Day 542 - IDF tells Gazans to leave Rafah, Trump threatens Iran

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

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4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2025

⏱️ 27 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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

As the IDF warns Gazans to leave Rafah in southern Gaza, saying the military is returning to fight to eliminate terrorist capabilities as part of its military pressure to bring about a hostage deal, Horovitz reviews the situation in the Gaza Strip. He discusses the ongoing divide in Israeli society over how to bring the remaining hostages home, whether through military pressure or negotiations.

Horovitz also looks at the CBS "60 Minutes" interview with released hostages, including freed captive Yarden Bibas, who pointedly called for US President Donald Trump to help bring about a return to negotiations.

As Trump threatens Iran with strikes if it doesn't return to nuclear talks, Horovitz talks about the rise in rhetoric between the two nations.

Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the hardest-hit collectives on October 7 is working to remember its dead and find solutions for its future, and Surkes discusses a book written by one of its residents about the challenges facing the kibbutz that had been privatized years before the Hamas terror attack. She also describes a recently installed memorial for those killed on the kibbutz on October 7.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

IDF tells Gazans to flee entire Rafah area in largest evacuation since fighting resumed

Yarden Bibas to 60 Minutes: Only Trump can convince Netanyahu, Hamas to renew ceasefire-hostage deal

Trump threatens ‘there will be bombing’ if Iran fails to make deal on nukes

‘A murder in every corner’: 60-year resident writes book on Kfar Aza challenges post-Oct. 7

Kfar Aza Oct. 7 memorial forms unforeseen stop on trail envisioned by murdered Ofir Libstein

IMAGE: Palestinians attend Eid prayers in Khan Yuni in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 30, 2025. (Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel's Daily Briefing. It is Monday, March 31st, and I'm Jessica Steinberg. I'm speaking today with Times of Visual founding editor David Horowitz and Environmental Reporters Sue Sirks reporting on the Gaza envelope. Today, we'll talk about more of that later. Hi to both of you.
0:21.1	Hey, Jessica. Good morning. Hi there. It is day 542 of the war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
0:28.8	has decided to appoint former Navy commander Eli Sharvite as the next head of the shinbet,
0:34.4	a choice that opposition leaders have approved of so far, making comments on
0:40.6	social media and radio. Meanwhile, the IDF has issued an evacuation warning for Palestinians in the
0:47.5	southern Gaza Strip, saying the military is returning to fight with great force in order to
0:52.7	eliminate terrorist capabilities.
0:55.2	And that followed the prime minister's statement on Sunday that ministers had voted overnight
1:00.4	to increase military pressure on Hamas, asserting that the methods were, quote, unquote,
1:05.9	working to bring about a deal to free hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
1:10.6	We'll discuss that decision, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to bomb Iran
1:16.6	if it fails to come to talks about its nuclear program.
1:20.6	We will also hear from Sue with updates about what is happening with Kipwaskar-Aza,
1:27.0	one of the communities in the Gaza envelope.
1:29.7	Stay with us.
1:36.7	It's rare, almost unheard of, to hear a real, honest conversation between a Jewish Zionist and a Palestinian from Gaza, where
1:46.7	both are unapologetically themselves, while also listening and learning from each other.
1:53.0	But that's exactly what's happening in a special two-part series on unpacking Israeli history
1:59.3	this month.
2:01.3	Host Noam Weissman sits down with Palestinian-American writer and activist Ahmed Fawad al-Katib,
2:08.3	who was born and raised in Gaza, for a candid, eye-opening conversation about the past,
2:14.3	present, and future of the region.
	...

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