The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel acknowledged during a press briefing on Tuesday that Israel implemented some — but not all — of the steps demanded by the US in an October 13 letter giving Jerusalem a month to act or risk being deemed out of compliance with US law, which bars offensive weapons from being transferred to countries that block aid from reaching civilians. We hear what Israel did accomplish and why the US may have overlooked some shortcomings.

In a flurry of announcements, President-elect Donald Trump said he had chosen former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel, and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align US foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. We hear what Rettig Gur sees taking shape in terms of Trump's predicted approach to Israel.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich paid a visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the Israeli communities hit the worst in Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023, and met families of local hostages as well as former captives. It is Smotrich’s first visit to Nir Oz, more than 13 months after Palestinian terrorists rampaged there, killing or kidnapping 117 out of its 400 residents. There are still 29 hostages from Nir Oz held captive in Gaza. Why now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

US says it won’t withhold weapons to Israel, as deadline to address aid crisis passes

Trump taps Fox News host who said US must ‘stand by strong ally’ Israel to head Pentagon

US slams Smotrich’s vow to annex parts of West Bank following Trump’s win

In first, Smotrich visits Oct. 7-ravaged Nir Oz, says he feels ‘responsibility, guilt’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A handout picture released by the official Jordanian news agency Petra shows an airdrop of humanitarian and relief aid to the southern Gaza Strip carried out by members of the Jordanian army on November 12, 2024. (PETRA News Agency / AFP)

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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 Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Magid looks at why it was announced following the US election that Qatar is leaving its negotiating role in the Israel-Hamas hostage talks, the back-and-forth of its decision-making process and whether the US or Qatar were making this decision.

Magid discusses the positive report from a phone call between President-elect Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and the help Trump has received from his daughter's father-in-law, Lebanese billionaire, Massad Boulos, with regard to Arab voters in the US.

Magid looks at recent messaging from Trump aides warning giddy right-wing Israeli ministers that their hopes to annex West Bank settlements during a Trump administration would only be under the right conditions and may never happen.

Magid reviews some of the names bandied about for Trump's cabinet, the battle between the more isolationist members and neo-Conservatives, the ousting of former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who both served during the previous Trump administration.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Diplomat says Qatar quitting Gaza mediation role, Hamas to be booted from country

At US behest, Qatar has ordered Hamas to leave Doha — Biden officials

PA says Trump, in phone call with Abbas, vowed he ‘will work to stop the war’

Ex-Trump aides warn Israeli ministers not to assume he’ll back annexation in 2nd term

IMAGE: An IDF soldier passes by a sign that displays a photo of US President-elect Donald Trump that reads "Congratulations! Trump, make Israel great!" two days after the US election, in Jerusalem, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

President-elect Donald Trump has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants the war in Lebanon to end before his inauguration and has also signaled to the Biden administration that it needs to step up efforts to shut down the Gaza front. How could ceasefire negotiations be affected now that Qatar has stepped away from the negotiator role?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump see “eye-to-eye” on the Iranian threat, the premier said in a video statement on Sunday, also revealing that he and Trump had spoken three times since the latter’s American presidential election triumph last week. Berman weighs in.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer secretly visited Russia last week, Army Radio reported Sunday, in what appeared to be part of Israel’s efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon where it is battling the terror group Hezbollah. Why Russia?

Dutch police arrested dozens of anti-Israel demonstrators on Sunday, after they defied a temporary ban on protests, imposed after mass violence against Israeli tourists following a Thursday night soccer game in Amsterdam. On Thursday, Israeli officials said 10 people were injured in the overnight violence by local Arab and Muslim gangs against Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans. Hundreds more Israelis huddled in their hotels for hours, fearing they could be attacked. Berman describes what he sees is Israel's responsibility in such situations.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Diplomat says Qatar quitting Gaza mediation role, Hamas to be booted from country

Trump looms over Saudi-hosted meeting of Arab, Muslim leaders on Mideast war

Netanyahu says he and Trump see ‘eye to eye’ on Iran after holding 3 calls within days

Top Netanyahu confidant visited Russia last week amid Lebanon ceasefire efforts — report

Dutch police arrest dozens who defy protest ban after antisemitic riots in Amsterdam

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon in this picture released for publication on November 11, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

As the war continues on the ground in Gaza and in Lebanon, we learn how the IDF is overtly taking credit for strikes inside Syria -- and why.

US president-elect Donald Trump has informed the Biden administration that he expects to see progress in the efforts to obtain a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and his advisors claim he would like the Gaza war wrapped up by the time he takes office in January. Fabian weighs in on whether the IDF is in a position to pull back right now -- without Hamas or Hezbollah simply filling the vacuum.

New Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday, who conveyed a “sharp” message to his new Israeli counterpart during their first phone conversation, to the effect that Israel risks jeopardizing the ongoing provision of US weaponry for the Gaza war if it does not credibly show that it has improved the supply and distribution of aid to Gazan noncombatants. We hear about new IDF efforts to introduce more aid into the Strip and discuss Katz's challenges in taking on his new role.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets at Israel as IDF pounds Lebanon, Syria targets

US warplanes hit Houthis’ advanced weapons storage facilities in Yemen strikes

Israel rejects ‘biased’ warning of famine in Gaza, says aid trucks enter war-torn towns

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: People inspect a bridge allegedly damaged in an Israeli strike near the Syrian village of Tall al-Nabi Mando, in the countryside of Qusayr on October 28, 2024. (Louai Beshara / AFP)

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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.

Today, we bring you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World.

This week, we hand the mic over to Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and an author, thinker and writer for The Times of Israel and many other outlets.

Recently, Klein Halevi shared with us his longtime interest in interviewing Rabbi Irving Yitz Greenberg, whom he called one of this generation's most important Jewish theologians.

Greenberg has been a central figure in the creation of a post-Holocaust Jewish identity and in establishing Holocaust commemoration projects like the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. He is a leader in inter-denominational Jewish pluralism and in Jewish-Christian interfaith dialogue.

Now, at age 91, Greenberg has published his magnum opus, “The Triumph of Life,” which, according to Klein Halevi, offers a brilliant and original argument for a new understanding of Judaism.

So this week, we ask both Yossi Klein Halevi and Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, what matters now.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Left to right: Author Yossi Klein Halevi. (Shalom Hartman Institute); Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg. (Courtesy)

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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.

Political correspondent Sam Sokol and reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Sokol discusses this week's surprise dismissal of former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, it's effect on the Likud party and the government coalition as well as the prime minister's continued efforts to appease his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, regarding the draft evasion bill.

Surkes talks about her visit down south to several Gaza border communities that are trying to rebuild their homes and structures and replace equipment but are hampered by the holdup in compensation funds from the government.

Sokol looks at a series of government bills aimed at fighting terror, including deporting terrorists' relatives, cutting welfare benefits for convicted terrorists and firing teachers who identify with terror.

Surkes talks about climate confab COP29 beginning next week with the Israeli delegation attending under heightened security efforts.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Likud clamps down on dissent over Haredi draft bills after Gallant pushed out

In new coalition deal with Likud, Sa’ar relinquishes right to oppose Haredi draft bills

MKs push bill to create new intelligence oversight body under Netanyahu

Despite constitutional concerns, Knesset passes law on deporting terrorists’ relatives

Lawmakers advance bills cutting welfare benefits for convicted terrorists

Knesset passes law allowing government to fire teachers it asserts identify with terror

Buzzed but never drunk: Research shows Oriental hornets defy alcohol’s effects

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A plenum session on the appointment of Israel Katz as Defense Minister and Gideon Sa'ar as Foreign Minister at the assembly hall of the Knesset  on November 8, 2024. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s episode.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election on Tuesday, two settler leaders called for Israel to annex the West Bank, describing the development as a new opportunity to expand Israeli sovereignty to the disputed territory. The demand was also backed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. We discuss Israeli perceptions of a new Trump term in comparison to his actions during his previous presidency.

In light of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s ouster on Tuesday evening, Horovitz discusses the new constellation of Israel Katz as defense minister and Gideon Sa’ar as foreign minister and what this means for the increasingly strong push to conscript Haredi men.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Two very different comebacks

79% of US Jews voted for Harris, according to largest preliminary exit poll

GOP spokesperson says Trump wants Israel’s wars to end soon, with decisive victory

Two settlement leaders, Ben Gvir call to annex West Bank after Trump victory

In new coalition deal with Likud, Sa’ar relinquishes right to oppose Haredi draft bills

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A billboard that displays a photo of US President-elect Donald Trump and reads 'Congratulations! Trump, make Israel great' is projected a day after the US election, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

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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 and political correspondent Tal Schneider join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Schneider discusses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unexpected Tuesday evening dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during the US elections. She examines the presumed political reasons for the dismissal, given Gallant's support for an ultra-Orthodox draft, the issue that has shaken the current government coalition.

Magid looks at the US administration's reactions to the dismissal, which came as a surprise. The initial US reaction was measured, while Magid's follow-up interview with a US official conveyed the administration's dismay and the belief that the prime minister is looking out for his own political survival.

Schneider talks about her conversations with Jewish voters in Philadelphia prior to Election Day, most of them Democrats, while Magid reports from Dearborn, Michigan, where many Arab voters appeared to be voting for Trump because of their disappointment with US President Joe Biden regarding the war in Gaza.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu fires Gallant, says disagreements, lack of mutual trust helped the enemy

Gallant, after he’s fired, warns Israel is abandoning captives, risks ‘mark of Cain’

US caught off guard, ‘concerned’ by defense minister’s ouster on Election Day

Jewish regent at U of Michigan says Trump not the answer to anti-Israel campus unrest

IMAGE: 'Gallant Night 2' (referring to the intense demonstrations when Gallant was first fired in March 2023) protests at Tel Aviv's Begin Gate on November 5, 2024 (Credit: Roni Shapiro)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Today is election day in the United States and yesterday, the Israel Democracy Institute released a poll of some 750 Israelis — Jews and Arabs — and asked, “In terms of Israel’s interests, which of the two candidates for the US presidency would be better?” Horovitz weighs in on the response and some of the factors that went into the responses.

The IDF will be sending out another 7,000 draft orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox community next week and as of this morning, we are hearing that the coalition may have lost the votes it needs to pass the controversial so-called Daycare Law being pushed by the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party to preserve subsidies for Haredi draft-evaders. We hear which politicians are dissenting and what this symbolizes.

Investigators suspect that the theft of classified intelligence documents from Israel Defense Forces databases and the transfer of those files to people in the Prime Minister’s Office was “systematic,” and the publication of one such document in foreign media is a source of “ongoing” danger to the lives of both soldiers and hostages in Gaza. Horovitz updates us on new details of the continuing investigation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly ordered that a “solution” be found for Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s “adversarial” relationship with his government, as ministers railed against her office and called for her ouster Monday. We learn how this comment was somewhat pulled back by the prime minister and why.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Poll: Some 65% of Israelis believe Trump victory would be best for Israel

Senior Likud MK says he won’t back daycare subsidies bill for Haredi draft-evaders

Theft of sensitive IDF intel, transfer to ‘people at PMO’ was ‘systematic’ – report

Netanyahu demands ‘solution’ to ‘adversarial’ AG as ministers call for her ouster

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Illustrative: A Haredi man looks at Israeli soldiers gathered at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, March 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

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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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

This morning, the Foreign Ministry officially informed the United Nations that Israel is withdrawing from the 1967 agreement recognizing the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA after the Knesset passed legislation to severely limit the operations of the agency in Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. We hear about practical implications.

A round of talks between Hamas and Fatah officials in Cairo ended with an agreement to establish a technocratic committee composed of independent Palestinian figures to manage the Gaza Strip, according to an unnamed Hamas source quoted by the Qatari-owned paper Al-Araby al-Jadeed. Berman weighs in on the chances of this agreement coming to fruition.

Eli Feldstein, a spokesperson working with the Prime Minister’s Office, is accused of divulging top-secret information with national security implications to European media outlets, according to a ruling published Sunday evening by Rishon Lezion Magistrate Court head Menahem Mizrahi. The names of three other suspects remain gagged by the court, but it confirmed that they were connected to the defense establishment. Berman examines what we know about the case and how serious the charges are.

Touring the northern border on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that whether via a negotiated settlement or military force, Israel will achieve the conditions it needs to restore security to the area and keep the Hezbollah terror group at bay. Relatedly, we’re hearing that Iran’s president said a potential ceasefire between Israel and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah “could affect the intensity” of Tehran’s threatened attack. Could this added pressure see a ceasefire agreement solidify?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Israel informs UN that 1967 agreement recognizing UNRWA is void

PM spokesman Eli Feldstein suspected of leaking intel that may have hurt hostage efforts

Visiting border, PM vows to restore security in north ‘with or without an agreement’

Iran said planning to use more powerful weapons in next attack on Israel

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Illustrative: Released hostages and their family members seen after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, outside the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, August 23, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Top Hamas official Izz al-Din Kassab was killed Friday in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF and Shin Bet announced. Kasab was one of the last remaining members of Hamas’s political bureau, where he served as head of national relations. Fabian weighs in on how functional Hamas is as an entity in the Gaza Strip right now.

Attack drones have emerged as one of the most potent threats to Israel’s home front since the beginning of the year. Yesterday, an Israel Air Force attack helicopter was filmed intercepting a Hezbollah drone in the Binyamina area, south of Haifa, after the drone set off sirens in area communities. Fabian speaks about how the IDF is adjusting how it takes down drones as the war progresses.

Israeli naval commandos captured a Hezbollah official in a raid in northern Lebanon late Friday, the military confirmed on Saturday night, marking an unusual operation both in its nature and location deep inside the country. We hear about the daring mission and what its goals were.

A reprisal attack from Iran is still on the horizon. We hear what preparations the IDF is taking.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Three soldiers killed in north Gaza; IDF says 900 terror operatives dead in Jabalia op

IDF says it killed one of the last remaining Hamas politburo members still in Gaza

130 rockets, 10 drones fired at Israel Saturday; helicopter downs drone south of Haifa

Israeli commandos nab top Hezbollah naval operative in north Lebanon raid

Khamenei threatens Israel and US with ‘a crushing response’ to Israel’s airstrikes

US said to warn Iran it won’t be able to restrain Israel if Tehran attacks again

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A building, left, in Batroun, northern Lebanon, November 2, 2024, where a Hezbollah ship captain was taken away by IDF commandos who landed on a coast north of Beirut. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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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.

Today, we bring you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World. This episode features host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with ToI senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.

The United States is electing its next president on November 5 and according to a poll published this week, Israelis massively favor Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris.

So ahead of next week’s results, we take a closer look at exactly how Israelis are polling, which candidate they favor — and some reasons why. We also learn how the current polling matches previous surveys of Israelis ahead of past US elections and who was actually elected in the end.

We also hear from Rettig Gur, who has been touring Jewish communities over the past week, what concerns he’s gathered about both candidates from the American Jews he’s spoken with.

And finally, we look at the recently published AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey of Americans which, among other things, drills down into the US population’s partisan divide on all things Israel and the Middle East.

So this week, we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Poll shows Israelis massively favor Trump over Harris in US election

Poll: Democrats, Republicans split on Israel’s responsibility for war’s escalation

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: This combination of pictures shows US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (L) speaking during a Get Out the Vote rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on October 30, 2024; and former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 29, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP)

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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 Magidjoins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Magid discusses the latest ceasefire negotiations and the US administration's decision to first pursue calm in Lebanon, given the signals received from Hezbollah and the hope that a ceasefire could then spread to Gaza. He also offers an update on the ceasefire and hostage negotiations regarding Gaza, and the complications resulting from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's death, which has left a gap in the terrorist group's leadership.

Magid talks about statements made by former US president Donald Trump regarding Gaza if he wins next week's election and comments made by Trump running mate JD Vance regarding US interests vis a vis Iran.

Finally, Magid discusses the deadly IDF strike in Gaza that reportedly killed more than 90 people, including 20 children, and what that could mean regarding the US 30-day deadline for Israel about aid and continued American security assistance.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Inverting its approach, US pursues calm in Lebanon that will then spread to Gaza

In warning, Qatar and Egypt tell US hostage talks complicated by killing of Sinwar

Trump told Netanyahu he wants Gaza war over by time he enters office — sources

Vance: US and Israeli interests won’t always overlap; we don’t want war with Iran

US presses Israel to explain ‘horrific’ Gaza strike in which over 20 kids said killed

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein leaves after attending a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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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 Bermanjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Yesterday, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he was striving for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group within the coming days, after a hopeful conversation with US special envoy Amos Hochstein and as reports emerged with details of a US-backed ceasefire proposal. We discuss a leaked draft of the deal and also Berman relays a sense of the Lebanese Armed Forces and their ability to control Hezbollah.

