Peace talks continue two years after October 7th attacks

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

spk_0 I'm Alex Ritzner at 17 hours GMT on Tuesday 7 October.

spk_0 These are our main stories.

spk_0 Israel is marking the second anniversary of the Hamas attack that started the war in Gaza,

spk_0 as mediators are reported to have reached an understanding with Hamas and Israel

spk_0 on an agenda for indirect negotiations.

spk_0 Angry Gen Z takes to the streets of Morocco for the 11th day in a row.

spk_0 British police say they dismantled a huge international smuggling operation in stolen mobile phones.

spk_0 Also in this podcast, a night off from economic woes for Argentina's President Malay

spk_0 as he headlines a rock concert and a live and whale.

spk_0 The remarkable comeback of humpbacks of Australia's East Coast.

spk_0 As Israel marks the second anniversary of the Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza,

spk_0 mediators are reported to be moving forward with President Trump's plan for peace in the territory.

spk_0 Talks are taking place in Egypt and, as we record, there appears to be the beginnings of an

spk_0 understanding between the Palestinians and Israelis. A senior Palestinian source familiar with

spk_0 the Shamel-Shake negotiations has told the BBC that the discussions will follow a five-point

spk_0 framework starting with ending the war and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian

spk_0 prisoners. Earlier, a minute silence was observed in Israel, and sirens and car horns sounded at

spk_0 the site of the Nova Festival were more than 340, mostly young people were killed in the Hamas rampage.

spk_0 Members of their families and other Israelis traveled to the site to pay their respects.

spk_0 Memorial events have also been held at other sites where the attacks resulted in hundreds more dead

spk_0 and kidnapped. 251 people were taken hostage on that day, 20 of whom are believed to still be

spk_0 alive and hidden in Gaza. Amidly correspondent Yoland Nell has been at Reim the site of the

spk_0 Nova Festival and sent this report. We had sirens going off and car horns being sounded to mark

spk_0 this two-year anniversary. We just had a one-minute of silence and a large crowd has now gathered

spk_0 behind me for this commemorative event, to really being led by the families of the bereaved and

spk_0 survivors of those attacks on the 7th of October 2023. What happened here? Huge numbers of

spk_0 young people had gathered for a dance festival. It was the end of the Jewish holidays and that's

spk_0 when Hamas launched its attacks. It began with sirens going off, warning of incoming missiles and

spk_0 as people ran into their shelters nearby, then you started to have these heavily armed

spk_0 government making their way across the border. And there are pictures now of the more than 340

spk_0 young people, most of them, who were killed here that day with their stories and members of their

spk_0 families have been coming, looking at those portrait some very tearful moments here. It was also a

spk_0 natural place for many Israelis to come because it was the single site where the biggest number of

spk_0 people were killed on the 7th of October 2023 and many people just wanted to remember that

spk_0 and to pay their respects to the dead.

spk_0 Yehland, now. Gadi Moses was one of those taken hostage on October 7th and taken to Gaza.

spk_0 He was released from captivity after 481 days. At 81, he's the oldest Israeli hostage to return

spk_0 alive. He's trying to lead revival efforts at his ravaged cabuts. BBC Arabic's Michael Shavale

spk_0 visited his community to hear his story.

spk_0 Nothing in life prepares you for such a situation. I did not see anyone for 481 days.

spk_0 I did not speak a word in Hebrew. I was completely alone. Gadi Moses is the oldest surviving hostage

spk_0 released from Gaza. The toughest moments are the yearning for the children and grandchildren.

spk_0 All the time when you're in captivity, you're in stress. Why is he hugging the rifle?

spk_0 Why is he charging the bullets? What is he going to do?

spk_0 In such an atmosphere you cannot say my wife is dead. I'm sad now.

spk_0 Through this gate the terrorists abducted me.

spk_0 Turned right on the road through the boulevard and from there west to the Gaza Strait.

spk_0 Over a quarter of Kibbutz near Oz's residence were killed or kidnapped.

spk_0 This vineyard, three of its founders were murdered.

spk_0 Moses is the only one left alive. On very hot days we sat here, sipped one and fell the joy.

