Day 273 -- With hostage deal back on table, PM talks to Biden

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 episode.

Magid discusses the late Thursday phone call between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what is being discussed regarding certain clauses in the hostage deal and possible ceasefire under discussion between Israel, Hamas and their mediators, with movement from a first ceasefire into another over the course of at least six weeks.

He talks about the currently hardline Israeli government and cabinet and how Netanyahu's coalition partners will demand more in response to the hostage deal and the prime minister may be hampering the negotiations because he has to pay more attention to his hardline base.

Magid also looks at the discussions about the 'day after' in Gaza, and the fact that Netanyahu is quietly considering allowing lower-level Palestinian Authority employees, vetted by the Shin Bet and PA intelligence agencies as a civil administration for the Gaza Strip, the solution that the Biden administration has been hoping for throughout the last months.

Finally, Magid talks about Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who finally released three months of funding to the Palestinian Authority that he has been withholding while demanding more settlements or outposts legalized and more steps against the Palestinian Authority, which he has said he would like to collapse.

For more updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Israel sends delegation to renewed hostage-truce talks in Doha on Hamas proposal

Israel says it’s studying latest Hamas response to Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal

Netanyahu privately showing openness to PA involvement in postwar Gaza — officials

US nods at Smotrich’s steps to ease PA financial crisis, but calls them insufficient

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel

THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Demonstrators call for the release of Hamas hostages outside Tel Aviv's Defense Ministry compound on July 4, 2024. (Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

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