The IDF said yesterday that it is launching a new eastern regional division, a decision made following an examination of the military’s “operational needs and defense capabilities in the area, in accordance with the planning of the IDF’s force build-up." We hear what would be the new division’s purview and how ultra-Orthodox soldiers could be a strategic bolstering force.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Lebanese PM says hoping for ceasefire in coming days; US-drafted truce deal leaks

US mediators jet to Israel for talks on 60-day truce with Hezbollah

New Hezbollah chief threatens Netanyahu, but opens door for ceasefire in first speech

IDF announces formation of new division to defend Israel’s border with Jordan

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Israelis protest in Tel Aviv, calling for equal military service, March 14, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

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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.

Political correspondent Sam Sokol joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Sokol discusses the fiery start of the Knesset fall session this week, as young women dressed to resemble hostage Naama Levy and her bloodstained clothing and hands when she was taken captive on October 7, were in attendance at the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, along with many members of hostage families.

He reports on the fierce arguments in the Knesset plenum, as opposition leader Yair Lapid took Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to task, and a screaming match between several lawmakers before a vote on a bill that would allow the government to deport the family members of terrorists who are Israeli citizens. 

Sokol also reviews the Knesset vote on the UNRWA bill that would bar the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees and their descendants from operating in Israel, and a bill barring new foreign consulates in Jerusalem, also aimed at preventing consular offices that serve Palestinians.

Finally, Sokol turns to the draft law, and how one ultra-Orthodox party backed down from its threat to overthrow the budget over the IDF exemption bill.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

With blood-red hands, Gaza hostage supporters make their mark on the opening of Knesset

Following stormy debate, lawmakers advance measure to deport terrorists’ relatives

Knesset approves laws barring UNRWA from Israel, limiting it in Gaza and West Bank

Knesset passes law banning establishment of new foreign consulates in Jerusalem

Ministers back bill denying the PA a path to petition the High Court of Justice

Ultra-Orthodox party backs down from threat to tank budget over IDF exemption bill

Netanyahu says Israel’s strikes on Iran destroyed ‘industrial factories of death’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Shira Albag, mother of hostage Liri Albag, far left, with other hostage family members and supporters sit on floor of Knesset on October 28, 2024 holding signs that read, 'This is how they urinate in the tunnels,' referring to the bottles full of urine found in the Gaza tunnels (Courtesy Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

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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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Two bills overwhelmingly passed through final votes last night, which ban UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory and bar Israeli authorities from any contact with the agency. We discuss how Israel or the international community will fill the vacuum this would leave in Gaza even as condemnations pour in.

Senior Israeli officials told Ynet this morning that there is progress on an agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon. Berman explains what appears to be on the table, including enforcement of the resolution, with Hezbollah prevented from having a presence near the border.

We’re hearing various reports of varied hostage release deals. But yesterday Mossad chief David Barnea returned to Israel on Monday from a 24-hour trip to Qatar to discuss proposals for a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu projected pessimism over the restarted negotiations. Berman weighs in.

Finally, we were told yesterday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a fiery address at the opening of the Knesset winter legislative session that Israel hit key Iranian sites hard in its airstrikes on Saturday. We hear Berman's thoughts.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Knesset approves laws barring UNRWA from Israel, limiting it in Gaza and West Bank

US urges Israel to rethink anti-UNRWA laws, warning millions at risk of ‘catastrophe’

PM ‘not certain’ negotiations can progress as Mossad chief returns from Qatar talks

Netanyahu says Israel’s strikes on Iran destroyed ‘industrial factories of death’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A Palestinian woman walks past a damaged wall bearing the UNRWA logo at a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 28, 2024. (Eyad Baba / AFP)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today’s episode.

The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet today to debate Israel’s strikes on Iran. Horovitz discusses how Saturday’s strikes were received by Israel’s international supporters — and detractors.

Almost immediately following reports of Israel’s strikes on Iran, Israeli politicians began criticizing their limited nature. Horovitz weighs in on the thin tightrope Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks to appease his international and coalition partners.

Due to “security concerns,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet will not meet in the Prime Minister’s Office or IDF headquarters. We hear what may have motivated this decision and how it was received.

Yesterday, official Israel marked the Hebrew date to commemorate the Hamas onslaught on southern Israel and the massacre of 1,200 people, which sparked the ongoing war. Horovitz was at the site of the Nova outdoor music festival on Simhat Torah and shared his observations.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Israel’s strike on Iran was ‘historic,’ but it’s not ‘the end’ of anything

Iran says it had advance notice of IDF strikes; UN Security Council to meet Monday

IDF chief on Israel’s attack in Iran: ‘We have the ability to do much more’

Gallant said to tell Netanyahu management of war directionless, goals need updating

Afula’s largest high school marks official day of mourning with somber yet hopeful ceremony

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Commuters drive past a billboard bearing pictures of Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Joe Biden in Vali-Asr Square in Tehran on October 27, 2024. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

This morning, according to initial reports of a truck-ramming incident being classified as a suspected terror attack near the Glilot Army Base, 35 victims have been taken to hospitals, including six in serious condition, five in moderate condition, 20 who are lightly hurt, and another four suffering acute anxiety, according to Magen David Adom. Fabian updates us on what we know so far.

We speak about new information being gleaned about Israel's strikes on Iran, following our in-depth conversation yesterday for the Daily Briefing.

Israel has suffered heavy losses in or on the border with southern Lebanon over the past several days, with 13 soldiers and two civilians being killed. Fabian brings us perspective from the over year-long campaign.

Yesterday, much of northern Israel received an earthquake alert after the IDF blew up a tunnel complex that included a full-on Hezbollah base in southern Lebanon. Fabian visited the site last week in the dead of night and gives us a full report.

We turn to Gaza, where three Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed Friday during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip’s Jabaliya as the military pushed ahead with an offensive in the neighborhood, including taking control of the area’s last functioning hospital in pursuit of Hamas operatives. We discuss what we know about the humanitarian zone and whether it is likely in the near future that Gazans may be able to return to the Strip's cities.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Iran said ‘alarmed’ as IDF cripples its missile production, disables key air defenses

Four IDF reservists killed, 14 wounded in battle with Hezbollah in south Lebanon

2 killed, 7 hurt as Hezbollah rocket hits minimarket in northern town of Majd al-Krum

Hezbollah bombards north with rockets and drones as IDF targets launchers in Lebanon

Under a Lebanese border village, IDF finds huge Hezbollah base primed for invasion

3 soldiers killed in north Gaza as troops raid hospital in pursuit of Hamas operatives

IDF says it struck Hamas command center in Gaza City, expands ‘humanitarian zone’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Soldiers are seen in a Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon, late October 21, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Early this morning, Israel launched Days of Repentance, its long-awaited retaliatory strike against Iran, almost a month after the Islamic Republic’s October 1 massive barrage of some 200 ballistic missiles.

Fabian explains the timeline and goals of the Israeli Air Force’s targeting of strategic military sites near Teheran and other parts of Iran in several waves of operations.

The Iranian Air Force reportedly has only a few dozen working strike aircraft, including Russian jets and aging US models acquired before the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. We hear about Iran’s aerial defense and offense capabilities ahead of a potential escalation between Iran and Israel.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF launches strikes on military sites throughout Iran, weeks after missile attack

What Iran and Israel would wield in any long-range air war

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Illustrative: An Israeli Air Force F-15 Eagle fighter aircraft flies over Haifa on September 24, 2024. (Jack Guez / AFP)

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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 Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Magid discusses Mossad chief David Barnea heading to Doha again for hostage negotiations, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahyu's recent meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The negotiations are the first in two months, and follow the death last week of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

He also talks about the effects of a possible Donald Trump win in the upcoming US election, a victory that would offer Netanyahu more leeway in maintaining his hardline government and in the ongoing war in Gaza, but there is also a possible clash as Trump keeps saying, "End the war very quickly."

Magid reviews the latest proposal for getting aid into Gaza through an Israeli-American businessman who hopes his company will be chosen for the subcontracting job, with a plan for constructing gated communities in Gaza run by outside security forces.

Magid reviews the October 31 deadline for renewing the bank agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a process that involves Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Mossad chief heads to Qatar Sunday to try to restart Gaza talks; Hamas team in Cairo

Blinken pushes Israel to publicly say it’s not aiming to besiege north Gaza; PM demurs

If Trump wins, Israeli officials fear clash over inability to quickly end Gaza war

As Israel weighs subcontracting Gaza aid delivery, a philanthropist makes his pitch

US official: PA has met Israeli requirements for Smotrich to extend banking deal

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages outside the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on October 24, 2024. (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

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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.

In this special Simhat Torah holiday episode, host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaks with Rabbi Avi Poupko, who is currently serving in reserve duty as part of the IDF rabbinate along the northern border.

Simhat Torah is an annual celebration of the completion -- and restarting -- of the Shabbat Torah-reading cycle. Usually a day of joyous prayer, singing and dancing, the observance of this holiday is forever intertwined with last year's Hamas massacre of 1,200 and the hostage-taking of another 251 to Gaza.

Poupko talks about observing the Sukkot holiday while listening to rocket fire overhead and gives historical context to how Jews have always adapted to tragedy and carried on "doing Jewish."

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

How Israeli Jews face the Simhat Torah holiday, forever marred by Oct. 7 massacre

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

Illustrative image: A Jewish man carries a Torah scroll during Simhat Torah celebrations at Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, on October 21, 2019. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

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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.

Reporters Sue Surkes and Diana Bletterjoin host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Surkes discusses the funerals of Druze commander Ehsan Daqsa, one of the most senior officers killed in Gaza, and Elishai Young, 19, a combat soldier from the Hebrew Israelites community in Dimona, both members of minority populations in Israel that grapple with societal acceptance yet gave their lives to Israel.

Bletter speaks about recent scientific research that looks at the effects of alcohol intake as opposed to psychedelics on Nova survivors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from the rave massacre on October 7.

She also talks about a visit to Klil, a northern hippie hamlet that isn't connected to the country's electricity grid, and therefore doesn't hear sirens warning of incoming rocket attacks.

Surkes reviews her report on planned budget cuts to the Agriculture Ministry, even as the ministry had plans to invest in Israel's food security, as war has exposed need for food independence without reliance on imports.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Druze IDF colonel Ehsan Daqsa, slain in Gaza, remembered as a ‘natural leader’

Death of soldier reopens debate about citizenship for non-Jewish Hebrew Israelites

Study: Nova survivors who drank alcohol before Hamas attack more likely to suffer PTSD

An off-the-grid hippie hamlet in Israel’s north struggles for survival under rocket fire

Plans to ensure food security threatened by Treasury bid to slash agriculture funds

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: The funeral of Colonel Ehsan Daqsa in Druze community Daliyat al-Karmel on October 21, 2024 (Photo by Michael Giladi/Flash90)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in ToI's Jerusalem office for today's episode.

Yesterday, prosecutors announced that seven Israeli citizens were arrested last month on suspicion of spying for Iran for as long as two years, carrying out hundreds of tasks at the behest of the Islamic Republic. This morning, another Iranian espionage case was announced in which seven East Jerusalem residents have been arrested on suspicion of planning attacks in Israel, including the assassination of an Israeli nuclear scientist and a mayor in central Israel. Horovitz discusses these incidents and other similar Iranian efforts.

The IDFs on Monday declassified intelligence on the Hezbollah terror group’s finance hub, including a bunker hidden underneath a hospital in south Beirut that it said contains hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold. We observe the way this cynical use of a hospital played out in international media.

The Israel Aviation Authority briefly halted and then resumed takeoffs at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport yesterday around the time in which the IDF said that helicopters and fighter jets intercepted and shot down five drones over the Mediterranean Sea, before they entered Israeli airspace. Horovitz speaks about Israel's increased isolation during this time of war.

Almost a week after the elimination of Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, Horovitz weighs in on leaders' predictions that this is a turning point in the war.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Seven Jewish Israelis arrested for spying for Iran on security figures, IDF bases

Air Force pounds Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold after civilians told to evacuate area

IDF: Hezbollah hiding $500 million in gold, cash in bunker under Beirut hospital

Ben Gurion briefly halts takeoffs as drones downed over sea; rocket lands near Tel Aviv

British Airways suspends all Israel flights until March 2025 amid escalation fears

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

Illustrative image: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to a speaker in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, October 2, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in ToI's Jerusalem office for today's episode.

The commander of the Israel Defense Force’s 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Ehsan Daqsa, was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. We hear about Daqsa, 41, from the Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel, who was one of the most senior officers to have been killed in the fighting in Gaza.

Yesterday, Fabian spent several hours in Rafah, where he was debriefed by Col. Sivan Bloch -- the head of Bislamach, the School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders -- who stressed that the elimination of Yahya Sinwar by a patrol under his command was “not a stroke of luck.” We hear why.

The IDF said jets hit dozens of sites overnight that are linked to an organization that funds the Hezbollah terror group in Beirut and south Lebanon. We learn about the strikes' targets: branches of an unlicensed gray-market bank seen as one of the group’s main sources of cash.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Commander of IDF’s 401st Armored Brigade killed in battle in northern Gaza

At site of Sinwar’s slaying, IDF commander says incident was ‘not a fluke’

Blasts rock Beirut as Israeli sorties target financial group helping fund Hezbollah

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: The house where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by troops, in southern Gaza’s Rafah, October 20, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

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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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in ToI's Jerusalem office for today's episode.

The elimination of Hamas’s most dominant figure could open a small window of opportunity to achieve Israel’s elusive war aims, none of which have yet been secured, believe senior world figures, however, on Friday, Hamas released a statement saying the 101 hostages still held in Gaza would not be freed until the war ends and Israel fully withdraws from the enclave. Berman discusses this weighty moment.

In mid-March, US officials told the Politico news site that US President Joe Biden would consider limiting future military aid to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went ahead with an offensive against Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, which eventually occurred in May. Does this vindication of the Rafah operation affect the diplomatic balance between the US and Israel in any way?

Israel’s military chief said Friday that at least 1,500 Hezbollah operatives are believed to have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the conflict there. According to IDF chief Herzi Halevi, Hezbollah forces are often surrendering. Berman describes Iran's role in an attempt at diplomacy, as well as the differences between the Hamas and Hezbollah fighting forces.

Two gunmen claimed by the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan breached the border from Jordan into Israel Friday morning, south of the Dead Sea. They were killed shortly after crossing the border by troops who scrambled to intercept them, in a clash that also injured two soldiers. Should we expect more attacks from this direction now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

PM sees opportunity in Sinwar’s death. Does that mean escalation in fighting or a deal?

Confirming Sinwar’s death, Hamas insists hostages won’t be freed unless war ends

After Sinwar killing, Netanyahu sees vindication in his Rafah approach

IDF says Hezbollah toll at 1,500; Lebanese PM: A lesson to stay out of regional conflicts

IDF troops kill two gunmen who breached Jordanian border; 2 soldiers injured

Keen to avoid all-out war after attacking Israel, Iran tries both diplomacy and threats

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Illustrative: A woman holds a Palestinian flag, with the image of the Dome of Rock on it, during an anti-Israel protest to honor Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Wednesday, in Istanbul, Turkey, Octember 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

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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.

Today, we bring you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World hosted by deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan.

This week we speak with the editors of a new prayerbook -- "Az Nashir - We Will Sing Again: Women’s Prayers for Our Time of Need" --  written by women, for women, in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on southern Israel.

The anthology was compiled and edited by Shira Lankin Sheps, Anne Gordon and Rachel Sharansky Danziger, and it was published by The Layers Press, an imprint of The SHVILLI Center.

The three editors join Borschel-Dan in The Times of Israel's Jerusalem office this week and explain their impetus to tackle such an ambitious project and the decisions they made while putting it together, such as the inclusion of "visual prayer" -- 30 colorful illustrations by female artists.

According to the editors, the Hebrew-English tome is a prayer book companion that emulates a long tradition of Jewish women writing prayers, supplications and liturgical poems in their own mother tongues.

So this week, we ask Shira Lankin Sheps, Anne Gordon and Rachel Sharansky Danziger what matters now.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: The editors of 'Az Nashir - We Will Sing Again: Women’s Prayers for Our Time of Need,' (from left to right): Anne Gordon, Rachel Sharansky Danziger and Shira Lankin Sheps. (courtesy): 

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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 Jessica Steinberg on today's podcast.

