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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken nears the end of his term in the Biden administration, Blinken says that mediators are very close to securing a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, something that hasn't been stated in a while. However, Magid says it may only be finalized at the start of the new Trump administration.

He discusses other aspects of the hostage deal under discussion, including the refrain from hostage families that a deal for only 34 hostages, some of them no longer living, will leave two-thirds of the remaining hostages behind, a death sentence for them, adds Magid.

Magid notes that Blinken placed the blame on Hamas for holding up a hostage deal for months in his recent interview with The New York Times, a comment which suggests that the US never wanted to blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his positioning on the deal, says Magid, even when it frustrated the negotiating teams.

He also looks at the proposed $8 billion arms deal being prepped by the Biden administration, and which has to be approved by the Senate and House committees. Magid says the deal is to ensure that Israel has the arms it needs in the case of any further Iranian attacks.

Magid talks about the appointment of Morgan Ortegus as deputy Middle East envoy, someone who opposes Trump's isolationist approach and therefore Trump didn't offer a ringing endorsement of her appointment.

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

Discussed articles include:

Blinken: We’re very close to hostage deal, it’ll be handed to Trump if not finalized

Blinken: After Oct. 7, I threatened to nix Biden visit if Israel didn’t let aid into Gaza

Biden administration prepping $8 billion arms package for Israel, including heavy bombs

Trump appoints Ortagus as deputy Mideast envoy, but admits he’s not excited about it

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

IMAGE: Demonstrators protest outside the prime minister's Jerusalem residence after the IDF recovered the body of hostage Youssef Ziyadne from a Gaza tunnel, January 8, 2025. (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.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara filed the state’s response to High Court petitions on Haredi military enlistment, stating that there is no limit on the numbers of ultra-Orthodox men recruited into the Israel Defense Forces from mid-2026. This comes as coalition members have often insisted that the IDF is not capable of absorbing the estimated 70,000 Haredi young men currently eligible for service. We dive into the divisive issue and why the army needs more soldiers.

The IDF said that this past week, 338 members of the ultra-Orthodox community enlisted in the military for mandatory service — 211 combat soldiers and 127 combat support. We hear the breakdown of numbers and also how the army said it had completed sending out a wave of 7,000 draft orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox community, after 3,000 were sent out over the summer. What have been the results so far?

We learn about the ongoing manhunt in the West Bank after the fatal shooting on Monday near the Jewish settlement of Kedumim. The shooting attack, which targeted a bus and two cars, occurred inside the Palestinian village of al-Funduq, which straddles a major artery used by thousands of Israelis and Palestinian drivers daily.

And finally we discuss the deployment of the IDF in the Gaza Strip and in southern Lebanon, among efforts by US envoy Amos Hochstein to lengthen the 60-day truce with Hezbollah.

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

Discussed articles include:

Survey: Public support for conscripting ultra-Orthodox has surged throughout war

First 50 ultra-Orthodox soldiers drafted to IDF’s new Haredi brigade

Soldier killed fighting in Gaza as IDF withdraws brigade from northern Strip

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

IMAGE: Israeli soldiers and ultra-Orthodox Jews at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site in the Old City of Jerusalem, July 10, 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.

Arab Affairs correspondent Gianluca Pacchiani and Tech Editor Sharon Wrobel join host Jessica Steinberg on today's show.

Pacchiani discusses the latest with the Hamas list of proposed hostages that would include some 34 living captives out of the remaining 100 hostages left in Gaza, as Hamas asks for greater numbers of prisoners in a hostage exchange.

Pacchiani also reviews the status of Hezbollah in Lebanon as the 60-day ceasefire with Israel draws to an end, the opportunity for Hezbollah to rest and prepare for a possible renewal of fighting and what it all means for the balance of power in Lebanon's complicated political mosaic.

Wrobel talks about comments made by the Bank of Israel governor at the start of the new year, with some cautious optimism for the Israeli economy and a look at the costs borne by the country for the ongoing war.

She also discusses the emergency grants offered to evacuated families from Israel's north. To take advantage of the financial packages, families must return home by March 2025.

Wrobel dives into consumer legislation being considered by the government to cancel flight compensation for passengers, as part of an effort to ease the financial costs to airlines and help bring foreign airlines back to Israeli skies.

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

Discussed articles include:

Israeli negotiators head to Qatar amid some reported progress in hostage talks

Central bank sees economy improving but warns of continued geopolitical uncertainty

Israel lays out NIS 3.4 billion plan to get northerners back home in March

Israel to cut travelers’ flight cancellation compensation to woo back foreign airlines

Who’s afraid of the Houthis? Iran’s last proxy standing is proving no pushover for Israel

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Nomi Studios.

IMAGE:  Watching planes take off at Ben Gurion International Airport, August 26, 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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today’s show.

Israeli and regional media is rife with headlines about an imminent potential Gaza hostage release deal. However, after a Saudi outlet published a list it received from Hamas of 34 hostages the terror organization says would be freed in the first phase of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, the Prime Minister’s Office puts out a statement stressing that the document is merely an Israeli list that was given to the mediating countries in July 2024. Berman updates us on what is going on.

US special envoy Amos Hochstein has just landed in Beirut. This comes a day after Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel will be “forced to act” if Hezbollah does not pull back from southern Lebanon as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement. What is happening with the temporary truce agreement?

As Syria’s new government strives to gain international legitimacy after overthrowing the Bashar al-Assad regime, Western countries seem open to giving a chance to the government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, head of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. Berman explains how Israel is sounding the alarm.

An Israel Defense Forces soldier who survived Hamas’s attack at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, hurriedly ended his vacation in Brazil on Sunday morning after the country’s Federal Court ordered police to open a war crimes investigation into him, according to Brazilian media. Another 11 soldiers across the globe were warned by the Foreign Ministry. Berman weighs in.

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

Discussed articles include:

Leaked list names 34 hostages to be freed in 1st stage of Gaza deal; Israel denies progress

Hamas said to okay list of 34 hostages to be freed, but refuses to detail who’s alive

Katz warns ceasefire in jeopardy if Hezbollah doesn’t withdraw from south Lebanon

As European and Arab leaders rush to meet Syria’s new leader, Israel calls for caution

IDF soldier who survived Nova massacre escapes war crimes investigation in Brazil

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Nomi Studios.

IMAGE: A protester with her hands bound and mouth taped shut holds a placard during a demonstration calling for the release of hostages held captive in Gaza by Hamas terrorists since the October 7 attacks, outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on January 4, 2025. (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.

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

The Hamas terror group released a propaganda video on Saturday showing signs of life from 19-year-old hostage Liri Albag, the latest in a series of clips it has released of Israeli captives taken in the October 7, 2023, attack. What were the contents of the three-and-a-half-minute-long video, which Hamas released as a form of psychological torture?

The Israeli military said Saturday that its troops had in recent days demolished an entire residential complex in northern Gaza, close to Beit Hanoun, which had been used as a hideout and command center by senior Hamas commanders. The complex overlooks the Israeli community of Netiv Ha’asara and was considered a threat to the rail line to Sderot, which hasn’t operated since Oct. 7, 2023. We learn more about this operation and where else the IDF is actively fighting, as well as continued rocket fire from the Strip.

A ballistic missile fired toward Israel from the Yemenite Houthis was intercepted early Sunday morning, the military said, with air raid sirens largely remaining silent despite the threat. Fabian updates on the shrapnel that fell and why sirens didn't sound.

Lebanese army officials have received “serious signals” that Israel could extend its presence in Lebanon for an additional 30 days beyond the 60-day withdrawal period stipulated in its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, a newspaper aligned with the terror group reported on Saturday. We hear how Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army aren't holding up their ends of the truce and what may be the results.

The Israeli Air Force on Thursday revealed details and footage from one of its most daring and complex commando operations ever, in which 120 members of special forces units raided and destroyed an underground Iranian missile manufacturing plant deep in Syria in September. Some of the details of the September 8 operation previously reported by foreign media outlets — including the name of the raid — are now known to have been wrong, or slightly incorrect. Fabian fills us in.

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

Discussed articles include:

Hamas releases video of hostage Liri Albag, 19. Parents: ‘This is not the Liri we know’

Gaza rocket lands near Nir Am, missile fired at chopper, as IAF pounds Hamas targets

IDF destroys Hamas terror compound overlooking Israel; rocket hits aid crossing

Late-night Houthi ballistic missile attack thwarted by IDF, without widespread sirens

Reports: IDF may extend south Lebanon presence for 30 more days as Hezbollah regroups

Israel said to hit defense facility, scientific research center near Syria’s Aleppo

120 commandos deep inside Syria: IDF reveals daring raid on Iranian missile factory

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

IMAGE: Members of the IAF's Shaldag unit in Israel following a raid against an Iranian missile factory in Syria, September 8, 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.

Founding editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show, a bonus episode from our weekly What Matters Now podcast.

Five years ago this week, The Times of Israel launched its Daily Briefing podcast to keep listeners updated on the latest news out of Israel and the region, from Sunday through Thursday.

Starting from October 7, 2023, the podcast has moved to seven days a week in an effort to broadcast fair and accurate news and analysis from Israel every day during wartime. We discuss the locations of some of the podcast's more unexpected listenership.

Horovitz then delves into ongoing efforts on the part of the government to limit the freedom of the press, from the banning of Al Jazeera to halting government ads in a left-wing daily to trying to close down the irritating state broadcaster. He explains the "gentleman's agreement" that is the basis of the relationship of the Israeli press with the military censor -- and how frustrating it can be.

We also hear about the inescapable blindsides in reporting a war in which often unverifiable narratives pour out of Gaza and are widely presented as solid truths.

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

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

IMAGE: Newspapers and magazines for sale at a shop in the center of Jerusalem. November 10, 2013. (Nati Shohat/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 on today's show.

In today's special longer Friday episode, Berman charts the evolving essential purpose of the IDF, starting with its origins. He speaks of the push-pull of a fledgling organization as both a defensive and offensive body.