spk_0 The release of the hostages must come first because they don't have time.

spk_0 I'm angry. I'm sad. I can't think of anything else.

spk_0 I told the Prime Minister, save us, cut the bureaucracy and give an order to release the money.

spk_0 Our homes were destroyed, our community was destroyed. People who lived here peacefully and quietly,

spk_0 the Prime Minister is not interested in us. Who lived here?

spk_0 The Shalev family. They murdered the father, the widow and the son, Tal.

spk_0 It is hard now, it is sad. You can easily sink into depression.

spk_0 But not in my book. I'm very sorry. In my toolbox depression does not exist.

spk_0 The cornerstone marks the beginning of the rebuilding and construction of Kibbutz near Oz.

spk_0 From grief, destruction and the events of the 7th of October 2023, from a failure within a failure,

spk_0 we take the first step towards revival within revival.

spk_0 Our hope is that the members of the community, wherever they are, young and old,

spk_0 will join the optimistic forces and rebuild the paradise, called near Oz.

spk_0 A person has to be a sick optimist in order to make wine here,

spk_0 sit down to drink in front of the Palestinian village, watch the spot you were abducted from,

spk_0 and believe things will be good. But the future will be good.

spk_0 Michael Shival from BBC Arabic, hearing the story of Gadi Moses, who is the oldest hostage to

spk_0 return from Gaza alive. As commemorations to mark the 2nd anniversary of the Hamas attack

spk_0 were taking place, Israeli estrikes on Gaza continued. What is it like for people living there?

spk_0 A question for our Gaza correspondent, Rishji Abu Aluf, who is covering the war from Istanbul,

spk_0 because Israel won't allow international correspondence into the territory.

spk_0 It's a grief and angering Gaza with thousands of Palestinians posting on social media,

spk_0 the before and after images and videos of their houses and villages and towns that has been

spk_0 devastated by two years or four. No one in Gaza, I think, ever expected, including me, that the war

spk_0 would last for two years. It was just a quiet Saturday morning where most mothers are preparing

spk_0 school bags and lunch boxes for their kids because Saturday is a normal working day in Gaza,

spk_0 and suddenly everything changed once and forever. And since then, thousands of people killed

spk_0 that most of the population, entire population, displaced in other places, two-thirds of Gaza's

spk_0 trip is under active Israeli control and military operation. 12 people were killed just overnight

spk_0 in Gaza while Israel continued to bomb different areas and Gaza, focusing in Gaza City where tanks

spk_0 are close to the city center, advancing more into the center of Gaza City. The biggest city,

spk_0 once house a million people, half of the population, they used to live in Gaza City. Many people

spk_0 posted the picture of their loved ones, they lost in the war, others were posting before and after

spk_0 images and videos of their life that they missed. All of them, they said, we missed our life. One

spk_0 person told me this morning that he lost his old, older virgin of himself and now he's became a

spk_0 displaced for seven time. He lost a member of his family and he's struggling to find food and

spk_0 clean water for his kids. There is finally hope for an end to this war soon. What is the latest

spk_0 on those talks? The Egyptian mediators, the Qataris are involving heavily in trying to remove

spk_0 the opisticles and get both the Israeli and Hamas, get closer to the point where a ceasefire could

spk_0 be reached, a lot of hope, but a lot of, you know, spectacle and challenges ahead.

spk_0 Rishdi Abu Aluf in Istanbul. To other news now and British police say they've dismantled an

spk_0 international gang suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China

spk_0 in the last year. 18 suspects have been arrested and more than 2,000 stolen devices have been

spk_0 discovered. Police believe the gang could be responsible for exporting up to half of all phones

spk_0 in London. BBC News was given access to the investigation. Seamur Kitecher reports.

spk_0 It started with a stolen phone in a box in a warehouse near Heathrow, with it were more than 800

spk_0 phones. Police intercepted more shipments and forensic tests led to the identification of two men.

spk_0 Both Afghan nationals arrested on suspicion of running an international smuggling gang trading

spk_0 phones. In the back of their car, iPhones, some wrapped in tin foil to avoid detection.