Magid discusses the different methods used to identify Sinwar's body and what can be seen about Sinwar in the drone footage taken at the scene just prior to the strike that killed him.

He reviews some of the reactions from the Biden administration, including calls made to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and various leaders in Qatar and Egypt in the hopes that Sinwar's death can shift the dynamic in the stalled hostage negotiations.

Magid talks about who could be the new Hamas leader with Sinwar gone and how extreme or hardline some of those successors could be compared to the Hamas leader killed in Gaza by IDF troops on Wednesday.

Magid also discusses the possibility of a more dialed-back response to the Iran attack on Israel on October 1, and looks at Israel letting aid into northern Gaza, with shipments from Jordan and other crossings reopened to allow aid to flow in more easily, after threats from the US administration to withhold arms deliveries.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

World leaders welcome Sinwar’s death, hope it will precipitate hostage deal, end to war

Oct. 17: Footage shows Sinwar hurling stick at IDF drone moments before he was killed

Israel lets 50 aid trucks into northern Gaza after US threat to curb arms deliveries

US gives Israel 30 days to address Gaza aid crisis, threatens to curb weapons supply

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: IDF soldiers carry the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar from the building where he was killed in Rafah, Gaza on October 17, 2024. (Courtesy)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's special report.

Tonight, Israel announced that IDF troops had killed Hamas terror chief Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on Wednesday in a firefight in Rafah, in southern Gaza.

Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 Hamas invasion and slaughter in southern Israel, was shot dead along with two other terrorists by a force from the 828th Bislamach Brigade.

The terror chief became leader of Hamas after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in a Tehran blast in July, when he was selected by Hamas’s 50-strong Shura Council, a consultative body composed of officials elected by Hamas members in four chapters: Gaza, the West Bank, the diaspora and security prisoners in Israeli jails.

Horovitz describes what we currently know about Sinwar's killing and the identification of his remains. We learn how Israeli top leadership is responding to Sinwar's death and whether this could be a turning point in the war with Hamas.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Hamas leader and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar killed by IDF troops in Gaza

Yahya Sinwar: Radical Islamist ideologue utterly committed to Israel’s destruction

Full text of Netanyahu’s address after killing of Hamas terror chief Yahya Sinwar

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's leader in Gaza, gestures on stage during a rally in Gaza City, on May 24, 2021. (Mahmud Hams/ AFP/ File)

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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.

Today, for the Sukkot holiday, we are bringing you a special extended episode from our partner podcast, Israel Story.

Israel Story writes:

This is an episode we never wanted to air. One that marks a year of war and a year of pain. A year since a day of ghastly violence, which led us into a nightmare that still has no end in sight.

A year has passed, but the trauma is still fresh. With all that has gone on since October 7, 2023, we haven’t really had time, or opportunity, to pause. So our commemorative episode today is an attempt to step back and reflect. It’s not a news hour, and doesn’t follow the roller-coaster of events we’ve experienced since October 7th. Instead, it’s a collage of the dozens and dozens of people we’ve heard from throughout the year, alongside others whose episodes haven't aired yet.

It will, we hope, offer an emotional journey, and paint a picture of what it has been like to be here this year.

May the year ahead be a quieter and calmer one. A year with less pain and suffering and more peace and hope. May the hostages return home, and may we all know better days to come. Amen.

The end song isB'Shana Haba'ah("In the Next Year") by Shiri Maimon. (Licensed by Israel Story through Acum.)

Produced in partnership with The Times of Israel.

Subscribe to Israel Story on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

In a letter to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, obtained by our US bureau chief Jacob Magid on Tuesday, the White House warned Israel it has one month to implement significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza or jeopardize the continued supply of US weapons, noting that humanitarian assistance entering the Strip has plummeted in recent months.

Rettig Gur weighs in on how serious the US is on its demands and how this jibes with the announcement this week that it is deploying the THAAD missile defense system, along with some 100 US soldiers, to Israeli soil.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

US gives Israel 30 days to address Gaza aid crisis, threatens to curb weapons supply

Israel faces potential shortage of interceptor missiles — report

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Children sift through waste at a landfill in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 15, 2024. (Bashar Taleb / AFP)

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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.

Political correspondent Sam Sokol and Arab Affairs reporter Gianluca Pacchiani join host Jessica Steinberg in today's episode.

Sokol discusses the government decision to set another memorial day for October 7 by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, held a few days after the holiday of Simhat Torah, the Hebrew date for October 7. Regev went ahead with a plan to memorialize fallen soldiers and civilians killed, in two separate events and will not have any bereaved family members at the events.

He also looks at the plans laid out by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to raise taxes, cut ministries and tax certain savings funds in order to continue funding the ongoing war.

Pacchiani looks at UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon since 1978, but lacking any real ability to stave off Hezbollah in the region.

He also talks about IDF efforts to dismantle Iranian weapons labs in Syria, including a daring mission in September, but one that needs to be happen more broadly in order to curb Hezbollah.

Finally, Pacchiani talks about his ongoing conversations with an Iranian dissident, and Iranian concerns over the impending Israeli attack, in response to the October 1 launch of missiles from Iran.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

No representative of Oct. 7 bereaved families asked to speak at 2nd government ceremony

Government sets second national day of mourning for October 7

Treasury proposes tax hikes for lowest earners, benefit cuts to fund war

The force that isn’t keeping the peace in Lebanon: 4 scenarios for the future of UNIFIL

A dissident in Iran awaits Israeli reprisal: ‘There’s a very real fear of all-out war’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Transportation Minister Miri Regev attends ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre, at Ben Gurion International Airport, October 7, 2024. (Photo by Flash90)

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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.

Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

Four IDF soldiers were killed and 58 others were wounded by a Hezbollah drone strike on a military base near Binyamina in north-central Israel last night. Forty-one soldiers of the 58 soldiers wounded in a Hezbollah drone strike on an army training base last night remain hospitalized, with eight in serious or critical condition, medical officials said this morning. Goren takes us through what happened in the strike and why it was so deadly.

The Pentagon on Sunday confirmed that Washington will send an advanced air defense battery to Israel to protect the country in case of an Iranian reaction to an expected Israeli reprisal attack, along with American soldiers to operate it, as Tehran appeared to threaten the US troops to be stationed in the region. Goren takes us through the brief history of US deployment in Israel and what makes this American bear hug so unique.

The Tekuma Authority, tasked with rehabilitating the Gaza border communities overrun by Hamas terrorists a year ago, will spend NIS 6.4 billion ($1.7 billion) during 2024, equivalent to 90 percent of the budget approved by the government, according to its first six-month report, covering April to September. While the budget is large, Surkes explains that parts are already being held up.

Ahead of Rosh Hashana, a holiday associated with eating honey, Surkes visited Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) south of Ashkelon, where the majority of Israel's honey is produced. She reports back.

To end with, we hear about an 18-month pilot project to test the effectiveness and popularity of eco-toilets at the IDF’s Nitzanim training base in southern Israel.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Four soldiers killed, seven seriously hurt in Hezbollah drone strike on military base

US confirms it’s sending missile defense battery, 100 troops to operate it, to Israel

Tekuma Administration reports spending NIS 6.4b on Gaza border reconstruction this year

Despite the war, no shortage of honey for Jewish New Year

Army cleans up its act with eco-toilets

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi talks to soldiers at a Golani base in northern Israel after a deadly Hezbollah drone attack on October 14, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

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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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Hezbollah rocket fire continues to rain on Israel’s north as the IDF warns southern Lebanon residents not to return to their homes among ongoing air strikes and ground operations. In the last 24 hours, the Israeli Air Force has struck around 200 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and deeper into the country. We speak about weapons caches that were presumably stashed for an October 7-like invasion and other news from the conflict on the north.

There are reports IDF tanks have reached the outskirts of Gaza City among a renewed IDF push in the northern Gaza Strip. Over the past day in the Gaza Strip, the 162nd Division continued fighting in Jabaliya in northern Gaza. Berman explains the current fighting and puts it into a larger context.

There are reports that the US is considering sending Israel an advanced anti-ballistic missile defense system operated by American troops to protect the country in case of an Iranian reaction to an expected Israeli reprisal attack. Berman discusses how the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) air defense batteries would beef up Israel’s ability to fend off ballistic missiles and what it would mean to have US soldiers stationed in Israel at this time.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accused Hezbollah of using UNIFIL posts as cover in his conversation last night with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin, according to the Israeli readout, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu releasing similar statements today. Who makes up the forces of UNIFIL? 

On Thursday, the IDF for the first time brought Israeli journalists into a village in southern Lebanon. Berman suggests this is a clear indication that it feels it has asserted operational control over the area. We hear about his time in Lebanon.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Security chiefs: Israel will stop terror groups reestablishing presence near Lebanon border

US may send Israel THAAD missile defense, as Iran seeks to ward off Israeli retaliation

40 countries contributing to UN’s Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn ‘attacks’

Finally on the offensive, IDF’s 91st Division slices through Hezbollah’s front lines

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Illustrative: Destroyed buildings at a commercial street that was hit October 12, 2024, by Israeli airstrikes, are seen in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, October 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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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.

Today, we bring you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World hosted by deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Shortly after October 7, when the murderous Hamas onslaught on southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza, Israel was pulled into defending itself and fighting Iran or its proxies on seven fronts: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, the West Bank and, of course, Iran.

But there is an eighth front that has emerged and is no less pernicious: the battle for public opinion and legitimacy.

Since war broke out, Israel advocate Aviva Klompas has used her robust social media platforms to provide a counter to the onslaught of anti-Israel hate.

As co-founder and CEO of Boundless, Aviva says she aims to reshape Israel education and confront antisemitism head-on. This war is affording her a great opportunity. We speak about this advocacy work and her new book, “Stand-Up Nation.”

So this week we ask Aviva Klompas, what matters now.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Author and Israel advocate Aviva Klompas. (Zev Fisher)

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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’s been one year since October 7, 2023. To honor this day, we’ve produced "October’s Wake," a podcast mini-series, exclusively for ToI Community members.

In this first episode, host Amanda Borschel-Dan brings together editor David Horovitz, senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman to answer your questions on the major issues from all fronts of the war — both in Israel and abroad.

We zoom out and discuss how Israelis live with the knowledge that their homeland was invaded, and whether rallies in support of hostage families have helped torpedo a release deal. We hear whether Israel has a grand vision and possible ways to end the cycle of Iranian proxy warfare. And finally, we learn, what, if anything, gives these journalists hope.

To hear the other two episodes, "October’s Wake: The waging of war" and "October’s Wake: The political quagmire" please join The Times of Israel Community.

As a member of the ToI Community, you will have access to "October’s Wake" and other exclusive content that enable critical discussions about the future of Israel and its people. Your support helps us continue delivering quality journalism and insightful content.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Zev Levi.

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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 Magidjoins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Magid reviews the nearly one-hour-long call held between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, about Israel's plans to attack Iran, although that was only discussed briefly. He discusses the US "walking away" from its initial push for a 21-day ceasefire with Hezbollah, and US support of IDF raids into Lebanon.

Magid looks at the clear frustrations the US administration has with Netanyahu, the continuing lack of a ceasefire and negotiations, and the blame game with the Israeli leader as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

He also discusses comments made by former Biden aide Andrew Miller about how Israel approaches military actions in civilian areas, how the US administration had to change its approach in influencing Israel and the ongoing war, and the need to plan for the day after in Gaza.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

One year since Oct. 7, US resigned to limits of its influence over Netanyahu

US official: Sinwar likely alive in Gaza tunnel ‘with hostages in his vicinity’

Ex-Biden aide claims Israel has more tolerance for causing civilian casualties than US

Biden and Netanyahu hold ‘direct and productive’ call in wake of Iranian attack

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick.

IMAGE: This combination image shows, from left; President Joe Biden, on March 12, 2020, in Wilmington, Del., and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Oct. 28, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo, File)

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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 Bermanjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

According to a Channel 12 news report on Tuesday night, the United States and Arab states have launched covert talks with Iran for a comprehensive ceasefire aimed at calming all war fronts at once. Berman discusses what influence Iran may still have with its proxies.

Ahead of the planned phone call between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, the apparently unease between the two leaders was writ large in headlines about an upcoming book by US journalist Bob Woodward. They haven’t spoken for over 50 days and last night the Defense Ministry on Tuesday informed the Pentagon that it is postponing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s planned trip to the United States -- reportedly because the two leaders have not yet spoken. Berman weighs in.

Netanyahu seemed to confirm on Tuesday evening that Israel had successfully assassinated projected new Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine, who was targeted in an airstrike in Beirut last Thursday, and claimed Israel has also killed the next in line for the job, however the IDF’s follow up statement was much less conclusive. Berman parses this out.

During a press conference in Jerusalem on Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot doubled down on French President Emmanuel Macron’s call last week for a partial arms embargo on Israel. Berman gives context and historical background to this new statement.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Hezbollah rains rockets on Haifa as deputy leader claims capabilities intact

US and Arab states reportedly in talks with Iran for ceasefire on all war fronts

Netanyahu and Biden expected to hold call on Iran Wednesday after weeks of silence

Biden said to call Netanyahu ‘a f**king liar’ after Israeli troops entered Rafah

Netanyahu: Israel killed ‘Nasrallah’s replacement, and his replacement’s replacement’

Gallant’s trip to US delayed, reportedly after Netanyahu sets last-minute obstacles

French FM backs Macron’s calls for arms ban, argues it’s for Israel’s security

Macron speaks with Netanyahu, but doesn’t retract his call for arms embargo

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yoel Sigel.

IMAGE: IDF forces on the ground in southern Lebanon, October 9, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

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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.

Editor David Horovitzandculture editor Jessica Steinberg join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

The UN special coordinator for Lebanon and the head of the peacekeeping force deployed along the border with Israel said this morning that a negotiated solution is the only way to restore stability. They added that Hezbollah’s attacks starting on October 8, 2023, were in violation of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. Horovitz weighs in on whether Israel currently believes the path of diplomacy is still viable.

This morning, former prime minister Naftali Bennett called for Israel to strike the Iranian nuclear program which, he said, “casts a dark shadow over our futures,” amid reports military or intelligence targets could be hit in response to Tehran’s ballistic missile attack last week. Horovitz explores Bennett's motivations and discusses the current window of opportunity. 

Steinberg reports on yesterday's commemoration ceremonies and discusses what the "alternative" and "official" productions show about Israeli society and its healing process. 

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

On anniversary of start of Hezbollah attacks on Israel, UN officials call for diplomatic solution

Bennett urges Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program: ‘A one-time window of opportunity’

At separate memorials, families demand accountability as PM touts Israeli ‘strength’

‘We will rise from the ruins’: A bereaved audience pays homage on Oct. 7 anniversary

Still under fire, Israel remembers Oct. 7 victims while grappling with ongoing nightmare

Paramedic Amit Mann, 22: Sacrificed herself to protect patients

Guy Illouz, 26: Soundman for Hayehudim with ‘a huge heart’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yoel Sigel.

IMAGE: Kibbutz Beeri residents take part in a march and a ceremony marking one year since Hamas's October 7 massacre in Kibbutz Beeri and other locations in southern Israel, October 7, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Incoming rocket sirens sounded in central Israel following rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The alerts are activated in some areas of Tel Aviv, as well as Holon, Rishon Lezion, Bat Yam, and other central towns. At the same time, the IDF said it thwarted a large barrage of rockets Hamas planned to launch at Israel this morning on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre. We hear what came out of the Strip this morning.

Yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces said that troops had encircled Jabaliya amid a new ground operation targeting efforts by Hamas to reestablish itself in northern Gaza. Fabian speaks of other new developments in the Strip.

Five people were wounded in Haifa on Sunday when Israel’s air defenses failed to intercept a barrage of five rockets launched from Lebanon, allowing at least one rocket to strike a busy urban area. What do we know about the air defense failure?

The IDF announced that its 91st “Galilee” Regional Division began ground operations last night in southern Lebanon, joining two other divisions already operating there against Hezbollah. We hear about the ground operation and the airstrikes being conducted in tandem.

A Border Police officer was killed and at least 10 others were wounded when a terrorist opened fire in the Beersheba bus station on Sunday afternoon. The victim was identified as Sgt. Shira Suslik, 19, a Border Police officer from Beersheba. Fabian talks about the site of the attack and its history.