We learn how the fight for Israel's independence crystallized the need for an easily maneuverable fighting machine that would not hinder the Jewish state's need for a stable economy.

Berman explains how first prime minister David Ben-Gurion's solutions worked well -- until with the shifting tides of warfare, they really didn't.

In this podcast, the first installment of a two-part conversation, we hear how after a series of wars and political decisions, the stage was set for the IDF's catastrophic failure on October 7.

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

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

IMAGE: A detachment of Haganah soldiers overlooking Acre relaxes on May 21, 1948, after the three-day fight for the city, which surrendered on May 18. 1948. (AP Photo/FN)

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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 show.

Magid discusses why former defense minister Yoav Gallant resigned from the Knesset, which appears to be primarily due to his opposition to legislation that would allow ultra-Orthodox men exemptions from army service. The move is somewhat confusing, given that Gallant's vote could have made a difference regarding certain legislation, but he seems to be leaving as a political move, to cement his future possibilities.

Magid looks at why the hostage talks are reported to have stalled, with obstacles that included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's not offering a viable alternative as to who would fill the void of Hamas leadership in Gaza, and the Hamas stance that it can't locate all the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

He also reviews a Palestinian Authority crackdown on armed terror groups in Jenin in the northern West Bank, and its relationship to the fall of Assad to rebel groups in Syria. Criticism of the Palestinian Authority's activity was broadcast on Al Jazeera, and the news channel was then barred temporarily from the West Bank.

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

Discussed articles include:

Gallant resigns from Knesset, denounces imminent bill to exempt Haredim from IDF

Hamas said willing to free only 22 of 34 living hostages demanded by Israel in deal

PA halts Al Jazeera West Bank broadcasts amid criticism of its terror crackdown

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

IMAGE: MK Yoav Gallant in the corridors of the Knesset on December 23, 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.

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

Sokol discusses the political machinations in the Knesset as voting over the 2025 budget leads National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and several ultra-Orthodox parties to threaten to oppose the bill, given some of the planned cuts.

While Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have banded together in the past over their political aspirations, the two have been at odds for some time, which could possibly lead to a break in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, explains Sokol.

Sokol reviews the further political dramas that played out on Tuesday in the Knesset, as Netanyahu, recovering from a successful prostate removal surgery at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, was forced to leave his hospital bed and return to the Knesset, in order to cast a decisive vote on the budget law, and thwart Ben Gvir.

Another Knesset member, Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, who was in the midst of the seven-day mourning period for his mother, was also pushed to leave the shiva and come to the Knesset and vote in favor of the bill.

Sokol also offers a brief description of the fragment of a Houthi missile that landed in his Beit Shemesh neighborhood late Monday night.

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

Discussed articles include:

PM leaves hospital to cast decisive vote on a budget law, thwarting Ben Gvir revolt

Coalition factions threaten to vote against key budget bill over cuts, Haredi draft

In rare cross-aisle cooperation, MKs back bill to penalize ministers who snub oversight

IDF downs ballistic missile from Yemen as sirens heard across central Israel

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

IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a vote at the plenum of the Knesset in Jerusalem, on December 31, 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.

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is recovering after a successful prostate removal surgery at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem on Sunday. The premier was moved to an underground, fortified recovery ward where he is expected to spend several days under observation amid fears he could be targeted by rocket or missile fire during the ongoing war. What do we know about Netanyahu's health moving forward?

Netanyahu held a high-level meeting during which he told those present that Israel will resume fighting after a hostage deal, if one comes about, according to a Channel 12 report. Horovitz discusses the fraught ongoing hostage talks and reports that Hamas has changed the number of hostages that will be released in any potential first phase.

Jimmy Carter, the longest-lived American president, died on Sunday at the age of 100. We hear how Carter is remembered in Israel and how the issue that toppled his presidency -- Iran -- is increasingly resonant for the United States.

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

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu stays in the hospital Monday night after prostate surgery

Report: Alarming hostage negotiators, PM says Israel should be upfront about plan to resume war after deal

Hamas said willing to free only 22 of 34 living hostages demanded by Israel in deal

PM on Carter’s death: Israel-Egypt peace treaty ‘offers hope for future generations’

‘He will rot in hell’: Iranians remember Jimmy Carter as ‘architect of sanctions’

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

IMAGE: Former US president Jimmy Carter holds a copy of his book, 'Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid,' at a book signing in Tempe, Arizona, December 12, 2006. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

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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 reporter Gianluca Pacchiani and reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show.

Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke on Al Arabiya and gave a glimpse of his plans for the country, including divulging that holding elections in Syria could take up to four years and that drafting a new constitution could take up to three years. Pacchiani weighs in.

For the past week and more, swaths of Israelis from many parts of the country have found themselves seeking shelter in the middle of the night as the Houthis continue their campaign of projectiles, vowing to continue their attacks on Israel “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.” We hear when they rose to power — and how?

Sweden-based Yemeni activist Luai Ahmed, 31, has become something of a celebrity in Israel and he comes by it genetically, it seems: After fleeing Sanaa in 2014, Ahmed, who is openly gay, received refugee status in Sweden and later acquired Swedish citizenship. But his family still lives between Yemen and Egypt, and his mother, Amal Basha, is one of the most prominent women’s rights advocates in Yemen. We hear about Ahmed.

Surkes has done a deep dive into Israeli international aid organizations and has discovered that their funding has dried up for two main reasons: antisemitism -- people don't want to give to a Zionist body -- and patriotism -- funders prefer to donate to a group doing work inside Israel proper. She explains why.

The Energy Ministry has identified geological formations capable of holding 10 million tons of carbon dioxide a year and kickstarting a carbon storage industry worth an annual estimated NIS 1 billion ($275 million). Surkes is cautiously optimistic.

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

Discussed articles include:

Syrian leader: New elections could take up to 4 years, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will be dissolved

‘Houthis are simply insane’: In Tel Aviv, Yemeni activist explains current conflict

Energy Ministry: Geological formations could store 10 million tons of CO₂ annually

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

IMAGE: Syria's new leader and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) chief Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) receives Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (Andriy Sybiga) in Damascus on December 30, 2024. (Bakr Alkasem / 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 show.

Some 240 suspected terror operatives were detained during the operation against Hamas at northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, including the medical center’s director and 15 terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel. Fabian sheds light on the operation, which involved the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit.

Israeli air defenses on Saturday intercepted two rockets fired from Gaza’s Beit Hanoun toward the Jerusalem area, an increasingly rare occurrence after nearly 15 months of war. The IDF said both rockets were successfully intercepted, with no injuries or damage reported. Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck the launchers used by the Palestinian terrorists. We hear what surprised Fabian about this rocket attack.

Air defenses intercepted a missile fired from Yemen that triggered sirens in the Jerusalem, southern West Bank and Dead Sea areas early Saturday morning, the military said, in the sixth such overnight attack on the center of the country in less than two weeks. Along with Israel's defense array, the Thaad system was used for the second time, after its use early Friday morning. Fabian explains how it complements Israel's air defense systems.

Fabian was deep in the Gaza Strip last week and writes that everything the Israel Defense Forces has established in the Netzarim Corridor is reportedly temporary, "But the reality on the ground in this zone bisecting the Gaza Strip indicates that the IDF will remain here for the foreseeable future." In the second half of the program, we discuss the massive zone and the more than a dozen small military outposts stationed there.

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

Discussed articles include:

IDF completes raid on north Gaza hospital, says some 240 terror suspects arrested

IDF intercepts rare 2 long-range rockets fired from Gaza at Jerusalem area

IDF downs missile from Yemen as sirens blare in Jerusalem, Dead Sea area

In Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, IDF establishes temporary bases for an indefinite stay

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

IMAGE: Inside an IDF forward operating base in the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip, December 26, 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.

Stand-up comedian Yochay Sponder joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show, a bonus episode from our weekly What Matters Now podcast.

After the 2012 Gaza war, comedian Sponder began using his talent to make people laugh as a tool for pro-Israel advocacy in his heavily Hebrew-flavored English. This work has only ramped up since the October 7, 2023, murderous Hamas onslaught, where thousands of terrorists infiltrated southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage to Gaza.

Initially after the attack, Sponder, whose soldier cousin fell in battle on October 7, thought it may be inappropriate to take to the stage and make people laugh. Today, he considers it his reserve duty and Sponder uses his brand of truth-telling to remind the world who started this ongoing war and that Israelis still hope for peace.

With a personal genetic background that would put a Benetton poster to shame, Sponder uses a brusque uber-Israeli persona to counter politically correct norms and spotlight hypocrisy.

Sponder has toured his English-language show, "Self-Loving Jew," extensively this year. In our conversation, he discusses a performance in the United States in which a group of pro-Palestine activists showed up. The result was not what he expected.

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

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

IMAGE: Stand-up comedian/Israel advocate Yochay Sponder. (Limor Azran Garfinkle)

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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.

In the past several months, Ireland has formally recognized the State of Palestine, it said that it would execute an arrest warrant on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and it also backed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. So in response to all of this, last week it was announced that for first time, Israel would close an embassy of an EU member state.

Ireland is often considered the most pro-Palestinian country in the EU and public opinion deeply identifies with the Palestinians, which they view as an occupied people. We talk about how Ireland came to this ideology and delve into a period in which the nationalist aspirations of Irish and pre-state Israelis coincided.

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

Discussed articles include:

‘Antisemitic liar’: FM blasts Irish president’s claim Israel wants to settle Egypt

Israel to close its embassy in Dublin due to Ireland’s ‘extreme anti-Israel policy’

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

IMAGE: Ireland's Prime Minister Simon Harris awaits the arrival of Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati at Government Buildings, Tithe an Rialtais, in Dublin, on October 25, 2024. (Paul Faith / 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 joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Horovitz discusses ongoing spin regarding ongoing hostage negotiations, more than a year after the release of 105 hostages that took place during a brief pause in fighting last November 2023. It's not clear if it's a truce or ceasefire, says Horovitz, but Israel says it needs to know how many people or who Hamas would be releasing, and mutual recriminations continue without a final deal.

