The Current - A momentous day in the Middle East as the peace plan unfolds

Episode Date: October 13, 2025

All 20 remaining living hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023 have now returned to Israel. 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1700 detainees are also freed today. After two years of war, a historic peace process is unfolding in the Middle East. We speak with CBC’s senior international correspondent Margaret Evans in Jerusalem, Amir Tibon, journalist for the Israeli newspaper, Ha'aretz and the author of  "The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal and Hope in Israel's Borderlands,” and Omar Omar, the founder of the Gazan Canadian Families League who has been trying to get his family out of Gaza and bring them to Canada about what’s next as part of the U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace deal — and will this lead to lasting peace in the Middle East?

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Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. Cheers in Tel Avivis, Georgia, cheers in Tel Aviv this morning, as the first group of hostages was released from Gaza. All 20 remaining living hostages kidnapped back on October 7, 2023, have now returned to Israel. 150 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees are also being freed today. After two years of war, a historic peace process is unfolding in the Middle East. Margaret Evans is CBC's senior international correspondent. She's in Jerusalem. Margaret, good morning.

Good morning, Pia. A lot has transpired in both Israel and in Gaza over the past 24-plus hours. Let's begin with the hostages, all 20 living hostages, all men, now back on Israeli soil. What do we know about them at this point? Well, in terms of how they were taken, when and where they were taken, the majority of them came from the Nova Music Festival. That's where they were captured. There were about seven taken from the Kibbutzim,

and there were some soldiers as well, if you remember, pulled out of a tank that had been under attack. There are a pair of brothers in there. I interviewed Vicky Cohen earlier this year. She's the mother of a now 20-year-old son named Nimrod. He was one of the soldiers pulled out of that tank. I remember her telling me about keeping, she found in the tank or was given from the tank, a Rubik's cube that her son used to always carry with him. She was holding on that, onto that at the time, of course, not knowing whether she would see him again

and planning to give it to him. So I imagine that's happening today. And those are the kinds of stories that people are relishing in the Israelis as they watch this day unfold on the screens. And many people, of course, staying up all night waiting for the moment that they got this morning. Do we have any sense of the condition of the hostages who have been released? They are looking in terms of how they look. We've seen some images of them, being, you know, chatting with the eye. IDF for an Israeli defense force soldiers who picked them up from the Red Cross.

And the Israeli media has described them as looking quite normal. Now, they are going to be undergoing medical and psychological checks, but, you know, certainly pale, thin. And of course, I haven't seen all of them, but they, you know, are walking firmly, strongly into the arms of the families who have been waiting for them. And Margaret, meantime in Gaza, Palestinians continue to return to what was once their homes, in many cases, now turn to rubble. But we're also today seeing Palestinians prisoners and detainees 2000 and all being released. What do we know about their releases at this point as well? Yeah, they are ongoing. We've seen from the occupied West Bank pictures of the Red Cross buses coming, arriving at a central

gathering point in Ramallah people pouring out of the buses and their people are around them cheering of course the Israeli military has been warning Palestinians against celebrating their release they've actually dropped flyers saying anybody who is seen to be supporting terrorists could you know face charges themselves we and trying to arrange interviews with people that we know are being released have been, you know, met with nerves from from Palestinian families fearing repercussions. So very different mood there. But of course, these are men of the 250 prisoners from Israeli prisons, mainly men, who have been in jail, some of them for decades. They would have been charged during the second intifada with crimes convicted of terrorism charges by

Israeli courts to Palestinians, they are resistance fighters, they are heroes. And pretty much everybody you know in the occupied territories will know someone who has been in jail if they haven't been themselves. There are still thousands of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, many of them under something called administrative detention, which means that they don't necessarily have any kind of illegal process or trial. Margaret, there is a of course, also a lot of politics today. U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to the Israeli Parliament. Later on today, there will be the meeting in Sharmal Sheikh Egypt, where Prime Minister Mark Carney and other world leaders are attending. What did Trump say? And what are we expecting

from that meeting later on today? Well, it actually took a long time to actually hear what he had to say because the Speaker of the Knesset, Amir O'Hana, gave him a big introduction, calling him a giant of Jewish history, a colossus. And then he introduced Trump's entourage, which is huge. The U.S. Secretary of State. Marco Rubio is with him. Pete Hagsworth is with him. His daughter, Ivanka, Jared Kushner, Steve Whitkoff.

The list goes on. And there were, you know, standing ovations for each one as they were introduced. Then Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech defending his prosecution of the war. And, you know, we remember that Netanyahu. Netanyahu was booed the other night when Steve Whitkoff mentioned his name at Hostages Square. Many people are not fond. The families are the supporters of the hostages. They believe Netanyahu prolonged the war for his own interests.

