Original subtitles

This programme contains some strong language, and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting

LIGHT BREEZE, CRICKETS CHIRP

JET ROARS OVERHEAD

JET'S ROAR FADES

OK.

SLOW, TENDER MUSIC

OBJECTS RUSTLE IN THE WIND

WIND CHIMES TINKLE

METAL SQUEAKS

DOOR CREAKS

DOOR OPENS, MAN SIGHS

Jesus.

WOMAN SNIFFLES

You want the buffalo?

Is the buffalo still here?

It didn't protect her very well.

SHE SIGHS HEAVILY

- Erm... - Wait. Yehuda?

- What? - Come here.

Jesus.

Joining us now is Yehuda Beinin,

a New Jersey native now living in Israel,

whose daughter, Liat, and son-in-Law, Aviv,

were taken hostage by Hamas.

Can you tell us a little bit more of what you know

about what happened October 7th?

The kibbutz was attacked by about 200 commandos.

They were going from house to house, and they were executing

men, women, and children,

burning out the houses.

The toll at the end of the day

was that 30 members of the kibbutz of 400 people were killed...

..and 70 were abducted to Gaza.

How do you put one foot in front of the other?

We...we need to maintain our ability to function

effectively throughout this ordeal.

This has been very, um... Very trying for us,

for my wife and I.

Our focus, and our grandchildren's focus,

is to return their parents from Gaza.

Can you tell us a little about your daughter, Liat,

and her husband, Aviv?

Liat and Aviv met actually at a very young age

er, through youth movement activities.

Liat is a history and civics teacher.

She also specialises in Holocaust studies,

and Aviv is an accomplished artist,

and manager of the agricultural garage.

Have you heard anything, Yehuda, about their captivity,

where they've been held?

- Any details? - No.

- We send our best to you and family. - Thank you.

It is so hard, not knowing what's going on with her,

not being able to speak to her,

not being able to do anything.

It's nerve-racking, and...

..I don't even want to say this,

but my biggest worry is that she's not with us any more.

Um... Either she or Aviv, that one of them was killed somehow.

Generally speaking, I like to be in control of events.

And here, there are events over which we have absolutely

no control and...and we're being led by crazy people,

whether it's on the Israeli side, or whether on the Palestinian side.

And the result is all this death and destruction.

And it...The whole situation makes me angry.

What has to be Israel's top priority right now?

I would say that it's paramount to bring the hostages back home.

The Netanyahu government seems to have decided

that it's more important to invade the Gaza Strip.

I don't expect that all of these hostages

will come back home.

Do you think that the calls that we're hearing from...

TV FADES INTO SOMBRE MUSIC

Bibi understands here's an opportunity

to realise the classic dream of every right-wing politician.

Never waste a crisis to advance your agenda.

His agenda is preserving his government,

annexing the West Bank,

making his coalition partners happy.

The hostages are not on Bibi's... They're not on Bibi's agenda.

QUIET VOICES ON HOME VIDEO

SPIRITED CONVERSATION

DISTANT JET ROARS

Yehuda and I deal with problems differently.

I feel that I have to be here with my grandchildren,

but Yehuda feels that going to the American government

is the only way to free the hostages.

I don't know how much influence Yehuda will have,

but if somebody has to go speak to politicians,

it's certainly not me.

So, Yehuda's better at talking.

Whatever happens with Aviv and Liat, it's not in my hands...

..but it's not in my nature just to sit around

and to wait for things to happen.

This is not a future that I envisioned

for either of my children.

When has war ever ended well?

Liat actually, because she's smarter than me,

understands this...understood this a long time ago,

much before...much before me.

The idea is that the hostage families

meet with the leaders, politicians,

members of the...of the House of Representatives,

to provide the human side to this story.

I think that the struggle for peace and reconciliation

would be the best way to respect Liat and Aviv.

Netta, your story in particular,

since the Hamas people were in your room,

is very powerful.

It's not always obvious the best way to move forward,

the best way to present the case,

and it's...it's important to do it right.

I understand any reaction after a catastrophe like this.

On the other hand, what happens when this is over?

Making sure that what was will not be, it cannot be.

It's not sustainable.

Abba, let's just figure out where Liat and Aviv are.

Let's just focus on that, Abba.

This trip does not need to be about what happens

with Israel and Palestine.

