1 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey. 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: It's Thursday, July three, twenty twenty five. Fijian military personnel 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: should be allowed to serve in the Australian Defense Forces. 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: That's the call from Fiji's Prime Minister Sidaveni Rambuoka. He 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: also says China mustn't be allowed to develop a military 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: base of its own in the region. Reckoning for the 7 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: childcare center as the Victorian government re yields from allegations 8 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: a serial predator abused children across multiple daycare centers. Mobile 9 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 1: phones and other devices will be banned and they'll possibly 10 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: be CCTV surveillance of kids and staff. That huge story 11 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: is live now at the Australian dot com dot au. 12 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: Peace in the Middle East, Donald Trump seems to think 13 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: he's got it sorted. Ben Jamin Nettania, who is heading 14 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: to the White House and the deal maker in chief, 15 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: says they'll have a deal today. On the Front are 16 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: correspondents Joanni Bishan and Liam Mendez on the new push 17 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:18,479 Speaker 1: for a ceasefire. There's been conflict in the Middle East 18 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: for a couple of thousand years now, the Romans, the Crusaders, Jews, Christians, Muslims, 19 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: and now Donald Trump. 20 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 2: Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 21 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 2: sixty days ceasefire. I hope for the good of the 22 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 2: Middle East that Hamas takes this deal, because it will 23 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 2: not get better, it will only get worse. 24 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: That was an Ai voice reading the president's social media post. 25 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: The deal maker in chief says he's got a deal, 26 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: or he's going to get a deal, or there's a 27 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: deal to be done. 28 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 3: How far were you going to be with Matt Yahoo 29 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 3: about ending the war? And he wants it to He's 30 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 3: he wants to tend to but is there a point 31 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 3: where you're told not Yahoo, Like you've got to endless 32 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 3: Now you've got to stake a he wants to. 33 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: I think we'll have a deal next year, that's right. 34 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: Benjamin Netanya, who the Israeli Prime Minister, is heading to Washington, 35 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: d C. Early next week and says he'll be meeting 36 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: with Trump, Vice President j d Vance, and top dogs 37 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth and Steve Wikoff. He's the former 38 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:32,079 Speaker 1: property developer and Trump buddy who's been leading negotiations for 39 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: Mideast peace. 40 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 3: Can't be in there, and. 41 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 2: Then I see vance in the skirts. 42 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 3: Look at the Michael Rubil. 43 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: It's been a hell of a month, a twelve day 44 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: shooting war with Iran, American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, 45 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: civilian deaths in Gaza at food distribution sites. Donald Trump swearing. 46 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 2: We have we basically have two countries that have been 47 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 2: fighting so long and so hard that they don't know 48 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 2: what the fuck they're doing. Do you understand that? 49 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: And now maybe peace on the ground in Israel. Our 50 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: correspondents Joanni Bishan and Liam Mendez are just getting used 51 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 1: to life outside the bomb shelter. Liam, what's life like 52 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: in Tel Aviv these days? 53 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 4: Well, it's been like night and day compared to when 54 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 4: Israel was at war with Iran. About an hour after 55 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 4: the ceasefire was announced, things just completely changed. At first, 56 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 4: before the ceasefire, all of Tel Aviv was empty. It 57 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 4: was amazing, almost in a way where we could get 58 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 4: a park very easily. We'd get from one hour of 59 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 4: town to the other in a matter of ten to 60 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 4: twenty minutes, that's how empty it was. It was like 61 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 4: Covid again. But then an hour into the ceasefire, everyone 62 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 4: came out, it was impossible to get a reservation at 63 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 4: a restaurant. It's quite remarkable to watch everyone just emerge 64 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 4: out of the bunker and resume life and go back 65 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 4: to normal, you know, after being through what was very 66 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:14,559 Speaker 4: traumatic twelve days. We saw a lot of people genuinely 67 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 4: terrified and panicking when the air raid tyrants would go off, 68 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 4: and when people would file from the beach or from 69 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 4: the streets into an air raid shelter. And then all 70 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 4: of that sort of disappeared. It went into the distance, 71 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 4: and it seems like everyone's just forgotten about it. 72 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: Only something that hasn't changed is the hostage situation. There 73 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: are still about fifty hostages remaining in Gaza of the 74 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: two hundred plus who were taken by Hamas back in 75 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. What's happening with those hostages and what 76 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 