But Trump began his speech by thanking Benjamin Netanyahu. He was also interrupted at one point by hecklers. Two members of the Knesset on the far left, one of them a leader of an Arab-Israeli party, the other not. but they held up a sign that said genocide. They were quickly bundled out. Trump said, well, that was efficient and moved on. But it was a fairly, as you might imagine, a self-congratulatory speech. And Margaret, later on today, Mark Carney and other world leaders meeting in Charmel Sheikh, Egypt.

What are we expecting of that? This is actually really critical. I mean, it's very symbolic. I mean, Trump was speaking so long that the meeting will be delayed in, Egypt, but a huge array of world leaders gathered, Trump is not staying long, but it is intended to send a message that these partners, the Arab governments who help mediate the international community, countries like Canada, which have recently recognized Palestine, are behind this peace process. And they will be trying to address the worry that people have, that Trump might

lose interest. And I think that those worries might be heightened after. after today's his speech at the Knesset because it was extremely partisan in the eyes of Palestinians watching. Obviously, for instance, he was given, you know, standing ovations for having recognized or moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which, you know, it was annexed by Israel in a move that is not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians would like to see it as a capital for a state one day. And if you talk to Palestinians, they're confused by what's happening because there's been no Palestinian participation on a meaningful level in terms of this plan and the future. And they remember, they say, you know, in September, the United States vetoed calls for an immediate ceasefire. The one significant thing is that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was invited at the last minute.

And so it's going to be, this will be a challenge for the international community to see if they can remain committed in terms of promoting the two-state solution, which is mentioned in that 20-point plan and whether Trump will be willing to prosecute that and whether they will all be able to keep the pressure both on Hamas, who is of course refusing to disarm, which Israel is insisting it do, and to keep the pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu as well. As always, Margaret, thank you very much. Thanks, Pia. Margaret Evans is CBC Senior International Correspondent. The spirit of innovation is deeply ingrained in Canada, and Google is helping Canadians innovate in ways both big and small, from mapping accessible spaces so the disabled community can explore with confidence, to unlocking billions in domestic tourism revenue.

Thousands of Canadian companies are innovating with Google AI. Innovation is Canada. Canada's story. Let's tell it together. Find out more at g.co slash Canadian Innovation. Hello, I'm Jess Milton, host of the podcast backstage at the Vinyl Cafe. Join us every Friday for funny, fictional, feel-good family stories about Dave, his wife Morley, and their kids, Sam and Stephanie. And for behind-the-scenes stories about what it's like to live life out on the road, on a tour bus, living out of a suitcase, traveling across Canada. New episodes every Friday, subscribe for free, wherever you get your podcasts.

Amir Tibon survived the October 7th attack, hiding with his family in a safe room in their home on the kibbutz, where they lived near the Gaza border. His story is told in the film, The Road Between Us, and Amir wrote about the experience in the ensuing war in his book, The Gates of Gaza. Amir is also the diplomat. correspondent for the Israeli newspaper Harats. Amir, hello to you. Hi, thank you for having me. It's good to have you with us. How are you feeling in this moment?

Today is a happy day here in Israel. It's a day of great relief. And the pictures that we have been seeing since the morning hours over here of our hostages coming home, hugging their families, seeing the light of day for the first time, I don't think there are appropriate words in the English language that can describe the level of joy and relief and happiness that everybody is feeling right now. I heard one analyst described today as a day of grace and perhaps a timeout. This is just phase one of the peace deal. At this point, how confident are you that this could mean a real lasting peace? we heard President Trump twice over the last 24 hours explicitly say that the war is over

and I hope that he's right because this war has gone on for too long it's been a nightmare of two years it started on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel and I do believe we could have ended it quite some time ago and certainly now that the hostages are out of of Gaza, it's time to begin the healing process. Do Israelis believe that their Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is committed to that piece that you just spoke about that long last one? No, no, no. If it would be up to him, the war would be renewed.

The person who is committed to ending the war and is responsible for the return of the hostages is President Trump. Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted to continue and even expand the war. Hamas is responsible for everything that has happened since October 7, all the disasters and the catastrophes. But President Trump put his foot and basically told everybody enough. And hopefully this will hold and we will begin a new period after two years of a continuing. nightmare for everybody.

Is there a fear, as our correspondent, Margaret Evans, said that Donald Trump might lose interest in the process? Yes, that's true. With Trump, there is always the concern of his attention span. And I believe that if we just say, well, okay, you know, he did it and it's over, that could indeed create some kind of a danger. But I think that's not where it is going because he takes a huge pride in this achievement.

