The Wire with Joel

The US-brokered ceasefire was signed almost four weeks ago and officially came into effect in Gaza on the 10th of October 2025. 

Here are some key events that have happened since this date:

• On the 14th of October, there were reports of a wave of public executions by Hamas and rival armed groups.
• The same day, Israel began to limit aid into Gaza once more due to disputes over the remaining hostages.
• On the 19th of October, two Israeli soldiers were killed in a Rafah explosion, then Israel retaliated with air-strikes that killed 45 Palestinians.
• On the 21st of October, US vice president JD Vance said that the ceasefire was in a “very good place”.
• On the 29th of October, Israel launched overnight airstrikes into Gaza that killed at least 104 Palestinians, Israel claimed the attack was to target military infrastructure.
• Yesterday, Hamas returned the remains of the final 3 hostages to Israel.
• And finally, the former Israeli military advocate general was arrested in Israel yesterday for admitting to leaking the August 2024 video of Israeli soldiers committing war crimes.

So, how valid is the US-brokered ceasefire?

Well that’s exactly what Wednesday Wire Host Max discussed with John Minto, co-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa.

This week on the Wednesday Wire:

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s trip to South-East Asia where he met with multiple world leaders, The Green Party’s plans to call for evidence-based cannabis regulation, the government’s new draft school curriculum for years 0-10, and Education Minister Erica Stanford announcing plans to shrink the Teaching Council.

Producer Manny spoke with Glenn Barclay, Chairperson of Tax Justice Aotearoa and The Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign, about Labour’s Limited Capital Gains Tax Proposal.

Manny also spoke with Chris Puliuvea, Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, about the current measles outbreak in Aotearoa.

And Max spoke with John Minto, co-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, to discuss the current state of the Gaza ceasefire almost four weeks since it came into effect, as well as the news of an Israeli military lawyer being arrested, after admitting to leaking the August 2024 video of Israeli soldiers.

Last week, Education Minister Erica Stanford confirmed the latest additions to draft curriculum changes for English and Maths, with the hope for implementation in 2026.
While she says the changes are not significant to the existing system, teachers have said the draft proposes an entire overhaul and greatly increases workload expectations.

Also, ACT MP Laura McClure has put forward the Deepfake Harm & Exploitation Bill to update legislation around exploitation committed on digital platforms especially with AI.

Finally, after 30 years of MMP, the New Zealand Initiative, a kiwi policy thinktank, has proposed a four year parliamentary term and more MPs for Parliament, among numerous electoral reforms that they think can make New Zealand more effective for representing the population.

Wire Host Sara spoke with MP Carl Bates about all of these topics, starting with the curriculum changes.

Early this morning, University of Auckland associate professor in psychology Dr David Moreau, published findings in the Psychological Bulletin around the effects of fasting on mental cognition.

The paper has found that while the effects vary across age and genetic composition, there is no indication of decline in mental performance whether or not one is fasting. 
Wire Host Sara spoke with Moreau this morning about his research, firstly by asking about his interest in the effects of fasting on the brain.

The full report can be found here.