As the country marked one year since the onset of the war on October 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces on Monday published new data on its operations in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Lebanon, from the number of rockets fired at Israel to the number of sites struck by the Israeli Air Force. Fabian brings highlights.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF launches new ground op in north Gaza’s Jabaliya to foil Hamas efforts to regroup

IDF preparing for possible long-range rocket attacks from Gaza on Oct. 7 anniversary

Five injured in Haifa after air defenses fail to intercept Hezbollah rocket barrage

Border cop killed, 10 wounded in terror shooting attack at Beersheba central bus station

IDF says hostage Idan Shtivi was declared dead based on new intelligence

A year of war: IDF data shows 728 troops killed, over 26,000 rockets fired at Israel

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick.

IMAGE: Israelis hold hands at Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, next to photographs of Israelis killed in the October 7 massacre, on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, October 7, 2024. (Tomer Neubergi/Flash90)

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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.

Political correspondent Sam Sokoland legal affairs reporter Jeremy Sharonjoin host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Sokol discusses the latest brouhaha with Transportation Minister Miri Regev, as reservists called up for duty over the holiday lacked public transportation during the Rosh Hashanah holiday, a year into the ongoing war.

Sokol also reviews the first week at work for Minister without Portfolio Gideon Sa'ar, once the prime minister's foe on the right, now part of his inner circle.

Sharon looks at the latest with Justice Minister Yariv Levin, as he endeavors to drag out the appointment of a left-leaning Supreme Court president by imposing candidacies on all standing justices.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Shutdown of public transport hampers reservists called up over long holiday weekend

Israel seeks to reverse EU’s advice to avoid its skies as foreign carriers nix flights

As he officially rejoins government, Sa’ar blasts opposition for ‘living in Oct. 6’

Vogelman retires as Supreme Court president in shadow of severe judiciary-gov’t clash

Judiciary adviser: Levin’s tactic to delay Supreme Court president vote ‘ridiculous’

10 Supreme Court justices seek to retract their imposed candidacies for president

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yoel Siegal.

IMAGE: Israeli soldiers near Israel's northern border with Lebanon on October 2, 2024 (Photo by Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

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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.

Those We Have Lost project coordinator Amy Spirojoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Today, we’re dedicating the daily podcast’s time to stories of civilians and soldiers who have fallen since October 7. We’ve each chosen 9 individuals to focus on and we’ll explain why they moved us.

We also hear updates from Spiro on how many of the over 1,600 individuals who were killed on or after October 7 during this war with Hamas and Hezbollah that we have been able to write memorials for.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Cpt. Alina Pravosudova, 23: ‘Gingit’ loved ballet, volunteered for MDA

Staff Sgt. Omri Peretz, 20: Squad commander ‘surrounded by friends’

Sujith Nissanka, 48: Dedicated Sri Lankan carer slain with his patient

Mayana and Noah Hershkovitz, 65 & 68: Couple shared a love of art

Sivan Shaarbany, 21: Curly-haired partygoer who loved salt & pepper

Alon Toledano, 54: Sensitive man who aimed to help others

Ilan Fiorentino, 38: Kibbutz security chief who was a ‘200% dad’

Ronen Daichman, 49: Physics teacher was ‘the coolest guy in the school’

Chief Supt. Martin Kyzmickas, 46: Cop who had ‘warrior blood’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Family and friends of Israeli soldier Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster attend his funeral at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on October 2, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabianjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians in 37 villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately, and head north of the Awali River. The overnight heavy airstrikes in Beirut targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, according to the IDF. We begin with the tragic incidents in which 6 members of the elite Egoz unit, two Golani soldiers and one paratrooper were killed inside Lebanon.

As rocket sirens continue to sound all along Israel’s north, some 100 Hezbollah operatives have been killed during Israeli operations in southern Lebanon in the past day, according to IDF assessments. Fabian fills us in about the potential targeting of former Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah’s successor and other operations in the north.

The head of a Hamas terror network in Tulkarem, along with several other operatives, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank this evening. According to the military, the airstrike carried out by a fighter jet in Tulkarem targeted Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, a top Hamas commander in Tulkarem who was planning a terror attack “in the immediate time frame.” Fabian weighs in.

Senior Hamas official Rawhi Mushtaha, the de facto prime minister of the Gaza Strip, was killed in an Israeli strike several months ago, as well as two other high ranking Hamas operatives, the IDF and Shin Bet said Thursday. Likewise, the security forces said in a statement Thursday that they had killed Aziz Salha, a Palestinian man infamous for his role in the lynching of two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah in 2000, in an airstrike in Gaza. Fabian explains who these men were and how significant.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Nasrallah’s presumed successor said to be target of heavy Israeli strike in Beirut

Officer killed in Lebanon; strike hits Hezbollah commander behind rocket attack on kids

In first fatalities of Lebanon ground op, 8 IDF soldiers killed in battles with Hezbollah

At least 18 said killed in Tulkarem airstrike on head of local Hamas terror network

IDF says it killed Hamas de facto PM – Sinwar’s right-hand man – in strike 3 months ago

Palestinian infamous for 2000 lynching of soldiers in Ramallah killed in Gaza strike

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Adina Karpuj.

IMAGE: Troops of the 188th Armored Brigade are seen operating in southern Lebanon, in handout image published October 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gurjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

For nearly a year, Israel has been forced to fight a war on seven fronts: against Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza; Hezbollah in Lebanon; the Houthis in Yemen; various Iran-backed militias in Iraq, and also in Syria; against Iranian efforts to arm Palestinian militants in the West Bank; and against Iran itself, which first attacked Israel in April and then again on Tuesday night.

Rettig Gur examines how Israel has moved to a more offensive position this week, and how far it may go before the United States's bear hug becomes a restraint.

And to close out this holiday episode, Rettig Gur speaks about what makes the Jewish New Year different from every other major holiday.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Biden: US opposes Israel hitting Iran nuclear sites, response should be ‘proportional’

A nervous Iran wanted to restore old regional order, but Israel is on the offensive

Iranian regime’s missile assault underlines that Israel, with US, must expedite its demise

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Podwaves.

IMAGE: Israelis stand on top of the remains of an Iranian missile in the Negev desert near Arad, on October 2, 2024, in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

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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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz,US bureau chief Jacob Magidandmilitary correspondent Emanuel Fabianjoin host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Horovitz, Magid and Fabian discuss Tuesday evening's Iranian attack on Israel, as Iran launched 181 missiles at Israel, sending millions of Israelis into sealed rooms and bomb shelters on the eve of the three-day Rosh Hashanah holiday.

Israel's Air Force, along with the US and Jordan, intercepted most of the projectiles, showing close coordination and alliance, said Magid. The US also vowed severe consequences for Iran, stressing the US-Israel coordination, without efforts to hold back Israel.

Fabian updates the latest in the front with Lebanon, including Tuesday's discovery that the IDF has been conducting small raids into Lebanon since last October, with special forces operating for a day or three to four days at a time, uncovering Hezbollah sites and tunnels, weapons depots, thwarting Hezbollah intentions to conduct another kind of October 7 attack.

Fabian comments that now the IDF has an entire division operating in Lebanon for a much larger scale operation but with similar goals, including the army's intention to demolish Hezbollah tunnels.

Horovitz remarks that Iran insisted on portraying the Tuesday night missile attack as a great success. He notes that Israel has changed course dramatically in the last two and a half weeks, beginning with the pager attack not yet officially claimed by Israel, and the elimination of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and other leadership, all showing a different course by Israel and the expectation that Israel will hit back hard at Iran, with US support.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Iran fires 181 missiles at Israel; PM: They made a ‘big mistake’ and ‘will pay for it’

Shrapnel from Iranian missile kills Palestinian man near Jericho

US: We will help Israel exact ‘severe consequences’ from Iran for missile attack

Seven people killed in shooting, stabbing terror attack in Jaffa

IDF: Hezbollah was ready to invade en masse after Oct. 7; we covertly raided 1,000 sites

IDF says strike kills head of Hezbollah unit charged with smuggling arms from Iran

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Podwaves.

IMAGE: Israelis take cover inside a bomb shelter at Ben Gurion airport as a siren alert is sounded in Tel Aviv, October 1, 2024 (Photo by Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)

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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 Bermanjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode from the Jerusalem office.

The IDF announced the launch of limited raids into southern Lebanon late on Monday night against Hezbollah forces and infrastructure positioned along Israel’s northern border. We discuss the strategy here and whether this is a formal declaration of war even as the IDF’s 98th Division, an elite formation of paratrooper and commando units, conducted an overnight ground operation.

Yesterday, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the Lebanese government is ready to fully implement a UN resolution that had aimed to end Hezbollah’s armed presence south of the Litani River. We ask, what does it mean for Israel to have a weak state on its border and is it time for the west to bolster it?

The Biden administration appears to express its support for the raids that the IDF began conducting late Monday night during a call between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Berman weighs in.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF announces launch of limited ground raids on Hezbollah sites across Lebanon border

Israel says ‘next phase’ beginning in Lebanon, amid global pleas against a ground op

Lebanese PM says willing to deploy army south of Litani River, fully implement UN resolution

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yoel Sigel.

IMAGE: Israeli soldiers work on tanks in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, October 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabianjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode from the Jerusalem office.

Yesterday, the Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes Sunday against infrastructure in western Yemen that the military said was used by the Houthis, in a response to recent ballistic missile attacks on the Jewish state carried out by the Iran-backed group. Fabian explains how logistically complicated this mission is, what was struck and the messaging top Israeli officials released following the strikes.

At least three terror operatives were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut apartment building after midnight on Monday, the first such raid in the heart of the Lebanese capital since the outbreak of the war in Gaza last year. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said three of its fighters were killed in the strike. Likewise, the Palestinian terror group Hamas said that its leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, was killed in an Israeli strike in the south of the country. We hear about these strikes, as well as the Saturday strike that killed senior Hezbollah official Nabil Qaouk.

The body of Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah was recovered from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, alongside some 20 other top Hezbollah operatives. Fabian names those who have been identified and explains how resonant this strike was to the terror group's organizational structure.

The Israel Defense Forces may have begun or is about to begin small operations across the Lebanon border to take out nearby Hezbollah positions, according to two US reports. This is not yet the approved ground incursion, says Fabian, which is not off the table.

And finally, we learn about targeted airstrikes on two former schools in the Gaza Strip, as well as a kilometer-long tunnel that was discovered and destroyed.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Dozens of Israeli planes strike port, power plants in Yemen after Houthi missile attacks

IDF intercepts ballistic missile that Houthis claim aimed at PM’s plane at Ben Gurion

Hamas leader, PFLP fighters killed in strikes on southern Lebanon, central Beirut

IDF kills another senior Hezbollah official in Beirut; fresh barrages target north

Nasrallah’s body retrieved from ruins as IDF names 20 more terrorists killed in blast

IDF may have already begun small raids on Hezbollah in south Lebanon – reports

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yoel Sigel.

IMAGE: A large fire and plume of smoke is visible in the port city of Hodeida, Yemen, September 29, 2024, after Israeli strikes on the Houthi-controlled city. (AP Photo)

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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.

Editor David Horovitzjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode from the Jerusalem office.

Last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his first public comments since a massive Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in his southern Beirut headquarters on Friday. We hear about how the Israeli leader framed the decision and his view of its repercussions. We compare those remarks to Netanyahu's statements at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, just prior to the strike.

We discuss how Nasrallah was in many ways became the "archetypical" enemy of Israel. Is it possible that his assassination could reshape the balance of power in the region?

Finally, we hear if this strike could shift Israelis' perceptions of their own army's competence as the country prepares to mark the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 and abduction of 251 hostages to the Gaza Strip.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Touting Nasrallah killing, Netanyahu warns Iran: Israel can reach anywhere

In blistering UN speech, Netanyahu says Israel seeks peace but will fight until victory

Israel knew of Nasrallah’s location for months, some ministers opposed hit — reports

Killing of Nasrallah shows the IDF reasserting primacy, gradually restoring public trust

Nasrallah’s elimination is a direct blow to Iran, and a revival of Israeli deterrence

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yoel Sigel.

IMAGE: A portrait of Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah hangs on a street in Baghdad on September 29, 2024, after Iraq officially declared a three-day national mourning period following Israel's killing of the Lebanese leader. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP)

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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.

Today, we bring you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World. This episode features host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with best-selling author Dr. Micah Goodman in a conversation recorded on September 25, 2024, ahead of the IDF's targetted assassination of Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah. 

Best-selling author Goodman revisits a theory he discussed with Borschel-Dan on October 9, mere days after Hamas infiltrated Israel’s south and slaughtered 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages to Gaza. We hear about Goodman’s idea of the “zero-sum game” that Israel must play to restore deterrence and maintain legitimacy and its results so far.

Now, a year into this ongoing war, we learn how the Israeli narrative of the war is shifting away from perceiving it through the prism of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Today, two other narratives are increasingly gaining steam: One states that October 7 was the opening salvo to a regional war and the other zooms out even further and places it in the context of a realignment of the global axis.

We hear how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “right” in warning against Iran, but his coalition just may obstruct efforts to solve the conflict once and for all.

“We need new politics in order to defeat Iran,” said Goodman.

So this week, we ask Dr. Micah Goodman, what matters now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Philosopher and public intellectual Dr. Micah Goodman. (Yonit Schiller)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabianjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

The Israeli Air Force carried out massive targeted airstrikes in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Friday evening, with the military saying it had struck Hezbollah’s main headquarters. This morning, the IDF confirmed Nasrallah’s death and later Hezbollah also announced the targeted assassination of its leader. We hear about the timeline of the strike, as well as others who may have been killed alongside Nasrallah.

Since the strike on Friday, rockets have continued to be shot from Lebanon over the border. Fabian speaks about their inefficient guidance systems and what this may indicate.

On Thursday, the chief of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar said that preventing all weapon transfers from Iran to Hezbollah is now a top priority. We hear about the efforts to prevent Hezbollah's rearmament as well as the potential for a ground incursion into Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces assessed on Friday that Hamas has been largely defeated militarily in the entire Gaza Strip, and it is now effectively a guerrilla terror group that will take some more time to dismantle. Fabian breaks this down.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF says Hezbollah terror chief Nasrallah, other top commanders killed in Beirut strike

Israel targets Nasrallah in bombing of Hezbollah HQ; increasingly believes it killed him

Hassan Nasrallah: Terror chief made Hezbollah a regional force, ignored Israeli warnings

Official: With strike on Nasrallah, Israel hopes to avoid ground-op in Lebanon

IAF chief: Preventing all weapon transfers from Iran to Hezbollah now a top priority

IDF assesses Hamas defeated militarily in all of Gaza, is now a guerrilla terror group

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Adina Karpuj.

IMAGE: Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, speaks during a ceremony in Beirut on July 24, 1994. (AP Photo/Ahmed Azakir, File)

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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 Magidjoins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Magid reviews the breakdown of the proposed 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the air, flying to the US to speak at the UN General Assembly after his far-right government partners threatened to bolt the coalition.

He also discusses the speech given by US President Joe Biden at the UN General Assembly earlier in the week, specifically his comments about the Middle East and the need to work on global alliances, as well as an emphasis on the October 7 atrocities, making a point of the horrors of that day and of the continuing war.

Magid also relates to Biden's possible plans during his lame duck period following the November elections and before the January inauguration and the steps his administration wants to take regarding a two-state solution.

US, frustrated, says ceasefire plan rejected by Netanyahu had been coordinated with him

At UNGA, Biden describes horrors of Oct. 7 and Gaza war, urging sides to accept deal

US officials weighing steps Biden could take to preserve two-states after election

Abbas, in UN speech, blasts Israeli ‘genocide’ in Gaza, sets out 12-point ‘day after’ plan

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Palestinian supporters march with a cutout depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu near the United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

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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.

Editor David Horovitzjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

The United States, France, and some of their allies called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah while also expressing support for a truce in Gaza, according to a joint statement of the countries released by the White House Wednesday following an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Lebanon. We begin by speaking about the apparent IDF achievements of the stepped-up airstrikes over the past week and then turn to the truce proposal and reactions to it.

Alongside the massacre of 1,200 and abduction of 251 hostages on October 7, Hamas head Yihya Sinwar attempted to launch a regional war. As such a war appears increasingly realistic, Borschel-Dan asks Horovitz if Israel is playing into Sinwar's hands.