I don't think Netta is there either. Let's just....

Yes, but we have to do both things.

Very difficult.

Right. You do both things. I'm going to focus on getting Liat and Aviv.

Benjamin Netanyahu...

Let's just focus.

Well, I don't know!

It doesn't matter, your opinion or my opinion.

Let's just do one thing at a time.

I am an Israeli citizen. My opinion does matter, actually.

And the Prime Minister is trying to duck responsibility

for this, and we cannot let him get away with that.

That's how I keep my sanity, by the way.

That I can understand. OK.

This is ridiculous.

My father has been displeased with the trajectory of Israel

for a pretty long time.

I was like, if you're so unhappy

with the place that you live in, leave.

That was my way of dealing with that situation.

It was just like, too much. I'm leaving.

I think every person in Israel has someone that they have lost

because of Palestinians,

and I'm sure that on the Palestinian side,

everyone knows someone that they have lost because of the Israelis.

So how do you even begin to coexist

in that kind of violent...cycle?

I don't know.

In this country, people are putting around posters

of the kidnapped, and it's now turned into

where are they being torn off?

Because there's a counter-movement tearing off these posters.

The only people who can share your stories are you,

and you're here doing that to the people

that can really impact what's happening,

and I hope and pray that each of you

feel a little bit of power being here.

Let's go walk. Come on.

These people came, they left their families in their

most difficult time to come meet with you and your colleagues

to share their stories, and so their stories could be heard.

- Yeah. - So we'll start with Netta.

I'm Netta Atzili.

I was in Nir Oz, one of the kibbutzes that were attacked.

I was alone there, and I started hearing gunfire.

I thought I was going to die when they broke into my apartment.

They tried to open the door to the Mahmad,

and I had to hold it down.

- Safe room, right? - Safe room, yes.

You held the door and kept them from coming in?

That was it, yeah.

Thank you very much. God bless you.

He must've blessed you. You wouldn't be here if he didn't.

I wish I knew the solution.

I just want my parents back.

Yeah. Yeah.

All right. Thank you.

Good luck to all of you.

I'm a personal trainer, and I've lived in Portland

for the last nine years.

I'm here on behalf of my sister and my brother-in-law

who were both taken.

I'm also here on behalf of my two nephews that survived,

and I just want their mum and dad to come back.

I'm so honoured that you would be here.

And, you know, my parents fled, you know, the Nazis.

Not all got out. We lost family at Kristallnacht.

The challenge of bringing your families back

is front and centre for me.

I hate this, really.

I don't like asking for help.

I think also, everybody that we've met with

is doing all they can,

so I'm not exactly sure what the point is.

I mean, I'll do it, you know, cos it's for my sister.

I'll do it, but it's just not my preferred way of helping.

I'm saying in the name of my daughter and her husband

as part of the hostage release,

I think the most important message after this is all over

is the question, "Now what?".

Reconciliation with the Palestinians is probably

the single most important thing that can actually

effect a change for the better in the long run.

I would like to add dimension to the specific circumstances

of my daughter and son-in-law's abduction.

In our conversation with President Biden,

his endgame is a two-state solution at some point.

In the meantime, it is clear to the president

that Hamas is not a part of any solution.

I just want to add to that.

So, I think we have one objective.

One objective only. Bring the hostages back home. OK?

We don't even know if our loved one is alive or dead.

Do you want to think about that for a second?

All the other stuff could wait for another day.

Other than the personal stories to reach the hearts of these people,

what action items are there?

I know my daughter. She's a history teacher.

She's also a guide at Yad Vashem.

She has a sensitivity to other people's suffering.

I feel I'm honouring her by advancing this message

of reconciliation and peace.

- TV: - Hey, guys. Good morning.

The Israelis continue their strikes against the Gaza Strip,

They're ready to completely eradicate Hamas from the map.

They want to get rid of the group that caused the pain

and the suffering of their people,

And that's part of the calculation the Israeli

political echelon has to make in all of this...

More than 200 people remain hostages of Hamas

in the wake of that horrific attack on Israel, October 7th.

Gabe, it is presumed that the next step is the ground invasion.

If that happens, you know,

all of these people worry about their loved ones.

There's no question that there's a lot of big decisions

that need to be made in Israel.

But at the end of the day, what needs to happen is

Hamas needs to be eradicated.