He also discusses how it has become the "semi-norm" for half of Israel to dash for shelter in the middle of the night to avoid incoming rockets from the Houthis in Yemen, and how complicated it is to retaliate to this Iranian-linked organization.

Horovitz reviews his latest op-ed about a new sense of awareness and preparedness of the IDF on the many fronts where it's been fighting, including the unfolding situation in Syria, where it is being extremely wary and doing what it can militarily, to minimize possible future consequences with the new regime.

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

Discussed articles include:

Israel and Hamas accuse each other of foiling hostage-ceasefire deal

IDF probe: Intel on 6 hostages murdered by Hamas was lacking; troops acted carefully

Houthis fire missile at central Israel for 4th night in past week; IDF intercepts it

Houthi drone crashes in south as terror group said to brace for major Israeli attack

Report: Mossad chief believes Israel should target Iran to get at Houthis; PM disagrees

IDF’s prewar complacency replaced by wariness on every front, proactivism where possible

Israel shifts focus to Houthis, but it needs partners to defeat distant foe

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

IMAGE:  Mia Shalom, mother of IDF soldier Almog Shalom who was killed in battle, lights the first Hanukkah candle on his grave at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on December 25, 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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Magid discusses the ongoing hostage negotiations, commenting that if a deal happens, it will probably take place closer to the January 20 inauguration date for President-elect Donald Trump. Magid says that Qatari negotiators are asking the Israeli government to be more flexible in their current mandate, as Hamas seeks assurances that Israel won't return to fighting after the discussed first phase.

Magid reviews some threatening comments made during a podcast interview by Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security advisor. Waltz spoke about punishments and reprisals for those who take US hostages, with an emphasis placed by both Trump and Waltz in recent comments on the American hostages who are held in Gaza.

Magid speaks about an unlikely statement from US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, who asserted that a new report alleging famine in north Gaza was incorrect, remarking that the data used was outdated. The unexpected statement was possibly a final shot by Lew as an outgoing ambassador, says Magid.

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

Discussed articles include:

Hostage negotiators returning to Israel for ‘internal deliberations,’ says PM’s office

Trump national security pick threatens US hostage-takers with ‘bullet in forehead’

US calls new report asserting famine in north Gaza ‘outdated and inaccurate’

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

IMAGE: Demonstrators dressed as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, right, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, take part in a performance during a protest against the government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 21, 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.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider and environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode.

Schneider discusses the ongoing discussion in Israel's defense establishment of changing Israel’s long-range attack systems from the country's use of air power, as seen in retaliatory Israeli strikes against Iran in October and against Yemen this month.

She also reviews the lifting of the gag order on the name of reservist Ari Rosenfeld, the IDF officer charged with transferring classified information in the Prime Minister's Office. Rosenfeld is under arrest, and his lawyer and wife wanted his name publicized to put pressure on the legal establishment.

Surkes examines the net-zero factory created by the founder of the Shoresh sandal empire in northern Israel and his aim to convince other industrialists and Israelis to do the same.

She also talks about the reopening of the Hula nature reserve in Israel's north, closed for 14 months during the Hezbollah rocket attacks from Lebanon and how that affected the birds that migrate in the spring and fall to the area.

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

Discussed articles include:

Amid IDF rethink, some see air-launched missile doctrine moving to more solid ground

‘My Ari does not deserve this treatment’: Wife of suspect in PM’s office document leak scandal calls for his release

After 14 months at risk of Hezbollah attacks, Northern Israel’s Hula Lake Park reopens

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

IMAGE: Security forces at the scene where a ballistic missile fired from Yemen hit a playground in Jaffa on December 21, 2024. (Photo by 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 and reporter Diana Bletter join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Recently, attempts are being made to restart the controversial judicial overhaul legislation and last week, Sokol spoke with one of its architects, MK Simcha Rothman. We hear about Rothman’s perspective on why it is needed and in fact protects Israel's democracy.

The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee will soon begin holding hearings on a proposed bill applying a Basic Law requiring a public referendum for land-for-peace deals to the West Bank and Israeli territorial waters, the Knesset’s right-wing Land of Israel Caucus announced on Wednesday. What is this bill and why do those who proposed it believe it will be passed at this time.

Bletter went to the northern coastal city of Nahariya yesterday to witness how during the ceasefire, hospitals are moving from war footing and out of their bunkers. She brings tales from the maternity ward.

Last week, Bletter visited Haifa to see how residents are -- once again -- celebrating the annual Holiday of Holidays that honors the mixed city's three major religions.

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

Discussed articles include:

MK threatens that judges ‘playing hardball’ will lead to resumption of judicial overhaul

MKs push bill to block West Bank territorial concessions, prevent Palestinian state

After months of Hezbollah rocket attacks, Haifa’s Christians get ready for Christmas

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

IMAGE: An Israeli protests against the government's plans to overhaul the judicial system outside a branch of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, September 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

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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 ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen impacted a playground in south Tel Aviv early Saturday, lightly injuring some 16 in the area. This came days after the Israel Defense Forces carried out intense airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen early Thursday in which 14 fighter jets took part in the operation — along with dozens of support aircraft — dropping some 60 munitions. Fabian unwinds what has gotten through the IDF's defense net and speaks about the successful air operation.

Israeli troops wounded one person after opening fire Friday on demonstrators in southern Syria, with the military saying the soldiers did so to remove “a threat.” We hear where the IDF is currently deployed in and along the Syrian border.

The IDF said its Kfir Brigade has wrapped up an operation against Hamas in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, and the infantry troops have advanced and are now operating in areas west of Beit Hanoun. Fabian updates us on what is happening in the Strip even has international headlines continue to circulate pointing to an imminent ceasefire deal.

The Israel Defense Forces supports strengthening the Palestinian Authority so it can more effectively combat terrorism in the West Bank, military officials said on Thursday, as the PA appears to step up efforts against Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We learn what steps the PA is currently taking, in a departure from previous years, that could point to how it may potentially operate in the Gaza Strip following the war.

Four Israeli civilians were arrested after illegally entering Lebanon on Thursday, reportedly to visit a shrine, as Israeli troops continuing to operate across the border destroyed Hezbollah weapons and rocket launchers, officials said.
The sentence for such a crime could be up to four years in jail. Fabian describes this and similar breaches that we've recently seen.

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

Discussed articles include:

Several interceptors failed to knock down Houthi missile that hit Tel Aviv — IDF probe

Missile fired from Yemen explodes in south Tel Aviv, lightly injuring 16

US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen, takes down drones over Red Sea

After Yemen strikes, Netanyahu says Israel hitting Houthis on behalf of ‘entire world’

Fighter pilots laud precision of operation to strike Yemen: ‘An incredible feeling’

One hurt after IDF opens fire at group protesting Israeli presence in south Syria

IDF orders evacuations in central Gaza amid reports of imminent hostage deal

IDF says it supports bolstering PA forces to combat West Bank terror

Four Israelis detained after entering Lebanon, reportedly to visit rabbi’s tomb

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

IMAGE: Houthi fighters march during a rally of support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and against the US strikes on Yemen outside Sanaa on January 22, 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.

Today, we bring you a bonus episode of Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Andrew Fox.

Fox, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, served in the British Army from 2005 to 2021, completing three tours in Afghanistan, including one attached to the US Army Special Forces. At the transatlantic think tank, he specializes in Defense, the Middle East, and disinformation. He holds degrees in Law and Politics, Modern War Studies and Psychology.

This week, Fox and a team of researchers published a report that made international headlines titled, "Questionable Counting: Analysing the Death Toll from the Hamas-Run Ministry of Health in Gaza."

According to the report, the Palestinian death toll for the Gaza war appears to include thousands of people who died of natural causes as well as incorrect figures — partly in an effort to inflate the toll of women and children.

Worse, international media outlets are too quick to accept the figures from terror group Hamas -- usually without the scrutiny and rigor that are applied when reporting numbers supplied by Israel. The Hamas-run Health Ministry's figures, the report claims, are being manipulated for propaganda needs.

[caption id="attachment_3442530" align="alignright" width="300"] Andrew Fox, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, on a research trip in the Gaza Strip, summer 2024. (courtesy)[/caption]

The Gaza health ministry, under Hamas, “has systematically inflated the death toll by failing to distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths, over-reporting fatalities among women and children and even including individuals who died before the conflict began,” the report said.

We discuss the report and hear Fox's assessment of how the IDF's operations in Gaza have played out, as well as the one arena Israel has neglected -- the fight for world opinion.

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

Discussed articles include:

UK think tank: Gaza death toll inflated to defame Israel for targeting civilians

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

IMAGE: The IDF operates in the southern Gaza Strip's Rafah in this hand out image from December 16, 2024. (IDF)

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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 extended Friday episode.

As Israel continues to contend with a war on seven fronts -- primarily through Iran-backed militia proxies -- Berman floats a hypothesis that Israel should turn to its natural allies in the region as well.

We hear about how history has shown that Israeli proxies don't always have the same goals as the Jewish state. We learn about the case of the South Lebanon Army and how things entirely fell apart. And Berman explains how the Kurds -- and potentially the Druze -- could be a long-term strategic answer for Israel's isolated position in the region.

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

Discussed articles include:

After Yemen strikes, Netanyahu says Israel hitting Houthis on behalf of ‘entire world’

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

IMAGE: Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir, during his visit to Lebanese General Antoine Lahat (right) leader of the South Lebanese Army on January 26, 1989 in Marjayoun, Lebonon. (AP Photo/Max Nash)

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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 speaks about the ongoing hostage negotiations and intense speculation in the media. He notes that any agreed-upon ceasefire would be longer and less fragile than the week-long pause in fighting that took place in November 2023. He also discusses the unusual cooperation taking place between the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration in the ceasefire negotiations.

