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.

It is day 209 of the war with Hamas. Editor David Horovitz and diplomacy reporter Lazar Berman join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The Hamas terror group was reportedly slated to submit on Thursday an amended proposal to the one crafted by Qatari, Egyptian and American brokers. It is a proposal that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called "generous" during his recent lightning visit to Israel yesterday. Berman updates us on reports of a deal and Horovitz discusses the optics of Blinken's support. 

During Blinken's visit, he clarified that the US still doesn't believe Israel should carry out a wide-scale Rafah operation. Israel has refused to commit to ending the war, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Blinken on Wednesday that the IDF would launch a mass invasion of Rafah to dismantle Hamas’s remaining battalions in Gaza’s southernmost city regardless of whether or not there is a hostage deal, according to an Israeli official. Horovitz weighs in.

The ongoing protests on university campuses have spread across the globe. Horovitz discusses the phenomenon.

Finally, we hear about Israel's frayed ties with Colombia. 

For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

All eyes, still, on Hamas

Hamas indicates it will snub latest hostage deal offer, but says talks to continue

Netanyahu tells Blinken he will not agree to end war on Hamas as part of hostage deal

Colombia to sever ties after months of panning Israel as ‘genocidal’

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

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IMAGE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives for a meeting with the Israeli president in Tel Aviv, on May 1, 2024. (Abir Sultan / POOL / AFP)

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