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 Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing.
Following US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday, in the presence of several recently released Hamas hostages, Magid discusses that Trump did not mention any of the former Israeli hostages by name, although some were in the audience.
Magid speaks about his interview with a senior Qatari official who emphasized the need to stick to the current hostage deal and that any new ideas won't work, noting that Hamas won't accept releasing hostages en masse as suggested by the US, unless there's an end to the war.
He reviews the much-anticipated summit of Arab states, which gathered to discuss alternatives to reconstructing Gaza, not aligning with Trump's plan of relocating Gazans. The current plan, led by Egypt, will have technocrats ruling Gaza for an interim period and dividing the area into zones before handing it over to the Palestinian Authority.
Magid also discusses the positioning of the Palestinian Authority on the Gaza plans and the frustration of Arab countries with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, as they try to get him to be more flexible, or at least not be an obstacle to the planning in Gaza.
Finally, Magid briefly looks at prisoner payment reform after an interview with a senior Palestinian Authority official, who spoke of a threat to cut ties with the Trump administration if the US president advances with his plan to take over Gaza.
Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
‘We are bringing back our hostages from Gaza,’ Trump says in address to Congress
As Israel, US align on new hostage proposal, Qatar urges sticking to existing framework
Aiming to stymie Trump’s ‘Riviera’ vision, Arab leaders endorse $53 billion Gaza plan
Seeking funds abroad, Abbas ally touts prisoner payment reform that’s ‘unpopular’ at home
Feeling heat from Trump to ‘solve’ Gaza, Arab states losing patience with PA’s Abbas
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IMAGE: A tent camp for displaced Palestinians is set up amid destroyed buildings in the west of Al-Shati camp, west of Gaza City, on Monday, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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