spk_0 They've since been charged with conspiring to receive stolen goods. 80,000 phones were stolen

spk_0 in the capital last year, most are thought to be shipped to China where they can fetch up to

spk_0 4,000 pounds each because they can bypass censorship, unlike those sold there. As part of the

spk_0 same investigation, police raided multiple properties. Targeting those suspected of being

spk_0 further down the chain. Moments later, the arrest of a Bulgarian national. We've identified and

spk_0 arrested an individual linked to mobile phone offences, name and targeting pick pockets that

spk_0 are operating currently within central part of London. So what we're doing this morning is

spk_0 I and disrupt these networks and bring these perpetrators to justice. So we've just had an update

spk_0 from officers inside the property and they say that during their search, they've already found

spk_0 dozens of electronic devices including tablets and phones and they've laid out many of those devices

spk_0 on that bed just over there and that's only so far they anticipate finding even more throughout the day.

spk_0 As the light creeps in, another arrest. In total, 15 were made across 28 properties.

spk_0 For many of us, this is how the nightmare begins. One minute it's in your hand. The next, it's gone.

spk_0 They were dressed as a delivery rider. Clubs on, they had to battle a clover on as well as a mask.

spk_0 And it also happened to Natalie. She says a significant rise in phone theft shows the police

spk_0 need to boost their efforts. I think metropolitan police should be doing a lot more possibly

spk_0 setting up some more CCTV surveillance or seeing if there's any way that they've got some

spk_0 undercover police officers. In London, a mobile is taken every eight minutes with the explosion

spk_0 in phone theft and more than a thousand fewer police officers since last year. The question is,

spk_0 can they keep pace with the gangs? Seema Katecher reporting.

spk_0 Still to come on the podcast with no end in sight to the US federal government shutdown,

spk_0 what impact is it having on emergency workers? I have to show up to do my job whether I get paid or not.

spk_0 I'm a mandatory responder. So we're showing up with a promissory note of being paid.

spk_0 If I have three children, I'm a single father. I have to work two jobs.

spk_0 Protests are continuing in Morocco for an 11th consecutive day. As members of Gen Z,

spk_0 children born either side of the turn of the century, are demanding more jobs and better education

spk_0 and health care. The country will be co-hosting the World Cup in 2030, but many think it's an

spk_0 unnecessary extravagance. Richard Hamilton is a former BBC correspondent in Morocco.

spk_0 I began by asking him if the protests were gathering momentum.

spk_0 Yes, I was in Tangier in the North of Morocco the weekend before last, and on the first night,

spk_0 there were about a thousand people walking down the streets, but they were brandishing Palestinian

spk_0 flags. So I assumed it was a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Then the next night, there was

spk_0 slightly less people, but still several hundred without the Palestinian flags chanting an Arabic.

spk_0 And it wasn't really clear what they were protesting about, but then I realised that this was

spk_0 happening throughout Morocco in all the provinces, and it spread like wildfire. Three people have

spk_0 been shot dead, more than 400 people arrested, about 20 police vehicles been set on fire.

spk_0 So the protests have been met with a fairly brutal response. As you say, it's a Gen Z movement.

spk_0 There are no specific leaders, but one of those who's who's a voice amongst the protesters

spk_0 is the Moroccan rapper Huda Abou's, who's also known as Katek.

spk_0 It's a call for action. It's a call for change. And I think it was such a needed initiative

spk_0 for the moment and seeing a younger generation joining the protest was a really hard one.

spk_0 The reason my voice has always been politically engaged, I come from a family where my dad is a

spk_0 political figure who has been fighting for justice since the 70s. So for me, it's a very natural

spk_0 reaction and it's a citizen responsibility. But Richard, this anger over the world,

spk_0 cut being staged in Morocco. Don't they see the world cut as something to celebrate?

spk_0 Yes, they do, and it's the world's greatest showcase, the greatest stage on Earth.

spk_0 For Morocco to show itself as a modern country that welcomes everyone.

spk_0 And the protesters say they actually, in their placards, they say we have the stadiums,

spk_0 but where are the hospitals? So they're pointing to this disparity. It's estimated $5 billion

spk_0 as being spent on the world cup, including what will be the biggest stadium in the world near

spk_0 Casablanca. But at the same time, there's very few doctors, there's very few hospitals,

spk_0 and the average wage is very, very low. So there's this huge gap between Richard and poor.

