Day 607 - Iran balks, Spain reneges, Gaza aid closes for day

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 correspondent Lazar Berman and reporter Ariela Karmel join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

As hostage family members met with members of the Trump administration in the White House on Tuesday, Berman discusses the latest developments in the hostage negotiations, as Hamas continues to leverage the remaining living hostages for political gain while negotiators say Hamas must accept US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff's latest proposal.

He also looks at Iran's rejection of the nuclear deal proposal, after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the US proposal for a nuclear agreement went against the country’s national interest of continuing to enrich uranium. Berman notes that Iran wants a deal of some kind, particularly one that will protect them against future Israeli attacks, and is continuing to negotiate, with another round slated for this weekend.

Berman describes one of the aid sites in Gaza that was created by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and the complications of funneling Gazans into the space to receive their aid packages. He notes that the aid centers are closed today to fine-tune the process and prepare safe access routes after the IDF opened fire toward Palestinians who had approached troops after straying off a pre-approved path for reaching a Rafah distribution site.

Berman also looks at Spain and its decision to cancel another arms deal with Israel, spiking a $325 million system that would have been developed in Spain by Pap Tecnos, a subsidiary of Israel’s Rafael Advance Defense Systems. Berman discusses that Spain is a long-time critic of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and that it may be following other European countries with this step.

Karmel speaks about ongoing government settlement policies that incentivize Israelis to move to the West Bank due to rising housing costs inside Israel, and how that situation has been concretized by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government.

She also relates the launch of a book by released hostage Eli Sharabi, the first book by a former hostage, and his determination to keep living despite the personal tragedies he has experienced.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Senior Israeli official: Hamas ‘must understand it has to accept the Witkoff outline’

Key US consulting firm withdraws from American- and Israeli-backed Gaza aid agency

Israel punches back at UN chief for demanding probe into Gaza aid site shooting

Trump insists no enrichment in Iran deal after US said to offer limited nuke activity

Spain reneges on $325m purchase of anti-tank missiles from Israel’s Rafael

Is the government using the housing crisis to drive the settlement movement?

A book to wake up the world: Ex-hostage Eli Sharabi launches memoir of captivity and survival

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 and video edited by Thomas Girsch.

IMAGE: The Al-Ansar Mosque in Gaza's Deir al-Balah after Israeli airstrikes, June 3, 2025. (Photo by Ali Hassan/Flash90)

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