Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
It is day 209 of the war with Hamas. Editor David Horovitz and diplomacy reporter Lazar Berman join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
The Hamas terror group was reportedly slated to submit on Thursday an amended proposal to the one crafted by Qatari, Egyptian and American brokers. It is a proposal that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called "generous" during his recent lightning visit to Israel yesterday. Berman updates us on reports of a deal and Horovitz discusses the optics of Blinken's support.
During Blinken's visit, he clarified that the US still doesn't believe Israel should carry out a wide-scale Rafah operation. Israel has refused to commit to ending the war, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Blinken on Wednesday that the IDF would launch a mass invasion of Rafah to dismantle Hamas’s remaining battalions in Gaza’s southernmost city regardless of whether or not there is a hostage deal, according to an Israeli official. Horovitz weighs in.
The ongoing protests on university campuses have spread across the globe. Horovitz discusses the phenomenon.
Finally, we hear about Israel's frayed ties with Colombia.
For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
All eyes, still, on Hamas
Hamas indicates it will snub latest hostage deal offer, but says talks to continue
Netanyahu tells Blinken he will not agree to end war on Hamas as part of hostage deal
Colombia to sever ties after months of panning Israel as ‘genocidal’
THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel
THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown
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IMAGE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives for a meeting with the Israeli president in Tel Aviv, on May 1, 2024. (Abir Sultan / POOL / AFP)
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Day 243 - Can Biden push Israel and Hamas to a hostage deal?
Day 242 - Will the deaths of four hostages push PM to a deal?
Day 241 - How many of Hamas's 4 Rafah battalions still stand?
Day 240 - Why did Biden urge Israel to take a deal it proposed?
Day 239 - ADL head Greenblatt on 900% rise in US antisemitism
Day 238 - Will Trump verdict give an antisemitic trope new life?
Day 237 - ToI reports back from inside Nablus and the Gaza Strip
Day 236 - MKs on right and left seek alliances, oppose PM
Day 235 - Will hostage talks resume as Rafah operation continues?
Day 234 - Hamas calls to 'rise up' after deadly airstrike in Rafah
Day 233 - After ICJ ruling, Rafah op continues unabated
Day 232 - ICJ order to 'halt' IDF depends on how it's parsed
Day 231 - Netanyahu to 'soon' address Congress. What's his goal?
Day 230 - Harrowing video spotlights female soldiers held by Hamas
Day 229 - Trio of countries to recognize Palestine. Why now?
Day 228 - Same-same? ICC prosecutor equates Israeli & Hamas leaders
Day 227 - The butcher Raisi is dead. What now for Iran?
Day 226 - Bold IDF op recovers bodies of 4 hostages from Gaza
Day 225 - US explores sanctions for extremists blocking Gaza aid
Day 224: PM crisis looms with post-Gaza plans, Haredi draft
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