It's not just a slogan, it's something that has to happen,

Israel needs to do that to defend its people.

We'll continue the conversation with all of you throughout the morning.

Netta, your parents were kidnapped by Hamas.

When you hear about the protests and everything else

going on in this country,

what would you like to tell the people

about what happened to your family?

I don't understand what twisted mind

think that it's somehow justified because...

they slaughtered and kidnapped innocent people.

They're your parents.

I want them back so bad.

I just want my parents back.

We all want them back.

HE SIGHS

We thank you very much.

It was great. It was great.

I take serious exception

to using this to foster some kind of war agenda.

The organiser seems to think that this is going to help us.

But that's not happening, right?

They're deflecting to distract people from the fact

that Israeli politics is a big part of the reason

why we're in this mess to begin with.

NETANYAHU: It's our common civilisation

against their common barbarism.

Civilisation must win.

APPLAUSE

Thank you, Rabbi. Just very quickly, I'd like to invite to the stage

Netta Atzili, the son of Liat and Aviv,

who were kidnapped,

to just in one moment share a few words with you. Netta.

I spent the entire day texting with my parents

and my friends to see that they're still alive.

And around noon I stopped hearing from my mother.

HE SIGHS

Every moment we spend here,

it's another moment they are still there,

and we can use all the help we can get.

Thank you.

APPLAUSE

- I'm a kibbutznik. - Doesn't make a difference.

Yeah, I know, but you need to understand...

- What can we do to help? - You need to understand. Listen,

you want to do something important?

You have to say that in Israel,

we need to let the religious establishment

go from the government.

Let them. I have nothing against...

I have nothing against..

I can respect that.

But you have Ish Ma'amin sucking money out of the government

in order for a prime minister to keep his coalition together.

And it's more and more...

I don't care about Bibi. I don't give one damn about him.

- Ah! Now you don't care about Bibi. - I don't care. I never did.

- Now you don't. - I never did. But listen...

Sometimes it's better to just be quiet, Abba, and sometimes....

Sometimes people with these ridiculous ideologies

need to be quiet.

You're not in Israel, and this is a different group of Jewish people.

That is also something that needs to be...

I feel that our group is being dragged out here

like a dog and pony show.

But when I have a Bibi supporter insisting that I wear

a yarmulke, that's where I draw the line.

- Let's leave. - No! No.

No, I'm not going to run away.

I'll stand my ground.

Somebody in that position should know when to crawl.

You think I wanted to meet Mitch McConnell?!

- The fucking asshole's pro-abortion! - You're being recorded.

But I did. You know why? Because he is a powerful person.

I did as well. I didn't have a problem with that.

Sometimes, you know, we have to...

I didn't want to go to Fox and Friends yesterday!

That's a hard one.

HE CHUCKLES

But you see, everybody is making compromises,

so you know what? For getting Liat and Aviv back,

put a fucking yarmulke on your head.

Netta, the way you carry yourself is very sincere, very heartfelt.

You can be proud of yourself

that you are able to pass on the message so effectively like that.

Concentrating on the larger picture,

is a way for me to stay calm in all this.

Don't misunderstand my feelings.

I mean, I'm very, very upset.

It's just, the way I deal with it is different.

Hopefully all this business will come to an end soon.

Israel will cease their counteroffensive

when Hamas ceases to be a threat to the Jewish state.

CHEERING

How anyone in America could sympathise with these terrorists

is truly unfathomable.

And those monsters deserve nothing short of

total destruction.

What is up, Mishpocha-a-a-?!

You know why they hate Israel?

They hate Israel because Israel represents,

an unapologetic statement from the Jewish people

that we will no longer run, we will no longer hide.

We will no longer stay silent.

CHEERING

I am completely mixed up.

Given the number of different messages or strategies

that I've heard over the past couple of weeks,

I'm a little surprised that

Very slight mention has been made

of the 7,000 prisoners that Israel's holding,

very little mention has been made of the personal situation

that Netanyahu is in.

Bibi, in his own right,

is a roadblock to a lot of things happening.

And you can't not... You can't ignore that.

- What's his agenda? - His agenda is to keep his ass out of jail!

The longer this conflict goes on, the more time we have to...

Yes.

We understand very clearly

that our relatives are at risk.

So let's put some accountability in his seat to do something.

