Day 681 - Can mass strike for hostages restart release talks?

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

News

4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2025

⏱️ 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.

Political reporter Tal Schneider joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

A nationwide call for a general strike got underway on Sunday morning, as families of the hostages protested the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza with a campaign to conquer Gaza City. The strike was organized by the October Council, which represents some of the family members of the hostages or bereaved relatives of those killed in the fighting that erupted with the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Schneider describes why many Israelis feel the need for a day of large public actions against the war, and we hear from reporter Ariela Karmel, who is in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square.

The Times of Israel’s US bureau chief Jacob Magid learned on Friday that Hamas negotiators in Cairo this week signaled a willingness to come down from the demands they made last month that led to the collapse of hostage talks in Doha. Jerusalem responded that it is not interested in another partial ceasefire and is only willing to forgo plans to take over Gaza City if Hamas agrees to all of its demands for ending the war, the Israeli official said. Schneider fills us in on the current status of talks.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Saturday that her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu has become a “problem,” adding she would try to put pressure on Israel over the Gaza war as her country currently holds the European Union presidency. The Israeli government is going “too far,” she added, also condemning the new settlement plan to build over 3,000 housing units in the E1 area of the West Bank, which Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Wednesday. We discuss the E1 plan and the efficacy of sanctions on Netanyahu.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Israeli Navy missile boats strike Houthi power plant near Yemen capital

Large protests held across Israel as national strike for hostages gets underway

‘Strengthening Hamas’: Coalition lawmakers slam protesters taking part in strike for hostages

Hamas negotiators signal willingness to ease demands that collapsed talks — officials

Netanyahu has become a ‘problem,’ says Danish PM, wants EU to weigh sanctions

World largely decries new settlement plan, warns it will scuttle 2-state solution

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

IMAGE: Demonstrators block a road during a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas and calling for the Israeli government to reverse its decision to take over Gaza City and other areas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing.
0:09.1	Today is Sunday, August 17th, day 681 of the war.
0:14.7	Amanda Borschell Dan here with our political reporter, Tal Schneider.
0:17.9	Thanks for joining me today, Tal.
0:19.4	Hi, Amanda.
0:20.3	Large protests are taking place across the
0:22.6	country as well as a general strike in several sectors of the workforce, all calling for a return
0:28.6	of the Israeli hostages now. Tal and I will discuss what we're seeing so far today across the
0:35.0	country, and we have a short report from reporter Ariel Carmel from Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
0:41.3	Tal will update us on what is happening with hostage-released negotiations ahead of the new IDF operation to take over Gaza City.
0:50.3	We'll also speak about calls from the Danish Prime Minister to sanction Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and why.
0:58.4	All of this and more when we're back.
1:05.8	Is settler violence exaggerated or dangerously under addressed?
1:10.9	And how do we talk about these issues honestly without handing ammunition to Israel's fiercest critics?
1:16.8	In one of the most candid episodes of unpacking Israeli history to date,
1:21.7	host Noam Weissman sits down with Chaviv Reti Gore to unpack the history of the settler
1:27.0	movement, the rise of the
1:28.3	hilltop youth, and the tough moral questions that can't be ignored.
1:32.3	This conversation is not easy.
1:34.3	It's not soundbites.
1:36.3	It's history.
1:37.3	Layered, human, and real.
	...

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