Amanpour – “Joy in Israel as Hostages are Released”

CNN Podcasts | October 13, 2025
Host: Christiane Amanpour

Episode Overview

This episode marks a turning point in the Israel-Gaza conflict: the release of the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas, the return of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and the first day without airstrikes over Gaza in two years. Christiane Amanpour speaks with hostages’ families, humanitarian workers on the ground in Gaza, and veteran negotiators about the emotional landscape and political possibilities emerging from this ceasefire, while world leaders gather in Egypt to attempt a lasting peace. The episode explores the trauma and hopes on both sides, tempered by the hard realities of devastation and the immense task of reconstruction and reconciliation ahead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Emotional Aftermath of Hostage Releases

Guest: Merav Leshem Gonen – Mother of released hostage Romi Gonen

• Joy in Israel: Emotional family reunions after two years of despair.
  • “We are receiving back 20 of our brothers… alive and another four bodies out of 48 hostages that remained in Hamas hands. … This was not just joyful, it was like the starting of healing.” (C, 03:24)
• Ongoing Trauma: Hostages, including Romi, return with severe physical and psychological injuries.
  • “…She came back as crippled in her right hand. … She went through three surgeries. … But today was a healing day. … They spent most of the time as kidnapped in Hamas hands together. … A healing day, really.” (C, 05:01)
• Survivor’s Guilt & Relentless Pain:
  • "Survivor guilt is something which is so devastating..." (C, 05:01)
  • “She lost the ability to use the hand. So she was crippled for more than one year and three months and suffered from horrifying pain.” (C, 09:20)
• Unresolved Grief: Families of hostages still held or murdered by Hamas continue to suffer.
  • "We are still owe our 24 murdered hostages … We are owing them to bring them back here to be buried in our land." (C, 15:33)
• Hope Tempered by History: Ongoing anxieties about lasting peace.
  • “I would like to say yes, but I’m Jewish and I know that for thousands of years, there always been some terrorists that wanted to eliminate us, wanted to kill us. The Holocaust is just around the corner. … It is not something one country can do.” (C, 14:13)

2. The Devastation in Gaza & Humanitarian Realities

Guest: Yusra Abu Shareh – Program Coordinator, International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance (INARA)

• Complex Emotions: Relief at the ceasefire but overshadowed by loss and destruction.
  • “People are here in the Gaza Strip also happy and very glad for this war to end, but also they have this mixed feelings of worry... desperation among the families there is so obvious.” (E, 18:42)
• Dire Circumstances: Enormous physical and psychological toll.
  • “I experienced and I witnessed children who were celebrating eating cucumbers instead of chocolate... I met a boy who has a wish for his 15 years birthday just to have wheat flour bread.” (E, 18:42)
  • "It's now the third academic year that children in Gaza are losing..." (E, 18:42)
• Aid Begins to Arrive, but Insufficient:
  • “Yes, it has started to enter [aid], but much more is needed… we need more than at least like 600 trucks and sometimes a thousand of trucks on daily basis..." (E, 22:38)
• Mental Health Crisis:
  • “This time is a glimpse of hope to have more sustainable impact on their mental health… Because during the past two years, whenever we provide any kind of support. The trauma is ongoing.” (E, 23:24)
• Children Playing with Bullets: The new "normal" for war-traumatized children.
  • “What was shocking is this is the only thing that they have to play with. … How to maintain the values inside those children who have been experiencing all this violence.” (E, 26:33)
• Lessons in Humanity: Despite despair, striving to teach empathy and support.
  • "I wanted my children to feel how people are suffering more than them and how to be very empathetic and very supportive, even if they have endured too much as they could say it." (E, 28:35)

3. World Leaders and the Pursuit of Peace

Notable Quotes and Developments:

• President Donald Trump (addressing Israeli Knesset and at Egypt summit):

  • “Now it’s time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East. It’s about time you were able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.” (B, 01:14)
  • On Gaza: “The total focus of Gazans must be on restoring the fundamentals of stability, safety, dignity and economic development so they can finally have the better life that their children really do deserve after all these decades of horror.” (B, 37:40)
  • Introducing the “Board of Peace” initiative with Tony Blair as quasi “High Commissioner.” (B, 38:12)

• Scene in Israeli & Palestinian Streets:

  • In Tel Aviv, scenes of joy as hostages return (A, 01:39).
  • In Gaza, return is to rubble and mourning, yet a sliver of relief.