And if it's up to the United States

to push him over the edge of the cliff at which he's standing,

then so be it. That's what I would like to say.

The United States has never had a problem overthrowing other

governments when they stood in the way of American interests.

And Bibi Netanyahu stands in the way of American interests.

I think I pushed myself to the limit here.

No matter how many people I convince,

they are still there.

And...

..and even as we speak, they're still imprisoned,

or..or worse.

And...

..there's no guarantee that what I've done here is enough.

Breaking news about a deal in the works,

a plan to potentially release about 50 hostages,

including women and children.

US and Israeli officials tell us they are "cautiously

optimistic", but they say that neither the number of hostages

nor the number of Palestinians to be released have been finalised.

The health ministry in Gaza says more than

14,000 people have been killed

in Israel's retaliatory campaign.

There's no guarantee that either of them are

coming out of this alive.

How this ends hasn't been determined yet.

Yeah.

In a situation like we're in, you have to escape somehow.

My escape is like, all right, I'm not dealing with this now,

and Yehuda's escape is to deal with it so that

he doesn't have to think of the horrors

that Liat and Aviv might be going through.

He wants these senators and these congressmen

to listen to him,

but I don't know how much effect it really has on them.

Who knows?

Key members of the Netanyahu cabinet

are throwing fire on the flames,

taking advantage of the Hamas attack to advance their anti-Arab agenda.

So far, thousands of Palestinians have died,

and there's a lot of fear among families

that have hostages in Gaza that what Israel is doing

is guaranteeing that they're never going to see those hostages again.

Israel has crazy people in government,

and they have no compunction for people dying,

to sanctify the name of the Lord.

And to be very frank, this is about

the last thing in the world that I need right now,

is for somebody to die in that manner

because some politician is blinded

by some fanatical religious messianic outlook.

That might not be a popular opinion, by the way,

but that's my opinion.

- Nice to meet you, sir, and best of luck. - Thank you very much.

- How do you pronounce your last name, sir? - Beinin.

- Excuse me? - What horrible circumstances...

- Can I say hi? - Hi. - Hi!

Ahmad Mansour.

Let me know if you want to talk.

We're having meetings with the congresspeople here

- for a ceasefire, but... - Maybe can you...?

Wait, wait. OK. First of all, it's an honour to meet you.

I feel your pain. You don't have to say that.

I lost half of my family so far.

- Yehuda? - You don't know my political background.

So if you knew, you would be very much more understanding

that there's a lot more that we agree about than I can...

than I'm at liberty to say here.

But these times, you have your daughter,

but you understand that the Israeli army,

they do not want the hostages to come out.

Er, I...

I don't think it's appropriate to go there.

I don't know what they want.

I don't know if it's correct to make an assumption,

but I'm worried.

It's not the Israeli army. It's Bibi Netanyahu.

Yes, yes. Put your hand.

We agree on much more we disagree on.

Before October 7th, I wouldn't maybe shake your hand,

but now you feel the pain.

They are talking about a ceasefire resolution,

but that guarantees the release of the hostages.

And I tell them the bombardment has to stop

because they're dying.

CHANTING

We want justice. We say now!

- Let them see the pressure now! - Let them see the pressure now!

- Free, free Palestine! - Free, free Palestine!

Biden claims to represent the American people.

He claims to represent democracy, but that is laughable.

Because the people have spoken and they're saying,

"Biden, your legacy is genocide."

- What do we want? - Ceasefire!

- When do we want it? - Now!

- What do we want? - Ceasefire!

- When do we want it? - Now!

- If we don't get it? - Shut it down!

If we don't get it?

Shut! It! Down!

I'm here to join with my Palestinian friends

and colleagues calling for a ceasefire.

The mass murder of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip

will not make Israeli Jews safer.

I do not want one more Palestinian civilian to die

in revenge for my family's pain.

It must stop. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Calling for a one-sided ceasefire ensures that Hamas

will repeat the actions that they did on October 7th,

and in fact, they said that that's what their goal was.

I see his position as being one of the capitulation of Israel,

and it's just not going to happen.

Things don't work like that.

What I want to see is the capitulation of

religious fanatics with political agendas,

whether they're Jewish or Muslim.

APPLAUSE

Next up, we have Professor of Middle East History,

Joel Beinin.

Thank you, Julia.