We end today's episode by discussing this past year of journalism and how complicated responsible reporting is in this region. Horovitz explains some of the challenges facing news outlets and how some respected news sources are not rising to them.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

A fateful, devastating year; a little about ToI’s work; a thank you to ToI Community

US, France lead joint call for immediate 21-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah

Drone from Iraq hits Eilat port, causing damage and lightly injuring two

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a meeting of the Security Council, September 25, 2024, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabianjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Hezbollah took responsibility for the missile attack on central Israel this morning, claiming to have targeted the Mossad headquarters near Tel Aviv with a “Qader 1” ballistic missile in response to the pager and walkie-talkie explosions and the assassinations of top commanders in the terror group. Fabian analyzes the relatively restrained Hezbollah response even as Israel continues to target Hezbollah leadership and infrastructure.

Hezbollah confirmed that Ibrahim Qubaisi, the commander of the terror group’s rocket and missile division, was killed in an Israeli strike yesterday in Beirut. Who was he and how important of a target is he?

This morning, the IDF issued a message in Arabic to Lebanese civilians who have evacuated their homes due to the presence of Hezbollah weapons, warning them it is not yet safe to go back. And on Monday, Israel published what it said was evidence of these Hezbollah munitions being placed in homes. What was this proof the IDF published?

Several drones launched from Iraq overnight struck open areas in the northern Golan Heights and the Arava, according to the IDF. The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility. Fabian weighs in on when the IDF may respond more forcefully to these increasing attacks.

We close the program with a brief update on what is happening on the ground in Gaza as the war against Hamas continues.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

In first, Hezbollah fires missile at Tel Aviv area; no injuries as IDF intercepts it

IDF strike in Beirut kills Hezbollah missile chief, as rockets pummel Israel

Missile in the attic: IDF releases photos of Hezbollah munitions in Lebanese homes

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Hezbollah members march during a funeral procession in the southern suburb of Beirut, September 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

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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.

Political correspondent Sam Sokol and health reporter Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Sokol discusses latest with MK Gideon Sa'ar, who officially announced he would not consider replacing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant given the escalating situation in the north.

Sokol also looks at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's consideration of an IDF plan to lay siege in northern Gaza, and comments made by opposition members of the government regarding the current war situation in the north.

Bletter talks about how residents of the north have been handling the ongoing war, speaking with a regional council head, hospital directors and residents about the escalating rocket attacks, and how they're dealing with the daily realities.

She also discusses a therapeutic visit by Israeli alternative care practitioners to the Druze village of Majdal Shams, where a Hezbollah rocket attack recently wiped out 12 of their children and teens.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Sa’ar abandons pursuit of defense minister role as Lebanon fighting escalates

PM says weighing plan for siege on Hamas in north Gaza; believes half of hostages alive

North under siege: Rockets cause hospitals to nix procedures, schools and beaches to close

Fear and uncertainty: As war escalates, northern residents feel there’s nowhere to go

A northern kibbutz on the edge of the evacuated zone is Israel’s new de facto border

Women travel to Majdal Shams to help mothers of children killed in Hezbollah attack

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon, as seen from Israel, September 23, 2024 (Photo by David Cohen/Flash90)

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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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Since this morning, the Israeli Air Force has struck more than 300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Berman discusses Hezbollah's strategies and capabilities to threaten the IDF on land, air and sea.

As it increasingly appears that Israel is on the brink of another war in Lebanon, Lazar gives insight into how the IDF has changed since the 2006 war and how this could shift the balance toward Israel's favor in another ground operation.

A drone launched at Israel by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq in the early hours of Monday morning was shot down by Israeli fighter jets, the sixth attack from Iraq within 24 hours. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility for the incident, saying on Monday morning that the group had targeted an Israeli observation base in northern Israel with drones. What is the Islamic Resistance in Iraq?

Biden Administration officials in the past few days sent the draft text of a new hostage release-ceasefire proposal to Israel and, via Qatari and Egyptian mediators, to Hamas. What are the current proposals on the table and what are we hearing from Hamas?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

String of IDF successes might cause Nasrallah to back down, but won’t lead to victory

IDF launches over 300 strikes on Hezbollah after stark warnings to Lebanese civilians

Army says drone launched at Israel by Iran-backed militia in Iraq shot down by jets

Reports: Hamas chief incommunicado, Israel checking longshot possibility he’s dead

Israel offers to end war, let Sinwar leave if all hostages freed at once, Gaza disarmed

PM says weighing plan for siege on Hamas in north Gaza; believes half of hostages alive

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Illustrative: Hezbollah fighters raise their fists and shout slogans during the funeral of their senior commander Ali Dibs who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, February 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

After a series of sharp escalations in the almost year-long tit-for-tat conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, some 2 million Israelis are in areas that are currently affected by Hezbollah rocket fire. This deeper Hezbollah retaliation comes after the IDF assassination of some dozen top commanders of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in the Friday strike in Beirut that killed Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s military operations. We begin the program by hearing how significant was Aqil and how much of a blow this mass assassination was.

We hear about the scope of Hezbollah's fighting force and learn about a new kind of missile being used in the deeper attacks today. Is the IDF prepping the ground for an incursion?

The IDF carried out an airstrike this morning and on Saturday against a group of Hamas operatives at command rooms embedded within former school in Gaza. With most of Gaza under IDF control, when will it move into the small pockets in central Gaza that have not yet been touched.

Two terrorists who likely murdered six Israeli hostages in a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip last month were killed by Israeli troops, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday. How did the IDF tie the terrorists to the hostages?

A Jewish Israeli civilian was arrested last month after he was allegedly recruited by Iran to advance an assassination plot of Israel’s prime minister, defense minister, or the head of the Shin Bet, authorities announced on Thursday. The suspect, named as 73-year-old Moti Maman from the southern city of Ashkelon, was indicted on Thursday, after which the Shin Bet revealed details of the investigation. What do we know?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Hezbollah fires 100 rockets at north, wounding 3; teen killed in crash during siren

IDF confirms eliminating multiple top Hezbollah commanders in Friday’s Beirut strike

IDF says it struck Hamas operatives at inactive Gaza school; 21 reported killed

Army says it killed 2 Hamas terrorists who likely murdered 6 Israeli hostages in tunnel

Israeli Jew recruited by Iran in plot to kill Netanyahu, Gallant or Shin Bet head Bar

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Zibqin on September 22, 2024. (Kawnat Haju / AFP)

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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.

Today, we bring you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World. This episode features host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with ToI senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.

Last week, three women were arrested after distributing flyers with six hostages’ faces in MK Yuli Edelstein’s synagogue in Herzliya, including a picture of him as a Prisoner of Zion alongside and the famous “Let My People Go” slogan used to support the refuseniks in the Soviet Union before being allowed to emigrate to Israel in 1987.

After a week of backlash to their arrests and his apparent support for them, Edelstein clarified that while he understands the hostage families’ protests, he does “not forgive people who turn the hostages into currency to promote goals that have nothing to do with them.”

At the same time, there already are efforts inside most — if not all — synagogues throughout Israel to release the hostages: the longstanding prayer for the release of hostages that is found in most standard prayerbooks.

Rettig Gur and Borschel-Dan discuss the two sides’ stances and question whether they are all that far apart on the issue of the hostages.

The two then turn to the question of whether or not Israel is basically experiencing an undeclared, low-burn regional war after a week in which a ballistic missile from the Yemenite Houthis reached Tel Aviv, a drone from Iraq was downed over the Sea of Galilee, along with the “usual” rockets from Gaza and Lebanon. Rettig Gur argues that even if Israel isn’t currently in a regional war, it’s time for one, but with one specific target.

And so this week we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, center, meets with Iraqi community members during his visit to Basra, Iraq, September 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jourani)

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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 Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Magid discusses the latest US administration comments regarding the uptick in Israeli strikes against Hezbollah, noting the carefully couched understanding of the escalation, given the continual Hezbollah missile attacks against Israel over the last year.

He also reviews comments made by US officials to the Wall Street Journal about the lack of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, and expectations that none would be forthcoming before the end of the Biden administration.

Magid then talks about two talks given by former President Donald Trump to two Jewish groups in the US, and Trump's stance that he is the only candidate who can save Israel from the destruction that he says would take place under a Kamala Harris administration.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Blinken warns against ‘escalatory actions’ in Mideast, cites risk to Gaza deal

US: ‘Additional military ops’ not the best way to prevent Israel-Hezbollah escalation

US says it wasn’t involved in or tipped off about Hezbollah pager detonations

Senior US officials think Gaza ceasefire unlikely by end of Biden’s term — report

Trump: If I lose election, Jewish people will ‘have a lot to do with’ it

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE; US Secretary of State Antony Blinken exits a vehicle as he departs Egypt, taking off from Cairo, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, for meetings in Paris, France. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

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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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Horovitz discusses the latest escalation in the north, following two waves of Hezbollah device explosions this week, and the decision by the government and IDF to send more troops to the northern border.

He also describes the Shin Bet arrest of an older Israeli man, discovered to have traveled to Iran in a plot to kill the prime minister, defense minister or the head of the Shin Bet.

Horovitz reviews the Wednesday night Channel 12 report alleging that the prime minister had been working since December to torpedo a possible hostage deal for political reasons, and also delves into the collapse of the end-of-November hostage deal.

He also discusses why Netanyahu would want to swap his current defense minister, Yoav Gallant, during a war, for another political foe, MK Gideon Sa'ar, who has no specific defense background.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Gallant says IDF diverting resources to northern border in ‘new phase’ of war

20 killed, 450 wounded as Lebanon hit by 2nd wave of Hezbollah device explosions

Hungary: Exploding pagers weren’t made here, linked firm acted as trade intermediary

Will the pager operation deter Hezbollah and Iran, and is Israel prepared for war if not?

Israeli recruited by Iran in plot to kill Netanyahu, Gallant or Shin Bet head Bar

Ex-defense minister Ya’alon was target of Hezbollah bomb attack in Tel Aviv last year

Report: Nov. truce collapsed because Hamas falsely claimed women set for release were dead

Netanyahu, don’t fire Gallant again: The first was a tragedy, the second could be worse

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: IDF evacuates civilians injured by missile fired from Lebanon, in the Ramim Cliff area on September 19, 2024 (Photo by Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today’s episode.

Four IDF soldiers fell in the Gaza Strip yesterday: Cpt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, 23; Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, 20; Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri, 21; and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon, 21. We discuss how the death of Naim, a paramedic, marks the first female soldier to be killed in the ground offensive.

A massive attack against Hezbollah operatives that is being attributed to Israel saw the explosion of thousands of pagers yesterday a few hours after Israel announced an additional official war goal: getting displaced residents of the north back to their homes. Fabian fills us in on what we’re hearing from foreign reports and the possibility of retaliation.

The Shin Bet foiled a recent attempt by Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior Israeli security official using a remotely detonated explosive device, the security agency announced on Tuesday. Fabian explains how Hezbollah likely has recruits in Israel to carry out such attacks.

The Israeli military clarified on Sunday that there was no evacuation recommendation given for civilians in southern Lebanon, and that flyers dropped in the southern village of Wazzani calling on residents to leave had been distributed by a brigade commander without permission. How could this have happened?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

4 IDF troops killed, several hurt during fighting in southern Gaza’s Rafah

9 killed, almost 3,000 injured as vast wave of pager explosions strikes Hezbollah

Analysts say Mossad likely hid explosives in pagers before they reached Hezbollah

IDF urges vigilance as defense chiefs meet amid Hezbollah retaliation threat

Shin Bet says it foiled Hezbollah attempt to kill former top Israeli security official

After unauthorized flyers dropped, IDF says there’s no south Lebanon evacuation order

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Lebanese first responders carry a man who was wounded after his handheld pager exploded in an attack blamed on Israel targeting Hezbollah, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, September 17, 2024. (AP Photo)

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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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

The security cabinet updated its official goals for the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza to include the objective of allowing residents of the north to return safely to their homes after being displaced by attacks by the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, the Prime Minister’s Office announced this morning. Does this change anything?

There are reports circulating right now about an emerging deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and New Hope chairman Gideon Sa’ar. Sa’ar is reportedly expected to be appointed defense minister if Netanyahu fires current defense chief Yoav Gallant and other reports say the two have agreed to jointly choose a new IDF chief of staff. Could it be detrimental to the war to switch leadership now?

Four years ago, the Bahraini and Emirati foreign ministers stood on either side of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump to sign the Abraham Accords. Since then, the accords were slightly expanded to include Morocco. We hear how the war has affected the participating countries and whether the accords could be expanded again soon.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Return of displaced northern residents to their homes becomes an official war goal

In deal to join cabinet, Sa’ar may get veto over judicial overhaul, choice of IDF chief

Four years on, Abraham Accords are strained by Gaza war — but prove resilient

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: The scene where a Hezbollah missile fired from Lebanon hit a home in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, September 4, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

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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.

Political reporter Tal Schneider and reporter Gavriel Fiske join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

In a phone conversation overnight, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin the time for a diplomatic solution to clashes with Hezbollah on the northern border is passing. At the same time, US special envoy Amos Hochstein is set to meet with Israel’s leadership today in an attempt to avoid further escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. Schneider describes what could be on the table.

Three women who on Thursday distributed flyers on behalf of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza at the Ohel Moshe synagogue in Herzliya were arrested a day later for alleged breaking and entering. The flyers distributed last week featured the images of six hostages believed to be held captive in Gaza as well as an image of a young Likud MK Yuli Edelstein — who was a refusenik and prisoner of Zion before being allowed to emigrate to Israel in 1987 — with the words “Let my people go” across the top. Schneider puts the contentious arrests into perspective and describes Edelstein's response.

As the new school year approached, the Israel Democracy Institute's Education Policy Program, in collaboration with the IDI's Viterbi Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, conducted an online survey from August 21 to 27, 2024. Fiske delves into the poll, which looks at how Israelis think the war should be taught in schools.

Recent research by a team of Tel Aviv University archaeologists may upend the Masada legend by asserting that the Roman siege on the mountain fortress likely lasted just a few weeks and not years. We hear highlights of Fiske's conversation with the lead researcher, Dr. Guy Stiebel, a senior lecturer in Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Cultures.

The Hecht Museum in Haifa officially returned a repaired 3,500-year-old ceramic jug to its accustomed place next to the museum entrance on Wednesday, after it had been accidentally shattered last month by a curious four-year-old visitor in a viral incident that made headlines all over the world. Fiske visited the museum last week.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Months after bodies recovered, IDF says 3 hostages were killed as ‘byproduct’ of strike

Gallant tells US counterpart time passing for deal with Hezbollah, ‘direction is clear’

Edelstein’s synagogue denies calling police on women who distributed hostage flyers

Masada legend upended: ‘The Romans came, saw and conquered, quickly and brutally’

3,500-year-old jug smashed by 4-year-old is back on display — still not behind a barrier

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Troops of the Yiftah Brigade carry out a drill in northern Israel, in a handout photo published September 6, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

A surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen set off sirens across central Israel this morning. Fabian gives us an update.

A barrage of some 40 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Galilee Panhandle and Golan Heights this morning. We hear how these rockets are wreaking damage and how they compare to the missile shot by Yemen this morning.

On Saturday, the IDF called on Palestinians in parts of the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya to evacuate, after two rockets were fired from the area aimed at the southern coastal city of Ashkelon. The IDF in recent months has repeatedly issued evacuation orders for areas from which terrorists launched rockets at Israel, but that wasn’t always the case. What changed?

Fabian reports back from Rafah where he learned last week that the Hamas terror group’s Rafah Brigade has been decimated, at least 2,308 of its operatives have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces and over 13 kilometers (8 miles) worth of tunnels have been destroyed. What did he see on the ground?

According to a number of unconfirmed foreign reports last week, Israeli special forces carried out a raid on an Iranian weapons facility in Syria. The reports claim Israeli troops operated on the ground at Masyaf, which lies about 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Israel, only about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Syria’s western coastline. The IDF has not confirmed these reports, but Fabian describes what we are hearing.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Ballistic missile fired from Yemen triggers sirens across central Israel

IDF orders evacuations in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya after rocket attack on Israel

IDF declares Hamas’s Rafah Brigade defeated; no active cross-border tunnels found

Reports: Israeli troops raided IRGC weapons facility in Syria, took equipment, documents

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Police near the remains of a ballistic missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen, near Moshav Kfar Daniel, September 15, 2024. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

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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.

Today, we bring you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring one key issue currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World. This episode features host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove.

Cosgrove is a leading voice in Conservative Judaism, who has served as head rabbi of New York’s Park Avenue Synagogue since 2008.

We speak about his soon-to-be-published book, "For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today" (Harper Collins), which was written after the October 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 and abduction of 251.

