Day 730 - Cautious optimism for Trump peace plan ahead of Cairo talks
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 5 October 2025
⏱️ 19 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 episode.
Intensive negotiations to potentially finalize the Trump peace plan are set for Monday in Egypt. Israel and Hamas are sending teams and US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to join with Arab mediators in what may be a final attempt to broker the agreement to release all Israeli hostages and end the almost two-year war in the Gaza Strip.
To begin the program, Magid fills us in on some of Hamas’s amendments to the 20-point deal. In its response to US President Donald Trump, the terror group overtly said it expects to be part of a "comprehensive Palestinian national framework" that discusses the future of the Gaza Strip, and will contribute to it with full responsibility." What does that mean for Israel's insistence that Hamas has no role in Gaza?
On Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a cautiously optimistic statement that he hopes to see the hostages back home, “even during the Sukkot holiday,” which begins this week. The Israel Defense Forces was ordered to halt its offensive to capture Gaza City on Saturday after Trump said his Gaza truce plan was accepted by Hamas and called on Israel to stop bombing the Strip. We hear more about Netanyahu's statement and learn about a Friday phone call between the prime minister and the US president.
In another sign of public support for the peace plan, Chief Sephardic Rabbi David Yosef, at the start of a weekly homily delivered after the end of Shabbat, said Israelis “must pray that leaders make the right decisions.” Magid describes the careful steps that politicians such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir -- who oppose stopping the war -- are taking as they navigate the push-pull of public support and elections on the horizon.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
PM: Hopeful all hostages will be freed in days; Trump: I told Bibi, this is your victory
Full text: Hamas’s response to Trump plan for ending Gaza war, returning hostages
IDF strikes in Gaza City ‘significantly subside,’ but dozens said killed in past day
Ben Gvir threatens to bolt government if Hamas ‘continues to exist’ after hostages freed
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.
IMAGE: IDF forces operate in the Gaza Strip in this October 3, 2025, handout photo. (IDF)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing. |
| 0:09.5 | Today is Sunday, October 5th, Amanda Barshall Dan here with our U.S. Bureau Chief, Jacob |
| 0:14.2 | Magid. |
| 0:15.3 | Thanks so much for joining me again. |
| 0:17.3 | Jacob, to launch the week here in Israel. |
| 0:19.8 | And what a week it's looking to be? Good to be with |
| 0:22.1 | here, Amanda. Indeed. And intensive negotiations to potentially finalize the Trump peace plan |
| 0:27.7 | are set for Monday in Egypt, and Israel and Hamas are sending teams, and U.S. Special Envoy, |
| 0:33.8 | Steve Whitkoff, and Jared Kushner are set to join with Arab mediators in a potentially |
| 0:39.0 | final attempt to broker the agreement to release all Israeli hostages and end the almost two-year |
| 0:46.0 | war in the Gaza Strip. |
| 0:48.3 | So Jacob will fill us in with some of Hamas's amendments to the 20-point deal as Prime Minister |
| 0:53.6 | Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a |
| 0:55.9 | cautiously optimistic statement that he hopes to see the hostages back home even during the |
| 1:02.9 | approaching Sukkot holiday. So with all eyes on Monday's meetup, we'll discuss all of this and more |
| 1:09.6 | when we're back. |
| 1:15.6 | Here's a story you may not know. |
| 1:18.6 | In the early 1900s, tens of thousands of children were going blind in pre-state Israel. |
| 1:24.6 | An American, Henrietta Zold, organized a group of women to send nurses to Jerusalem |
| 1:29.9 | to address the epidemic. Ultimately, they helped eradicate the disease. Today, what started in 1912 |
| 1:37.4 | has grown into world-renowned medical centers in Israel, treating more than a million people a year. |
| 1:43.6 | And since the Holocaust, hundreds of thousands of vulnerable youth have been cared for at |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
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.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.