It's a little bit more difficult than usual

for me to speak today.

I think most of you know that my niece,

Liat Atzili was taken hostage.

But I think we all understand that the history

of Israel/Palestine didn't begin on October 7th.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War,

the state of Israel was established

while 750,000 Palestinian Arabs fled in fear,

or were forcibly expelled from their lands

and their homes, and Palestinian society was destroyed.

This is what Palestinians call the Nakba, or "The Catastrophe".

There is no way to understand what happened

in Israel-Palestine on October 7th, 2023

without understanding the Nakba.

Acknowledging the Nakba does not mean a genocide of

the Jewish people of Israel or driving Jews into the sea,

or even necessarily the end of Jewish statehood.

It is an acknowledgement of a historic wrong.

I want to insist here that telling a history

that isn't like the one that you're familiar with

doesn't dehumanise Israelis.

Being opposed to what Israel is doing in the Gaza Strip now,

which we should be clear, it is the destruction of Gazan society.

I mean, the place is being flattened.

That's not anti-Israel.

APPLAUSE

You know that this was the first time

this conflict is very personal for me.

I mean, I feel very connected to Liat, and I...I have

a lot of affection for Aviv, and especially the way that

he used to take care of our mother

when he would come to the apartment and fix everything up,

and things like that.

So, on the one hand, my feelings are as a member of the family

and certainly want to be supportive of the family.

And on the other hand, I'm here, and I disagree politically.

Listen, Joey, I'm not going to give the Palestinians a discount.

They need to take responsibility for their own bag of shit,

of which there is no lack of.

OK! But you don't think that every day Israel is creating members

of a new Hamas by what it's doing in Gaza Strip?

I don’t know. It's a question.

It's a legitimate question. What can I tell you?

There's been a big gap between my opinions

and those in the family.

since long before I left Israel, actually, because

when I had an about-face in my views was 1972.

We were taught that the kibbutz is the vanguard of

a socialist transformation of the State of Israel.

And we came to Kibbutz Lahav in September of 1970.

Can't help but notice that the kibbutz is literally constructed

on the ruins of three Palestinian villages.

So there was this...

..racialized norm of things that could be seen and not seen,

and said and not said, that covered everything.

It was devastating.

And part of why I chose to leave is because I always

thought, if they don't resolve this issue,

something horrible like this can happen.

Nowhere near enough aid has been allowed in.

The destruction in Gaza City is immense.

Palestinian families now find themselves once more without homes.

Assed Baig, Al Jazeera.

When you look back, in retrospect, almost all of

the kibbutzim were created on lands

that were previously occupied by Palestinians.

So, how do you reconcile that with a socialist ideology?

And it's very difficult to do that.

When Chaya and I decided to come to Israel

in the early '70s,

it was about coming to the kibbutz,

building a socialist society

for better Israel, for a better world.

We envisioned a shared society for Palestinians and Jews

as well as a shared state.

And unfortunately, that didn't work out as we had hoped.

And I'm very sad about that...

..actually.

There are 15 million or so people living between

the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea,

and half of them are Jewish, and half of them are Palestinians,

and nobody's going anywhere.

And we have to figure out a way to deal with that.

We need to be able to address Jewish concerns as well as

Palestinian concerns, to recognise the humanity

in each other and to move forward.

HE SIGHS

Jesus.

SHE SOBS

It doesn't sit well with me that he's wounded.

Who knows when he's coming out.

But, um, now we have another thing to worry about.

Bullet wounds get infected.

Yeah.

CHILDREN CHATTER AND PLAY

APPLAUSE

MUSIC: How Deep Is Your Love by the Bee Gees

MUSIC FADES

Just hours from now, we expect a pause in

the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

The first step toward an expected hostage release on Friday.

Earlier today, officials in Qatar, which helped broker

this deal, said the first group of 13 women and children

would be released to the Red Cross and taken to safety.

It says 13 hostages will be returned tomorrow at 4:00.

..between Israel Hamas, as the first 50 hostages

held captive in Gaza, women and children

are to be released under the terms of the deal.

In exchange, Israel will release at least

150 Palestinian prisoners.

PHONE RINGS

RADIO: ..pause in the fighting,

and according to Israeli media, that'll include Israel's

ground assault and air operations.

If things go as planned,

Israelis are going to be released each day by Hamas.

