Day 544 - Ex-hostages speak their minds about IDF in Gaza
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.4 • 864 Ratings
🗓️ 2 April 2025
⏱️ 18 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 for today's episode.
Released hostage Amit Soussana is honored by the US State Department as a Woman of Courage and is the only one of eight women honored to speak at the event. Magid notes that she uses the platform to speak about the remaining hostages and the need to return to negotiations, something echoed by former hostage Yarden Bibas and his focus on US President Donald Trump in his CBS interview with "60 Minutes." Magid speaks about the freed hostages who feel comfortable making their opinions clear, and their concerns about the intensification of military pressure and the current impasse in hostage negotiations.
The spontaneous, sporadic protests in Gaza against Hamas are the first in years, according to Magid, as people take a huge risk calling for an end to war in Gaza. A 22-year-old protester was tortured and killed, says Magid, who follows several Palestinian activists on social media who are planning more protests in the coming days. Magid notes that it would be best if Israel did not comment on them, leaving the movement as real, genuine protests against Hamas that could help impact the terror group as it approaches the ongoing hostage talks.
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For further reading:
Ex-hostage Amit Soussana receives US’s International Woman of Courage Award
Yarden Bibas to 60 Minutes: Only Trump can convince Netanyahu, Hamas to renew ceasefire-hostage deal
Gazan man murdered by Hamas after joining protests against terror group, family says
Gazan clan executes alleged Hamas operative who killed one of their relatives
IMAGE: Former hostage Amit Soussana, left, holds her hands over her heart while being applauded after speaking during the International Women of Courage awards ceremony, next to Henriette Da, of Burkina Faso, Georgiana Pascu, of Romania, Major Velena Iga, of Papua New Guinea, and first lady Melania Trump, at the award ceremony, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at the State Department in Washington. S (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, welcome to the Trans of Israel's Daily briefing. It's Wednesday, April 2nd, and I'm Jessica Steinberg. |
| 0:09.1 | I'm speaking today with U.S. Bureau Chief Jacob Magid. Hi, Jacob. How you doing? |
| 0:13.8 | Hey, Jessica. Good to be with you. Good to have you here. It is day 544 of the war. |
| 0:19.6 | Israeli forces are said to have launched a ground offensive in southern Gaza's |
| 0:23.9 | Rafa, with Defense Minister Israel-Kats calling on Gazans to act now to overthrow Hamas and return |
| 0:30.9 | all the hostages. Meanwhile, the U.S. Pentagon announces the deployment of a second U.S. aircraft |
| 0:36.7 | carrier to the Middle East. |
| 0:39.3 | The ongoing matter of Qatar Gate, so-called Qatar Gate, the probe of the Prime Minister's |
| 0:45.3 | office receiving money and instructions from Qatar has continued exposing that two PMO, |
| 0:52.4 | two Prime Minister office aides, allegedly took money to spread pro-Katari messaging to reporters |
| 0:58.8 | in order to boost Qatar's image as a mediator in the hostage talks. |
| 1:03.6 | We'll talk about comments being made by released hostages in the media, in U.S. media specifically, and in public, and unrest in Gaza, specifically against |
| 1:14.0 | Hamas. Stay with us. |
| 1:19.7 | It's rare, almost unheard of, to hear a real, honest conversation between a Jewish Zionist and a |
| 1:29.8 | Palestinian from Gaza, where both are unapologetically themselves, while also listening and |
| 1:36.6 | learning from each other. But that's exactly what's happening in a special two-part series on |
| 1:42.5 | unpacking Israeli History this month. |
| 1:46.4 | Host Noam Weissman sits down with Palestinian-American writer and activist |
| 1:51.4 | Ahmed Fawad al-Katib, who was born and raised in Gaza, |
| 1:55.6 | for a candid, eye-opening conversation about the past, present, and future of the region. It's a discussion |
| 2:02.6 | that bridges different worlds and perspectives, challenging assumptions and offering insights |
| 2:07.4 | you won't hear elsewhere. Don't miss this special two-part series on Unpacking Israeli History. |
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