Day 522 - Gaza talks proceed as Israel smarts from US-Hamas meetups

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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing.

Yesterday, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said that deadlines were needed on a deal for the next phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and that “all things are on the table” if the terror group agrees to demilitarize and leaving the Gaza Strip. We discuss who is in Doha right now and the so-called Witkoff outline, a framework would see Hamas release 10 living hostages, including American-Israeli Edan Alexander, in exchange for a further 60 days of ceasefire.

Israel received more clarity over US President Donald Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler’s direct dealings with Hamas officials on the release of hostages in Gaza when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they were a “one-off situation” that as of now “hasn’t borne fruit.” We delve into what Boehler has said about the talks in many media interviews and discuss what we know about the hostage envoy.

Berman recently published an analysis asking: If Trump could turn on Ukraine, not to mention close American allies like Canada, Colombia, and Jordan, then who says he won’t do the same to Israel? Berman weighs in.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

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