But it's important to say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

has said bluntly, this war is not over.

This is a pause, not a stable ceasefire.

He's a fucking idiot.

..around 240 people were taken hostage

when Hamas attacked, including 40 children...

Hello, baby.

I'm so happy to see you.

NEWS REPORT PLAYS

Netta is having the hardest time of the three of them.

And I don't know if going to The States telling his story

was such a great idea for him.

On the one hand, I think it helped him by

getting it out.

But on the other hand,

kept bringing it out and having to face it...

Netta thought that he was going to die,

and I think that's something that he will have trauma about

for the rest of his life.

In October 8th, we left Nir Oz,

and the only thing I wanted is to go back home.

The hotel, it's like a funeral.

Everybody's sitting and doing nothing all day.

Maybe some, you know, some fun activities,

some vacation activities.

But we're not on a vacation.

We...we're after a tragedy, and we want to face it.

In October 7th, I felt like I was being raped,

that I couldn't do anything, being so passive.

So I want to switch the...

..from passive to active.

The kibbutz is like a grandma, and she's really ill.

And she's in the hospital.

But to not come visit her and to not help her,

I think that's...

I would be ashamed of myself.

So we have the responsibility for the kibbutz.

I feel that this is the way that I can help the most.

I miss them, and I stop myself from calling them...

..for stupid things,

like, where is this? Where is that?

I'm worried.

It is the responsibility of the government of Israel

to get the hostages back,

and if they have to give 10 or 20 Palestinians

for each hostage, I don't care.

I can tell you that, off the record. Off the record...

No, off the records! Stop with it.

Or maybe I won't say that. Never mind.

Eh, my wife is yelling at me.

Bye-bye.

Just because you say something to someone

off the record, that doesn't mean...

But you can say it more nicely!

I did!

Thanks, everyone, for jumping on this call.

It's clear to everyone on this screen that

the Americans aren't coming home yet.

And it's been disappointing that that's not happened.

You know, originally, we all thought that being

American has an advantage right now.

It almost sounds like it's... It works against

our kids and family.

So, if you were in Hamas' shoes,

you might be trying to hold back US citizens

to increase your leverage as the negotiation goes on.

Roger, in that respect, it may very well be that

as far as the Hamas is concerned, Israel is the one who's

holding the cards, in terms of what the Hamas wants

by sheer number of released prisoners.

And...and that subject hasn't been broached here,

but I think that's like the elephant in the room actually.

If it comes down to a numbers game, and in the end,

all the prisoners that Israel holds will be released anyway,

let's get this over with already,

because by the way, a number of the hostages are wounded.

You know, when Gilad Shalit was kidnapped, the next day

Hamas said we would like 1,000 hostages.

And five years later, you know how many hostages

we traded for Gilad Shalit?

- 1,002? - 1,027.

Don't make us wait five years.

We're going to pay. It's going to be horrible.

So pay, and have it be horrible tomorrow.

Listen, it sounds grotesque, but I say good for Hamas.

They want to torture us? They're doing it beautifully.

They're not just, you know, having our people, but they're

having everybody's family in the most unique and exquisite

form of torture that there is.

And I just... And that I expect from Hamas,

but I don't expect that from the Israeli government,

and I don't expect that from the American government.

Right there with you on that.

And I feel your desire for urgency here on this call.

That's why it's important to talk to you all.

Thank you, everyone.

PHONE RINGS

No, it's Tal.

Hello, dear.

So, I spoke to the kids, and they said that I should come to Eilat.

Yes.

- Yes. - Tell me if you hear anything about tomorrow.

OK. I will let you know.

- All right. - OK, so see you soon. - Talk to you later.

- OK. Bye-bye. - Bye.

It's always the nick of time that is...

everything starts to kind of come up,

and I get most anxious and nervous,

which is where we are right now.

There's a lot of guilt because I'm here,

and I'm drinking my coffee and I'm eating my dinner,

but where is my sister now?

Who's holding her and where? Is she in a house?

Is she in a cave, is she being fed?

Does she have her glasses?

If and when she comes back,

how is she going to come back?

Is she going to be strong enough to take care of her kids?

I think everybody's just really in survival mode.

Everybody's tired. Everybody's very disappointed.

Not the best emotions.

My opinion is that Hamas doesn't have them.