And there are other countries who are committed to the agreement, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. This is a global agreement. It is led by President Trump, but there are many other parties involved. And I think it would be difficult to restart the war after everybody involved.

invested so much diplomatic and political capital in seeing it actually end. You had close ties with your neighbors in Gaza before this war. You and your family had a harrowing day on October 7th and in the aftermath. And you said, now's a time for Israelis to start healing. Where does your healing start today? With the pictures of my friend and neighbor, Omri, Iran, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from his home on October 7, now returning to his family and hugging his daughters we've been waiting for those pictures for

two years and five six days now um two years and six days that we've been waiting for this moment and this is the beginning of the healing with all the respect to everything that has happened over the past two years in terms of the war and the achievements that it included from the Israeli perspective and also all the difficult things. For us, it was never about killing this or that terrorist. It was about bringing our people back to their families. And that's where you begin the healing process. I wish you well on your healing journey, Amir. And thank you for talking with us today. Thank you. And let's hope for more good news and peace to spread in this little part of the world that we live in. Amir Tibon is the diplomatic correspondent for the Israeli newspaper

Harets, he's also the author of The Gates of Gaza, a story of betrayal and hope in Israel's borderlands. Omar Omar is the founder of the Gazan Canadian Families League. He has been trying to get his own family out of Gaza and bring them here to Canada. His brother, sisters, and father are still in Gaza. Omar, Omar joins us from Vancouver. Good morning. Good morning. Tell me about what today means for you and your family. Just a matter of hearing that mass killing and mass murdering of my own people, the innocent children, friends in the Gaza Strip, just the fact that it stopped, it's a huge relief for me. When the current spoke with your brother, Faraz, about a month ago, he was leaving Gaza City with other family members. We've seen images over the weekend of people walking back north to Gaza City, finding what was once

their homes in rubble in many cases. Will your family return? What do you know of their situation today? I spoke to my family. My family is located on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, which is a town called Bait Laya, which is now still in the first phase. The Israeli army is still there.

So they are not even allowed to return. That's the situation for many other hundreds of thousands of cousins. The withdrawal of the Israeli army, according to the peace plan, does not include where the withdrawal from Beit Lahia and towns that are near the borders with what's called Israel. So my family has, first, no place to go to. We have, we lost all our houses, we lost everything. The secondly is they cannot technically return in any way. So they are staying in the tent where they are in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Have you had a chance to talk to them about whether or not the promise

aid that was supposed to come in, 600 trucks a day. I know yesterday it was only about 180. If people in Gaza, Palestinians are getting the aid that they so need. Absolutely not. In a regular situation before the Israeli assault in Gaza, Gaza used to get more than 800 truck a day of goods, of different types of goods and food. You are talking about months where there was no food entering the Gaza Strip or any trucks entering the Gaza Strip. So, in order to put the backlog back and try to have somehow of an okay amount of food so people who have been living in continuous human-made famine for many months can feed themselves this will take months I'm expecting my family to have an okay meals in the next few months not at the

moment I'll give you an example they are now they haven't been eating any kind of a type of a protein in the last few months they the only thing that they were eating was as lentils. This is the only, and that's when it was available in the market, in the black market itself. Not many Gaussans give the chance or the privilege to have family members outside the Gaza Strip who sends them thousands of dollars for money to get the chance to buy food which is completely inflated in prices. You know, 95% of Gazans doesn't have family members outside. You're talking about a population who wasn't able to work, didn't have money, no access to banks, no access to ATMs, no access to cash.

They can't pay by debit or credit. So it is still a terrifying situation. And, Omar, today the word optimism is going to be, it has been and continues to be thrown around a lot. Optimism that there can be some sort of lasting peace between Israel and people in the Gaza Strip and in the broader Middle East. How optimistic are you feeling about this could be, as the U.S. President said today? a new beginning in the Middle East? We cannot deal with the Gaza Strip as a complete separate issue about Palestine. There should be the peace deal that we should be talking about,

and we are talking about, is the peace deal between the whole Palestine, Palestine, and Israel. Gaza is a part of the full Palestine, of a Palestinian state that Canada recognized. Gaza is a part of the West Bank. My sister lives in the West Bank. So if we are talking about a peace deal that would be sustainable and once and for all, which is what we are all dreaming about, we are talking about a peace deal that guarantees Palestinians and mainly those in the Gaza Strip who have been under genocide, a peace deal that can guarantee their dignity, the way that they can live, that there's no siege in the Gaza Strip. I grew up in the Gaza Strip under siege. people in the West Bank are suffering illegal settlement in the West Bank. So how can we talk about a peace deal, lasting peace deal?

Meanwhile, Palestinians who are occupied by Israel, are still suffering. So if we are talking about justice and sustainability and a sustainable peace deal, we need to talk about the full dignity of Palestinians. Anything other than that is just like a tempera way of living. That's it. And we accept it because we are under occupation. We are not the strong part in this, right? So that what I'm looking for is a full recognition of a Palestinian state

where we can live in dignity and have our own sovereignty and our own resources. Omar, Omar, we will leave it there. Thank you. It's important to hear your perspective this morning as well. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. Omar, Omar is the founder of the Gazan Canadian Families League. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway.

Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you soon. For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC. slash podcasts.