1: do you think their fate is going to be if, 77 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: as Donald Trump is saying, we get some kind of 78 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:58,159 Speaker 1: deal next week. 79 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 3: Well, it's extremely depressing to think we currently have fifty 80 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 3: hostages that are being held in Gaza, but not all 81 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 3: of them are alive. The estimation is that roughly about 82 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 3: twenty three or thereabouts still living and the rest bodies 83 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 3: that are being held by Ramasen that itself is so 84 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 3: abhorrent to think about that this terrorist organization is holding 85 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 3: the bodies of people, and around Tel Aviv and around 86 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 3: the rest of Israel, you'll walk around and you'll see 87 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 3: the posters that are calling for the living hostages to 88 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 3: come back, but they're also posters for those who have died. 89 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 3: And they didn't die in captivity, although some of them did. 90 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 3: Some of them died on October seven, and ramas has 91 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 3: just been holding their bodies for almost two years. So 92 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:37,279 Speaker 3: the families have no eeed to agree for them, and 93 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 3: it's truly an appalling situation that they're still there. But 94 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 3: I guess what the hostage families here have been saying 95 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 3: is that the ceasefire that was managed to be broken 96 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 3: with Iran that presented an opportunity for further negotiations and 97 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 3: discussions over the hostages in Gaza. In fact, what the 98 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,160 Speaker 3: hostages and families for them, that's the organization that advocates 99 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 3: for families here. What that forum one we're saying is 100 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,479 Speaker 3: that the ceasefire with Iran was a missed opportunity to 101 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 3: broker a further deal to get the hostages out, and 102 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 3: that the ceasefire with Iran should have been predicated on 103 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 3: such a deal. It shouldn't have been a ceasefire that 104 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 3: only focused on stopping the ballistic missiles coming into Israel. 105 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 3: The hostages should have underpinned those talks the entire time, 106 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 3: So at this stage it wouldn't appear as though people 107 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:24,480 Speaker 3: on the ground think that there's much hope of getting 108 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 3: the hostages out through a military campaign. That's been the 109 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 3: government's position from the start that military campaigns are what 110 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 3: provide the leverage for the Israeli government to negotiate the 111 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 3: hostages released. But what we know is that the hostages 112 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 3: get out through agreements. In the main, some hostages have 113 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 3: been released through rescue operations, but the numbers are very small, 114 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 3: and the hostage families here are saying that the only 115 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 3: way they'll get their loved ones back is through a deal, 116 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 3: and that's what the hope is now. 117 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: Moving forward here in Australia, we see a lot of 118 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: distressing footage of humanitarian suffering in Gaza, people who are 119 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 1: hungry and queuing up at distribution centers for aid. The 120 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: Israeli Defense forces have admitted that some of the people 121 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: seeking aid were killed by Israeli troops. What's going on 122 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: as far as we can tell, Yonian and why is 123 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: this so difficult? 124 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 3: Well, what appears to be going on is that the 125 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 3: distribution of aid has been shambolic. It's high risk and dangerous. 126 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 3: We know that there's no screening process for the Palestinians 127 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 3: who are rightfully queuing up for food at those aid 128 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 3: distribution centers, and what that means is that mixed within 129 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 3: the crowds of ordinary people are members of Hamas. And 130 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 3: what we also know is that the IDF has made 131 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 3: admissions to several dozen people having been killed. They've admitted 132 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 3: to mistakes, grievous grievous mistakes in the process of distributing 133 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 3: that aid. And what we've had in the last few 134 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 3: days is the IDF updating its protocols and instituting a 135 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 3: range of new infant structure around the delivery of aid, 136 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 3: to include signage and directions and concrete barriers to allow 137 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 3: for the better flow of the human traffic in the 138 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 3: area in order to access the aid distribution. And the 139 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 3: hope is that moving forward this will be cleared up 140 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 3: and the food that is available to be delivered into 141 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 3: Gaza can actually reach the people who need it. 142 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: Coming up more from our Middle East correspondents Joanni Bishan 143 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: and Leam Mendez. Liam, You and Yonni have been traveling 144 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: around the country talking to ordinary Israelis as you complete 145 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: your reporting of this story, do you get a sense 146 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: from Israelis since Donald Trump has started talking about peace 147 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: that they are hopeful, more