Day 440 - Biden and Trump teams join forces in hostage talks

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

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4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2024

⏱️ 22 minutes

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Summary

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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Magid speaks about the ongoing hostage negotiations and intense speculation in the media. He notes that any agreed-upon ceasefire would be longer and less fragile than the week-long pause in fighting that took place in November 2023. He also discusses the unusual cooperation taking place between the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration in the ceasefire negotiations.

Magid discusses a reckoning by Biden officials following the Israeli attack on Hezbollah and the panic initially felt among US intelligence officials and the Israeli government beforehand, as the concerns were that an Israeli strike on Hezbollah could lead to an all-out war with Lebanon.

He also reviews the Biden administration's decision not to sanction Netanyahu coalition partners, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, after months of considering such a move because of their roles in increasing settler violence and destabilizing the West Bank.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu said set to huddle with top brass Thursday to discuss Gaza deal latest

Hamas fears Trump will allow Israel to resume Gaza war after 1st phase of hostage deal

US intel wrongly envisioned catastrophic outcome if IDF escalated against Hezbollah

US won’t sanction Smotrich and Ben Gvir before end of Biden’s term — officials

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IMAGE: President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel's Daily Briefing. It's Thursday, December 19th, and I'm Jessica
0:09.8	Steinberg. I'm speaking today with U.S. Bureau Chief Jacob Magid. Hi, Jacob. Hey, Jessica. Good to be
0:15.1	back with you. Good to have you here with me. It is day 440 of the war. The IDF carried out two waves of strikes against
0:23.9	Houthi targets in Yemen today, including three Houthi ports after a missile from the Houthis in
0:31.3	Yemen, was aimed at Central Israel early this morning, causing an empty school building in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv to
0:38.8	collapse. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with his top security officials today
0:44.6	regarding the latest in a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. We'll discuss the concerns from
0:51.1	Hamas about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and what kind of flexibility
0:55.2	he would allow Israel and Gaza, along with U.S. intelligence, mistaken U.S. intelligence,
1:02.7	about the outcomes of Israel strike in Khazbalah, and as the Biden administration closes
1:07.8	up shop, what will happen with its plans, sanctions of two far-right
1:12.2	Israeli ministers. Stay with us.
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1:34.3	We are grateful to the heroes of the IDF, and we know that they are not just protecting the
1:39.3	land of Israel, but ensuring the Jewish people are safe throughout the world.
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2:02.8	That's s-a-r-c-he------------------------------... Okay, Jacob, we're hearing a lot about the possibility of this discussed hostage deal.
2:31.3	And, of course, as I mentioned, the prime minister is meeting with his security
	...

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