spk_0 And Richard Morocco has a long history of protests.

spk_0 They do. You can even go back to the 1980s when there were the so-called bread riots about

spk_0 the price of food. Then of course, there was the Arab Spring. It was known as the February 20 movement

spk_0 after the 20th of February 2011. Then in 2016, there was this movement in the north of Morocco

spk_0 called the Hirak, when a fish cello was crushed to death and people rose up. And now we've got

spk_0 what's happening today. And this is called the Gen Z 212 movement. That number comes from the

spk_0 country code of Morocco. Richard Hamilton. Efforts are underway in France to find a way out of

spk_0 the political crisis caused by the resignation of the third Prime Minister within a year.

spk_0 President Macron has asked the outgoing Premier Sebastien Likonu to hold talks with political

spk_0 parties and has given him until Wednesday to find a parliamentary majority. The far left and

spk_0 far right have rejected his overtures and are calling for new elections, but some center left

spk_0 and center right leaders haven't ruled out the possibility of a new coalition.

spk_0 Our Paris correspondent, Yusko Fultz, spoke to Lucy Hawking about the chances of a deal.

spk_0 Slim, but not nonexistent, I would say. I mean, the question that everyone is asking is why,

spk_0 in 48 hours, should Sebastien Likonu be able to do what he had three and a half weeks to do before,

spk_0 that is to find some kind of arrangement with the party. So maybe when they're right up against

spk_0 a deadline, there'll be some give somewhere, but frankly, I don't think any of us can really see where

spk_0 that's going to come. The arithmetic, the logic is still very difficult. You've got

spk_0 Likonu himself representing the kind of pro-macron middle ground, and then you've got the

spk_0 blocks on the left and the right. Ideally, he'd like to get some of the conservative Republicans,

spk_0 that's the sort of center right, if you like, in as well as some socialists that is the center

spk_0 left, ideally, but that's just on paper in reality. Neither of those camps can stand the other.

spk_0 Each represents ideas that the other is very much opposed to. So it's very hard to see, given the

spk_0 numbers, how he can forge some kind of arrangement or non-aggression pact or whatever, which would allow

spk_0 a government to function and above all bring forward a budget, which is of course where all the

spk_0 differences would be crystallised, because in the budget would come the decisions at how to

spk_0 raise and spend money, which are basically what divide people. There are also, of course, calls for

spk_0 President Macron to resign, and another voice added there today was very important,

spk_0 when Edwara Philippe, former Prime Minister, to whom he was very close for many years in the first

spk_0 term, what he's suggesting is not an immediate resignation, but a kind of an arranged organised

spk_0 resignation by President Macron for some time next year, so that we can, the country can prepare

spk_0 for that. He would agree to step down early, shall we say, in the middle of next year. It's an idea,

spk_0 but there's no sign of others following him, but all this is possible, and the only person who can

spk_0 decide any of it is President Macron. He's the one who will decide on a new Prime Minister, he

spk_0 used the one who will decide on a disillusionment parliament, he's the one who will decide if he

spk_0 stays on or resides, it's all very much up to him, but he's the one, the only one who in all this

spk_0 bruise and noise, he's the one staying silent. And all of us chaos, frankly, Hugh and I'm

spk_0 certain to you as well, when France is the Eurozone's second biggest economy.

spk_0 The figures are all bad, I mean not catastrophic, but I mean clearly none of this is helping,

spk_0 business confidence is down, consumer confidence is down, the cost of borrowing is going up,

spk_0 key point when everyone knows that the country's debt is such an important part of its future,

spk_0 how to deal with that debt. And of course when France starts floundering, which people

spk_0 fear it will, then that has a knock on effect in the Eurozone, on the strength of the Euro,

spk_0 on the confidence of its partners and so on. So obviously this has all been looked on with

spk_0 great consternation, but by the whole of the European Union.