hopeful now than perhaps they 148 00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 1: were before the Iran War broke out. 149 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 4: There is definitely a sense of hope. But one theme 150 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 4: that keeps coming up is that the Israelis are just 151 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 4: locked into the fact that these wars come up every 152 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 4: six to eight years. There's an expectation that people need 153 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 4: to be ready for either a terrorist attack or some 154 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,439 Speaker 4: sort of attack. Someone was saying to me a couple 155 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:22,199 Speaker 4: of days ago that they are constantly on the lookout 156 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 4: for someone that's trying to kill them. The Israelis are 157 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 4: living in this constant state of peril where they are 158 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 4: just waiting for when is the next siren going to happen. 159 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 4: For the first time in a week since the ceasefire, 160 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 4: we had an alert go off preparing us for a 161 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,559 Speaker 4: potential attack. Now, a ballistic missile from Yemen, a single 162 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 4: ballistic missile was intercepted by the IDEF yesterday. But there 163 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 4: is never a true sense of peace and quiet that 164 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 4: we're so used to having back at home. People are 165 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 4: still on edge, and it's a fact of life that 166 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 4: Israel is going to be at war with at least 167 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 4: one neighbor at any point in time. 168 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: On Benjamin Nettanna, who's on his way to Washington, we 169 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: can only assume that he'll have an Oval Office meeting 170 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: with the President and JD. Vance and the other top brass. 171 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: Some of those meetings haven't gone so well for the 172 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 1: foreign leaders who've put themselves up. What do you think 173 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 1: it tells us that Benjamin Nettanna, who is agreeing to 174 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 1: go to Washington at this stage, does this mean that 175 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: a deal is actually in the office. 176 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 3: Well, I think, first of all, I'd say that Benjamin 177 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 3: nettannia who is a very shrewd and very savvy politician. 178 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 3: So I'm not expecting to see any scenes, as we 179 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 3: might call it, in the Oval Office like we saw 180 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 3: with Vladimir Zelenski of Ukraine. I'm not too sure as 181 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 3: yet how people should read this visit to Washington. On 182 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 3: the one hand, we've had Donald Trump quite insistently and 183 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 3: quite typically getting on truth social and calling for a 184 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 3: ceasefire to occur as soon as possible, and effectively imploring 185 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,599 Speaker 3: the Israeli Prime Minister to acquiesce to that. There is 186 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,199 Speaker 3: a school of thought that says that Netna, who could 187 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 3: viably agree to some sort of ceasefire deal because he's 188 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 3: in such a strong position politically in Israel, given the 189 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 3: successes that occurred in Iran, so he could agree to 190 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 3: a cease fire, even if it means causing some degradation 191 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 3: of his coalition here. On the other hand, I think 192 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 3: it's also worth considering that there have been many opportunities 193 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 3: to rake over the coals of a cease fire and 194 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,959 Speaker 3: they have mounted to nothing. And it's worth examining another 195 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 3: aspect of this, which is that Benjamin Netna, who is 196 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 3: currently on trial here in Israel, a criminal trial, and 197 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 3: he was due to give two days of evidence this week. 198 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 3: In fact, his legal team had called for that evidence 199 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 3: to be postponed on security grounds and diplomatic grounds of 200 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 3: the highest order. A judge rejected that claim, asking for 201 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 3: further evidence, and in response, Benjamin Netanya, who turned up 202 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:56,080 Speaker 3: to the court on Sunday with no less than the 203 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:58,960 Speaker 3: head of the Mossad, David Barnaya and the head of 204 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 3: IDF Intelligence, And after they gave evidence in a closed court, 205 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 3: the judge agreed to postpone his evidence by a week 206 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 3: and we'll hear further evidence next week to put that 207 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 3: off as well. So I think people should keep that 208 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 3: in mind when BB goes to visit Donald Trump. There 209 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 3: has been a war with Iran and there is going 210 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 3: to be a meeting of minds there in Washington, and 211 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 3: I think top of the agenda will be discussions about 212 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 3: regional security and the potential for further operations to take 213 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 3: place in light of what's just occurred. So I think 214 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,319 Speaker 3: there's hope that there may be talk of a ceasefire, 215 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 3: but the suggestion is that there could be broader security 216 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:37,440 Speaker 3: discussions that are going to take place. 217 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:50,480 Speaker 1: To Leam Mendez and Johanni Vashan are in Israel for 218 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: The Australian. You can check out their reporting live at 219 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: the Australian dot com dot au