Magid discusses a reckoning by Biden officials following the Israeli attack on Hezbollah and the panic initially felt among US intelligence officials and the Israeli government beforehand, as the concerns were that an Israeli strike on Hezbollah could lead to an all-out war with Lebanon.

He also reviews the Biden administration's decision not to sanction Netanyahu coalition partners, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, after months of considering such a move because of their roles in increasing settler violence and destabilizing the West Bank.

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

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu said set to huddle with top brass Thursday to discuss Gaza deal latest

Hamas fears Trump will allow Israel to resume Gaza war after 1st phase of hostage deal

US intel wrongly envisioned catastrophic outcome if IDF escalated against Hezbollah

US won’t sanction Smotrich and Ben Gvir before end of Biden’s term — officials

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

IMAGE: President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, 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.

Arab affairs reporter Luca Pacchiani and archaeology reporter Gavriel Fiske join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

CIA Director Bill Burns is set to meet the Qatari Prime Minister in Doha today, in an effort to bridge the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas on a Gaza deal. Pacchiani updates us on what he is reading about the hostage-release talks in neighboring nations' Arabic media this morning.

Recently, the Palestinian Authority seems to be flexing its peace-keeping muscles in the West Bank, perhaps signally that it is ready to take on the challenge of Gaza. We hear about a possible Hamas-Fatah alliance -- and whether Israel would sign on to it.

Syrian Christians currently make up less than 2% of the population and the new HTS rebels regime has repeatedly reassured Syrians and the international community that it will protect all minorities and women. Pacchiani reports on what he is hearing from Syrian Christians.

Likewise,
Alawites, a sect that splintered from Shiite Islam in the ninth century, constitute around 10% of Syria’s predominantly Sunni population. While uncertainty prevails among all of Syria’s religious minorities today, the Alawite community – from which deposed President Assad originates – arguably has the most to fear. Pacchiani weighs in.

In late November, speaking at an academic conference in Boston, veteran archaeologist Prof. Glenn Schwartz of Johns Hopkins University made a startling claim: Four tiny clay cylinder-shaped seals, which had been excavated 20 years ago from an intact Bronze Age tomb in Syria, were engraved with what he asserted was the earliest known examples of alphabetic writing — albeit as yet undeciphered. We talk about why this find is in the news again -- and what it appears to be.

Researchers have deciphered a tiny third-century Christian silver scroll that was found rolled up inside an amulet, at a Roman burial site in Frankfurt, Germany. Could this be “the oldest Christian testimony found north of the Alps,” as the announcement claims?

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

Discussed articles include:

With a show of force in Jenin, the PA tries to prove it can rule Gaza. But can it?

Can Syria’s dwindling Christian community survive under jihadi rebel rule?

A claim that the earliest alphabet was found in Syria sparks a media maelstrom – finally

Amulet found in Germany said to be ‘oldest Christian testimony north of the Alps’

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

IMAGE: Palestinians carry UN-donated flour in Khan Younis, central Gaza Strip, Saturday December 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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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 speaks about recent comments made by Defense Minister Israel Katz about the IDF remaining in Gaza, as a way of reiterating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's positioning in the current ceasefire negotiations.

He also looks at what's being said about a possible hostage deal and a sense of progress on some kind of three-phase deal, no longer conditioned by Hamas on Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, given a clear softening of Hamas' position.

Horovitz discusses the latest in Netanyahu's government coalition, which was able to pass budget legislation even when Otzma Yehudit's leader, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voted against parts of the budget legislation as a show of defiance and disagreement over the judicial overhaul and his desire to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

He also reviews what's being said by Syrian rebel leader Abu Muhammad al-Julani, and the need to be wary about al-Julani's statements, as a known fighter with a US bounty on his head, even though he speaks about his desire to build a better country. Syria is an unknowable quantity at the moment, says Horovitz.

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

Discussed articles include:

Katz said to tell MKs hostage-truce deal ‘closer than ever,’ echoing Hamas optimism

Trump says he’s ‘trying to help very strongly’ to bring hostages home

Otzma Yehudit votes against state budget, as coalition splits over bid to fire AG

Syrian Islamist leader says rebel groups to be disbanded, minority rights protected

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

IMAGE: Hostage family members and supporters protest outside the Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv, December 17, 2024. (Photo by 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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Yesterday, Berman visited Lebanon, crossing through Fatima Gate with 91st Division commander Brig. Gen. Shai Klepper to examine what Lebanon’s border villages look like after two months of fighting, and how the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel is holding up. We hear his most immediate impression and learn what Druze IDF officers told him.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he discussed with US President-elect Donald Trump ongoing efforts to bring back the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, as Israeli officials indicated that a deal could be reached in less than two weeks despite sticking points in negotiations. On Monday, mediators cited by Lebanese outlet al-Akhbar reported that there are unprecedented levels of readiness for a hostage deal in Gaza from both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas. Berman fills us in.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Sunday that Israel will be shutting its embassy in Ireland, citing the “extreme anti-Israel policy of the Irish government.” Berman dives into the problematic Ireland-Israel relationship and what this step signifies.

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

Discussed articles include:

Heavy Israeli airstrikes reported on Syrian military sites in coastal Tartus region

As northern Israel comes back to life, Hezbollah strongholds over the border lie in ruins

PM discusses hostages with Trump as Israeli officials say deal could be clinched in days

Israel to close its embassy in Dublin due to Ireland’s ‘extreme anti-Israel policy’

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

IMAGE: Troops of the IDF's 91st Division operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued on December 15, 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.

Rockets were fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza at southern Israel Friday night. These aren’t the only rockets from the Strip in the past week or so. We hear what this uptick represents.

On Wednesday, the IDF confirmed that it had withdrawn its troops from the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon in accordance with the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. What kind of presence remains in southern Lebanon?

Exactly a week ago, the first IDF tanks and troops pushed into southern Syria, seizing control of the former Syrian army posts located within a buffer zone that has existed between the countries since 1974, after a rebel uprising took place there by a coalition of various Druze tribes and opposition groups going by the name of Southern Operations Room. We hear what little is known about their leadership and ideology and Fabian reports on what he saw at an IDF's forward defense post, just beyond the buffer zone.

On Thursday, the IAF said that after over a decade of evading air defenses over the skies of Syria during a campaign against Iran’s supply of weapons to Hezbollah, it had achieved total air superiority in the area and therefore, there is an opportunity to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. Fabian weighs in.

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

Discussed articles include:

IDF says rockets fired at south on Friday were launched from aid warehouse area

IDF confirms withdrawal from southern Lebanon’s Khiam in accordance with ceasefire

Katz says IDF troops will stay atop Syrian side of Mount Hermon during winter months

We don’t know how the rebels will act, IDF commander tells ToI inside southern Syria

New Israeli strikes said to target Syrian military sites, underground missile bunkers

IDF sees chance for strikes on Iran nuke sites after knocking out Syria air defenses

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

IMAGE: A convoy of IDF vehicles approach a United Nations position on the border between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights on  December 11, 2024. The Syrian Army Tel Kwdana post can be seen in the background. (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.

Today we're bringing you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Middle East expert Ksenia Svetlova.

As the rebel factions in Syria continue to fight to wrest control -- from the fallen Assad regime as well as from each other -- one of the ways to measure how the country will emerge is to look at the factions' treatment of women: On Tuesday, for example, the Biden administration said it will recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women.

In 2020, Svetlova published a Hebrew-language book, "On Heels in the Middle East," depicting her travels throughout the Middle East as a female (and sometimes overtly Jewish) journalist.

Born in Moscow, Svetlova immigrated to Israel at the age of 14. She is a journalist and analyst and was a member of the 20th Knesset for the Zionist Union party. Today she is the executive director of ROPES, which works to connect "forward-thinking Israeli and Palestinian emerging leaders with like-minded peers from across the Middle East and North Africa."

In our conversation, she draws on her experiences reporting from inside the region's Islamic countries to evaluate and rank their women's rights and freedoms. We discuss which country most supports women's rights -- Tunisia -- and the many countries that vie for the least free.

Later, we hear Svetlova's thoughts on future Russian influence in Syria and the region.

So this week, as all eyes are on Syria and the rebels that hope to rule it, we ask Ksenia Svetlova, what matters now.

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

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

IMAGE: A woman holding a rifle borrowed from a Syrian opposition fighter poses for a picture, next to a government forces tank that was left on a street, at the Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, December 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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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 Daily Briefing podcast from the Jerusalem office.

We are continuing a new Friday tradition that we instituted last week and giving a deeper look into one aspect of the news. Today, we’re going to delve into Israel’s ever-evolving relationship and strategy with Syria.

We turn back the clock to the foundation of Syria and take a look at each decade of Israel’s existence vis a vis its neighbor to the north. We see how this background plays into Israel currently filling the vacuum in the buffer zone between the two countries after rebel forces decimated the Asad regime’s forces in the past week.

We learn that following a series of wars, Syria discovered that it would not win back the Golan Heights through force. Berman speaks about the decades-long peace talks between the two countries -- and what foiled them

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

Discussed articles include:

Israel rejects French call to withdraw from Syria buffer: ‘Necessary for defense’

France calls on Israel to exit Syria buffer zone as Spain, Germany urge restraint

IDF building along UN-patrolled demilitarized zone in Syria, satellite images show

Pro-Assad troops take over Golan UN post in demilitarized area on Israeli border

UN calls for armed groups to leave Golan area separating Israel-Syria forces

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

IMAGE: Israeli soldiers stand guard on a security fence gate near the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams, December 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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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 Daily Briefing podcast.

Magid and Schneider speak about the cautious optimism of some Israeli government officials regarding renewed hostage talks, amid the arrival of US National security adviser Jake Sullivan to the region.

Magid also looks at the request of Trump advisors who asked for the return of Hamas leaders to Qatar as they view the Gulf country's mediation efforts as vital to the hostage negotiations, and want the entire situation completed by the January 20 inauguration.

