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Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Christanami.

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Speaker 1: It it's Friday, January seventeenth. Don't bank on a rate

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Speaker 1: cut in February. That's the warning from economists who say

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Speaker 1: bumper employment figures released on Thursday will have the Reserve

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Speaker 1: Bank running scared and it could dash the government's hopes

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Speaker 1: of a pre election rate cut. You can read that

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Speaker 1: story right now at the Australian dot com dot au.

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Speaker 1: A long awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has

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Speaker 1: fallen over at the eleventh hour thanks to political infighting

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Speaker 1: in the Israeli cabinet. So what now? That's today's episode.

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Speaker 1: On Saturday, a little baby will celebrate his second birthday,

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Speaker 1: but for the second time that precious milestone will occur

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Speaker 1: in captivity. Kafir Beebas, whose shock of red hair became

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Speaker 1: a symbol of the more than two hundred hostages taken

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Speaker 1: by the militant group Hamas on October seven, twenty twenty three,

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Speaker 1: will be with his mum and dad, Shiri and Yarden

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Speaker 1: and his big brother Ariel, and after a ceasefire deal

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Speaker 1: was tentatively struck between Israel and Hamas, it looked like

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Speaker 1: Kafir and his family could be among the first to

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Speaker 1: return home after fifteen long and terrifying months, but now

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Speaker 1: that future is more uncertain than ever. After the cabinet

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Speaker 1: of Israeli PM Benjamin Etna who failed to ratify the truce.

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Speaker 2: A ceasefire deal. A ceasefire has finally, at last been agreed.

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Speaker 1: This is a massive deal, weeks in the making. The

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Speaker 1: news broke early on Thursday morning. Finally, after four hundred

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Speaker 1: and sixty seven days of war, a ceasefire has been

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Speaker 1: agreed between Israel and Tamas. After more than a year

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Speaker 1: and thousands of deaths, Israel and Hammas will end their fighting.

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Speaker 1: There were celebrations in the streets of Gaza. World leaders

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Speaker 1: breathed a collective sigh of relief, but the jubilation didn't

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Speaker 1: last long. The deal was set to be ratified at

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Speaker 1: an anticipated meeting of the Israeli Cabinet later on Thursday,

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Speaker 1: but that was delayed when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyaho accused

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Speaker 1: Harmas of renegging on parts of the agreement. A senior

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Speaker 1: Hamas official said in a post on telegram that wasn't

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Speaker 1: the case, adding that the militant group is committed to

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Speaker 1: the ceasefire agreement. The hold up came down to political

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Speaker 1: infighting in Netanyahu's cabinet. His political future has been threatened

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Speaker 1: by far right members of his coalition who see concessions

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Speaker 1: made by the PM to bring hostages home as a

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Speaker 1: loss for Israel against their terrorist adversaries. Its complex, and

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Speaker 1: this situation is changing quickly. Here's what we know. The

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Speaker 1: deal was expected to happen in three stages. First, Israeli

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Speaker 1: forces would begin to withdraw from Gaza's densely populated areas,

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Speaker 1: so displaced Palestinians could return home and humanitarian aid to

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Speaker 1: the region could be ratcheted up. Around thirty hostages taken

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Speaker 1: into the Palestinian territories by Hamas militants during that deadly

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Speaker 1: October seven massacre were to be freed. The Beavers brothers

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Speaker 1: might have been among them. In return, hundreds of Palestinian

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Speaker 1: prisoners currently held in Israeli jails would have been returned.

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Speaker 1: In stages two and three, it was proposed that Israeli

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Speaker 1: troops would come completely withdrawal from Gaza and any remaining

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Speaker 1: hostages would be released before rebuilding could begin in the

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Speaker 1: decimated Gaza strip I spoke to The Australian's chief international correspondent,

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Speaker 1: Cameron Stewart, in the hours before the ceasefire deal was

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Speaker 1: plunged into doubt.

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Speaker 2: The real challenge Christian comes in the second phase of

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Speaker 2: the deal, and that requires the release of the rest

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Speaker 2: of the hostages, but also the declaration of a permanent

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Speaker 2: piece and the removal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.

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Speaker 2: Now Hamas and Israel are not in agreement at the

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Speaker 2: moment on that aspect. Israel's very reluctant to declare a

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Speaker 2: permanent peace. They want to be able to come in

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Speaker 2: and hit Hamas if they see Hamas rearming in any sense,

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Speaker 2: and Harmasas said it's not going to release all of

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Speaker 2: the hostages until the idef the Israeli forces are completely

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Speaker 2: out of Gaza, and Israel says, no, that won't happen.

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Speaker 2: They won't leave Gaza until the hostages are released. Look

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Speaker 2: sound small in some ways, but in fact they're very

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Speaker 2: difficult negotiating positions which have to be resolved for the

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Speaker 2: second phase to succeed. That will be the real test

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Speaker 2: of this agreement.

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Speaker 1: Several nations played roles in these most recent ceasefire negotiations.

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Speaker 1: Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have taken credit for

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Speaker 1: finally bringing the truce to fruition the outgoing president through

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Speaker 1: meticulous deploymacy.

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Speaker 2: This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and

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Speaker 2: will be largely implemented by the incoming administration and.

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Speaker 1: The President elect through brute force.

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Speaker 3: If those hostages aren't back by the time I get

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Speaker 3: into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East.