spk_0 Hugh Skoefield. The US government shutdown is approaching its second week with no end in

spk_0 sight to the political deadlock. The failure to pass a new budget means that pay has been

spk_0 suspended for roughly two million federal workers. Some 750,000 have had their jobs temporarily

spk_0 suspended, but many who work in essential services, including firefighters, still have to turn up

spk_0 to their jobs, even though they're getting their wages. Ed Butler reports on how this is affecting

spk_0 workers and the wider US economy. My name is William, I am 38 years old and I am a federal firefighter

spk_0 for the United States Department of Defense. William didn't want me to publish his surname

spk_0 for fear of reprisal from his employers in Washington state. I'm proud to be a firefighter and I'm

spk_0 proud to serve, but it's hard because we are so vastly under compensated for what we actually do.

spk_0 It's bad and then just to throw in a government shutdown on top of that, how can make us feel worse?

spk_0 Because after months of deadlock, the US Congress has failed to agree a new budget,

spk_0 the government's day-to-day activities are now being starved of cash. Some services have continued,

spk_0 but in many cases workers who provide services are being suspended, at least for now.

spk_0 Doring Greenwald is president for the National Treasury Employees Union.

spk_0 The processing of tax returns will stop, refunds will stop, inspectors who inspect food,

spk_0 maybe not able to do that. A shutdown hurts everyone. Every one of these federal employees

spk_0 want to go to work, but they're prohibited from doing that because Congress hasn't done their jobs.

spk_0 I have to show up to do my job whether I get paid or not. I'm a mandatory responder. So we're

spk_0 showing up with a promissory note of being paid. If I have three children, I'm a single father.

spk_0 I have to work two jobs normally to just afford rent and food in this state,

spk_0 and now one of those incomes is taken away. What is the mood like at work?

spk_0 Anger discussed. I'm stressed out. I'm doing too much just to get by.

spk_0 Then you're in debt? Yeah, I don't know anyone who's not in some way. I mean, some people have taken

spk_0 out the loans on their retirement to get by. Some people have taken credit cards and maxed them out

spk_0 just to keep eating. It's insane. Congressional leaders sound like they're settling in for a long

spk_0 political fight. So what are the wider signals from the US economy? There have been some rather

spk_0 mixed ones of late. We've had some less than brilliant job numbers, for instance, and surveys

spk_0 suggest low consumer confidence. On the other hand, though, the most recent GDP figures showed a very

spk_0 healthy sounding, 3.8% economic growth. So what's really going on? Certain industries are doing okay.

spk_0 And obviously at the top of the list is artificial intelligence. AI is driving the economic

spk_0 train, both in terms of all the capital spending that's going on, all the data centers, that kind of

spk_0 stuff. But then you got manufacturing, it's in recession, you've got agriculture, that's in

spk_0 recession, you got mining, that's in recession. So you net it all up and it shows you an economy

spk_0 that's not going anywhere quickly. The words of Mark Zandichy, economist at Moody Analytics,

spk_0 ending that report by Ed Butler. Argentina's radical right-wing president,

spk_0 Javier Miele is no stranger to shape and ship. In his election rallies in 2023,

spk_0 his trademark action was to wield a chainsaw. Fast forward two years, he's headlining a rock

spk_0 concert in the capital Buenos Aires.

spk_0 Glad in Black leather, the 54-year-old president, waived a national flag in front of supporters.

spk_0 Our Global Affairs reporter Mimi Swaby has been watching the performance. I asked

spk_0 what is he trying to achieve? He's lost public support in recent months. So to try and revive

spk_0 these political fortunes ahead of midterm elections later this month, also to promote his book,

spk_0 but above all, he's put on this not just political rally, but show to try and breathe some new life

spk_0 into his electoral campaign, which has really been decimated in or by a series of setbacks in

spk_0 recent weeks. He did a lot worse than expected in Buenos Aires Provincial Elections. Congress has

spk_0 overturned his veto on public spending increases. He's had to ask the US for help when it comes to

spk_0 financial and security for the economy. And a member of his party has had to resign due to this

spk_0 really public drug scandal, which has captivated the nation. So he offered a show for people to

spk_0 try and win back their support. There were two versions of himself he presented on stage. The

spk_0 first one was Rockstar Malay. Glad in leather, like you said, really running around the stage,

spk_0 bringing a lot of energy to his performance, singing some hits by local artists.

