Day 549 - With PM in DC, Hamas official tells ToI it is ready to end war

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.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at 1 p.m. local time at the White House. The two leaders are expected to discuss the new tariffs Trump imposed on Israel, efforts to roll back Iran and its proxy network and hostage talks with Hamas. Taking each point in turn, Magid fill us in on what to look out for from this spontaneous trip and what Netanyahu hopes to accomplish.

Hamas is prepared to release all of the remaining hostages at once in exchange for a permanent ceasefire, a senior Palestinian official familiar with the ongoing truce talks told Magid last week. Magid was approached by a Hamas figure who resides outside of Gaza, who wants Israelis to know that amid Israel’s longstanding rejection of this type of trade, Hamas is still prepared to release a number of hostages as part of a renewed temporary ceasefire. We hear more.

The Hebrew name of a spotted orange butterfly has been changed to honor murdered hostage Ariel Bibas by the Academy of the Hebrew Language, the Bibas family announced Friday. The academy last week officially informed the family, and on Thursday hand-delivered a letter addressed to Bibas’s father, Yarden — who was also taken hostage but released in February under a ceasefire deal — of the final decision to rename Melitaea ornata (eastern knapweed fritillary). Using one of the biblical names of Jerusalem, Ariel, the name of the butterfly was replaced in Hebrew from Kitmit Yerushalayim (Orange Jerusalem) to Kitmit Ariel (Orange Ariel) in honor of the four-year-old. Borschel-Dan explains the back story behind this change.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Netanyahu lands in Washington for hastily arranged talks on Trump’s tariffs, Gaza war

Netanyahu to meet Trump in DC on Monday, will discuss tariffs, hostages, Iran, Turkey, ICC

Dermer and Witkoff to join Netanyahu-Trump meetings in Washington

Hamas ready to free all hostages at once for end to war — Palestinian official

Butterfly renamed in honor of murdered hostage Ariel Bibas

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IMAGE: Illustrative: A Palestinian man stands on debris in a heavily damaged building following an overnight Israeli airstrike on Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 7, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)

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