The book is a blend of memoir, Torah study and reflection on what it means to be a Jew in the Diaspora today even as Israel continues its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Using the October 7 onslaught as a touchstone, the book is roughly divided into past, present and future and examines the connection between American Jewry and Israel throughout the decades. Cosgrove addresses concerns such as a new generation of young Jewish Americans who are proud of their religious heritage, but repudiate the nationalism exhibited by the Jewish state.

So this week, we ask Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, what matters now.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, head rabbi of New York’s Park Avenue Synagogue, holding his new book, 'For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today,' September 11, 2024. (Courtesy)

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Yesterday, Rettig Gur and Borschel-Dan attended a joint press conference for the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research and Tel Aviv University, where they heard the findings of the latest Palestine-Israel Pulse survey.

They heard eye-opening perspectives of massive distrust in the other and how that influences any kind of vision of the future. They also learned that there is one sector -- Arab Israelis -- that is still optimistic and still thinks that peace can be achieved.

The survey was conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah and the International Program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation at Tel Aviv University with funding from the Netherlands Representative Office in Ramallah and the Representative Office of Japan to Palestine through UNDP/PAPP. The lead authors were Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin, Dr. Khalil Shikaki and Dr. Nimrod Rosler.

It polled 1200± Palestinians — over 800 from the West Bank and over 400 from Gaza in person — and 900 Israeli adults online, in the last half of July.

Among other things, its findings addressed the impact of October 7 and the ongoing war on support for the two-state solution and support for various alternatives to the two-state solution, including one democratic state, one undemocratic state, a two-state confederation.
We hear about attitudes toward the war and massive distrust of the other, extreme perceptions of the other and each side’s sense of victimization.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Palestinian-Israeli Pulse: A Joint Poll

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Displaced Palestinians live in shelter tents in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, September 12, 2024. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

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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.

Legal reporter Jeremy Sharonand Arab Affairs correspondent Gianluca Pacchiani join host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Sharon discusses the latest attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through Israel's Attorney General to stave off the International Criminal Court from issuing arrest warrants for him and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

He also reviews what Justice Minister Yariv Levin may do to circumvent the court order he was given this week to finally appoint a new president of Israel's Supreme Court.

Pacchiani talks about the insights offered by an exiled Egyptian analyst regarding Gaza's Philadelphi Corridor, and Egypt's longstanding involvement with that stretch of land.

Sharon looks at what is happening with a Hebron Hills Palestinian enclave whose residents could finally return to their homes following Jewish settler violence, only to be told by Israel's civil administration that they may have to leave again.

Pacchiani discusses a Middle East confab in Baku, Azerbaijan where academics and high-tech types came together to discuss cooperation in the region.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu said to ask AG to probe him and Gallant in bid to avert ICC arrest warrant

High Court orders Levin to appoint new court president; he calls its ruling undemocratic

Egypt is embarrassed to admit failure to control Philadelphi, says exiled analyst

Israel warns Palestinian village will be demolished if residents refuse to relocate

In Baku, emerging Israeli and Arab leaders prepare for a post-conflict Middle East

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: A large billboard depicting an image of Benjamin Netanyhau with the words 'You're the head, you're guilty' in Tel Aviv, February 14, 2024 (Photo by Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabianandpolitical reporter Tal Schneider join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Late yesterday, the IDF released a video filmed in the tunnel where hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi were executed by their captors on August 29 before being discovered by the IDF on August 31. Fabian explains what we learned from the video about the hostages’ conditions.

An American peace activist who was shot dead in the West Bank last week had “with high probability” been hit by IDF troops’ mistaken gunfire, the army said Tuesday, expressing regret for the killing. What further steps are being taken?

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told foreign journalists on Monday that Hamas is no longer an organized military force in the Gaza Strip after Israel’s 11-month ongoing military campaign, sparked by the terror group’s October 7 massacre. We hear about Gallant’s assessment of Hamas’s capabilities and the need for the continued quenching of its guerrilla operations. How does that square with the IDF’s projections for the war against Hamas?

On Tuesday, Gallant told troops that the IDF was shifting its focus from Gaza to the northern front and that they should prepare for a ground offensive there. Fabian describes how Gallant delivered this news to a group of soldiers.

US Vice President Kamala Harris asserted that Israel has the right to defend itself after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, as Republican candidate Donald Trump accused her of “hating” the Jewish state. Schneider describes what else the two said about Israel.

After the official echelons decided not to pursue a widespread investigation into the failures of October 7, an independent civilian commission of inquiry was launched. Schneider explains who and how this got off the ground and what we're hearing so far.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF video shows ‘horrific conditions’ in tunnel where 6 hostages were held, executed

IDF regrets ‘indirect and unintended’ fire that likely killed US woman in West Bank

Gallant: Hamas as ‘military formation’ in Gaza is gone, IDF focus shifting to north

IDF hits Hezbollah launchers after rocket fire; Gallant to troops: Prepare for ground op

At debate, Harris backs Israel’s right to self defense; Trump says she ‘hates Israel’

Witness: For years before Oct. 7, ‘PM told me he’d never order IDF to topple Hamas’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: This image released by the IDF on September 10, 2024, shows bottles filled with urine and a makeshift toilet inside of a tunnel in southern Gaza's Rafah where six Israeli hostages were murdered by Hamas terrorists (Israel Defense Forces) 

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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.

ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Horovitz discusses the latest Hezbollah attack in the northern coastal town of Nahariya, and the mounting concerns regarding the terrorist organization in Lebanon, and whether the threat can be contained by diplomatic means.

Horovitz then describes the anguished but clear comments made to the prime minister by the bereaved father Rabbi Elhanan Danino, whose son, Ori Danino, was one of the six hostages killed in Hamas captivity ten days ago. During a condolence call visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Danino told Netanyahu that it was his policies that led to the death of his eldest son.

Horovitz also reviews the latest machinations on the part of Justice Minister Yariv Levin regarding the appointment of a new High Court president.

He also speaks about the Toronto Film Festival screening of 'Bibi Files,' the documentary about the Netanyahu graft trials, and the prime minister's attempts to stop the Canadian screening.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Hezbollah drone hits Nahariya high-rise, as over 20 rockets fired at north

After Hezbollah strike on Nahariya, residents say government abandoned them

Gantz says military focus should shift from Gaza to Lebanon: ‘We’re late on this’

Top US official warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’ to war in Lebanon – reports

Bereaved father of hostage to Netanyahu: ‘My son was murdered in a tunnel you built’

Levin mulls legislation to change majority for appointing Supreme Court president

‘Bibi Files’ Canada premiere puts PM interrogation footage on screen for first time

Court denies Netanyahu bid to block Canadian screening of leaked interrogation footage

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walking outside his office at the Knesset in Jerusalem on September 9, 2024. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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 Bermanand 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 Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple 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)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabianjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Three Israeli men were shot dead by a terrorist at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank. The assailant, reportedly a truck driver from Jordan, arrived at the terminal and opened fire at the crossing’s employees. One of the three victims of the terror shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge Crossing this morning is named as Yohanan Shchori, 61, from the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Efraim. The second victim of the shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge crossing is named as Yuri Birnbaum, 65, from the West Bank settlement of Na’ama.

An American woman was shot and killed by IDF troops during a protest near Nablus in the northern West Bank on Friday. Separately, a 13-year-old Palestinian girl was reported shot dead when extremist settlers stormed a village near Nablus and clashed with villagers. We learn about both incidents.

Two Palestinian Islamic Jihad battalion commanders were killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip. Also on Saturday, the IDF said it had carried out airstrikes on command rooms operating from two former schools in Gaza City. We learn first about the strikes in the school compounds and then hear about a strike in the humanitarian zone near a hospital that killed the two PIJ commanders.

More than 50 rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Galilee Panhandle and Kiryat Shmona area overnight, some of which impacted Kiryat Shmona, causing damage. On Friday, during a tour of the Golan Heights, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said the IDF is “very focused” on fighting Hezbollah and preparing offensive actions in Lebanon against the Iran-backed terror group. What is offensive is Halevi referring to?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

3 Israelis killed in terror shooting at crossing between West Bank and Jordan

US activist said shot dead by IDF at W. Bank protest; girl killed as settlers storm village

Two PIJ commanders killed in IDF strike in central Gaza, IDF and Shin Bet say

IDF says over 50 rockets fired at north overnight; some damage, no injuries

Military ‘very focused’ on fighting Hezbollah, prepping offensive, IDF chief says

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Police at the scene where three Israelis were killed in a terror shooting attack at Allenby Bridge, a crossing between West Bank and Jordan, September 8, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring one key issue currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.

This week, Israel was shattered by the news that six hostages, all previously thought alive, were discovered dead in a Gaza tunnel. The six hostages whose bodies were recovered over the weekend — Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi — were killed just days before troops found them, according to autopsies and the IDF.

They were all buried this week and hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Sunday demanding a hostage release deal, now.

Rettig Gur and Borschel-Dan have an open, painful conversation about what may be the two sides of Israel’s Sophie’s Choice: between live hostages and, potentially, the military deterrence to prevent more Israelis from being taken.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: A display of 27 coffins of the hostages who were killed while in captivity in Gaza set up at Habima Square in Tel Aviv. (Zohar Ben Yehuda)

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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 Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Magid says the Biden administration has a slightly more positive outlook regarding the hostage negotiations, indicating that Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on some 90% of the issues in the potential hostage deal. The two thorniest remaining issues are the Philadelphi corridor and which Palestinian prisoners would be released, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said are two major issues.

He also comments on Israeli negotiators telling mediators they still support a complete withdrawal of the IDF from the Philadelphi Corridor, and the prime minister's "wishywashy" comments and double-speak on that topic to the Israeli press, foreign press and Fox News in the last week, as the prime minister wants to "appear tougher."

Magid turns to the US elections, and remarks made by presidential candidate Donald Trump questioning the continued existence of the state of Israel if Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, is elected.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

‘It must serve as wakeup call’: Hersh’s family okays release of Hamas propaganda clip

Blinken indicates mediators will present updated hostage deal offer to Israel, Hamas ‘in coming days’

US: 2 issues holding up deal, Netanyahu comments on Philadelphi make things ‘difficult’

Israel assured Qatar IDF would fully pull out of Philadelphi in ceasefire’s 2nd phase

Vote for me or Israel will be annihilated, Trump says in pitch to Republican Jews

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a press conference at the end of his one-day visit to Haiti, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool photo via AP)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

At a press conference to the foreign press last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out his positions on the state of the war in Gaza, and particularly his focus on the Strip’s border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, and his refusal to remove Israeli troops from there for a potential ceasefire-and-hostage release deal. Horovitz assesses whether there was different messaging coming out of the two languages and speaks about the Philadelphi sticking point and how other Israeli officials view it.

August saw the most rockets fired from Lebanon amid the ongoing war, according to new data published by the Shin Bet security agency this morning. There are some 68,000 displaced people from the northern district from 43 settlements and their return is now a stated war goal. But, has Netanyahu given any indication of when?

The first phase of a large-scale polio vaccination campaign in Gaza has concluded successfully, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, providing nearly 200,000 children in the center of the Strip with their initial dose. More than 500 teams, consisting of nearly 2,200 health and community outreach workers, took part in the campaign. Horovitz weighs in on what this cooperation may indicate.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Under Netanyahu, Israel is in existential danger

‘A step away from victory’? Netanyahu says his April claim was not intended literally

Top Netanyahu aide doesn’t rule out pullout from Gaza-Egypt border in deal’s 2nd phase

Hezbollah pounds Galilee with over 100 rockets, causing heavy damage but no injuries

WHO hails success of polio 1st phase vaccination campaign in Gaza

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands before a map during a press conference at the Government Press Office in Jerusalem, Sept. 4, 2024. (Abir Sultan/Pool via AP)

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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.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian and reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Fabian reports on the latest from the West Bank city of Jenin, where IDF troops have been operating in the major terror hotspot since last week, an operation dubbed Summer Camps by the IDF, ripping up explosive devices and enabling the army to be able to return to the area more easily in the future.

He also discusses a strike that killed Hamas Nukhba force company commander Ahmed Fawzi Nasser Muhammad Wadiyya, who led the invasion of Netiv Ha’asara on October 7 that killed 22 people.

Surkes speaks about the start of the school year in Sderot, where parents uneasily welcomed the return to their hometown. She also reports about Kibbutz Re'im, where families are slowly returning, unsure if they feel ready to return home yet.

Surkes also relates some research about vultures, and the uncanny resemblance in some of the bird's personality traits to humans.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

In longest West Bank raid in 20 years, IDF aims to set stage for future, smaller ops

IDF says it killed Hamas commander who murdered father in front of his kids on Oct. 7

While Israeli kids near Gaza rejoice at return to school, parents remain ambivalent

While young vultures gad about, older ones prefer to stay home – study

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves.

IMAGE: Idit Dayan (center, wearing yellow), the principal of the Gil Rabin School in Sderot, southern Israel, welcomes children back for the new school year, on September 1, 2024. (Sue Surkes/Times of Israel)

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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 Bermanandculture editor Jessica Steinbergjoin host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Jerusalem on Monday to bid a final farewell to slain American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the best-known faces among those seized by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7. Steinberg, a family friend, talks about Hersh and brings the overriding messages from the funeral.

After many many months in which Israelis have called upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to spell out his vision of a hostage release deal, he finally held a rare press conference in Jerusalem after a day of massive strikes and protests throughout the country. What were the salient points Netanyahu tried to make last night?

US President Joe Biden on Monday said Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure a deal for the release of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, while revealing that his administration was “very close” to presenting a final hostage deal offer later this week. How does this overt chastisement affect the talks?

Britain said Monday it would immediately suspend dozens of arms export licenses with Israel because there is a risk the equipment might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, drawing rebuke from Israeli officials. But this morning, Britain’s defense minister John Healey said the country’s suspension of 30 of its 350 arms export licenses to Israel will not threaten Israel’s ability to defend itself. Berman discusses the mixed message the UK is sending.

Speaking to the Israel Bar Association this morning, President Isaac Herzog issued a strident call for unity, insisting that "the soul and future of the nation are at stake.” What else did he say in the aftermath of days of country-wide turmoil?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

‘We all failed you’: Heartbreak at funeral for Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem

‘My sweet boy Hersh, we tried so desperately to save you’

Netanyahu: If we leave Philadelphi, Hamas will be able to rearm, revive, repeat Oct. 7

Biden says US close to presenting final ceasefire offer, PM not doing enough for deal

Court shuts down Histadrut strike, accepting government claim it was political

UK suspends 30 of 350 arms export licenses to Israel, insists it’s not an embargo

‘Don’t you dare’: Herzog warns against reviving judicial overhaul, pleads for unity

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by thePod-Waves.

IMAGE: Mourners and family members gather to bury executed US-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin whose body was recovered with five other hostages in Gaza, during the funeral at Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen / POOL / AFP)

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gurjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Last night, mass demonstrations were held throughout Israel after news came out that the bodies of six executed hostages were found, with protesters demanding the government reach a deal for the release of all hostages. Rettig Gur unpacks the protesters' frustrations and motivations.

On Thursday, the security cabinet voted to back Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position in favor of maintaining Israeli military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border as part of any potential ceasefire and hostage release deal. In a security cabinet meeting Sunday evening, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly called the demand “an unnecessary constraint that we’ve placed on ourselves.” But can a deal be approved without this line item now?

During a press conference in Tel Aviv on Sunday, the head of the major labor union Arnon Bar-David said that the strike would start at 6 a.m. Monday and an official in the Histadrut Labor Federation told Channel 12 this morning that the organization is considering extending the general strike to tomorrow. Rettig Gur weighs in on the tactic of using a strike to pressure the government as it faces a Sophie's choice of a decision.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Autopsy finds 6 hostages were shot multiple times at close range in last 48-72 hours

Masses protest across Israel in flood of grief, anger after Hamas executes 6 hostages

Gallant said to call Philadelphi demand a ‘disgrace,’ drawing fury from PM, ministers

Ministers back Netanyahu’s demand for IDF to stay in Philadelphi Corridor in any deal

Striking unions join protest as thousands take to streets for hostage deal

Histadrut labor union announces nationwide strike, over failure to release hostages

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Zev Levi.

IMAGE: In Tel Aviv, protesters demanding a hostage release deal block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2024. (courtesy)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabianjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The bodies of six hostages abducted alive by Hamas on October 7 were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah a few days ago, shortly after they were murdered by terrorists, the Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday. They were named as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lubnov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27. We learn about the operation to recover their bodies and what we know about the killings of the six.