spk_0 Our second was President Malay when he sat down with the government spokesperson,

spk_0 promoted his book and a kind of jabbed at the opposition saying that we're on the way to reducing

spk_0 inflation. We are halfway through on the bright path and the opposition have nothing on us.

spk_0 Great leather jacket. What did you make of his singing? Usher and Tinian Rock is a huge genre and

spk_0 I'm a fan. I'm a big fan of the many kind of national anthems that have come out of it. I'm not

spk_0 sure I'd be listening to his covers in my free time, but you cannot fault his energy and his

spk_0 enthusiasm. He really was running around the stage. He brought a lot of energy and passion to his

spk_0 performance. He's not shy of the limelight as we all know. And the fans, his crowd, which is a

spk_0 big crowd, seemed to be lapping it up. They were loving it. They were bouncing along with him.

spk_0 So I might not listen to my free time, but many Argentinians might be swayed by it.

spk_0 Mimi Swayby with that report. Now if you happen to be on a boat off the eastern coast of Australia,

spk_0 this is a sound you might be hearing more frequently these days.

spk_0 That is a humpback whale. They were once almost hunted to extinction,

spk_0 but now they're making a comeback. A preliminary report by marine scientists estimates that

spk_0 the population has reached more than 50,000 off Australia's eastern coast to figure that's

spk_0 even higher than before commercial wheeling began. Wally Franklin helped found the Maritime

spk_0 Research Organization, Oceana Project and co-authored the report. How have humpback whales made this

spk_0 comeback? Well, they've probably taken advantage of the fact that all the other great species of

spk_0 whales that were hit very heavily during that last period of wailing in Antarctica from 1900 to 1976.

spk_0 All of those populations like the humpbacks were hit very heavily, but they haven't recovered as

spk_0 well. And one of our first suggestions is that that's meant that there's been food there for our

spk_0 humpbacks just to continue to grow for the time being. Because whales are still in conflict with

spk_0 humans and the relationship with fishing fleets is still not completely easy. That's true.

spk_0 Australians have embraced the eastern Australian humpback population. The data set that we're using

spk_0 has been contributed to not only by formal researchers and research organisations,

spk_0 but by nearly 700 individual citizens scientists, while either out on whale boats or from the shore,

spk_0 have been taking photographs of humpbacks and letting them on to an AI algorithm platform called

spk_0 Happy Whale. And this has meant that we've been able to assemble the quite extraordinary

spk_0 data set. The data set now runs from 1984 to 2024. So is this trend going to continue?

spk_0 We're hoping they will go on growing for a little longer, but what's important is that we're setting up

spk_0 a very sound, robust scientific method now of being able to estimate the abundance from the

spk_0 southern waters of the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon, which is the overwintering and mating and breeding

spk_0 area of our eastern Australian humpbacks. And when the young whales are brought out of that area,

spk_0 they have a long coastline, which they amber along, while the mothers feed them, and very likely

spk_0 that has contributed to the reproductive success of this group. The last formal abundance estimate

spk_0 of this group of whales was back in 2015, and they reported the population was 25,000.

spk_0 Now our estimate has a very similar result, but for us the growth has continued, but a steady

spk_0 rate of 10% right up to the present. It's an amazing conservation story, and it's also an amazing

spk_0 story of the involvement and engagement of the Australian people. Conservationist Wally Franklin.

spk_0 And that's all from us for now, but there'll be a new edition of the Global News Podcast

spk_0 later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an

spk_0 email. The address is globalpodcast.bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service.

spk_0 Use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Jermic Cartney and the producer was

spk_0 Alice Adely. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Richardson until next time. Goodbye.

Peace talks continue two years after October 7th attacks

Interactive Transcript

Topics Covered

Related Episodes

Is Trudeau to blame for Carney's disappointing budget?

What this week’s elections could mean for the midterms

Inside Call me Back SNEAK PEEK: Between Mamdani and Tucker, Are Jews Getting Squeezed? - with Jonah Goldberg

215: Inside the News Cycle: Comedy, Policy, and Real-World Climate Choices with Bill Kessler

Share Episode