That somebody else has them.

I have a letter from the lawyer who said that

he specifically got information from the State Department,

that the State Department is asking for Liat

to be released by name.

The fact that the State Department asked for Liat to be

on the list, one, that doesn't mean that Hamas...

But Ohad said that if the United States

asked for this specific person, they would be on the list.

No! That's not what Ohad said.

- Yes, he did. - He said if Biden asked for Liat to be on the list.

There's a big difference.

You think that Biden's talking to Yahya Sinwar?

If you're reading your phone, I'm not going to talk to you.

- I'm not going to talk to you if you... - Do you understand?

This is the kind of comment that I don't need to hear.

- Yes, but... - I'm doing something!

So say you're doing something, and I should wait

- until you're finished. - This is new.

But the expectation was that there would be, that Liat would

be included in the first 50, based on what I was told.

Yes, but also the people who are telling you

don't know who's holding Liat.

I'm angry too, that they're being held hostage, and...

Great. So don't... What do you have to contradict me for?

Because it doesn't make any sense, what you're saying.

It most certainly does.

I think differently than you. It's OK!

And you think differently than I do. It's OK.

You don't have to criticise me about it.

And I'm not criticising you for what your opinion is.

I don't agree with you, but I'm not criticising you.

You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled

to my opinion also.

- But you're... - I want the hostages back. They're playing games.

Yes, of course they're playing games.

All right. I'm not making excuses. I want them back.

Why are you so understanding about their considerations?

Fuck 'em all.

I made an effort to do something.

Say it's a good effort. Don't say, "How good is it?"

- No, but... - I'm sick and tired of this shit.

DOOR SLAMS

KNOCKING

- Bye-bye. - Bye-bye.

TEXT ALERT PINGS

"Your daughter...

"So I just want to be sure that I heard you correctly.

"Liat's on the list for tonight?"

Yes.

She has a happy cat.

I was preparing myself that she wasn't coming.

I wasn't even thinking that she might be coming.

And...

And she's coming.

I'm going to have my two girls.

HELICOPTER WHIRS

We're coming on the air with breaking news.

Hamas has released one American hostage

from Gaza, American woman Liat Beinin,

along with 15 other people.

Eight other Americans remain held in Gaza.

This transfer is happening literally under the wire of the deadline.

In exchange for these releases, Israel is setting free

30 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

This brings the total number of hostages freed

during the truce to 97.

That means about 150 are still detained.

They are currently on their way to Israel.

They're safely out of the Gaza Strip.

Yes, sir.

I want to express on my part and the part of my family,

my great gratitude to you in your efforts

to secure my daughter's release.

One second. Chaya? Chaya!

I want... I want my wife to say, talk to you as well.

Say hello to the President.

Hello?

Well, I'm very glad that you had a part in bringing her home

to us because I don't think she would be here

if it wasn't for you and the United States.

Oh, she can't wait.

I'm sure she can't wait to see them,

and I can't wait to see her.

- PRESIDENT BIDEN: - Got some very good news to report.

Liat Beinin is safe in Egypt.

She's crossed the border.

I talked with her mother and father.

They're very appreciative, and things are moving well.

She'll soon be home with her three children.

Hi, honey.

I'm... I'm fine. I'm fine.

I'm fine!

You were supposed to be at my house on that Saturday.

- Yes. - I am so glad that you were not.

JOYFUL SQUEALS AND LAUGHTER

Did you call her and say, "Tal, get your ass over here?"

- I brought you something. - What did you bring me?

- Your glasses. - Yes!

I hope they're the ones you wear.

They are not the ones I wear.

Well, we couldn't find other ones.

- You were in my house? - Yes. - Yes.

You guys, I will say this.

I already started telling the kids.

I...had...no issues.

I don't want to talk about Aviv right now. OK?

BABY COOS AND LAUGHS

- REPORTER: - In the last few hours, it's been confirmed to us

that Aviv Atzili has not survived.

His wife, Liat, was released yesterday.

Talking to these families, you're hearing about the

ecstasy of hearing of one family member's release,

and then the agony of hearing another family member

who has not survived.

MUSIC PLAYS

CLAPPING

MUSIC FADES

I was worried about you guys, but I was...

More worried about your kids, which is more than normal.

I was terrified.

It is very hard from both sides.

I mean, you're my baby.