Magid and Schneider discuss the latest in the Golan Heights and IDF activity in the buffer zone with Syria following the rebel group takeover.  Several European countries asked for Israel's restraint as no one wants Israel and the rebel groups to set off on an antagonistic relationship.

Finally, Schneider looks at the latest in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's criminal trial, as the prime minister claims he was never favored by any of the Israeli media that he attempted to influence, but rather received hostile coverage.

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

Discussed articles include:

Sullivan heads to Israel for Biden administration’s likely final hostage deal push

1st hostage to return from Gaza meets Trump, urges him to do all he can to free captives

Security chiefs discuss hostage deal in Cairo as Israel sees growing chances

Trump aides asked Qatar to recall ousted Hamas chiefs in bid to revive hostage talks

Netanyahu argues ‘hostile’ Walla coverage, telecoms reforms prove bribery claims ‘absurd’

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

IMAGE: Hostage family members speak to the media after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, December 8, 2024. (Photo by Noam Revkin Fenton/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 Sharon and reporter Diana Bletter join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing podcast.

Part of Israel’s strategy to deter the Syrian rebel forces from expanding into Israel is the decision to fill the vacuum in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria with IDF forces. Bletter reports back from a trip to a Druze town within shouting distance of Syria -- Majdal Shamas, which saw 12 youths killed in July when a Hezbollah bomb struck a soccer pitch. We hear how the residents, many who have relatives living on the other side of the border, view the fall of the Assad regime.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally took to the witness stand on Tuesday in his criminal trial on corruption charges, the first time in Israeli history that a serving prime minister has appeared in court to testify as a defendant. Sharon was there and discusses the festive circus-like atmosphere in the courtroom as well as some choice Netanyahu anecdotes.

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

Discussed articles include:

In war-struck Majdal Shams, Assad’s fall sparks hope for Israel’s Druze

In historic campaign across Syria, IDF says it destroyed 80% of Assad regime’s military

Netanyahu, 1st PM to testify as criminal defendant, ridicules charges, denies illicit media ties

Netanyahu regales court with story of John Kerry’s invitation to visit Afghanistan

Coalition MKs, ministers line up at court to back Netanyahu as trial testimony kicks off

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

IMAGE: Residents in the Israeli Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights celebrate on December 9, 2024, after Islamist-led rebels declared that they had taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing podcast.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the defendant in three corruption cases, took the stand today for the first time and presented long-anticipated testimony. Horovitz reminds us what are the key allegations against the prime minister and what Netanyahu said last night at a press conference that gives insight into his goals in testifying.

Last night, the Israeli Navy carried out a large-scale operation to destroy the former Assad regime’s navy fleet in Syria to prevent the Syrian navy capabilities and weaponry from falling into the hands of hostile forces, following the collapse of the Assad regime. Likewise, the Israeli Air Force, meanwhile, has carried out some 300 airstrikes in Syria since the collapse of the regime, destroying advanced weapons. Yesterday, the United Nations accused Israel on Monday of having violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria after Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon explained Israel’s reasons for entering the demilitarized buffer zone. Horovitz speaks about Israel's goals.

During a press conference last night, Netanyahu repeated his previous assertion that Assad’s fall was the “direct result of the heavy blows we landed on Hamas, on Hezbollah, and on Iran,” and said that ever since the October 7 attacks, Israel has been working in a “systematic, measured and orderly fashion” to dismantle the Iranian axis. Horovitz weighs in.

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

Discussed articles include:

The State of Israel vs. Benjamin Netanyahu: PM finally set to take the witness stand

On eve of court testimony, Netanyahu pans legal system, media in heated press conference

Coalition MKs, ministers line up at court to back Netanyahu as trial testimony kicks off

After fall of Assad, PM says Israel is ‘transforming the face of the Middle East’

Israel pounds Syrian military sites; regional sources claim ‘nothing left’ of army assets

UN slams ‘violation’ of 1974 Syria disengagement deal as Israel acts in buffer zone

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

IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, arrives to attend a hearing at the district court for his long-running corruption trial, in Tel Aviv, December 10, 2024. (Menahem Kahana / 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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing podcast.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets on Sunday struck dozens of targets across Syria, taking out weaponry that Israel feared could fall into the hands of hostile forces in light of the dramatic fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime some two weeks into a lightning offensive by rebel groups. Also on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces seized control of a buffer zone between the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights, in what it described as a temporary defensive measure. We discuss why we have a buffer zone with Syria, when it was established and the legal standing of the Golan Heights.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday claimed credit for starting the chain of events that led to the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, hailing it as an “historic day.” According to Berman, "Seeing that Hezbollah and Iran were exhausted and that Russia was stretched to the limit in Ukraine, Syrian rebels poured out of their statelet in the northwest, driving south until they took the capital." He explains some of the scenarios of what may happen next.

On Sunday night, Netanyahu told the family members of hostages held in Gaza that the regime change in Syria could help advance a deal, while US President-elect Donald Trump said he did not believe there were many captives left alive. This morning, it was reported that mediated negotiations between Israel and Palestinian terror group Hamas to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have advanced to the point where the sides are discussing lists of those who would be released. Berman updates.

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

Discussed articles include:

Sinwar’s ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ washed Iran’s axis away, but new groups could reach Israel

As Assad falls, Israeli jets destroy his deadly arsenals before they fall to rebels

Netanyahu claims credit for starting ‘historic’ process that led to fall of Assad regime

Netanyahu tells hostage families fall of Assad regime could advance negotiations

Israel and Hamas exchange lists of names for release as talks advance – report

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

IMAGE: Troops of the elite Shaldag unit are seen on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, December 8, 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 Jewish World reporter Zev Stub join host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing podcast.

Pacchiani reviews the latest in the stunning takeover in Syria by rebel forces followed by celebrations in the streets of Damascus as the Assad family appears to have fled the country. He discusses the Russian, Kurdish and Turkish strongholds in the country, the Islamic tone of the rebel forces and what that could mean in the country's new political reality.

Stub discusses the details of the early Friday morning arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, the reactions within the Jewish community and the eventual designation of the fire as a terrorist attack by the Australian government.

Steinberg briefly discusses the latest in the Hamas hostages and the release of a video of hostage Matan Zangauker on Saturday. Zangauker's mother, Einav Zangauker, has emerged as one of the most vocal anti-government voices in the ongoing hostage situation.

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

Discussed articles include:

Rebels declare Damascus captured in stunning end to Assad family rule in Syria

Syria rebels take areas near Israel border; IDF warns them not to ‘turn in our direction’

Syrian rebel commander urges Israel to support uprising, strike Iran-backed forces

Who are the rebels battering Syria’s regime, and do they pose a risk to Israel?

Australia rebuffs Netanyahu’s claim synagogue arson due to ‘anti-Israel’ government

Police hunt 2 suspects in devastating arson attack on Melbourne’s Addas Israel synagogue

Hamas video shows Gaza hostage Zangauker for first time as thousands rally for deal

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

IMAGE: Israeli soldiers near the Israeli border with Syria on December 8, 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.

In today's episode, ToI senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for a special bonus episode of our weekly What Matters Now podcast.

Former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, an Iranian career diplomat who participated in the previous round of nuclear talks, has been Iran's vice president for strategic affairs since August. In that role, he wrote an op-ed in the bimonthly Foreign Affairs journal. The century-old magazine focuses on international relations and policy and can serve as a platform to float ideas and hear reasoned responses.

In Zarif's article, "How Iran Sees the Path to Peace," among the arguments raised was the idea of a "referendum" voting on the governance of the territory that largely includes the Jewish state.

"Iran can continue to play a constructive role in ending the current humanitarian nightmare in Gaza and work with the international community to pursue a lasting and democratic solution to the conflict," writes Zarif.

"Iran will agree to any solution acceptable to Palestinians, but our government believes that the best way out of this century-long ordeal would be a referendum in which everyone living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea — Muslims, Christians, and Jews — and Palestinians driven to diaspora in the twentieth century (along with their descendants) would be able to determine a viable future system of governance. This is in line with international law and would build on the success of South Africa, where an apartheid system was transformed into a viable democratic state."

To Rettig Gur, Zarif's op-ed -- filled with posturing and warnings to the Western world -- is a sign of Iran's faltering regime and he explains why.

So this week, we discuss this new era of Iranian potential weakness and how the West needs to handle it wisely, as Haviv Rettig Gur weighs in on what matters now.

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

Discussed articles include:

IAEA chief: Iran poised to ‘dramatically’ increase stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium

US deepens sanctions on Iranian oil as smuggling said to rake in billions for Tehran

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

IMAGE: Masoud Pezeshkian, center, flashes a victory sign after casting his vote in Iran's presidential election as he is accompanied by former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, at a polling station in Shahr-e-Qods near Tehran, Iran, July 5, 2024. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

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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, recorded in our Jerusalem offices. We’re doing something different today and Berman and Borschel-Dan have an informal conversation about a mid-November report that Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide.

These remarks were included in a new book celebrating the pontiff’s jubilee year and they marked the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.

The revolution in ties between the Catholic Church and Jews began with a brief document -- Nostra Aetate -- issued on October 28, 1965, by more than 1700 Catholic bishops gathered in Rome for the Second Vatican Council. We speak about what this document states and what it represents.

We learn about the relationship between the Catholic Church and Israel -- and the Jewish people writ large -- and how it has evolved from accusations of Jews as Christ-killers to a relatively Golden Age. Lately, however, observers wonder if remarks made by Pope Francis and others could mark a turning point.

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

Discussed articles include:

Pope calls for probe into whether Israel is committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza

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

IMAGE: Pope Francis waves as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, December 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

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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.

