Day 446 - Qatar's mediators ask Israel to be more flexible

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

News

4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 25 December 2024

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

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 discusses the ongoing hostage negotiations, commenting that if a deal happens, it will probably take place closer to the January 20 inauguration date for President-elect Donald Trump. Magid says that Qatari negotiators are asking the Israeli government to be more flexible in their current mandate, as Hamas seeks assurances that Israel won't return to fighting after the discussed first phase.

Magid reviews some threatening comments made during a podcast interview by Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security advisor. Waltz spoke about punishments and reprisals for those who take US hostages, with an emphasis placed by both Trump and Waltz in recent comments on the American hostages who are held in Gaza.

Magid speaks about an unlikely statement from US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, who asserted that a new report alleging famine in north Gaza was incorrect, remarking that the data used was outdated. The unexpected statement was possibly a final shot by Lew as an outgoing ambassador, says Magid.

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

Discussed articles include:

Hostage negotiators returning to Israel for ‘internal deliberations,’ says PM’s office

Trump national security pick threatens US hostage-takers with ‘bullet in forehead’

US calls new report asserting famine in north Gaza ‘outdated and inaccurate’

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Demonstrators dressed as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, right, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, take part in a performance during a protest against the government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel's Daily Briefing. It is Wednesday, December 25th, and I'm
0:10.1	Jessica Steinberg. I'm speaking today with U.S. Bureau Chief Jacob Maghate. Hi, Jacob.
0:15.5	Hi, Jessica. Good to be with you again. Good to have you here. It is day 446 of the war. Once again, a nighttime Houtu missile sent people in
0:24.7	Central Israel scrambling to their shelters. A large missile fragment hit the yard of a home in Central
0:30.3	Israel. Again, the projectile was intercepted. The mid-level negotiating team that has been in Qatar
0:36.9	for days working on a possible hostage deal with Hamas
0:40.2	returned to Israel last night following what the prime minister's office said was a meaningful week of talks.
0:47.4	They are back for internal deliberations in Israel.
0:51.5	We'll hear what U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for National Security Advisor,
0:56.4	Mike Waltz, what he had to say about hostages, about those U.S. hostages, Eldon Gaza,
1:03.1	as well as a U.S. reaction to a report asserting famine in North Gaza and some other elements
1:09.5	of the headlines. Stay with us.
1:16.7	The Sarajek law firm specializes in collecting money owed to our clients and proudly advertisers
1:23.2	in the times of Israel. Our passion, our love, and our prayers are with the people of Israel.
1:30.8	We are grateful to the heroes of the IDF, and we know that they are not just protecting the
1:35.7	land of Israel, but ensuring the Jewish people are safe throughout the world.
1:41.0	In recognition of that, when Times of Israel listeners use our services, a portion of our firm's profits will go to the Givati Brigade's Purple Fox Foundation for fallen and wounded soldiers and their families.
1:54.2	You can find us at sarahechlawfirm.com.
1:59.1	That's S-A-R-A-C-H-E-C-Lawfirm.com. That's S-A-R-A-C-H-E-K-Law-Firm.com.
2:23.4	Okay. So, Jacob, let's dig into the hostages a little bit.
2:25.9	It's really all anyone is thinking about over here.
2:29.7	It seems that it's very much in the offing.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Times of Israel, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Times of Israel and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.