Jordana Miller, ABC News correspondent Interview

Jordana Miller joins Mendte in the Morning to talk about the feelings in Israel as a peace deal has been struck to end the war in Gaza.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm excited to get to Jordana Miller. I'm sure she's
excited about what's happening today. Jordana Miller is the ABC
News correspondent in Jerusalem. She also lives in Israel with
her kids, where they are celebrating today. And so there's
Jordana Miller who is the correspondent, there's Jordana Miller, the
mom and someone who lives in Israel. And Jordana, you

(00:24):
and your neighbors and everybody we've gotten to know you
over the last couple of years. We feel wonderful for
you and everybody there. And tell me what the feeling
is in your house and in your neighborhood and in
the country.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
I think there's an incredible sense of release, and I
would say disbelief that it happened so quickly, and gratitude
to President Trump. I mean, it has been a night,
you know that. I know I will always remember as
clearly as I did the day the war started two

(01:02):
years ago. You know, the joy that broke out in
Hostage Square, people dancing and singing, parents calling in to
you know, Israeli television radio, crying and thanking President Trump
as well. I mean, it's hard to believe that after

(01:24):
two years that it's it's actually the war really feels
like it is over, and there's a sense of you know,
people can breathe.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
I know for me, Oh, we just lost her. That
was that was wonderful too. We'll get we'll get her
back and we'll be able to talk to her. But yeah,
we have gotten to know Jordana and her kids. You'll
hear them sometimes in the background as she's reporting from
her home, and you know, I just feel I feel

(01:57):
wonderful for her and everybody in his And you've heard
the celebrations in the streets in Israel that is going
on throughout Israel, and by the way, those type of
celebrations are going on in Palestine as well. Jordana, what

(02:19):
you were saying was wonderful and you cut out, Please continue.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Oh, I was just saying that there's you know, there's
been so much relief and celebration, and you know, it
just so happened that. I mean, I think a lot
of people in Israel think that nothing really happens by accident.
But both of my children woke up around three point
thirty in the morning last night here and I said

(02:46):
to them, you know, hey, guys, there's no more sirens.
You know, that's it, you know, no more bad guys,
no more sirens.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
And what did they do? How did they react?

Speaker 2 (03:00):
They said, yeah, you know, not even if they totally understood.
But you know, I think there's a sense of real
you know. Joy. Now we're going to see the Israeli
Prime Minister put President Trump's the first phase of President
Trump's feal up for a government vote today to ratify

(03:20):
it around six pm Local so eleven a m Eastern.
After that vote, which we expect will of course pass,
even if the far right pulls out of the vote,
doesn't matter. The opposition will vote, will step in and
pass the pass and ratify it, then we will begin.

(03:42):
The ceasefire will take place right after that's ratified. So
all the you know, right now there's still some intermittent
IDF attacks and bombings, but it will it is set
to stop the minute the deal is ratified, the Israeli
army'll start. They'll have twenty four hours to pull back

(04:02):
to what's called the yellow line.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
It's a oh, the yellow line, that's they have to
pull back out of certain areas of Gaza. But they
have a lot of time to get all the way
out of Gaza. And so yeah, Jordana, I think a
lot of people are making phone calls out of Israel today,
but go ahead continue please.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, oh, I was saying that you know, everyone's you know,
anxiously waiting for the Israeli government to ratify the deal
at a round six pm local time eleven am Eastern
and that will essentially larry usher in the end of
the war. The IDEAF will halt all its operations. Hamas

(04:47):
will agree to halt all its operations. The fighting will end,
and the Israeli army will begin to withdraw to its
first redeployment, the first withdrawal from God what's being called
the Yellow line, and it is it'll roughly move the
Israelis out of about thirty percent of the Gaza strip

(05:10):
right now they're holding about eighty percent. It'll move them
back east towards the Israeli border, out of Gaza City,
out of parts of northern Gaza, out of parts of
central Gaza, and move them further east. Israel will still
be controlling about fifty percent of the Gaza Strip with
their troops until Phase two is signed off on. And

(05:35):
we understand that on Sunday or Monday, all of the
living Israeli hostages, all twenty will come out in one
thou swoop. And it's being reported here, though we haven't
confirmed it with the White House, that President Trump will
be here in Israel to see the living hostages come out,
and then he will give what many I'm sure we'll

(05:56):
call a historic address the Israel's Parliament on Sunday Day.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
It is all just so wonderful. Is there skepticism in
Israel right now that this won't last?

Speaker 2 (06:09):
I think so fear is not that Hamas or Israel
will screw up Phase one. I do think we're going
to see the hostages come out. Unfortunately, the bodies of
the hostages, those twenty eight, I think that will take
longer because Hamas doesn't know where all of them are.
But what I think the fear here is that Phase

(06:30):
two is going to be a lot more difficult. Phase
two will require Hamas to disarm, it will require an
international security force to come in and begin to run
the military affairs of the Goaza Strip, and it'll be
a challenge to set up that governing council. There's going

(06:52):
to be disputes about who's in charge of that council
right now, it's supposed to be basically President Trump, right,
he'll sit on full oversee this council with but Hamas
is going to argue that they want Palestinians on that
on that council, and then the Israelis have to complete
their second withdrawal to a much smaller part of the

(07:14):
Gaza strip to the security buffer. Those are big, and
the reinvestment plan to rebuild Gaza.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, a lot still to happen, but let's just celebrate
this day because it's wonderful and we we are so
happy for you and your family and everyone in Israel