Late last week, the IDF announced it had wrapped up a three-week operation in the southern Gaza Strip and also that the Hamas terror group’s Rafah Brigade had “collapsed” as a result of the Israel Defense Forces’s ongoing offensive in the city. What is the current status of the Hamas brigades and the location of the fighting on the ground?

A health official said Saturday that a polio vaccination campaign had begun in Gaza after the war-torn territory recorded its first case of the disease in a quarter of a century. The campaign involves two doses and aims to cover over 640,000 children under age 10. How are these temporary pauses in fighting being carried out?

Three Israeli police officers were killed in a shooting attack in the southern West Bank on Sunday morning. The attack came after terrorists on Saturday detonated two car bombs in the southern West Bank’s Gush Etzion settlement bloc. Two soldiers were lightly and one moderately hurt in the explosions. Fabian describes the two terror incidents.

Last week, the military launched an ongoing counterterrorism operation in several West Bank cities. Fabian updates us on the operation's achievements so far and describes what cooperation the IDF is seeing with the Palestinian Authority.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Bodies of 6 hostages, murdered by Hamas just days ago, found in Rafah – IDF

IDF wraps up 3-week raid in south Gaza; 250 gunmen killed, 6 km of tunnels destroyed

IDF: Hamas’s Rafah Brigade has collapsed, 80% of border tunnels neutralized

Polio vaccination campaign begins in Gaza, health officials say

3 cops killed in southern West Bank shooting attack; IDF pursuing gunmen

2 car bombs detonate in coordinated West Bank attacks; terrorists killed by troops

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Zev Levi.

IMAGE: Pictures of 107 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are displayed by their families and friends as they protest outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, Auguest 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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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.

The New York Times op-ed columnist Bret Stephens joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode, a bonus reply of our weekly What Matters Now podcast.

This week, campuses across North America opened their doors for their fall semester. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Stephens recently wrote a column called, “What I Want a University President to Say About Campus Protests,” in which he channels a university president presenting his foundational principles, including, “the spirit of inquiry.”

In this week’s episode, we hear Stephens’s take on concepts that have evolved and flourished on campuses in the past several decades, including how critical theory has shifted faculties and the role of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI).

So this week, as students return to campuses, we ask Bret Stephens, what matters now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves and Adina Karpuj.

IMAGE: New York Times op-ed columnist Bret Stephens. (Jason Smith via JTA)

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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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Vice President Kamala Harris was again heckled by an anti-Israel protester, this time during a rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday. The Democratic presidential nominee responded by stressing her support for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Berman describes this incident and points out a gaping omission in her stated support for Israel.

The WHO and UN children’s fund UNICEF are hoping to provide oral vaccines against type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) to more than 640,000 children in the Strip after a baby contracted the first confirmed case in 25 years in the Palestinian territory. Berman updates on the partial pauses in fighting in the Strip.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday reportedly presented the security cabinet with a document he drew up in recent days urging a hostage-ceasefire deal and detailing the potentially dire consequences for Israel of a failure to finalize such an agreement. We discuss the domino effect that potentially could allow the 68,000 displaced people from the northern district from 43 settlements return home while still maintaining Israel's deterrence.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Harris says she won’t change US policy on arming Israel, stresses need for hostage deal

Israel agrees to localized ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza for polio vaccination, WHO says

Gallant said to warn ministers multi-front war dangerously close sans hostage deal

Ministers vote to back PM’s stance in favor of IDF staying in Philadelphi Corridor

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Zev Levi.

IMAGE: IDF troops are seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo published on August 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

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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.

The Israeli military has launched a large-scale counterterrorism operation in the wake of last week’s attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that is expected to last at least several days, military sources said yesterday. At the same time, top Hamas official Khaled Mashal in Turkey yesterday called for a resumption of suicide bombings. What is the Biden administration saying about the IDF's operation in the West Bank so far?

The Biden administration issued its sixth batch of sanctions targeting Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, blacklisting a group that provides volunteer guards for illegal outposts and a civilian security guard for a flashpoint settlement who has allegedly engaged in attacks against Palestinians. Magid gives nuance to who was -- and what wasn't -- including in this batch of sanctions.

After a summit of high-level hostage release negotiations that took place last weekend in Cairo, the result was an agreement to hold another round of lower-level talks this week in Doha. Magid spoke with White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby who is an unapologetic optimist. We hear what he said.

Last week, a five-year-old child accidentally broke a rare Bronze Age clay vessel on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa, but ended up being invited back, along with his family, for a special tour of the museum. After a few days of staycation, Borschel-Dan can definitely identify with this family's plight.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

11 Palestinians killed as IDF launches major anti-terror raid in West Bank

Top Hamas official Mashaal urges resumption of suicide bombings against Israel

‘This is a war’: FM urges Gaza-style temporary evacuation of Palestinians in West Bank

US issues new batch of sanctions targeting West Bank settlers amid rampant violence

‘We failed’: IDF finds it didn’t act sufficiently to prevent deadly settler rampage

Unapologetic optimism: How US approaches its messaging around hostage negotiations

Kid shatters 3,500-year-old jar in Haifa museum, gets invited back

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Adina Karpuj.

IMAGE: Troops of the Kfir Brigade's Haruv Reconnaissance Unit are seen operating in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, August 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

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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.

Arab affairs correspondent Gianluca Pacchiani and political reporter Sam Sokol join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Pacchiani discusses the Bedouin background of rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi, and the little known about his family, who didn't speak to the press over the last eleven months of his captivity, preferring their privacy and given concerns about how Hamas would treat a Bedouin hostage.

He also speaks about his recent analysis of the Hamas propaganda machine, and the psychology behind their extensive advertising and public relations, which always aligns with one message.

Sokol talks about the latest brouhaha with Transportation Minister Miri Regev who was tapped to handle the government's official October 7 ceremony but is seen as the wrong person for the job because of her political leanings.

Sokol also expands on the interview he and founding ToI editor David Horovitz conducted with opposition leader Yair Lapid, and Lapid's thoughts about how and when the Netanyahu government will come to an end.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Better than a baby: ‘Surprise’ hostage rescue gives way to joy as family reunites

In Rahat, a Bedouin community mourns its October 7 losses away from the public eye

Terrorize Israelis while eliciting sympathy abroad: Inside Hamas’s propaganda strategy

Huge alternative Oct. 7 memorial ceremony to be held in Tel Aviv; state event in Ofakim

‘He lost his soul’: Lapid sees ‘sacred cause’ in toppling Netanyahu’s government

Lapid: Netanyahu was briefed on dangers ahead of Oct. 7, ignored ‘all red flags,’ must go

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick.

IMAGE: Rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi at Beersheba's Soroka Hospital on August 27, 2024 (Courtesy Yossi Ifergan/GPO)

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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.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian and political writer Tal Schneider join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Fabian discusses the timing of Sunday's visit of Airforce General Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Israel, hours after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel, that were mostly thwarted. 

He mentions a military probe into the death of one Navy soldier and two injured soldiers on a Navy vessel, as a result of the Sunday Hezbollah rocket and drone attack.

Fabian also speaks about the IDF drone strike in the West Bank that killed five people situated in a terror command room — including a Hamas member released by Israel in the November 2023 hostage-release deal.

Schneider takes another look at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and the latest in his recent, incendiary statements regarding Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount, causing an ultra-Orthodox newspaper to call him out for his actions.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Top US general says risk of broader war ‘somewhat’ abated after Israel-Hezbollah clash

Israeli Navy sailor killed, two hurt by interceptor missile amid Hezbollah attack

Halevi: IDF working to return displaced northern residents ‘as quickly as possible’

IDF says it carried out drone strike on West Bank terror cell; 5 reported killed

Haredi newspaper calls Ben Gvir ‘pyromaniac politician’ over Temple Mount remarks

Ben Gvir says Jews can pray on Temple Mount; Netanyahu insists status quo unchanged

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick.

IMAGE: IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halev and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr, August 26, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

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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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Horovitz discusses the comments made by Hezbollah terror leader Hassan Nasrallah in the wake of the extensive rocket attack against Israel early Sunday morning, in which Nasrallah claimed victory for the attack mostly thwarted by the IDF.

He then looks at the latest in the ceasefire and hostage deal talks, currently ongoing in Cairo and Doha, with the US pressing hard for a deal.

Horovitz also speaks about the latest comments made Monday morning by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir regarding the right for Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, long seen as a flashpoint in local political and security tensions. Ben Gvir's statements feed into the letter recently sent by Shin Bet head Ronen Bar to Netanyahu and government ministers, regarding fears for Ben Gvir's actions on the Temple Mount and growing Jewish terror.

He also delves more deeply into his interview last week with opposition leader Yair Lapid, who expressed optimism about Israel's future and what needs to be done going forward.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Nasrallah asserts Hezbollah attack was success, reserves right to strike again

PM says strikes on Hezbollah ‘not end of story’ as allies warn against escalation

No breakthroughs in Cairo talks as US says mediators pushing ‘feverishly’ for deal

Defense minister says national security being sapped by Ben Gvir’s moves

Shin Bet chief warns Netanyahu, ministers that Jewish terror endangering Israel

‘He lost his soul’: Lapid sees ‘sacred cause’ in toppling Netanyahu’s government

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick.

IMAGE: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, after his visit to the Temple Mount on August 13, 2024 (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

According to the IDF, some 210 rockets and some 20 drones were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in Hezbollah’s attack this morning. Some of the projectiles were intercepted, while others struck Israel, causing damage and injuries. But also according to the IDF, potentially thousands of launchers were preemptively struck. Fabian gives us a timeline of events.

US Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began his trip in Jordan and said he will also travel to Egypt and Israel in the coming days to hear the perspectives of military leaders. What does his presence in the region signal?

Five soldiers were killed during fighting against the Hamas terror group in the central Gaza Strip over the weekend. We hear about the deadly incidents and also learn about a lengthy tunnel attributed to Palestinian Islamic Jihad that was recently uncovered.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF hits Hezbollah launch sites in Lebanon to thwart major attack on central, north Israel

IDF bracing for ‘significant week,’ as Hezbollah strike expected within days

Top US general makes surprise trip to Middle East as threatened Iranian attack looms

Travel chaos as Ben Gurion Airport briefly shut, foreign airlines nix flights

IDF says soldier killed in Gaza yesterday, raising toll of op to 339

3 reservists killed in central Gaza fighting, bringing IDF’s weekend toll to 4

IDF reservist killed, others wounded by explosive device in Gaza City

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. 

IMAGE: In this combination of pictures created on August 25, 2024, photos taken from a position in northern Israel show Hezbollah UAVs being intercepted by the Israeli air force over northern Israel on August 25, 2024. (Jalaa Marey / AFP)

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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.

Those We Have Lost project coordinator Amy Spiro joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Today, we’re dedicating the daily podcast's time to stories of civilians and soldiers who have fallen since October 7. We’ve each chosen eight individuals to focus on and we’ll explain why they moved us.

We also hear updates from Spiro on how many of the over 1,600 individuals who were killed on or after October 7 during this war with Hamas that we have been able to write memorials for.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Michal Zarbailov, 60: Daycare worker was on her way to Dead Sea

Hava Ben Ami, 78: Walked to pre-state Israel by foot from Syria

Kobi Shmaya, 47 & Sgt. Osher Shmaya, 19: Father & son slain together

Sgt. 1st Class Shay Pizem, 23: Had only 2 weeks with his daughter

Roland and Ronit Sultan, 68 & 55: Immigrant couple built kibbutz life

Staff Sgt. Adi Baruch, 23: Boyfriend proposed to her at her funeral

Bnayahu Bitton, 22: Musician who always had a guitar at hand

Maj. Sagi Golan, 30: Killed 13 days before wedding to his boyfriend

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by The Pod Waves. 

IMAGE: Illustrative: Friends and family members mourn near graves of Israeli soldiers killed on October 7, at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, on May 9, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

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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 US bureau chief Jacob Magid join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

US Vice President Kamala Harris just accepted the presidential nomination and she addressed the war in Gaza very directly and clearly in her speech from the podium. Magid reports from Chicago on this and other aspects of Jewish or Israeli interest, including the moving speech by Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, at the Democratic National Convention.

Chances for an immediate breakthrough appear increasingly remote even as Israel sends a team headed by Mossad chief David Barnea, and including Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, head of the IDF General Staff Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate. Berman assesses the status of the talks and weighs in on the role the US has played in bringing them to this point.

The bodies of the six hostages recovered by the IDF from southern Gaza’s Khan Younis this week all have signs of gunshot wounds, according to initial autopsy findings released Thursday. What does it potentially mean that Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtav, Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, and Avraham Munder were killed by gunfire?

Sgt. Ori Ashkenazi Nechemya, 19, was killed during fighting in southern Gaza on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces announced, as troops pressed on with operations across the Strip. Berman lays out where the fighting is currently, and where it may be going.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Israeli negotiators fly to Cairo amid deep disagreements over Philadelphi Corridor

Bullet wounds in bodies of all 6 hostages from Gaza suggest they were killed by captors

Soldier killed by anti-tank fire in Rafah, as IDF presses on with operations in Gaza

Emhoff pledges to continue fighting against antisemitism ‘when I’m first gentleman’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yoel Sigel. 

IMAGE: US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her husband US Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff wave from the stage on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. (Charly Triballeau / AFP)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Four Israeli settlers, including one minor, were detained overnight by police over their suspected involvement in an attack on the Palestinian West Bank village of Jit last week. According to a joint statement issued by police and the Shin Bet, the four are suspected of terrorism against Palestinians in several incidents, including the attack on Jit. We explore how rare this accusation is.

The army announced it was operating at “peak readiness” three weeks ago, following the dual assassinations in Teheran and Beirut, and was able to immediately pivot to try to avert any attack from Iran and Hezbollah. Fabian assesses whether this is still the case amid the continuing conflict along the northern border.

More than 150 tunnels have been demolished along Gaza’s southern border, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Wednesday while speaking with soldiers at the Philadelphi Corridor, as the army said it destroyed some 30 terror sites and killed dozens of gunmen in airstrikes across the enclave over the past day. We hear what else is happening on the ground.

Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, in his last speech as head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, said Wednesday that he was responsible for not providing a warning ahead of Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught. He also seemed to indicate that others who are responsible for the failure should likewise take responsibility and leave the IDF. But where would he stop?

Amid a persistent manpower shortage caused by the ongoing war in Gaza, the defense establishment has started recalling to duty some 15,000 previously exempted reservists. We hear who is affected by this recall to reserves even as only seven ultra-Orthodox men report for duty yesterday -- and 70 in the past month -- amid riots.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Gallant: IDF razed 150 tunnels on Egypt-Gaza border, defeated Hamas’s Rafah Brigade

Israeli hurt in rocket barrage on Golan; Fatah official tied to Iran killed in Sidon strike

Outgoing IDF intel chief Haliva says he failed to warn of Oct. 7, urges state probe

Amid troop shortage, IDF begins calling up 15,000 previously released reservists

IDF: Only some 70 Haredi men have reported to induction centers since High Court ruling

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. 

IMAGE: A man stands in front of burnt cars, a day after an attack by Jewish settlers on the village of Jit near Nablus in the occupied West Bank that left a 23-year-old man dead and others with critical gunshot wounds, on August 16, 2024. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP)

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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 from Chicago for today's episode.

Talks to bring about a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners are “on the brink of collapsing,” according to a Politico report, citing two unnamed US officials and one unnamed Israeli official. Magid explains the significance of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's nixed audience with Qatar’s Emir Tamim Al-Thani after sitting down with top leaders in Israel and Egypt and weighs in on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mixed messaging with the families of slain soldiers and Hamas hostages.

The Democratic National Convention began Monday in Chicago. After his speech, US President Joe Biden made a statement regarding the hostage release negotiations in which he accused Hamas of “backing away” from a hostage deal with Israel that would halt the ongoing fighting in Gaza. We hear of the statement's strategic purpose, as well as disturbances during Biden's speech.

The first two days of the convention spotlighted a number of well-known Jews. Magid highlights their speeches and discusses the Hostage Square exhibit set up near the convention center.

Finally, we learn about what anti-Israel demonstrations have taken place so far -- and what may be on the horizon.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Blinken urges ‘maximum flexibility’ from Israel and Hamas in hostage-ceasefire talks

Biden says Hamas ‘backing away’ from hostage-ceasefire deal, as Blinken heads to Egypt

Israel activists erect ‘Hostage Square’ in Chicago on sidelines of Democratic convention

Anti-Israel protests fail to overshadow first day of Democratic Party confab

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators charge police line outside Israeli consulate in Chicago

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. 