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Speaker 1: Even a vow by lynchpin Katari negotiators to steady the

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Speaker 1: ship couldn't get it over the line. Here's Prime Minister

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Speaker 1: Shaik Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman Altani.

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Speaker 3: We are committed. I believe that it all depends on

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Speaker 3: the parties of the agreement and acting in good fifth

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Speaker 3: and that agreement in order to ensure that no collapse

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Speaker 3: happening to that deal.

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Speaker 1: Kem what happens if both parties can't agree on the

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Speaker 1: next phase of the deal.

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Speaker 2: Look, it would be terrible news obviously for those hostages

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Speaker 2: who might still be in captivity at that point in time.

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Speaker 2: It would also be terrible news for the Palestinian people

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Speaker 2: because Israel would obviously begin its at tax again, which

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Speaker 2: would lead to so being casualties, and I think for

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Speaker 2: the net Niahu government it would be a very difficult situation.

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Speaker 2: There are lots of Israelis who really want to see

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Speaker 2: a cessation of hostilities. A very interesting point here, though,

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Speaker 2: I think Christian, is that there will be a lot

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Speaker 2: of pressure on both the Israeli government and a mass

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Speaker 2: from Donald Trump as the new president. It would be

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Speaker 2: very much in Trump's interest to keep this piece going

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Speaker 2: and to ensure that each phase of these negotiations continues

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Speaker 2: to progress and deliver ultimately at permanent peace. Trump does

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Speaker 2: not want to see a resumption of hostilities under his watch.

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Speaker 1: Coming up. What this moment means for Australia. There are

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Speaker 1: more than fourteen thousand kilometers between Canberra and the Gaza Strip,

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Speaker 1: but yet Australia's capital and the whole nation has felt

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Speaker 1: the effects of the conflict in the Middle East. Keenly yes,

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Speaker 1: through fifteen months of fighting, an anti Semitism crisis has

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Speaker 1: fested in the streets and in the halls of Parliament. Locally,

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Speaker 1: political alliance is fractured. Globally, relationships deteriorated. Cam What are

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Speaker 1: the local implications do you think of a ceasefire agreement

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Speaker 1: between Israel and Tamas.

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Speaker 2: I think that it definitely has local ramifications here in Australia.

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Speaker 2: I mean, we've seen it really absolutely disgraceful increase of

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Speaker 2: anti Semitism over the past fifteen months. I think that

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Speaker 2: state governments, especially the state Labor government of Victoria and

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Speaker 2: the federal government have really been far too slow to

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Speaker 2: call it out, to stamp it out, and to really

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Speaker 2: take action to prevent it. That has, if you like,

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Speaker 2: encouraged ant Israeli protesters to embrace anti Semitism in all

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Speaker 2: forms now then outbreak of peace, let's hope it's permanent

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Speaker 2: peace in Gaza would certainly lead to a reduction in protests,

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Speaker 2: if not an end to the weekly protests from the

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Speaker 2: pro Palestinian groups, And you would hope it would reduce

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Speaker 2: the heat and the temperature of the debate here in Australia,

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Speaker 2: and that surely is going to lead to an improvement

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Speaker 2: in what we've seen as far as the terrible harassment

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Speaker 2: of Australian Jews.

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Speaker 1: There's a federal election due in May. Do you think

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Speaker 1: there'll be an attempt by either side to take this

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Speaker 1: conflict and the Middle East, perhaps more broadly off the

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Speaker 1: agenda before then.

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Speaker 2: I think the federal government certainly will be very gen

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Speaker 2: to get this off the agenda because the Albanese government

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Speaker 2: it's really been a loser on both counts as far

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Speaker 2: as the local electric goes, because it certainly has lost

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Speaker 2: a lot of Jewish voters who are very unhappy with

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Speaker 2: what they see is a weak fight against anti Semitism

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Speaker 2: from the Albanese government. But also a lot of Islamic

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Speaker 2: voters in those western Sydney seats are annoyed with what

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Speaker 2: they believe is a to pro israel A position from

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Speaker 2: the Albanesi government. So I think the whole conflict in

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Speaker 2: the Middle East has been a loser for the Arbenese government.

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Speaker 2: I think electorally they would love to see a cease

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Speaker 2: fire now so that the issue at least recedes in

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Speaker 2: the minds of many voters, such that it won't be

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Speaker 2: as much of a turning point or a voting issue

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Speaker 2: when the election is actually held vatter this year. But

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Speaker 2: also I think it'll be interesting to see whether during

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Speaker 2: the election campaign the opposition leader Peter Dutton continues to

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Speaker 2: push these issues about the government's handling of the Israeli

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Speaker 2: conflict and of course, it's handling about his Semitism in Australia.

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Speaker 2: I think Dutton certainly sees this as a winner for

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Speaker 2: the Conservatives, and I suspect he will try to keep

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Speaker 2: the issue alive in the public mind at the same

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Speaker 2: time as the Labor government will be trying to reduce

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Speaker 2: the memory of Australians about this issue.

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Speaker 1: Cameron Stewart is The Australian's chief international correspondent. This situation

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Speaker 1: is moving quickly. For all the latest visit the Australian

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Speaker 1: dot com Dot you thanks for joining us on the

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Speaker 1: front this week. Our team is Claire Harvey, Jasper leik

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Speaker 1: Leotsa mcglou Josh Burton, Tiffany Dimac, Stephanie Coombs, Stella McKenna

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Speaker 1: and me christinam Yet