Day 513 - Israel cites a Trump game plan but Hamas won't play ball

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.


Late last night, following a four-hour security consultation with
top officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office
declared that it was endorsing what it described as a proposal by
US President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve
Witkoff, which would see the ceasefire with Hamas extended
through Passover, which ends on April 19. What is this plan and
how is it being received?


Israel is not allowing any more goods to enter Gaza, says the
Prime Minister’s Office, citing Hamas’s refusal to accept what it
says is an American proposal to extend phase one of the ceasefire
through Passover and Ramadan alongside more hostage releases.
Berman explains what else Israel is currently withholding, which
is counter to the mediated phase one deal.


Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the Israel
Defense Forces on Saturday to “prepare to defend” the
Druze-majority city of Jaramana on the outskirts of Damascus in
Syria. We hear why Israel sees itself as a defender of Druze and
other minorities -- and what type of defense this may be.


US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that he had
signed a declaration to expedite the delivery of approximately $4
billion in military assistance to Israel after the Trump
administration approved nearly $12 billion in major foreign
military sales to the Jewish state. But after seeing the “good
television” of a brush-up between Trump and Zelensky this
weekend, should Israel be wary of such promises?


Please see today's ongoing live blog for
more updates.


For further reading:


As truce enters limbo, Israel agrees to extend talks with
Hamas before resuming war


Netanyahu and Katz direct IDF to ‘prepare to defend’
Syrian Druze suburb of Damascus


US moves to expedite delivery of $4 billion in military
aid to Israel


After shouting match, Zelensky says Trump’s support for
Ukraine still ‘crucial’


Trump berates Zelensky in shocking Oval Office scene:
‘Either make a deal or we’re out’


Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple
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podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.


Illustrative: Palestinian Hamas fighters and people gather in
Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, as preparations take place
for the release of three Israeli hostages as part of the seventh
hostage-prisoner swap on February 22, 2025. (Bashar Taleb / AFP)


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