IMAGE: Former President Barack Obama speaks during the Democratic National Convention August 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The Israel Defense Forces confirms that it has recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages during an overnight operation in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The hostages are Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78. Fabian debriefs us on what we know so far.

An Israeli officer was killed and several others were wounded by a failed airstrike in southern Gaza on Monday morning, the military said, as troops pressed on with operations across the Strip. The soldier was named as Lt. Shahar Ben Nun, 21, a team commander in the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Petah Tikva. We learn about the tragic technical failure and are updated on the number of soldiers killed in accidents and "friendly fire" during the war in Gaza.

A noncommissioned officer in the IDF was killed and another soldier was seriously wounded in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack in northern Israel on Monday morning. The slain NCO was named as Chief Warrant Officer Mahmood Amaria, 45, a tracker in the 300th “Baram” Regional Brigade, from the northern Bedouin village of Ibtin. Fabian fills us in on the continued deadly tit-for-tat conflict along the northern border.

The Hamas terror group on Monday claimed responsibility for an explosion in Tel Aviv the day before, saying it was a suicide bombing conducted as a joint operation with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and vowing further such attacks. Fabian explains what we know -- and don't -- about the incident.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF recovers bodies of 6 hostages from Gaza, including one previously presumed alive

IDF officer killed in failed Israeli airstrike in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Soldier killed, another seriously hurt in Hezbollah drone attack on Western Galilee

IDF strikes Hezbollah weapons depots deep in Lebanon after deadly drone attack

Hezbollah fires 75 rockets at Israel after IDF hits weapons depots in eastern Lebanon

Police, Shin Bet said to believe Iran, Hezbollah may be behind failed Tel Aviv attack

Hamas claims Tel Aviv blast as attempted suicide bombing, vows to carry out more

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. 

IMAGE: IDF troops seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo published on August 19, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in our Jerusalem offices for today's episode.

As Hamas again rejects the current hostage-release deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the region to try to bridge gaps. Horovitz weighs in on where negotiations stand now and what is at stake with them in terms of the broader regional picture. He also compares the current process with the 2011 Gilad Schalit release deal.

State Attorney Amit Aisman announced on Sunday that he will oversee an investigation into Thursday’s rioting by extremist settlers in the Palestinian village of Jit during which 23-year-old Rasheed Seda was killed and homes and vehicles were set ablaze. No suspects have been arrested yet over Jit yet, however, police detained two more Israeli settlers suspected of assaulting four Arab Israeli women, including a three-year-old, in the West Bank outpost of Givat Ronen earlier this month. Are these signs that official Israel is taking these incidents seriously?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Hamas rejects US hostage-ceasefire proposal as PM said to warn chance for deal ‘not high’

A hostage deal that also averts regional war should be a no-brainer for Netanyahu. But…

State Attorney Amit Aisman to oversee investigation into Jit settler rampage

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. 

IMAGE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting in Jerusalem, August 19, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that more than 50 tunnels discovered along the Philadelphi Corridor, along the Egypt-Gaza border area, have been demolished by combat engineers over the past week. Fabian drills down into the strategic importance of the corridor, one of the sticking points in the hostage negotiations currently being conducted in Cairo.

Two Israeli reservists were killed by a roadside bomb in central Gaza on Saturday afternoon, the IDF announced, as fighting continued across the Strip. We hear about the deadly incident and about the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, which has turned into IDF staging grounds and the launch pad for humanitarian aid.

Hezbollah launched a barrage of some 55 rockets at a northern Israeli kibbutz on Saturday in what it said was a response to an Israeli airstrike overnight that killed at least 10 people and wounded five others. We learn about the incident that prompted this barrage as well as other strikes on both sides of the northern border.

Two senior Hamas terrorists were killed in an Israeli drone strike in the West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday evening, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency said. The pair of Hamas operatives were involved in planning a shooting attack in the Jordan Valley last week, in which 23-year-old Yonatan Deutsch was killed and another civilian was wounded. Fabian explains the unusual way in which the IDF announced how their whereabouts were discovered.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF: Dozens of tunnels razed on Gaza-Egypt border, 17,000 terror operatives killed in war

2 IDF reservists killed by bomb during logistics supply mission in central Gaza

55 rockets launched at north after IDF strike on Hezbollah arms depot said to kill 10

Two senior Hamas operatives killed in IDF drone strike in West Bank city of Jenin

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. 

IMAGE: View of the Philadelphi Corridor between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, on July 15, 2024. (Oren Cohen/Flash90)

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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.

Author Yossi Klein Halevi joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode, a bonus replay of our What Matters Now weekly podcast.

This week, we turn to Klein Halevi for a deeply intense probe into what it means to be part of the existential Israeli struggle.

We discuss how, as the war in Gaza continues, the different forces in Israeli society are caught up in a destructive push-pull dance even as Israel is losing its moral capital during this long war.

During this time of existential schism in the Jewish state, we also hear how to weave threads of unity.

So this week, we ask best-selling author Yossi Klein Halevi, what matters now.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. 

IMAGE: Author Yossi Klein Halevi. (Shalom Hartman Institute)

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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.

As potentially fateful talks for a hostage and ceasefire deal are underway in Qatar, 10 hardliners from the ruling Likud party issued a public letter addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, detailing four “red lines as members of the Likud movement and as members of the coalition.” Magid fills us in on what are we hearing after the first day of talks, including communications from Qatar to Iran.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told a special session of the Turkish parliament on Thursday that he would travel to the Gaza Strip as a statement of solidarity with his people under war. Magid weighs in on some potential obstacles to the visit.

Dozens of masked settlers participated in the riot through the northern West Bank village of Jit, with the Palestinian Authority health ministry reporting that a 23-year-old local was killed by “settlers’ bullets.” Israeli security sources said it was unclear who shot him. Magid explores the forces in the coalition that have ties to these extremist elements.

Former US president Donald Trump said yesterday that he counseled Netanyahu when they met last month to swiftly “get your victory” because the “killing has to stop” in Gaza. Magid unpacks Trump's statements on this and about a potential future Democrat State Department.

Magid recounts how Biden’s big hostage-release deal speech from the White House State Dining Room on May 31 was initially supposed to be a different speech altogether.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Gaza truce talks in Doha get off to ‘promising start,’ set to continue Friday

In Turkey, Abbas declares he’ll go to Gaza ‘even if it costs my life,’ mourns Haniyeh

Palestinian killed as settlers torch homes and cars in West Bank village

Trump: I told Netanyahu ‘get your victory quickly’ because ‘the killing has to stop’

A Biden speech urging national Israeli reckoning was shelved at the last minute. Here’s why

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. 

IMAGE: A car torched by masked settlers in the Palestinian town of Jit in the West Bank, August 15, 2024. (Screenshot: X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and Arab Affairs reporter Luca Pacchiani join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, and Netanyahu adviser Ophir Falk were sent to Doha to participate in two days of hostage release negotiations. We hear how the Arab press is covering their chances of success.

On Tuesday, Hamas launched rockets toward Tel Aviv for the first time in months. Fabian discusses what we know about the conflict on the ground as well as what this recent rocket attack could symbolize. And as Hezbollah projectiles continue to batter the north, Fabian updates.

Yesterday, five Palestinian gunmen were killed in a 12-hour Israeli counter-terrorism raid in the northern West Bank and four soldiers were also wounded during the operation after a roadside bomb hit their vehicle. Fabian debriefs on how the IDF is carrying out a long-term strategy with this type of operation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken okayed the sale of fighter jets and other arms to Israel in deals worth over $20 billion, the Pentagon said Tuesday. What is expected and when?

On April 13, Amina Hassouna, a 7-year old Bedouin girl, was the sole victim of the Iran attack and was seriously wounded in the head by shrapnel from an intercepted ballistic missile. We hear how her unrecognized Bedouin community in the Negev, Al-Fura, and many others still lack basic infrastructure, but also sirens, rocket shelters and cover from the Iron Dome missile defense system.

As Israelis wait in uncertainty and trepidation for an Iranian attack that may or may not materialize in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, some media outlets in the Arab world have begun to ridicule Tehran’s perceived empty threats and grandstanding. Pacchiani describes a few.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Israel sending high-level team to Doha talks, seen as possible last chance for deal

Hamas fires rockets at Tel Aviv, a first since May, as IDF advances in Khan Younis

5 Palestinian gunmen killed, four troops hurt in West Bank raid

US approves $20 billion in weapons sales to Israel, including 50 fighter jets

As Iranian retaliation looms, thousands of Bedouins still vulnerable to rockets 

Satirical cartoons in the Arab press lampoon Iran for delaying attack on Israel

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick. 

IMAGE: Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj, who regularly publishes in the Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, draws an Iranian tank carries a gigantic missile launcher, which only ends up ejecting a small drone carrying a miniature rocket, August 10, 2024. (screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

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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.

Political reporter Tal Schneider and settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal are scheduled to resume in Qatar on Thursday, with US mediators touting the summit as possibly the final opportunity to release the hostages captured by Hamas on October 7, end the 10-month-long war in Gaza. Schneider tells us what we’re hearing about how the negotiations could also avert the possibility of an all-out regional war with the involvement of Iran.

The influential newspaper aligned with the United Torah Judaism political party Yated Ne’eman blasted National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for “endangering Jewish lives” by visiting Temple Mount on the solemn Jewish fast day of Tisha B’av and insisting that Jewish prayer was permitted at the site, in direct contradiction to the status quo upheld by the Israeli government. Sharon weighs in on the ideology guiding Ben Gvir and then Schneider discusses the political fallout.

Schneider brings a report about a petition to the High Court that was brought by dozens of parents of IDF fighters who have been in battle for most of the 313 days of the war against Hamas. They claim that the IDF has no regulations in place to handle this long-term situation and as a result, their children are being denied really basic things, such as basic hygiene or the right to even take their boots off for over 80 days. What do the parents hope to accomplish?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Biden: Iran expected to push off attacking Israel if Gaza ceasefire deal clinched

US leads international condemnations of Ben Gvir’s ‘provocations’ at Temple Mount

Ben Gvir scorns PM’s objections as Jews seen praying on Temple Mount: ‘It’s my policy’

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas since the October 7 attacks lift flags and placards as they demonstrate calling for their release in Tel Aviv on August 10, 2024. (Oren Ziv / AFP)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and reporter Canaan Lidorjoin host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi held an assessment and approved battle plans for “the various fronts,” the military said yesterday, as the country braced for an attack from Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. How is the IDF ramping up its preparations for "peak alertness"?

The military wing of Hamas on Monday said that members of the terror group assigned to guard Israeli hostages killed a male captive and seriously wounded another two female hostages. The Israel Defense Forces said it could neither confirm nor deny the claim. Fabian tells us what little we know.

The United Nations Security Council is set to meet today to discuss Gaza in the wake of this weekend’s Israeli airstrike on what it says was a terror HQ inside a school that was being used as a shelter. Fabian updates with new numbers of terrorists killed during Saturday's strike.

In a petition filed Sunday to the Tel Aviv District Court, 14 Tel Aviv residents and the Rosh Yehudi group accused the municipality of facilitating sex-segregated prayers on public grounds by Muslims on their holidays, while preventing similar activities by Jews on Yom Kippur and beyond. Lidor gives background to this tinderbox issue.

Today is the annual Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B’Av. Lidor notes a sad new addition to the lamentations traditionally recited today.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF on ‘peak alert’ for Iran, Hezbollah attacks; US expects it may happen this week

IDF chief approves multi-front battle plans as Israel girds for Iran, Hezbollah attack

Hamas says its guards killed a hostage, wounded two others; IDF investigating claim

IDF names another 12 Hamas, Islamic Jihad terrorists killed in Gaza school strike

Sidelined by war, fight over gender-segregated prayer in Tel Aviv resumes in court

October 7 trauma reconnects Israelis with a 2,000-year-old Jewish day of mourning

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Jewish men pray during Tisha B'Av, at the Wall Western, in the Old City of Jerusalem, August 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Lebanese media is reporting that in recent days Hezbollah has entirely evacuated its headquarters in the Beirut suburb of Dahieh and last night AXIOS reported that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke last night with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and told him Iran’s military preparations suggest Iran is getting ready for a large-scale attack on Israel. What are we hearing about Israel's preparedness?

On Saturday morning, after the IDF struck a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command room at the Taba’een school in Gaza City, international media was aflame with damning headlines. Horovitz weighs in.

The widely endorsed ceasefire and hostage release deal presented to Israel and Hamas earlier this year is still viable, according to US President Joe Biden, despite the Palestinian terror group’s announcement that it would not be sending a delegation to the August 15 confab.

During Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Yariv Levin reportedly pushed for the renewal of the government’s legal overhaul, which has been frozen since October 7. We hear how the judicial overhaul influenced the country last year, leading Borschel-Dan to ask, why make this push now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

In reversal, Israel said to now believe Iran plans to attack in next few days

Hamas says it won’t attend Thursday’s ‘last opportunity’ talks for hostage-truce deal

In cabinet meeting, justice minister said to call to revive judicial overhaul plan

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Vehicles drive past a huge billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and slain Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at Tehran's Valiasr Square on August 12, 2024. (Atta Kenare/ AFP)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabianjoins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The IDF ordered an airstrike Saturday morning on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command room at the Taba’een school in Gaza City, killing some 19 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror operatives. Fabian debriefs us on the controversial operation and what else is happening on the ground in the Strip.

Amid a Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel, a treatment and rehabilitation center for people with disabilities was hit and severely damaged after a likely Iron Dome interceptor landed in the center’s indoor pool and wreaked havoc -- without causing casualties. We learn about other drone strikes and how the IDF is combatting them.

Iranian spies created fake online profiles impersonating Israeli users as part of a scheme to recruit Israeli civilians to carry out missions for Tehran, Israeli authorities said Thursday. Fabian explains how this wasn't the first time -- and won't be the last.

In the event of an emergency, the IDF Home Front Command can announce restrictions on gatherings, the education system, and workplaces in specific areas, or across the country. We hear why it is still business as usual across the country, even as an expected reprisal attack from Iran and/or Hezbollah could be imminent.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Amid global criticism, Israel names 19 it says it killed in terror HQ at Gaza school

Hezbollah launches drones at north after IDF kills Hamas commander in Lebanon

IDF launches new offensive in Khan Younis; officer seriously hurt in Rafah

Iranian operatives have been posing as Israelis to try to recruit them, Shin Bet says

As Iran and Hezbollah attacks loom, why hasn’t the IDF adjusted civilian guidelines?

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: An Israeli anti-missile system intercepts drones fired from Lebanon over the Upper Galilee, on August 10, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode, a bonus replay of our What Matters Now weekly podcast.

Israel awaits an expected retaliatory attack from Iran and Hezbollah for the assassinations of Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh in Teheran and Hezbollah chief of staff Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

We don’t know what’s going to happen: The potential strike could be tonight, could be tomorrow — or could be never.

During this period of uncertainty, we discuss with good humor, “How do you prepare for a potential ‘Armageddon’ — both physically and metaphysically?”

So this week we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: A bomb shelter in Nahariya painted by Lidia and Igor Katliarski (Lidia Katliarski)

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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 Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Magid discusses conversations he had in Qatar this week, regarding the Israeli negotiating team and their sense of a lack of credibility as they make commitments during the negotiations, and then fail to get final approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon their return to Israel, impacting the hostage talks and looking at the Israeli leader as the obstacle to a deal.

He also talks about the Arab countries that don't want to participate in peacekeeping forces in Gaza after a ceasefire is approved, although there could be pressures and leverage that would allow them to change their minds.

Magid speaks about Vice President Kamala Harris' comments at a rally in Detroit, where an offhand comment she made to a far-left group about an arms embargo for Israel was taken out of context.

He also discusses Harris' recently chosen running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, his strong record with the Jewish community and Israel, which he supported without question after October 7.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Hostage deal won’t happen unless Biden squeezes Netanyahu harder, Arab officials say

Netanyahu accused of undercutting Israeli credibility in Gaza truce talks

Jordan, Qatar, Saudis hesitant to join US-driven postwar peacekeeping force in Gaza

Harris tells anti-Israel hecklers to be quiet unless they ‘want Donald Trump to win’

Aide says Harris opposes Israel arms embargo, after far-left group claims she may not

Subscribe to The Timesof Israel Daily Briefing onApple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Demonstrators protest for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, August 7, 2024. (Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

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