4. Israeli and Palestinian Perspectives on the Future

Khalid El Gindi – Former Palestinian Negotiator:

• A Cautious Hope:
  • “This is a hopeful step, but the notion that this is the end of a hundred year Israeli Palestinian conflict, I think is illusory and dangerous…” (F, 30:32)
• Need for Political Reform:
  • “There needs to be a credible political leadership of Palestinians before any kind of future diplomatic process can proceed.” (F, 33:14)
  • "There is a genocide case pending at the International Court of Justice. ...Accountability will be very important to stabilizing the situation..." (F, 33:14)
• Critique of the 'Peace Board':
  • “This idea of a peace board is imaginary… the problem is that it doesn’t really include Palestinians. … It sounds more like a colonial project than it does a stepping stone toward Palestinian self determination or statehood.” (F, 38:47)
  • “Palestinian rights and freedom are the key to any future stability...” (F, 38:47)

Gershon Baskin – Former Israeli Hostage Negotiator:

• Ceasefire is Real:
  • “I think it is. I’ve been deeply involved... this is a very different negotiation than has ever taken place in the Middle East. And the different factor here is President Trump...” (D, 41:56)
• International Oversight Necessary but Not Permanent:
  • “Tony Blair will have a role of some kind of oversight… but the decisions are really going to have to be made by the Gazans. ... Gaza is for the Gazans and the development of Gaza will be for the Gazans.” (D, 44:32)
• Urgency for Humanitarian Action:
  • “The people of Gaza don’t have the time to wait for a Palestinian national consensus. They need to have housing. Winter is coming, the rains are coming, it gets cold. They need to have shelter, they need to have water, they need to have food. That can't wait.” (D, 43:51)
• Possibility of Political Renewal:
  • Mahmoud Abbas promises elections within 12 months; only pro-peace parties to be allowed.
  • “If [the Palestinians] elect a leadership which reaches out to the Israeli people and say, 'We don’t want to fight you anymore, we want to live in peace,' we will have a dynamic change of the electorate in Israel as well.” (D, 49:20)
• Release of Marwan Barghouti as Potential Game-Changer:
  • “I think that the Israelis need to engage him in a political discussion, and he needs to be released.” (D, 52:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Hostage Reunions:
  • “Some of them, seeing them out of Gaza, … hugging with families that I know so very well since two years. This was not just joyful, it was the starting of healing.”
    – Merav Leshem Gonen (C, 03:24)
• On Surviving Trauma:
  • “She was crippled for more than one year and three months and suffered from horrifying pain. … It hurts as hell.”
    – Merav Leshem Gonen (C, 09:20)
• On Humanitarian Aid in Gaza:
  • “Cucumbers instead of chocolate… wish for his 15 years birthday just to have wheat flour bread.”
    – Yusra Abu Shareh (E, 18:42)
• On a Lost Generation:
  • “Now the only thing they have to play with is the war remnant.”
    – Yusra Abu Shareh (E, 25:03)
• On Political Realities:
  • “The notion that this is the end of a hundred year Israeli Palestinian conflict, I think is illusory and dangerous.”
    – Khalid El Gindi (F, 30:32)
  • “Palestinian rights and freedom are the key to any future stability in any context, but especially in a war ravaged Gaza.”
    – Khalid El Gindi (F, 38:47)
• On Urgency:
  • “The people of Gaza don’t have the time to wait for a Palestinian national consensus. … They need to have housing. Winter is coming, the rains are coming, it gets cold.”
    – Gershon Baskin (D, 43:51)
• Papal Intervention:
  • “I encourage the parties involved to continue courageously on the path towards a just and lasting peace, respectful of the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.”
    – Pope Leo (F, 53:14)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|--------------| | 00:05 | Episode & headlines intro – Hostages’ return, devastation in Gaza, Trump’s remarks | | 03:03 | Interview with Merav Leshem Gonen, mother of freed hostage Romi | | 09:20 | Details of Romi’s abduction, injury, and recovery | | 11:33 | Coping with trauma, hope for healing among released hostages | | 13:58 | Is this the end of the war? Long-term prospects for peace | | 18:42 | Interview: Yusra Abu Shareh (INARA), need and recovery in Gaza | | 22:38 | Humanitarian aid in Gaza – scale and challenges | | 25:03 | Children playing with bullets; mental health risks | | 29:07 | Netanyahu’s praise for Trump, dynamics at the peace summit | | 30:32 | Interview: Khalid El Gindi, future prospects for Palestinian politics & peace | | 37:40 | Trump’s “Board of Peace” idea, international frameworks | | 41:44 | Interview: Gershon Baskin, Israeli negotiator on next steps | | 44:32 | Colonial undertones of international oversight; need for local decision-making | | 51:05 | Marwan Barghouti’s potential leadership role in Palestinian politics | | 52:51 | Pope Leo’s call for just and lasting peace |

Tone & Language

The episode is factual, direct, and emotional—capturing both joy and trauma, hope and skepticism. Amanpour’s tone is empathetic, probing, and balanced, aiming to make space for raw emotion and hard political truths from all sides.

Summary

The release of the last hostages and a new ceasefire have prompted outpourings of relief and emotion in Israel, and cautious hope amid devastation in Gaza. Both societies are grappling with the scale of trauma and the daunting process of recovery. On the diplomatic front, the podcast explores how world powers—spearheaded by President Trump—are seeking a lasting solution, though doubts linger over political representation, accountability, and the imposition of international frameworks. As families begin to heal and Gaza faces immense needs, all eyes now turn to whether this “historic dawn” will mark the beginning of true peace, or simply the end of a chapter of suffering.