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Gazans celebrate as news spread that a ceasefire and hostage release deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas (Photo: Youssef Alzanoun / Middle East Images via AFP/Getty)
Gazans celebrate as news spread that a ceasefire and hostage release deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas (Photo: Youssef Alzanoun / Middle East Images via AFP/Getty)

SocietyJanuary 16, 2025

World celebrates Gaza ceasefire deal

Gazans celebrate as news spread that a ceasefire and hostage release deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas (Photo: Youssef Alzanoun / Middle East Images via AFP/Getty)
Gazans celebrate as news spread that a ceasefire and hostage release deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas (Photo: Youssef Alzanoun / Middle East Images via AFP/Getty)

The agreement will ease Palestinians’ suffering, but international agencies will struggle to meet the massive need for humanitarian relief.

This is an excerpt from The World Bulletin, our weekly global current affairs newsletter exclusively for Spinoff Members. Sign up here.

We start the World Bulletin’s year with a rare piece of extremely good news: Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza, set to come into effect on Sunday. Here are the key terms according to Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who helped broker the deal, as reported by CNN:

“The first phase of the agreement will last for 42 days and include a ceasefire, the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from densely populated areas, the exchange of hostages and prisoners, the exchange of dead bodies and the return of displaced Gazans to their homes.

“Hamas will release 33 hostages in the first phase, including civilian and female soldiers, children, the elderly and the sick in exchange for an undisclosed number of Palestinian prisoners. Gaza’s wounded will be allowed to leave the enclave to receive treatment, while aid will be allowed into the Strip with hospitals and bakeries undergoing repairs.”

In a press conference this morning, US president Joe Biden said phase two would involve negotiations to bring a permanent end to the war, while phase three would see the start of a major reconstruction plan for Gaza.

Egypt and UN promise to massively ramp up aid

Egypt is currently “preparing to bring in the largest possible amount of aid to the Gaza Strip”, according to state media reports. Under the terms of the deal, 600 truckloads of aid would be allowed into Gaza every day of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 carrying fuel. “Half of the 600 aid trucks would be delivered to Gaza’s north, where experts have warned famine is imminent,” Reuters reports. The UN has faced enormous challenges and constraints in delivering aid throughout the 15-month war. Secretary general Antonio Guterres said the organisation would do “whatever is humanly possible” to bring more humanitarian relief to Gaza. “We expect our efforts to be matched by other humanitarian actors, the private sector and bilateral initiatives,” he said.

The ceasefire deal still needs to be ratified by the Israeli parliament, which is expected to vote later today.

Relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza hold a demonstration in Tel Aviv to demand a ceasefire and a hostage swap agreement on January 14, 2025, the day before the ceasefire deal was struck (Photo: Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

What changed?

Incoming US president Donald Trump has rushed to claim credit for the ceasefire deal. In a Truth Social post, he said the agreement could only have happened as a result of his “historic” election victory “as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies”.

That may sound like typical Trump bluster, but Israeli government insiders agree that he played a key role in Netanyahu’s decision to make a deal. Following a testy meeting with Trump’s new special envoy to the Middle East, “Netanyahu … suddenly came to recognise precisely where it is that they stand with the new American president,” a columnist for the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth wrote this week. “They came to realise that Trump speaks at dictation pace, and they will never be able to outflank him from the right.”

“Given the shape of the deal, one of the most pressing questions for Netanyahu is why he did not accept a similar agreement on offer as far back as May 2024,” writes Peter Beaumont in the Guardian. “The willingness of Netanyahu to deal at the last moment under pressure from Trump… has not been lost on Israeli commentators.”

“I ask myself where did all the obstacles go?” writes Ben Caspit in the Hebrew daily Ma’ariv. “All the conditions? All the ridiculous spins that were thrown out by the leader and were echoed by his mouthpieces?”

‘Help keep The Spinoff funny, smart, tall and handsome – become a member today.’
Gabi Lardies
— Staff writer
Keep going!
New Zealand’s nature (Roys Peak), with additional comments by Google reviewers. (Photo: Anne via Unsplash)
New Zealand’s nature (Roys Peak), with additional comments by Google reviewers. (Photo: Anne via Unsplash)

SocietyJanuary 16, 2025

The worst Google reviews of New Zealand’s best tramps

New Zealand’s nature (Roys Peak), with additional comments by Google reviewers. (Photo: Anne via Unsplash)
New Zealand’s nature (Roys Peak), with additional comments by Google reviewers. (Photo: Anne via Unsplash)

We love to suffer through tramps to enjoy natural beauty… except when we don’t.

It can feel a bit shitty to stay inside and wallow all day when it’s nice out. Hot sunlight hits your window and your mum’s voice rings around in your head: get outside and enjoy the bloody nature! There’s only so much sand you can get in your crack, so at some point, we lace up our boots (or slap on some jandals) and head for the hills. We endure hours, even days, of gruelling tramping and come out the other side feeling accomplished and in love with a certain tree, bird or the way the sunlight hits a mountain. Unless of course, we don’t. 

These are collected thoughts from people who have tramped some of the best tracks in the country and then thought: “that was shit… I’m going to leave a bad Google review”.

