• 2 days ago
ABC Middle Eastern correspondent Mathew Doran reports from Tel Aviv.

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00:00There is a real feel there that this is the end or the beginning of the end of a horrifying
00:09ordeal for the Palestinian people who have been brought into this conflict between Israel
00:13and Hamas over the course of the last 15 months.
00:17Here in Israel, there has also been some celebration, although I think we have to say that it's
00:21much more pared back than what we're seeing in Gaza.
00:24There is a more sombre mood, a more muted atmosphere here because there is still this
00:31caution about celebrating too much until those hostages are back in Israel.
00:36There is also a fear that this deal is only relating to a six-week period and 33 hostages.
00:42It is believed that 98 hostages are still in Hamas' custody and of them, speculation
00:48as to how many of them are alive, that will continue for some time.
00:52But if this ceasefire only holds for six weeks, the families and the loved ones of
00:56those hostages who are not on that initial list of 33, they are very worried that they
01:01will be left behind, that they will be forgotten and will have to go through more of an ordeal
01:06and that their lives could be put at further risk.
01:09That was the sense that we were getting when we arrived here in Tel Aviv earlier this evening
01:12and were at a protest, a short walk from us here on the other side of the IDF's headquarters
01:18here in Tel Aviv where some of those families were protesting the fact that not all hostages
01:22are being involved in this deal and also putting the blame for the delays here very squarely
01:27on the Israeli government and the Israeli Prime Minister.
01:30I blame Netanyahu because he is the one that I blame that they are not here because each
01:37time there was a deal on the table, he chose his, I call his coalition bloody coalition
01:46because the blood is on their hands of each hostage that didn't come back home alive.
01:53It's very, very late. It's supposed to be a year ago, maybe before a year ago. And I
01:59hope that people are still alive.
02:04I don't think that they should leave people behind. I think that they should bring all
02:12of them. But as long as there are people coming back, it's the best we can have. But I think
02:19they should do the best they can to bring all of them back.
02:22Some of the hostages, families and supporters that we spoke to earlier tonight here in Tel
02:27Aviv, what is going to be interesting to watch and what the world will be watching over the
02:31course of the next couple of days is whether or not Israel continues its strikes in Gaza
02:37before that ceasefire comes into force on Sunday, whether it tries to get more of what
02:43it sees as tactical victories and military wins before it has to stop firing missiles
02:49and launching missiles from fighter jets. And that will be a grave concern. There's
02:55already been warnings and calls for calm from Israel and Hamas leading up to that ceasefire.
03:01And we'll wait to see whether or not those calls do amount to much before this deal formally
03:06comes into force.
03:07For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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