US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday threatened those holding hostages in the Middle East with unprecedented American firepower if they are not released by the time he enters office on January 20.
The latest warning was posted on Truth Social came two days after Hamas released a propaganda video showing American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander pleading with the president-elect to secure his release and hours after the IDF revealed that another American-Israeli hostage — Omer Neutra — was killed during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught and that his body is being held in Gaza. We discuss what efforts have not yet been brought to the table and how Neutra's death was covered in US media.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported yesterday that an Israeli delegation will travel to Cairo early next week after Egypt has put together a new multi-stage hostage deal proposal. Also, earlier in the week, we heard that the Palestinian terror group Hamas and the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah party have agreed to create a committee to jointly administer postwar Gaza. Magid weighs in whether this new alliance could be enough to give Hamas the lifeline it needs to claim post-war victory.

US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday announced the appointment of his Lebanese-American in-law Massad Boulos to be his senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. Boulos will likely work alongside Steve Witkoff, who Trump last month appointed as his special envoy for the Middle East to work on expanding the Abraham Accords that he brokered at the end of his first term. Are these the right men for the job?

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

Discussed articles include:

Trump warns there will be ‘all hell to pay’ if hostages aren’t released by Jan. 20

Slain Israeli-American hostage remembered as ‘hero of Israel’ at NY memorial service

Fatah, Hamas agree to form committee to run postwar Gaza

Trump says Lebanese-American in-law will be senior aide on Arab and Mideast affairs

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

IMAGE: Illustrative: Campaigning for a second term, former US President Donald Trump speaks before prominent Jewish donors at an event titled 'Fighting Antisemitism in America' at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington DC, September 19, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 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.

Arab Affairs correspondent Gianluca Pacchiani and environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Pacchiani reviews the reactions from Lebanese Shiites following the temporary ceasefire with Hezbollah, and how the Iran-backed terrorist organization will presumably lay low after being battered during the last months of the war with the IDF.

He also looks at rebel groups in northwestern Syria fighting the weakened regime of the Bashar Al Assad regime. The rebel forces, who are against Hezbollah, hope that Israel will strike Iranian convoys and Hezbollah forces inside Syria, aiding their cause.

Surkes discusses the weak climate bill that's being pushed through the Knesset, a piece of legislation that lacks targets, has no budget and won't serve as a tool in petitioning the government on climate targets.

She also looks at a Greenpeace Israel project that tracked used clothing by using AirTags, and found that the used textiles ended up mostly in the West Bank and Africa, where they were primarily dumped or turned into rags.

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

Discussed articles include:

Lebanon’s Shiites increasingly reject role of scapegoat in Hezbollah’s war on Israel

Who are the rebels battering Syria’s regime, and do they pose a risk to Israel?

Most used clothes deposited in textile recycling bins end up in Africa — report

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

IMAGE: Children take part in recycling and environmental activities in southern Tel Aviv, November 28, 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.

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

The Israeli military launched a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon on Monday evening after Hezbollah fired two mortars at the Mount Dov area for the first time since the ceasefire went into effect last week. Fabian will tells us what’s happening on the ground as well as efforts to stop Iranian weapons shipments bound for Hezbollah — including the Israel Air Force making a plane turn back to Tehran.

Fourteen months after Hamas’s terror onslaught on October 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that Cpt. Omer Maxim Neutra, 21, was killed during the attack and his body was being held hostage in the Gaza Strip. We hear of a new kind of evidence may have allowed the IDF to draw this conclusion.

The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says that some 780 aid trucks are awaiting pickup on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, after just 43 were collected yesterday by international organizations. We hear what the current holdup is — and what may be a solution.

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

Discussed articles include:

IDF launches wave of strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah mortar attack

Israeli jets block Iranian plane suspected of ferrying arms to Hezbollah over Syria

IDF says US-Israeli hostage Cpt. Omer Neutra killed on Oct. 7 and his body held in Gaza

Fatah, Hamas agree to form committee to run postwar Gaza

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

IMAGE: A view of south Lebanon from a destroyed home in Kibbutz Manara, November 27, 2024. (Eli Katzoff)

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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 Tal Schneider and health editor Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Schneider discusses the latest in the hostage talks as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to be showing a growing interest in connecting with hostage families and discussing negotiations, possibly as a result of incoming President-elect Donald Trump.

She also looks at the visit of Housing and Construction Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf to sites in the Gaza Strip where he says he wants to reestablish Jewish settlements, and why an ultra-Orthodox Knesset minister would involve himself in that political storm.

Bletter speaks about her visits in the last week to several northern communities and cities that were devastated by the last 14 months of war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and what residents who were visiting their homes or stayed in the north have to say about the temporary ceasefire.

Bletter also looks at Tel Aviv University research that could be promising in terms of treatment for aspects of a certain type of autism.

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

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu convenes discussion on hostage negotiations with new ceasefire push

Top Likud minister said to support ousting Netanyahu in talk with hostage relatives

Touring Gaza border region, senior Haredi minister calls to resettle the Strip

In northern border town of Shlomi, a wary trickle home in the shadow of a fragile ceasefire

Northern evacuees question whether a ceasefire deal is enough to see them home

Israeli study finds gene mutation that may cause some autism, possibly enabling treatment

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

IMAGE: Minister of Construction and Housing Yitzchak Goldknopf at the Knesset on November 11, 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 Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

As the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon continues to basically hold, this morning, Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said he will leave Tehran for Damascus to deliver a message of support for Syria’s government and armed forces after a lightning advance by rebels. Berman breaks down the Syrian rebellion, part two, and the potential spillover ramifications for Israel.

Iran sees the days-old ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as a chance to rebuild the Lebanon-based terror organization, as well as its welfare and political wings. Berman weighs in.

The Hamas terror group on Saturday released a propaganda video showing signs of life from hostage Edan Alexander, 20, in the first video of its kind in months. Also yesterday, Hamas said it was open to discussing “all ideas and proposals,” a senior official from the Palestinian terror group told AFP, as representatives arrived in Cairo on Saturday for talks with Egyptian negotiators on a possible hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza. We hear about other remarks of this nature and what they may signify.

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

Discussed articles include:

Syrian military says dozens of soldiers killed in major Islamist attack on Aleppo

Iran ‘firmly supports’ Assad as top envoy travels to Damascus after rebel attacks

Iran sees ceasefire as a chance to take stock and rebuild Hezbollah – report

Hamas says open to ‘all ideas and proposals’ ahead of hostage-truce talks in Cairo

In Hamas propaganda video, hostage Edan Alexander pleads with Trump to push for deal

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

IMAGE: Anti-government fighters pose for a picture on a tank on the road leading to Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on November 30, 2024. (Muhammad Haj Kadour / 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 blogger Tuvia Book joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's bonus What Matters Now episode.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Tuvia Book was honorably discharged as a combat medic in the Israel Defense Forces following the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Like most Israeli reservists, however, he stashed a uniform in his basement, "just in case."

That emergency occurred on October 7, 2023, when Book, learning of the Hamas murderous onslaught on southern Israel, pulled out that uniform and, hearing a rumor that some units based in the south were lacking combat medics, packed his car and drove. He arrived, without enlistment papers and no longer registered in the draconian IDF bureaucracy.

He was accepted into the Palmar Asaf Medical Extraction Unit and fought his way back into the IDF system.

Book, who in "real life" is a Times of Israel blogger, a tour guide, author and Jewish educator," has served in the reserves for the past 12 out of 14 months of war.

At the end of November, the Medical Corps reported that some 5,300 wounded soldiers had been treated amid the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and another 700 in Lebanon.

Book describes his unique reservists unit, and how a combination of speed, professionalism and technology is resulting in a vastly lower case fatality rate — the proportion of wounded who end up dying -- than in any previous war.

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

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

IMAGE: Reservist Tuvia Book, a combat medic in the Palmar Asaf Medical Extraction Unit, on a Gazan beach, 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 Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

As of this morning, Lebanese residents are still prohibited from moving south to a line of villages and their surroundings until further notice. We talk about what Israeli soldiers are currently doing in Lebanon to enforce the fragile ceasefire.

A series of Israeli strikes on border crossings between Lebanon and Syria just before a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect Wednesday morning were intended to set back the terror group’s smuggling efforts, while driving home as a stark warning to Damascus that Israel will take severe action to prevent attempts to rearm Hezbollah with Iranian weapons via Syrian territory. Fabian discusses the large-scale smuggling efforts.

The IDF published a summary of its activities against Hezbollah in the past 14 months, including the capture of some 12,000 explosive devices and drones; 13,000 rockets, launchers, and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems; and 121,000 pieces of communications equipment and computers. How degraded is Hezbollah as a fighting force?

The Shin Bet recently foiled an attempt by Iran to smuggle large amounts of advanced weapons, including rockets, to terror operatives in the West Bank for use in attacks on Israeli targets, the security agency revealed Wednesday. Fabian updates us on this foiled attempt and how widespread such efforts may be.

According to a report in The New York Times, Hamas is displaying increased flexibility in long-stalled talks for an elusive ceasefire and hostage deal in the Gaza Strip, and may agree to the Israel Defense Forces temporarily remaining on the enclave’s border with Egypt. Fabian explains how strategic this position is, especially to prevent any rearmament of Hamas.

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

Discussed articles include:

As fresh truce holds, IDF says over 12,500 Hezbollah targets hit in 14 months of war

PM threatens ‘intensive war’ if truce breached, as restrictions end in much of Israel

IDF strikes Hezbollah rocket depot, launch sites after identifying truce violations

Israel warns Syria of ‘direct price’ to pay if it helps Hezbollah rearm

Israel says it nabbed large trove of Iranian arms destined for West Bank attack

Increasingly flexible Hamas said open to temporary IDF presence at Gaza-Egypt border

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

IMAGE: Displaced Lebanese returning to their homes inspect the damage in the southern Lebanese village of Tair Debba on November 28, 2024. (Mahmoud Zayyat / 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 for today's episode.

