Day 525 - With Hamas immovable, extended ceasefire prospects dim
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.4 • 864 Ratings
🗓️ 14 March 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ 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 Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing.
Children across the Diaspora came to school wearing Batman costumes in honor of the slain Bibas boys, Kfir and Ariel. And last night, thousands came to Tel Aviv's Hostages Square for the Purim eve reading of the Book of Esther. The gathering, which includes Israelis from different communities, sectors and denominations, included a call for the return of the 59 remaining hostages in one release. But that doesn’t appear to be the proposal on the table, currently.
We discuss reports out of Doha, which indicate a revision to a previously suggested proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff of 10 living hostages for 60 days of ceasefire. What is the new outline to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and how are Israel -- and Hamas -- responding to it?
Mahmoud Abbas may be the last Palestinian leader who believes in a two-state solution and opposes violence as a means for bringing it about, a potential successor to the PA president, Jibril Rajoub, told Magid in a recent interview. So what’s the alternative?
Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Jewish kids in Israel and beyond dress up as Batman for Purim to honor the Bibas boys
Witkoff reportedly presents new proposal for Gaza truce extension to Israel, Hamas
Boehler to continue supporting Witkoff’s efforts in Mideast amid reports of sidelining
Abbas may be the last PA leader who believes in two states, warns potential successor
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: A man reads a scroll in front of a clock counting the time Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip since the October 2023 attacks by Hamas terrorists have spent in captivity, during the reading of the Scrolls of Esther at the start of the feast of Purim at Hostages' Square in Tel Aviv on March 13, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing. Today is Friday, March 14th, Day 525 of the war. |
| 0:11.3 | Amanda Borschel Dan here with our U.S. Bureau Chief Jacob, hi, Jacob. Happy Purim, and thank you for joining me today. |
| 0:18.3 | Hi, Amanda. Happy Poorim. Hach. Ch Hach samach. And we do hope for a joyful holiday, |
| 0:24.3 | but we are here for a quick news update, concentrating mostly on the hostage release ceasefire |
| 0:30.6 | negotiations. And following our briefer daily briefing, there will be a full episode of our new series, The Friday |
| 0:38.5 | Focus, with our diplomatic reporter, Laser Bearman. So stay tuned for that after our talk |
| 0:44.3 | with Jacob. Now, Jacob, although Purim is largely a holiday of revelry, the plight of the 59 |
| 0:52.1 | hostages still in Gaza is not far from Israeli's minds. |
| 0:56.6 | And schoolchildren across the diaspora, mostly in Israel, came to school yesterday, |
| 1:01.6 | wearing Batman costumes in honor of the slain Bibas boys, Kfir and Ariel. |
| 1:07.4 | And last night, thousands came to Tel Aviv's hostage square for the Purim Eve reading of the |
| 1:13.2 | Book of Esther. |
| 1:14.8 | The gathering included Israelis from different communities, sectors, and denominations, |
| 1:19.9 | and included a call for the release of the 59 remaining hostages in one go. |
| 1:26.7 | But that really doesn't appear to be the proposal on the table |
| 1:30.3 | currently. And what we're hearing from Doha seems to be a revision to the previously suggested |
| 1:37.6 | Whitkoff proposal, which was, to remind our listeners, 10 living hostages for 60 days of ceasefire. And now we're hearing about a new |
| 1:47.3 | outline to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip by several weeks in exchange for Hamas releasing |
| 1:53.7 | five living and 10 dead hostages. But Jacob, before we get into the real nitty-gritty |
| 2:00.7 | of the proposal, what is the |
| 2:03.2 | current status of the talks? Are they ongoing in Doha? They are ongoing. There's still an Israeli |
| 2:09.9 | delegation there. There's a Hamas delegation there. But the Steve Whitkoff, the U.S. |
... |
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