I knew that you were going through

what I was going through, and I was...

That was... That was really, really hard, but I was...

I was so worried about them.

Do you remember when you were a little kid?

Every time I hurt myself...

..you would say, "I hurt myself over here",

and it was like the same place that something happened to me

and the other way around also.

And I was so much hoping that if anything happened to you,

- I would feel it. - Yeah.

Yeah, but I....

I felt that... I had a feeling that Ofri was OK.

- I was so worried about Netta. - Mm-hm.

I mean, I knew that...that they'd gone into his room.

And I was so worried that something...

..that something would happen...had happened to one of them

and to Aviv, because I wouldn't...

I wouldn't be able to get over it,

having to deal with losing a child without Aviv.

I don't think that I'm very good at expressing my feelings.

You suck at expressing your feelings.

But on the other hand, I will do everything in my power

to secure an endowment...for the...for your children.

HE SOBS

All right.

You're allowed to, you know?

This is the first...

I know. I know. I know.

WIND CHIMES TINKLE

Oh.

Was murdered.

CHANTING ON TV

As the Israeli military ramps up its offensive in Gaza,

anti-war slogans have been resounding in Tel Aviv.

Protesters outside IDF headquarters calling for

an immediate ceasefire.

We all suffer and still mourn for the death

and hostages that, from the 7th of October.

But we also mourn the many death in Gaza that continue to

die and die and die every night.

But in a country traumatised by the Hamas attacks,

these protests are also exposing deep divisions in Israeli society.

BIRDSONG

President Biden called you a survivor.

Does that sit well with you? Does that feel correct?

It doesn't.

- It feels strange. - Mm-hm.

I mean, I'm having a lot of issues with myself

in the meaning that I want this to have

um, in my life and in how I define myself.

But it's...it's literally... Literally, it's true.

Right. You mean you don't... You don't want that to be

- your full identity. - Yeah.

You would feel better holding on to some of your

other identities, like teacher, mother, friend,

- whatever your many identities. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah.

Your story is quite unusual.

Can you talk about what you remember?

Aviv had left the house very shortly after the attack began

because he was, he was on the first response team.

And...

..the last I heard from him was at like 8:30 in the morning.

So I was by myself in the safe room in our house.

They came into the safe room, they were armed,

but the very first thing they said was,

"We're going. You're going to come with us now,

"but don't worry, we're not going to hurt you."

And the guy who took me from my house brought me

to his family's home.

And his mother and his sister

just took really, really good care of me.

I mean, they realised that I was in shock

and that I was...

terribly upset.

I didn't know what happened to my children or to Aviv.

That is so complicated,

that in a hostage situation where you've just been kidnapped,

you have an immediate, heavy dose of human empathy.

Yeah. It's really confusing.

We...

We were being held captive.

Obviously, it's not an easy thing to go through,

and I know that I was incredibly lucky.

But I thought that these are people

and that I can communicate,

and that I'd be OK if I...managed to make a connection with whoever.

They kept saying, you know, our job is to protect you

and keep you safe and healthy until you're released in a deal.

I mean, they kept saying that from day one.

Yeah.

And did you learn anything about them?

Well, very, very religious,

fundamentalist world view.

They kept saying, that from the river to the sea,

it should all be a Palestinian state,

and that all the Jews should leave.

Mm-hm.

And we discussed this, and one said, you know,

well, yeah, maybe a two-state solution has to be a solution,

at least temporarily,

until we conquer the world and everybody converts to Islam.

Do you think they learned anything that surprised them?

- I think so. - Like what?

They didn't know how Jewish Israelis saw

our connection to Israel.

And what, what many, many Israelis say about

the Palestinians, "Oh, they have so many countries.

"Why don't they go somewhere else?"

No, they don't want to be Syrians, Egyptians, Jordanians.

They're Palestinians from...from here.

And I think they sort of had the same...

They related to...Jewish Israelis in the same way.

They kept asking me,

"Why do you feel that this place belongs to you?"

I think that if before October 7th peace was an option,

now there's no choice.

This cannot be the way we live in the Middle East.

Mm-hm.

Are you saying that for yourself and your family?

Like, who are you saying that for?

For everybody.

Mm-hm.

APPLAUSE

GENTLE BREEZE

BIRDSONG

OK.

LOW CHATTER