Israel casts doubt on whether it will accept a new ceasefire proposal
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.2K Ratings
🗓️ 19 August 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Israel is demanding the release of all 50 hostages held in Gaza, an Israeli official has said, casting doubt on whether it will accept a new proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that Hamas agreed to on Monday. Also: President Trump has ruled out sending American troops to Ukraine as part of any peacekeeping deal; Mumbai is under a red flood alert as the Indian city experiences heavy downpours; 10 years after 71 people were found in an abandoned lorry in Austria, we hear from the families of the victims; child marriages are more likely to happen in regions with higher than average climate risk according to new figures; India tells China of its concerns about a new mega dam; mixed doubles tennis has a new format at the US Open; thousands of people in France sign a petition not to loan the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:05.3 | I'm Julia McFarlane and in the early hours of Wednesday, 20th of August, these are our main stories. |
| 0:11.6 | Israel casts doubt on whether it will accept a new ceasefire proposal. |
| 0:16.2 | Trump rules out US boots on the ground in Ukraine but says Putin will face a rough situation if he |
| 0:22.9 | doesn't cooperate. Also in this podcast, 10 years after 71 people died in an unventilated truck |
| 0:32.3 | abandoned in Austria, we hear from their families. |
| 0:37.7 | Imagining, like, putting a lot of people in one truck and no air, it's just like a disaster. |
| 0:44.1 | All of that was because of money. |
| 0:50.9 | Over the past few days, we've focused on peace efforts in Ukraine. |
| 0:55.4 | But behind closed doors, there have also been strenuous negotiations |
| 0:59.0 | towards ending the fighting in Gaza. |
| 1:01.9 | On Monday, Hamas told the BBC it had accepted a proposal by Arab mediators |
| 1:06.9 | involving a 60-day truce and the release of half of the hostages. |
| 1:11.7 | On Tuesday, an official in Prime Minister Netanyahu's office has told the BBC they would |
| 1:16.6 | only agree to a ceasefire if all 50 remaining hostages, dead and alive, are released. |
| 1:22.8 | The latest proposals were part of a last-ditch effort by Qatar and Egypt to secure a ceasefire and a hostage release agreement |
| 1:30.2 | to potentially avoid a major Israeli offensive to fully occupy Gaza. |
| 1:35.7 | David Menser is spokesman for the Israeli government. |
| 1:38.3 | The Prime Minister has laid out a plan for the future of Gaza, |
| 1:43.6 | and that means our ambitions are no more, no more |
| 1:47.9 | partial plans, no more dancing to the Hamas tune. We want all of our hostages back. We're not |
| 1:55.2 | interested in partial deals. Our principle now is extremely clear. All the hostages must be released immediately. |
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