try to carry |
| 0:24.6 | into every story. |
| 0:26.7 | How the U.S. plan stalled and why it may have been set up to fail from the start. |
| 0:33.8 | I'm Kevin Horton, and this is The Take. |
| 0:47.8 | Before we continue with today's show, remember to leave us a comment telling us what you would think about this episode and what stories you might want to see us do next. |
| 0:52.2 | And if you're on your favorite podcast app, please leave us a review, telling us where you're listening from. |
| 0:56.7 | And also, a five-star rating really does help the show. |
| 1:03.3 | My name is Mohammed Mhowich. |
| 1:05.1 | I'm a Palestinian journalist and writer from Gaza. |
| 1:08.4 | I have been reporting heavily on the situation on the ground, both from |
| 1:12.9 | inside Gaza for almost a year and a half throughout the latest Israeli war, and then continuing |
| 1:19.7 | from exile right now where I am based in New York. Well, Muhammad, it is great to have you on |
| 1:24.8 | the take, and I'd love to start there on the ground with the conditions right now in Gaza. I know they're kind of as bad as ever. This winter has already been brutal. And many Palestinians there have to suffer the elements in either tents or unsafe housing. So just to start, can you try to put into words? |
| 1:44.6 | Give us an example just how tough it is right now on the ground. |
| 1:48.6 | It's absolutely catastrophic. |
| 1:53.5 | Right now in Gaza, the world has been celebrating a victory for peace and a ceasefire for months now. And what we're actually witnessing |
| 2:04.9 | is something far more troubling. So for winter right now, it's incredibly harsh. And for a lot of |
| 2:12.0 | people, it's frightening. Most of the people I know are living in tents and makeshift shelters. When the sun goes down, it gets really cold and damp. And most of the people I know are living in tents and makeshap shelters. |
| 2:18.4 | When the sun goes down, it gets really cold and damp, and most families simply don't have |
| 2:23.0 | walls or heating devices or dry shelters. |
... |
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