Day 339 - Pessimism from all sides taints hostage negotiations

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 and editor Amy Spiro join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Reports came out last night that the chances of a phased hostage-ceasefire agreement being achieved on the basis of Israel’s May proposal are “close to zero” and there is “very broad pessimism.” The US, which had indicated it was planning to present a new bridging proposal in the next two or three days, is now regarded as unlikely to do so, it added. Berman brings an update. Amid public criticism from top Israeli officials last week, Egypt’s army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Ahmed Fathy Khalifa made a surprise visit on Thursday to the country’s border with the Gaza Strip to inspect the security situation. At around the same time, the Egyptian leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made a first Egyptian presidential visit to Turkey in 12 years, where he discussed the Gaza war and ways to further repair the long-frozen ties between the regional powers during talks in Ankara. How is the growing daylight between Israel and Egypt affecting the region? Israel wrapped up its time at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on Sunday with 10 medals, including four gold, its best showing at the Games in 20 years. In this year’s games, only three of the 28 Paralympians representing Israel this year were wounded during military service. One of the sad byproducts of the war is a sharp uptick in other potential candidates. We hear about the highlights of the games and how the organization is working towards using the 2028 games as a goal for this war's wounded warriors. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Slain hostages struggled with their killers in final moments, IDF probe said to find Negotiators said to believe chance of hostage deal ‘close to zero’; US also pessimistic Erdogan seeks Islamic alliance against Israel, says its ‘expansionism’ won’t stop in Gaza Egypt’s army chief visits Gaza border after Israel says Sissi failed on smuggling Israel celebrates its best Paralympic showing in 20 years with 10-medal haul From Gaza to LA: Can Paralympics dream help wounded soldiers get back their fighting spirit? 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. Illustrative: Mossad chief David Barnea attends a farewell ceremony in his honor, at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, on July 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.