Kauaeranga Kauri Trail (Pinnacles Walk)

The track finishes on a rocky scramble right to the peak. (Image: Destination Coromandel)

The Kauaeranga Kauri Trail is so popular that the 80 berth hut is booked out most weekends through summer. Its crowning glory is the rocky outcrop (pinnacles) right at the tip of the mountain, from which normal people view the sunset and freaks view the sunrise. The track dates back to the 1920s, when it was used weekly by packhorses to take supplies to kauri loggers. Now, the rock steps remind you why The Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, and that people back in the day must have worked way harder and been way stronger than us office dwellers. My personal review? Gorgeous and romantic. Counterpoint:

Kepler Track

An alpine ridgeline on the Kepler. (Photo: Nomad Tales via Wikipedia)

One of the Greats! In Fiordland National Park! Beautiful lake shorelines, tussock and podocarp forest! Big views over big mountains! Impressive limestone bluffs! Real life panoramas! A gorgeous gorge! 

Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Bright green emerald lakes on a dry rocky mountain
Ngā Rotopounamu seen about halfway on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. (Photo: Marcus Holland-Moritz via Wikimedia)

This tramp is considered one of the top tramps in the WORLD, aka that rock in space most of us will never leave. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing takes many swooning trampers through a dramatic volcanic alpine landscape with steaming vents, glacial valleys, ancient lava flows, a red crater, the famous Ngā Rotopounamu / Emerald Lakes and Te Wai Whakaata o Te Rangihīroa / Blue Lake. It has magnificent views over Lake Rotoaira and Lake Taupō. The iconic track is located in our oldest national park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site twice over. Hard to beat. 

one star review saying "mountain was dusty - no gift shop" one star review saying, "nothing... it's nothing..."

two star review saying, "no hobbits or elves. overrated"

Colonial Knob Scenic Reserve / Rangituhi

View from the top of the knob. (Photo: WellingtonNZ)

Don’t be put off by the name. The knob is a lovely hill behind Porirua which can be climbed in two hours. The best of the three tracks starts at the Broken Hill Road carpark and takes walkers through kohekohe forest and past the man-made lakes which once supplied water to Porirua Hospital. At the top of the 468 metre high knob, you can spy on Mt Taranaki, Waikanae, Kapiti island, Mana island, the South Island and … Porirua.

one star review saying "never climbed it"

three star review saying "medium level knob, I've seen better and worse"

Five star review saying "want to see Porirua? want to walk up 700+ stairs to get a view? Well, colonial knob is waiting for you... no toilets, so be prepared"

Ballroom Overhang Track

A large, curved limestone overhang
A slice of the overhang. (Photo: Birdbabe via Wikipedia)

In the Paparoa National Park, a couple of hours up the Fox River on the South Island’s west coast, is a massive limestone overhang. It looks like Gaudi got lost in the bush and also discovered brutalism. Sublime! The natural shelter was carved by a bend in the river and forms a half dome partially sealed in by trees. It’s an adventurous path with multiple river crossings where you’re unlikely to see other trampers. The tramp is officially sanctioned by Wilderness Magazine deputy editor Leigh Hopkinsin as her favourite bush walk. But not all reviewers are so smitten.

Two star review saying, "I have never known such misery form a walk"

Taranaki summit track

Have trampers ever looked so smoll? (Photo: Michal Klajban via Wikimedia)

No one has ever said this is an easy track, and a cursory glance at the maunga will tell you much you need to know: it’s tall, steep, snowy and rocky. Best of all, it stands like a lonely nipple on an otherwise flat stretch of land, so the 360° view from the top is monumental. Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe and Tongariro are in the distance, beyond Whanganui National Park. To the east, the Tasman Sea dissolves into the horizon. The track is epic, climbing from forest into rocky ridges, loose scree slopes and finally a snowy mountain top. According to one reviewer, it’s “easily one of the worst summit hikes I’ve ever done”, and they’re not alone.

one star review saying "has unslightly snow just lying around everywhere"

three star review saying "trek is tough but when you reach the summit it was not worth the view"

four star review saying "raining heavily so couldn't see much"

Rakiura Track

There’s much fin to be had on the suspension bridges of the Rakiura track. (Photo: Sarang / GG via Wikimedia)

Way down on a little island that’s much the same as it was thousands of years ago, a three day tramp takes you from cove to cove and through thickets of bush. At night there’s plenty of screeching kiwi and at the right time of year, you can see the Southern Lights. Eleven months ago, One reviewer found the walk “spectacular” even though she didn’t see kiwi and rain “chucked down”. Others commented on the “untouched nature”, “beautiful beaches” and “magnificent trees”. At least one online ranking has the Rakiura Track in the top 10 globally. What’s not to love? Well…

two star review saying, "didn't like the walk, it was super muddy and the landscape is just very average. Can easily find somewhere better anywhere else"

Lake Waikaremoana

Honestly… (Photo: Department of Conservation via Flickr).

Pristine ancient rainforest, a rippling misty lake, views over a spectacular mountain range and waterfalls. The three day walk around Lake Waikaremoana is one of the country’s official Great Walks and generally considered beautiful. The lake is described as looking like “rough-cut emeralds” and its mists weave into the surrounding bush. Rare native plants like Dactylanthus, green and red mistletoes and ngutukākā set the scene for tui, bellbird, fantail, tomtit, kaka, kakariki, North Island robin, New Zealand falcon, rifleman, and at night, morepork and North Island brown kiwi. One visitor, who completed the walk five years ago and left a five star review, called it Heaven on Earth. “I will return !!!!!” they proclaimed. Others, as always, were less impressed.

a one star review saying "no wifi and no drinks so I couldnt have fun on tik tok"