Yesterday, as the fragile ceasefire began IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari clarified the IDF’s role in its implementation in a press conference and said any Hezbollah violation of the ceasefire agreement “will be answered with fire.” At the same time, many in Israel wonder why a permanent buffer zone wasn't included in the deal, something US envoy Amos Hochstein called a “fantasy.” Magid tells us more.

A US official confirmed to Magid yesterday that the Biden administration is advancing a $680 million weapon package to Israel. Could the package be tied to the claim by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US has been delaying weapon shipments to Israel?

US President Joe Biden is launching a renewed drive for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal now that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a truce in Lebanon, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday, saying, “President Biden intends to begin that work today by having his envoys engage with Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and other actors in the region.” We discuss the new inclusion of Turkey in the list of potential negotiators.

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

Discussed articles include:

US envoy dismisses ‘fantasy’ of deal that would include IDF buffer zone in Lebanon

IDF warns Lebanon truce violations ‘will be answered with fire’; troops shoot at suspects

US confirms $680m arms sale to Israel, but says it was in works pre-Lebanon deal

Arab mediators: Netanyahu stalling, wrongly thinks Trump will deliver better Gaza deal

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

IMAGE: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a rally to condemn the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Hagia Sophia Square in Istanbul, on August 3, 2024. (Kemal Aslan/ 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 for today's episode.

The ceasefire agreement took effect at 4 am local time and IDF troops are still positioned in some areas of southern Lebanon. The militaries in Israel and Lebanon have warned Lebanese civilians against returning to villages where soldiers are still deployed for now. We discuss how fragile this calm is.

Horovitz outlines what was included in the agreement and what was left out, including a buffer zone, which residents of the north consider crucial.

We compare and contrast how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke about the ceasefire when announcing it to the world yesterday.

A snap television poll on Tuesday evening found Israelis divided over the framework for a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Among supporters of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, just 20% said they supported the ceasefire deal, while 45% said they opposed it and 35% said they didn’t know. We hear potential reasons why Netanyahu pushed for the ceasefire at this time.

Israeli, Palestinian and American sources and officials believe the loss of Hezbollah support may push the Gazan terror group to soften its demands, breaking a prolonged deadlock in the negotiations. What could change?

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

Discussed articles include:

Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire comes into effect, halting nearly 14 months of fighting

‘Peace is possible’: Announcing Lebanon truce, US insists this time will be different

20% of coalition voters back Lebanon truce, vs. 50% of opposition voters, poll finds

Officials hope Lebanon truce will isolate Hamas, pave way to deal in Gaza

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

IMAGE: A driver holds up portraits of Hezbollah's slain leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine as people return to Beirut’s southern suburbs on November 27, 2024, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (Ibrahim Amro/ AFP)

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IMAGE: An Israeli soldier stands guard behind sandbags in Kibbutz Hanita near Israel's border with Lebanon, November 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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

After initial approval of the US-backed ceasefire proposal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now working on how to present it to the public. Berman discusses the reported contours of the deal -- and whether Iran will be on board.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has presented a plan for a regional commission in Riyadh to, among other goals, end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza. Part of his plan involves the release of the hostages and a six-month truce, during which an Emirati-Egyptian-Moroccan-PA force would enter Gaza and take over the distribution of humanitarian aid and rebuilding. What are the chances of its success?

A new Channel 12 investigation claims Netanyahu received detailed intelligence in 2014 about Hamas’s plans to invade Israel and on a number of occasions rejected proposals to preemptively assassinate Hamas leaders. Berman weighs in.

Rabbi Zvi Kogan, 28, vanished in Dubai on Thursday, where he ran a kosher grocery store, and his body was discovered yesterday. We hear updates.

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

Discussed articles include:

Israel said to agree in principle to Lebanon ceasefire offer, though some issues remain

Lapid presents wide-ranging peace initiative starting with truces in Gaza and Lebanon

Netanyahu for years declined to kill terror chiefs, downplayed Hamas threat — report

United Arab Emirates arrests three suspects in murder of Chabad rabbi Zvi Kogan

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

IMAGE: View of a house hit from missiles fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Metula, on the Israeli border with Lebanon, November 20, 2024. (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.

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

Fabian was in Lebanon last week, where troops have pushed into the “second line of villages,” about 4-5 miles from the border. He describes what he saw and speaks about a briefing he had with a senior Israeli defense official, who told reporters Thursday that there is a substantial chance of Israel reaching a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.

Five Hamas terrorists who participated in the October 7 onslaught were killed in a recent airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Friday, noting that two were commanders who led the massacre and kidnapping of civilians from the Mefalsim area during the brutal attack. Fabian updates us on what is going on inside Gaza right now, even as winter rains are approaching.

This morning, Defense Minister Israel Katz said he will not approve the promotion of two officers from the IDF Southern Command until their role in the failures of October 7 are investigated. This comes after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi announced a new round of senior appointments in the military, including 11 new brigadier generals and four new colonels, as well as six brigadier generals and 19 colonels who are moving to new positions at the same rank. We discuss several of the new appointments and some of the pressures on Katz.

Emirati authorities have found the body of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, an emissary to Abu Dhabi’s Chabad chapter missing since Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry said in a joint statement Sunday. This is a developing story, but Fabian describes what we know so far.

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

Discussed articles include:

Aiming to enable return of displaced Israelis, IDF pushes deeper into south Lebanon

Woman lightly wounded as Hezbollah fires rockets and drones at center, north

Defense official says major chance for Lebanon truce after US envoy visits for talks

IDF says it killed five Hamas terrorists who led Mefalsim area massacres on Oct. 7

Body of slain Chabad rabbi found in UAE; Israel condemns ‘antisemitic act of terror’

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

IMAGE: Lt. Col. Roi Katz, a battalion commander in the 188th Armored Brigade in southern Lebanon, November 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.

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

In a speech today in Istanbul, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised the “courageous decision” of the International Criminal Court to seek the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant. The ICC issued the warrants against the Israeli leaders and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif on Thursday on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Gaza conflict. We discuss how this as a new line in the sand for Israel-supporting countries.

Yesterday, new Defense Minister Israel Katz announced an end to administrative detention orders for West Bank settlers. Almost on the heels of this announcement, several dozen Jewish extremists in Hebron for an annual pilgrimage tried to attack the head of the IDF Central Command Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth. Five were arrested. Horovitz weighs in on this announcement and other unsettling news regarding settlers this week.

In a highly unusual move, the State Prosecutor’s Office on Friday published a rebuttal to allegations that it has been selectively enforcing the law concerning leaked intelligence information with the grave charges it has brought against Eli Feldstein, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an unnamed IDF reservist, in relation to the leak of a stolen, classified document to German newspaper Bild. A second PMO spokesman, Jonathan Urich, was questioned by the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit for a second time on Wednesday as part of the probe. Horovitz discusses the prosecutor's unusual move to publish a Q&A on the case and raises other outstanding questions surrounding it.

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

Discussed articles include:

UK indicates it could arrest Netanyahu on ICC warrant, as Hungary invites him to visit

Analysts warn ICC arrest warrants could pave way to future arms embargoes on Israel

Defense minister declares end to administrative detention against West Bank settlers

Several dozen Jewish extremists in Hebron try to attack IDF’s top West Bank commander

Troops smuggled settler leader into Gaza to survey settlement options – report

State prosecution posts rare rebuttal of ‘misinformation’ relating to PMO intel leak case

Report: Netanyahu adviser Urich questioned for second time in document leak case

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

IMAGE: Undated photo of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands. (Oliver de la Haye/iStock)

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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 first discusses the legal bombshell of the International Criminal Court's decision Thursday to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The prime minister has stated that he won't comply, but Magid points out that there are countries abroad that would comply and whose recognition matters to Israel.

Magid also looks at the recent Senate vote, in which more Democrats supported efforts to withhold aid against Israel, and he points out that several Democrats who are not usually part of that progressive camp also voted for it.

He talks about the UN Security Council measure calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the US veto because the measure did not couple the truce with the immediate release of all remaining hostages.

Finally, Magid turns to Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein who may face a life term for allegedly transferring information to the German Bild newspaper, to skew the public debate over the hostage negotiations at a time when the public was turning against Netanyahu and his government.

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

Discussed articles include:

US ‘fundamentally rejects’ ICC warrants, says it’s working with Israel on next steps

World split over Netanyahu, Gallant arrest warrants, as some in EU vow to uphold them

Israel breathes small sigh of relief after most US Senate Democrats back arms transfers

Senate motions blocking arms sales to Israel fail, but pick up Democrat support

US vetoes Gaza ceasefire resolution at UN as it didn’t condition truce on hostages’ release

Netanyahu aide charged with harming state security in leaked document case, could face life term

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

IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset on November 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.

Legal reporter Jeremy Sharon and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Last night, some 150 right-wing activists rally outside the Tel Aviv home of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to demand her ouster. These protesters arrived after roughly twice as many people began protesting in support of the attorney general. Baharav-Miara has frequently clashed with members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, and disagreements have increased amid ongoing investigations into the premier’s staff. Sharon explains what the most recent controversies include.

Surkes returned earlier this week from Baku, Azerbaijan, where she attended a large chunk of the annual United Nations COP (Conference of the Parties) confab — better known as COP29. It kicked off on November 11 and will end on Friday. We discuss what the conference is meant to accomplish versus the cognitive dissonance she found on the ground.

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

Discussed articles include:

Ministers rage at ‘anarchist’ AG, with one implying she’s trying to ‘kill’ Netanyahu

Cabinet okays forced retirement for government legal advisers, ignoring AG criticism

Labor minister agrees to court-proposed compromise on Haredi daycare subsidies

At the third UN climate confab to be held in a petrostate, fact and fantasy collide

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

IMAGE: Activists participate in a demonstration for transforming food systems at the COP29 UN Climate Summit, November 19, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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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 for today's episode.

The UN Security Council is slated to vote on a resolution demanding “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza. This time, there is also the demand for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” Rettig Gur weighs in on what the chances are of its passage — and whether it is of any significance.

After a meeting with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, Special Envoy Amos Hochstein said, “I came back [to Lebanon] because we have a real opportunity to bring this conflict to an end,” adding that gaps between the sides had been “significantly narrowed” in the talks Tuesday. Berri said the “situation is good in principle,” though some unresolved technical details remain. Why aren't we hearing such optimism from Israel?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited an Israeli military position in the Gaza Strip and reiterated an offer to lavishly pay Gazans who turn over Israeli hostages, upping the reward to $5 million for each captive, after previously suggesting Israel would pay “several million” for their recovery. Rettig Gur dives into what else the premier was setting out to accomplish.

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

Discussed articles include:

UNSC to vote on resolution demanding immediate Gaza ceasefire, freeing of hostages

US envoy says Lebanon ceasefire ‘within grasp’ as soldier killed in drone strike

Touring Gaza, PM vows Hamas won’t return to power, offers $5 million for hostages

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

IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip on November 19, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/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.

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

Horovitz reviews Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's critical comments about US President Joe Biden that he made during a Knesset speech on Monday. The prime minister sometimes strayed from his prepared remarks and commented more widely on Israel's retaliative attacks against Iran and the ongoing war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

He also discusses Netanyahu's remarks about the leaks from his office over the course of the last year of the war and refers to the prime minister's fury over being probed for illegal activities.

Finally, Horovitz talks about Netanyahu's comments regarding the remaining hostages and the fraught aspects of the internal negotiations, on a day when hostage family members and supporters were kicked out of the Knesset gallery.

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

Discussed articles include:

Lebanese official says Hezbollah agrees to US ceasefire proposal with ‘comments’

Netanyahu says Biden’s counsel throughout the war was repeatedly off-mark

Eli Feldstein, Netanyahu aide jailed in leaks case, placed under suicide watch

Hostage families barred from showing videos of loved ones in Knesset committee meeting

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

IMAGE: Hostage families hold up photos of their loved ones in the gallery of the Knesset on November 18, 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.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

US envoy Amos Hochstein will travel to the Lebanese capital Beirut tomorrow for talks on a ceasefire between the Hezbollah terror group and Israel. We’ll hear Berman's assessment of the chances of success in these talks.

Last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted an emergency meeting on efforts to free hostages held in Gaza with a select group of ministers and the top security brass, who had reportedly planned to tell the forum that agreeing to end the war with Hamas was the only way to reach a deal to free the captives. Berman describes a few "wild card" ideas that could potentially force some movement in the negotiations.

Even as senior members of Hamas’s leadership abroad left Qatar last week for Turkey, President Isaac Herzog reportedly canceled his planned visit to the United Nations COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, because Turkey refused to allow the Israeli state airplane, Wing of Zion, to fly though its airspace. We speak about how unusual it is for Turkey to deny passage to a figure of Herzog's stature.

Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year. It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. How seriously should Israel take these comments in light of the some 1.3 billion baptized Catholics around the world?

Senator John Thune said Sunday that the US must pass legislation threatening the International Criminal Court with sanctions if it seeks arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other Israeli officials, noting that the House has already passed sanctions legislation on a bipartisan basis. With the clock ticking at the ICC, could these efforts have an effect?

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

Discussed articles include:

Hezbollah media chief killed in IDF strike on central Beirut

Stance on ending war must soften for hostage deal, security chiefs said to tell PM

Hamas officials booted by Qatar last week, now hosted in Turkey, diplomat says

Herzog canceled trip to climate confab because Turkey barred him from airspace — report

Pope calls for probe into whether Israel is committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Incoming Senate majority leader threatens ICC with sanctions over case against Israelis

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

IMAGE: Pope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, November 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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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.

A barrage of some 20 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the Western Galilee and Haifa Bay area just ahead of this conversation. Yesterday also saw some 80 rockets fired at the same areas. At the same time, the IDF has reportedly removed roadblocks on the northern border which were to prevent civilians from driving on roads that were exposed to anti-tank missile fire from Lebanon. Is this a sign that northern residents may soon return home?

This morning, the IDF has issued additional evacuation orders for four more buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs ahead of a second wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah assets. We hear what is happening with this increased daytime strikes and learn about how Hezbollah fights differently from Hamas on the ground.

In recent weeks, the turnout rate in the reservist units currently fighting in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip has varied between 75% and 85%, according to defense sources. But today, some 7,000 enlistment orders to ultra-Orthodox Israelis will begin to be delivered and, as Fabian reported last week, we’ve already seen some signs that this year already represents a larger turnout than years past. Fabian weighs in.

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

Discussed articles include:

IDF said to remove roadblocks near northern border ahead of possible return of displaced residents

Soldier killed in Lebanon as IDF pounds Hezbollah; rocket hits Haifa synagogue

Reservist killed in northern Gaza Strip; hostage holders said incommunicado

Sharp drop seen in reservist response rate due to burnout amid long war

Angering coalition ally, new Defense Minister Katz okays 7,000 more Haredi draft orders

IDF sees increase in draft of Haredi troops, but is still far off from goals

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

IMAGE: Damage caused to vehicles and buildings from a missile fired from Lebanon on November 16, 2024, in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, photographed on November 17, 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.

Today, we bring you a special conversation held this week between three women bearing the name Rachel in honor of the traditional annual observance of the death of the biblical Rachel: ToI blogger Rachel Sharansky Danziger, war widow Rachel Goldberg and bereaved mother Rachel Goldberg-Polin.

Rachel Goldberg and Rachel Goldberg-Polin share a name, a neighborhood, and a history. Rachel Goldberg’s father was Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s teacher at one time, and her husband, Rav Avi Goldberg, taught Rachel’s son Hersh. Tragically, they now share the intolerable pain of loss.

Rachel’s son, Hersh Goldberg Polin, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from the Nova music festival. Rachel and her husband Jon advocated relentlessly for his release and continue to ask the world to push for the release of the remaining 101 hostages in Gaza. Hersh was murdered in Gaza in late August with five other hostages. Rachel’s husband, Rav Avi Goldberg, served in the reserves for over 250 days since October 7, before falling in battle in Lebanon three weeks ago.

As part of the ongoing efforts to continue Rav Avi’s legacy and efforts (including his dream of building a shul for his community, Beorcha), Rabbi David Ansbacher, Rav Avi’s brother-in-law, invited Rachel and Rachel to come together in honor of the anniversary of the death of Rachel the matriarch and share their experiences and insights.

This conversation was facilitated by a third Rachel – Beorcha member and Times of Israel blogger Rachel Sharansky Danziger. The conversation, titled "Rachel weeping for her children," is available on video online and is now generously shared by Beorcha here in podcast form.

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

Discussed articles include:

Rachel Goldberg-Polin -- Limping toward the light: A letter from me in this moment

Rachel Sharansky Danziger -- Rabbi Avi Goldberg: A man who lit up the world

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

Image: L-R: Bereaved mother Rachel Goldberg Polin and war widow Rachel Goldberg. (Youtube screenshot)

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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 reporter Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Pacchiani offers a brief update regarding the latest in the US-brokered ceasefire proposal to Hezbollah in Lebanon, as Bletter speaks about the randomness of rockets that kill and cause damage in the north, including Jewish and Arab towns and villages.

Pacchiani discusses the latest lineup of Hamas leadership in Gaza, with most of the leaders located out of the country and one possibly still in Gaza, and how they control the ongoing war from afar.

He also looks at reactions from European leaders regarding Palestinian educational textbooks that radicalize younger generations.

Finally, Bletter talks about scientific research from Tel Aviv University that could help in fighting cancerous tumors.

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

Discussed articles include:

Though ham-handed, report on Gazan anger at Hamas appears to reflect waning support

As calls to deradicalize Palestinian textbooks get louder, some urge a broader focus

‘History repeats itself’ as South Lebanon Army veteran, Israeli killed side-by-side

In Arab town where 2 were killed by Hezbollah rockets, leaders demand shelters

Annual festival includes an oud ode to a Jewish Tunisian diva

Israeli researchers identify protein that stops immune cells from attacking tumors

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

IMAGE: In Kiryat Ata, northern Israel, where a missile fired from Lebanon hit and caused damage on November 11, 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.

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

Six Israeli soldiers were killed in a clash with Hezbollah forces, the IDF announced Wednesday, as Israeli troops pushed deeper into southern Lebanon amid an intensification of violence, even as officials expressed cautious optimism on ceasefire talks. It was one of the heaviest single-day losses in the operation that began in late September against Hezbollah. Horovitz updates on efforts to reach a ceasefire in the north and the key player not included in the talks.

Tzachi Braverman, who serves as chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is being questioned under caution today by the police’s Lahav 443 serious crimes unit. We hear more about the two -- or three -- issues under investigation with links to the Prime Minister's Office.

Authorities in Paris announced that more than 4,000 police officers and 1,600 stadium staff would be deployed for the game and only French and Israeli flags will be allowed inside the stadium. Horovitz weighs in to why accusations that what happened in Amsterdam was mere soccer hooliganism just missed the mark.

On Wednesday, the Jerusalem District Court rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a 10-week delay to the start of his testimony in his criminal trial, saying that he already had five months to prepare.

And finally, we discuss Israeli media's complicated relationship with the military censor and the censor's sometimes baffling rulings.

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

Discussed articles include:

6 Israeli soldiers killed in fighting with Hezbollah as IDF pushes deeper into Lebanon

Court extends by one day remand of key suspect in PMO secret documents leak case

Paris protesters target pro-Israel, far-right linked gala ahead of tense soccer match

Court rejects Netanyahu’s request to delay testimony in criminal trial

The ultra-divisive Netanyahu and the consequences for an Israel fighting for survival

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

IMAGE: A man flashes a portrait of slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in front of the rubble of a building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (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 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Magid joins 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Berman joins 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

Illustrative 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 Bletter join 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple 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 Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

Illustrative 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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