Topics: Release of Israeli Hostages, Trump lands in Israel

E&OE.......................

‍

DEBORAH KNIGHT: Liberal Senator Dave Sharma is Australia's former ambassador to Israel and he joins me now. So, Dave, after more than two years being held hostage, how significant is today?

DAVE SHARMA: I don't think you can overstate the significance of this step, not only to the families of the hostages, the hostages themselves, but I think the entirety of Israel, who's been following the fate of the hostages on a day-by-day basis seeing terrible proof-of-life videos that Hamas has shared. But also, I think more broadly to the region, because it has been Hamas's obstinate refusal to release the hostages that I think has prolonged this war for far longer than it ever needed to go.

DEBORAH KNIGHT: And you've met with some of the families of the hostages personally in Israel.

DAVE SHARMA: I have in Tel Aviv, yeah.

DEBORAH KNIGHT: What sort of ordeal have they been going through here?

DAVE SHARMA: You can't imagine. I mean, I think they go from hope to despair. They have a huge amount of uncertainty, because for some of these people that they're still not certain if, if their family member is on the list of the living or the list of the dead. Some of them have had confirmed that they have lost their family members. But I think, when there was a last hostage release in January, many of them were hopeful that theirs would be released, but some of them were disappointed. So I think they've just been on emotional roller coaster for two years. At first their family member was abducted. They didn't know if they were dead or alive, then they hear they're alive. Great hope and elation. And now, two years, and the longer time goes on, of course, the less their chance of survival.

DEBORAH KNIGHT: Yeah. It's quite remarkable, what they've had to endure. And the release of Palestinian prisoners today too, that's also very significant for their families and for Hamas to say that they've had a win here too.

DAVE SHARMA: Well, look, that is part of the deal. I think it's about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners that will be released from Israel jails, and obviously that has been part of this arrangement all throughout. Hostages have been released in exchange for Palestinians held in jails. Look, it's not a particularly, some of these people who are being released have been convicted of terrorist-related offenses and killings and murders. I can't pretend it's a particularly palatable thing, but it's the nature of how Hamas operates. It's using hostages as leverage to further its own political aims.

DEBORAH KNIGHT: Yeah. And the President of the United States, he's arriving in Jerusalem, and obviously he's saying that the peace will hold and will last as a result of the deal that he's helped broker. It is very fragile. Do you share the US president's confidence that this will mean the end of the war?

DAVE SHARMA: Look, I think I'm more confident than I've been at any time in the last two years, and I think you need to bear in mind that it's not, it's not an empty confidence. It's based on some real facts and reasoning. I think, importantly, Hamas has been isolated in the region. Its major external backer, Iran, has taken a big hit. Its ally, Hezbollah, has taken a big hit. Its ally, Assad in Syria, has gone from power. And President Trump has put a lot of pressure and influence to bear on Gulf Arab states, particularly Qatar, and also Egypt and Turkey, who are Hamas' main external patrons. So, I think that's changed the equation there, and Hamas does not have a lot of options anymore, and I think President Trump is capitalizing on that.

DEBORAH KNIGHT: And the bombs might've stopped, but of course there is immense work to be done to rebuild in Gaza. what are the first steps to ensure that this nation can get back on its feet?

DAVE SHARMA: Look, I think the first steps are to make sure that Hamas departs from the scene and you can put in a civilian authority where you know that if you're sending in aid and cement and steel, it's not being used to build rockets, it's actually being used to rebuild infrastructure. if we can get a civilian authority in there that's trusted and credible, then I think aid and reconstruction money can flow, because the international community will know it's going to a good cause.

DEBORAH KNIGHT: Yeah, but there's a lot of work to be done. It's immense, really, to, to factor in what needs to be done.

DAVE SHARMA: It is immense. I've visited Gaza before, I visited after the last major conflict 10 years ago, but the destruction of Gaza is on a scale that's order of orders of magnitude bigger than I ever saw and I don't understate how immense that task will be.

DEBORAH KNIGHT: But today, for the hostages' families, it's just quite a, a day that they hoped would come, but I suppose we're thinking, when will it ever come?

DAVE SHARMA: It'll be a day of immense relief and joy. And I think it's also for many Palestinians in Gaza who've been wanting this war to end, who never wished for this war, who had this war hoisted upon them by Hamas, it's a day of great joy as well because they can hopefully start to rebuild their lives.

DEBORAH KNIGHT: Yeah, let's hope the peace lasts. Dave, thank you so much.

DAVE SHARMA: Thanks, Deb.

[ENDS]

‍