Daily Briefing Feb. 19: Day 502 – Hamas fights for survival with ‘grand gestures’

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 Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s episode.

In a surprise move, Hamas will release six living hostages on Saturday, including Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held by the terror group since entering the Strip on their own in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The other four — Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Omer Wenkert, and Eliya Cohen — were abducted during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel. Why are six being released versus the agreed-upon three, and why is Hamas reportedly offering a much more generous phase 2 deal?

Former White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk last week penned his first op-ed since leaving government, taking the opportunity to defend the Biden administration’s handling of the hostage negotiations and insisting that Hamas was consistently the obstacle to an agreement. We hear Magid’s thoughts on McGurk’s statements, as well as their timing.

Israel’s envoy to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, has accused Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of violating the US-brokered peace deal between Jerusalem and Cairo, profiting from the desperation of Palestinians seeking to flee the Gaza Strip and duplicitously operating to benefit Hamas. This comes as Egypt is working with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to formulate a day-after plan for Gaza. Magid weighs in.

This conversation can also be viewed here:

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

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.

For further reading:

These are the six living hostages set to be released Saturday

6 hostages to be freed Sat.; Hamas says bodies of Bibas mom, kids set for Thurs. return

News of Bibas family’s tragic fate met with confusion, mourning and rage

Biden’s Mideast czar says Trump ‘right to stand firmly by Israel’ on hostage deal

Arab plan for Gaza could involve up to $20 billion regional contribution

Israel’s US envoy: Egypt’s Sissi is breaking peace deal, ‘playing both sides’ with Hamas

Check out yesterday’s Daily Briefing episode here: