Afleveringen
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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.
This morning, 8 hostages — 3 Israeli and 5 Thai — returned to Israel from Gaza where they were taken by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on October 7, 2023.
Agam Berger, 20, the final surveillance officer among seven young women taken hostage on October 7 was released from the northern Gaza Strip in a staged ceremony this morning. Fabian debriefs us on what we know about her health and describes the situation in the northern part of the Strip as the IDF allows residents to return there.
Just before 1 pm, two other Israeli civilians were released from within a seething mob in Khan Younis: 29-year-old Arbel Yehoud, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and her fellow kibbutznik Gadi Moshe Mozes, who is 80. Fabian describes the utter chaos of their releases, along with five Thai nations who were freed in a separately mediated deal.
We look ahead to Saturday's release of three further hostages and who may -- or may not -- be on the list, as well as future pullbacks by the IDF.
And finally, we hear about what is happening along Israel's northern borders with Lebanon and Syria.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Arbel Yehoud, Gadi Mozes, 5 Thais, freed amid mayhem in Khan Younis; Agam Berger released
IDF reveals it killed Hamas terrorist seen dragging Naama Levy to captivity on Oct. 7
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: Gadi Moses, 80, center right, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as he is handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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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 takes a look at President Donald Trump's first week in office, including Trump's controversial comments regarding Gazans and where they could be moved, even temporarily during the reconstruction of parts of Gaza, and how Egypt and Jordan view the influx of Palestinians as a security threat.
He also discusses Steve Witkoff's role in hostage negotiations and his seemingly personal connection to the families of released hostages, as Witkoff touches down in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Saudi Arabia.
Magid shares insights from his interview with Barbara Leaf, a top Middle East diplomat from the Biden administration as they explored the ongoing challenges in Gaza post-war. Leaf expressed regret over the lack of a post-war plan for Gaza, and commented that recent developments in Syria and Lebanon could positively impact regional stability.
Finally, Magid looks at the Trump administration's claims about foreign aid spending during the Biden years, including a humorous controversy regarding US foreign aid for supposed condom distribution in Gaza.
This conversation can also be viewed here:
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Trump says ‘would be nice’ to solve Iranian nuclear crisis without Israeli strikes
Trump doubles down on proposal to move Gazans; insists Egypt and Jordan will agree
‘We averted much worse’: Biden’s top Mideast diplomat looks back on tumultuous term
Trump invites Netanyahu to visit White House; PM’s office says meeting set for Feb. 4
White House: Biden allotted $50m for Gaza condoms; ex-official denies ‘feverish dream’
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: At the entrance to a Tel Aviv conference entitled 'Opportunities for Israel under Trump,' in Tel Aviv. January 28, 2025. (Photo by Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Sharon was in court yesterday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed his testimony in his corruption trial. We hear whether the premier seems in good health following his prostate surgery even as his hearing was canceled today and tomorrow over a judge's illness.
We learn that an angry Netanyahu alleged that key aspects of the case against him rested on testimony that had been illegitimately obtained from witnesses such as former aides Nir Hefetz, Ari Harrow, and Shlomo Filber and that aspects of the indictment against him are factually inaccurate.
After an unprecedented 16 months without a permanent Supreme Court president and in the face of unrelenting opposition from Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Justice Isaac Amit was elected head of Israel’s top court on Sunday night in a court-forced vote by the Judicial Selection Committee.
Sharon delves into the tricky situation in which Levin, together with the other coalition representatives in the committee, Settlements Minister Orit Strock and Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer, boycotted the hearing in protest of the decision by the Supreme Court — sitting as the High Court of Justice — to order him to hold a vote in the committee.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Netanyahu aiming to meet Trump at White House next week in first visit by foreign leader
Netanyahu accuses police of extorting ‘false testimony’ from state witnesses
Isaac Amit finally elected Supreme Court president; Levin pledges to boycott him
Israel finally gets a permanent Supreme Court president; what does he stand for?
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 Justice Minister Yariv Levin attends a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, December 4, 2024. )Chaim Goldbergl/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 Tal Schneider and reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Israel allows thousands of Gazans to return to the north of the Strip, as per the hostage-ceasefire deal, following confirmation that hostages Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger and a third hostage would be released this week on Thursday, while three more hostages, all men, will be released on Saturday, Schneider notes.
She also reviews the latest regarding the Hezbollah ceasefire, which is being extended until February 18, during which time the Lebanese army is supposed to to deploy to the eastern part of southern Lebanon, close to Syria and the Golan Heights, and stabilize what is currently seen as a fragile ceasefire.
Schneider describes a recent visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz near the Gaza border, one of the kibbutzim hardest hit by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, where only half a dozen homes were left standing. IDF forces never reached Nir Oz on that day, and neither have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or many other ministers in the ensuing 15 months.
Surkes talks about how some veteran Israeli aid workers are caught between considering the humanitarian needs of war-torn Gaza, which they haven't been able to enter since the war began, and mourning communities and individuals victimized by the brutal Hamas onslaught on October 7, 2023, which started the war.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Thousands of Gazans gather on coastal road as IDF blocks access to Strip’s north
Israel: Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger, 3rd hostage to be freed Thursday; 3 more on Saturday
Israel and Lebanon extend truce, with IDF troop withdrawal deadline moved to Feb. 18
22 killed in south Lebanon as IDF fires on suspects trying to break through to villages
Israel fiddled while Nir Oz burned, but the kibbutz will rise 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: Displaced Palestinians make their way back to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on January 27, 2025. (Photo by Ali Hassan/Flash90)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and reporter Amy Spiro joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Yesterday, the four female soldiers held hostage in Gaza for 477 days — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag — were reunited with their loved ones, embracing them with smiles and tears after their release from captivity. Today, we concentrate on the Hamas violation of the ceasefire deal due to the failure to free civilian hostage Arbel Yehud and Israel’s consequent decision to pause its pulling out from part of the Netzarim Corridor — even as thousands of Palestinians gather on the coastal road in central Gaza, waiting to return to the Strip’s north.
US President Donald Trump said Saturday he’d like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations accept more Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip — potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area and create a virtual clean slate. We discuss the feasibility of this idea, as well as the Palestinian security prisoners who were deported to Egypt yesterday.
The initial 60-day truce in Lebanon has run out this morning and the Lebanese army is calling on its civilians to “exercise self-restraint” and follow instructions as people attempt to return to villages in south Lebanon, despite the IDF presence there. We learn which parts of southern Lebanon the IDF still holds and what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declared intentions are, and hear updates about the IDF’s presence in the Syrian buffer zone.
And finally, we end with the bittersweet win of Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival, who was voted in last week as Israel’s contestant at the 2025 Eurovision in Switzerland in May.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
‘Unfazed’: Freed hostages say they knew they had to project strength at Hamas handover
Israel bars Palestinians from returning to north Gaza in row over hostage Arbel Yehud
Trump proposes Jordan, Egypt take in Gazans so decimated Strip can be ‘cleaned out’
IDF warns Lebanese against return to border villages as it prepares to extend stay
Israel won’t complete full withdrawal from Lebanon by Sunday deadline, PM says
Yuval Raphael, survivor of Nova massacre, to represent Israel at 2025 Eurovision
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: Lebanese women hold portraits of of slain Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, as they check the destruction in their village Aita al-Shaab, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, January 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's special update.
This morning, four female soldiers held hostage by Hamas for 477 days — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag — were released by the terror group after being paraded through a Gaza City square and made to participate in a demeaning ceremony before being handed over to the Red Cross.
Hamas "gift bags" in hand, the four young women returned to Israel and were reunited with their families at the IDF base near Re'im, mere kilometers from the Gaza border.
Fabian reminds listeners of Hamas's murderous October 7, 2023, takeover of the Nahal Oz IDF base that saw 66 soldiers murdered and seven female surveillance officers taken prisoner.
We hear what we currently know about the physical health of the four released today and details from the handover.
Fabian also updates us on Israel's response to Hamas's overt violation of the ceasefire-hostage release deal which should have seen female civilian Arbel Yehud -- and any other living female civilian and children -- released ahead of the female soldiers.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.Discussed articles include:
4 female soldier hostages freed by Hamas, paraded on Gaza stage, returned to Israel
Israel blocks Palestinians from returning to north Gaza after Hamas breaks truce terms
Bibas family: ‘World came crashing down’ when Shiri, kids weren’t slated for release
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 throws confetti as Hamas fighters prepare to hand over four Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team from a stage at a square in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / 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, a special Friday Focus on the painful issue of the release of Palestinian security prisoners as part of the hostage release-ceasefire deal.
Tomorrow, another four hostages are set to be released from Gaza -- presumably women and presumably alive. Alongside the Israelis' release, however, up to 200 Palestinian prisoners could also be released, according to the current formula of 30 Palestinian prisoners for every civilian and 50 for every female soldier.
Rettig Gur takes on this complicated and emotional subject through looking at the history of terrorist hostage-taking and previous so-called exchanges of the abductees and Palestinian prisoners -- including those who were serving multiple life sentences.
We speak about the most memorable exchange of prisoners, which came in 2011 when captured soldier Gilad Shalit was released from Gaza as 1,027 security prisoners were freed from Israeli prisons. However, Rettig Gur postulates that the blueprint for that abduction came much earlier.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Convicted terrorists to be released are ‘an open wound’ for victims’ families
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 celebrate the release of some 90 prisoners set free by Israel in the early hours of January 20, 2025 upon their arrival aboard a Red Cross bus in the Palestinian West Bank town of Beitunia, on the outskirts of Ramallah. (Zain JAAFAR / 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 for today's episode.
Horovitz reviews the fraught, ongoing process of the hostage releases, both those that took place last Sunday and the four living women expected to be released on Saturday. He comments on how every day carries a new twist in the ceasefire and hostage exchange, and the terrifying moment of transfer in Gaza City, last Sunday.
He also talks about some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of the ceasefire, how and why it finally came about, the cooperation between the Trump and Biden administrations, the weakened Hezbollah and positioning of Hamas, along with the fact that it's not an easy deal for Israel, but it will save hostages' lives.
Discussion of phase two of the deal has also begun, as hostage families plea for their loved ones' lives. Horovitz discusses some of the politics that will enter that part of the process, and how that could affect the stability of Netanyahu's political coalition and what he might do about that.
Horovitz talks about the likelihood of the Palestinian Authority taking some portion of control over Gaza, and the tremendous amount of nuance involved in any discussion of that possibility.
Finally, he talks about the resignation of IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, due to take effect in March, and what it has meant to have Halevi take responsibility for the failures that led to October 7, as well as why many Israelis still feel loyal to him.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Top officials said already gearing up for 2nd phase hostage talks, ahead of schedule
Israel said to tell Hamas it expects Arbel Yehud to be among next freed hostages
Farewell Herzi Halevi, uniformed embodiment of our national tragedy, leader of the fightback
IDF chief Halevi’s resignation letter: Oct. 7 failure will stay with me for rest of my life
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: Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of Idan Alexander who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, holds a sign as she stands outside the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, January 23, 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 and settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Four people were wounded yesterday evening by a terrorist who went on a stabbing spree in a trendy Tel Aviv neighborhood, emergency services and Israel Police said, before he was shot dead. An off-duty IDF tank officer who had lost a hand during fighting in the Gaza Strip was among those who attempted to neutralize the terrorist. Fabian tells us more.
Yesterday, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and the head of the IDF Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman both announced their resignations, 15 months into the war sparked by Hamas’s attack and two days after a ceasefire and hostage release deal with the terror group in the Gaza Strip went into effect. Why now and who is in the running to replace the pair?
Yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces launched a major counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday afternoon, which military sources said was expected to last several days. We learn about the aims of the operation and the coordination with the Palestinian Authority.
Dozens of extremist settlers conducted an attack on two West Bank Palestinian villages on Monday night in which IDF troops also came under attack. Sharon explains that this is just one of a series of attacks and delves into who these extremist Israelis are.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Off-duty officer who lost hand in Gaza helped chase down terrorist in Tel Aviv attack
US green card holder, a Moroccan national, wounds 4 in Tel Aviv terror stabbing spree
IDF reservist killed, senior officer seriously hurt by roadside bomb in West Bank
Taking responsibility for Oct. 7 failures, IDF chief and head of Southern Command resign
IDF launches major counterterror raid in West Bank’s Jenin, expected to last days
IDF: Dozens of settler extremists involved in Monday night riots, troops also attacked
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 soldiers stand guard as Israeli Jewish settlers tour the old market in the city of Hebron in the West Bank on December 28, 2024. (HAZEM BADER / 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 reviews the leadup to President Donald Trump's inauguration into office as the 47th president of the United States, including the President-elect's role in the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal that began with the release of three female hostages on Sunday. Magid points out that reaching the second phase of the deal may be more difficult, given the pressures on Netanyahu's coalition government, and the prime minister's desire to remain fighting Hamas in Gaza.
Magid also looks at Trump and Netanyahu's various supporters, and who has sway over the two leaders in their decision-making process.
Magid discusses Trump's comments during the inauguration rally, as he invited hostage families and former hostage Noa Argamani on stage, but made a point about releasing the January 6, 2021 "hostages," not referring to the hostages taken by Hamas to Gaza.
After the inauguration and rally, says Magid, Trump signed a number of orders, including undoing the Biden sanctions against violent Israeli settlers, revoking the Biden order that removed Trump's 2020 sanctions on the International Criminal Court and ordering a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance.
Finally, Magid discusses Trump's casual comment regarding the Gaza ceasefire and that it may not hold, remarking that the war in Gaza is "their war, not our war," perhaps as a way for Trump to distance himself from the region and situation.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Trump looks to ride on success of hostage deal as he readies to take oath of office
On day one, Trump rolls back Biden sanctions regime targeting violent Israeli settlers
Trump orders 90-day pause in foreign development assistance, likely impacting Palestinians
Trump revokes Biden order that removed his 2020 sanctions on the ICC
Trump believes Israeli-Saudi normalization can be reached ‘soon’
Trump says not confident Gaza deal will hold through all three phases
‘I thought I’d die in Gaza’: First testimonies from freed hostages released
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 Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance and first lady Melania Trump greet families of hostages held in Gaza, during an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and political reporter Tal Schneider join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Yesterday evening, three Hamas hostages were returned to Israeli soil as part of the hostage release-ceasefire agreement that went into effect at 11:15 yesterday morning. We learn how Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were released, what we know currently of their conditions and how they were received in Israel.
Israel released 90 Palestinian security prisoners early Monday morning, hours after Hamas released the three civilian hostages on the first day of a ceasefire with the terror group in the Gaza Strip. These inmates included terror convicts but reportedly none convicted of murder. Where were they taken and how were they greeted?
We hear a quick update on the status of the truce that is still holding in southern Lebanon -- and that is meant to expire on Sunday.
Former national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party quit the coalition on Sunday morning, following through on its threat to exit if the government agreed to a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Schneider discusses the new alignment of power in the coalition and goes through several potential scenarios.
At the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, today, part of the festivities will be led by Yeshiva University head Rabbi Ari Berman, who will deliver a benediction. We hear what else Israeli or Jewish may be in store.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher return to Israel after 471 days
Beaming, laughing, weeping, 3 freed hostages finally reunite with loved ones
Israel frees 90 Palestinian security prisoners, who are welcomed with Hamas flags
Otzma Yehudit exits coalition over Gaza deal, blasting it as ‘victory for terrorism’
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: Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on January 19, 2025. (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.
Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
The ceasefire between Israel and the terror groups led by Hamas in the Gaza Strip came into effect at 11:15 am after Hamas finally submitted the names of the three hostages set to be released this evening, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher. Fabian discusses what preparations are being made to receive the women.
The body of soldier Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, who was killed and captured by Hamas in 2014, was returned to Israel recently. We hear what we know about the military operation that finally closed one family’s saga, even as Israelis await dozens more hostages.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Hours before Gaza ceasefire set to start, PM stresses right to resume war after ‘pause’
With doctors and therapists: Army completes preparations to receive hostages
High Court rejects bereaved families’ petition against release of terrorists
Body of soldier Oron Shaul, killed and captured by Hamas in 2014, recovered from 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: Armed Hamas operatives parade in southern Gaza's Rafah after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect on January 19, 2025 (Screen grab/Al-Jazeera)
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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 Prime Minister’s Office issued a brief statement after 1 a.m. Saturday morning confirming the government approved the hostage release-ceasefire deal after meeting for more than seven hours. Twenty-four ministers voted in favor of the deal and eight opposed. The deal should enter into force on Sunday at 8:30 am and the first three Israeli hostages are to be freed at 4 pm. In sum, 33 hostages are to be freed in the first, 42-day phase of the deal. Horovitz speaks about the political dramas and what we know about the implementation of the deal and who is on the first-phase list.
Israel is set to release up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including several serving multiple life sentences for deadly terror attacks and murder. The Justice Ministry has, as of Saturday, published the names of 735 Palestinian prisoners to allow petitions against their release to be submitted to the High Court. We hear some of the complexities around the prisoner-release portion of the truce deal and who is not currently going to be freed.
We speak about the mood of the country after the deal was finally ratified. How are families whose loved ones were killed in battle in Gaza feeling as Hamas and Hezbollah cry victory and vow to ramp up their "resistance" to Israel in the near future.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Israeli government approves hostage-ceasefire agreement with Hamas
Israel to free up to 1,904 Palestinians in 1st stage of hostage deal, including killers
These are the 33 hostages set to be returned in phase one of the Gaza ceasefire
Guidelines for hospitals set to receive hostages include STD checks, pregnancy tests
IDF intercepts missile from Yemen in 4th Houthi attack this week, no injuries
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 pauses near posters of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, as Israel's security cabinet convened to decide whether to approve a deal that would release dozens of hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and pause the 15-month-war, January 17, 2025. (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.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode, the weekly Friday Focus.
As US President Joe Biden prepares to leave office, we take a look at the relationship between the president and the Jewish state, starting with his famous meeting with prime minister Golda Meir in which he understood the importance of being a Zionist.
We hear how, after Biden's initial embrace of Netanyahu and the Israeli people following the murderous Hamas onslaught on southern Israel, the complex relationship between the president and his shifting Democratic party may have colored some of his later statements and led to micro-managing the war in Gaza.
Magid postulates that the traditionally special relationship between the US and its ally has also led to sanctions on settler extremists in an attempt to course-correct the Jewish state.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
On a deadline: How Biden and Trump brokered hostage deal before ‘all hell’ broke loose
Biden: US-backed pressure on Iranian axis helped secure hostage deal, end of Gaza 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: US President Joe Biden, right, hugs Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, October 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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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.
Last night, the prime minister of Qatar as well as both US President Joe Biden and US President-elect Donald Trump announced that a deal had been reached. Hamas leadership quickly declared victory over Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to insist that the final deal has not been inked and some outstanding details remain. At recording time on Thursday noon, the deal was still not finalized. Horovitz describes what we understand are the main specifics of the agreement.
According to a recent Israel Democracy Institute survey, more than two-thirds of the public support a deal for the release of all or some of the hostages. On the other hand, around a quarter support continuing the military pressure on Hamas, which they believe will lead to a more favorable deal for Israel in the future. Horovitz explains the stances of some of the right-wing protesters who demonstrated Wednesday night and are currently demonstrating at the Knesset against a deal.
We hear about the drama also taking place inside the Knesset as government members wrestle with their consciences to decide which way to cast their votes -- and whether to dissolve the coalition.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Get them all home
After 15 months of war, Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire-hostage release deal
Biden: US-backed pressure on Iranian axis helped secure hostage deal, end of Gaza war
On a deadline: How Biden and Trump brokered hostage deal before ‘all hell’ broke loose
Hamas leader touts ceasefire as a defeat for Israel while hailing Oct. 7 atrocities
Right-wing groups, including bereaved families, protest pending hostage release deal
Hostage families on ‘roller coaster’ as they celebrate deal, worry for loved ones’ fate
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 protesters carry mock coffins draped in the national flag of Israel during a protest against the ceasefire with Hamas outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on January 16, 2025. (John Wessels / 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.
Reporter Amy Spiro filling in for diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and environmental correspondent Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Spiro says there is optimism that the proposed hostage deal will be signed by Wednesday or Thursday, and reviews the proposed details of the deal that it is very similar to what was proposed last May, with a first stage of 33 hostages to be released in exchange for around 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and negotiations on a second phase of hostages 16 days into the ceasefire.
Spiro says that Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar calls this a gradual deal, not a partial deal.
She reviews the process of approving the deal, which would first go to the security cabinet and then to the entire government cabinet. Spiro remarks that Likud ministers have said the deal will pass, even without right-wing politicians National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir or Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on board, and that opposition leader Yair Lapid has said he will do what is necessary to ensure the deal goes through despite any longer-term political implications.
Surkes discusses the new reforms aimed at changing the range of imported goods from the European Union, intended to lower prices on goods in Israel.
Surkes also looks at a Tel Aviv University study regarding the lack of cave art in the Levant and a bereaved family member's newspaper that looks at how Israel could become a better place.
The printed newspaper, written only by bereaved families, aligns with the latest Yoni Bloch song that Steinberg speaks about briefly, with an AI clip that imagines the hostages released home and peace in the Middle East.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Smotrich undecided on hostage deal at this ‘fateful moment’
Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal on brink of finalization, as reports spell out details
Israeli officials: Deal will see 33 hostages freed in 1st stage, most of them alive
Ben Gvir says he repeatedly foiled hostage deals, urges Smotrich to help him stop this one
Along with soaring prices, Israel rings in 2025 with economic reforms, but will they work?
Israeli researchers devise woolly solution to enigma of why Levant has no cave art
AI music clip imagines all hostages released, a new MidEast
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: Protestors at Begin Gate in Tel Aviv on January 15, 2025, calling for the release of all the hostages and the end to the war (Credit Yoav Loeff)
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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.
This morning, a “final round” of Gaza truce talks was due to start in Qatar. According to AFP, today’s meetings “are aimed at finalizing the remaining details of the deal,” with the heads of Israel’s intelligence agencies, the Middle East envoys for the incoming and outgoing US administrations, and Qatar’s prime minister present. Mediators are to meet separately with Hamas officials, the source says. Fabian explains what he knows so far about security arrangements that may be put in place in Gaza in the event of a ceasefire.
Five Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded in an explosion in northern Gaza on Monday, the military said, raising Israel’s toll in over 15 months of fighting in the Strip to 407. The slain troops were all serving with the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit. On Saturday, four soldiers were killed and six were wounded during fighting, also in the northern Gaza Strip. We hear initial findings about these two terrible incidents.
The IDF said Monday it had struck several Hezbollah sites in Lebanon overnight, saying the targets violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement. It said it did so after the international ceasefire monitoring mechanism failed to address them, despite being advised on the matter. This is not the first time -- and it's likely not the last, says Fabian.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched ballistic missiles within hours of each other on Monday evening and early Tuesday morning, triggering sirens that sent hundreds of thousands of Israelis rushing into shelters. This comes after a Friday night retaliatory attack by the Israeli Air Force against Houthi targets in Yemen. Fabian shares why the Houthis may not yet be deterred.
IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Amir Baram on Friday notified his commander, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, that he would leave his role as planned at the end of February. Is it because he wants Halevi's job instead?
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Israeli officials: Deal will see 33 hostages freed in 1st stage, most of them alive
Five soldiers killed, 10 wounded in explosion in northern Gaza, IDF says
IDF announces 4 soldiers killed, 6 wounded during fighting in northern Gaza
IDF says it hit Hezbollah sites after ceasefire monitors failed to address threats
For second time in hours, Houthi missile at Israel triggers cross-country sirens
Couple, out for walk after overnight sirens, find chunk of Houthi missile on their roof
20 Israeli jets attack two ports and a power plant used by Houthis in Yemen
IDF deputy chief of staff requests to step down, indicates he hopes to succeed Halevi
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: Pictures in Jerusalem of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, January 13, 2025. (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 Tal Schneider and reporter Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Tensions are high in Israel over the possibility of a proposed hostage deal. Schneider discusses the Sunday phone conversation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden regarding the negotiations. She also reviews which Israeli officials are currently in Doha, along with Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy.
Schneider says Netanyahu met with coalition leaders Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, as the prime minister needs those two powerful coalition partners on board to approve any hostage deal.
Bletter talks about her visits to two northern kibbutz communities where residents have been evacuated for more than a year and now have to decide what the future holds for them.
She also discusses a Weizmann Institute study about ants, and their ability to work well as a team, unlike their human counterparts.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Biden stresses ‘immediate need’ for hostage-truce deal in call with Netanyahu
Netanyahu dispatches top negotiators to Qatar talks amid push to seal hostage deal
PM to meet with Smotrich to gauge support for a potential hostage deal — report
Inside the Lebanon-border closed military zone, kibbutz members prepare to start over
Ants have more ‘group smarts’ than humans, Israeli study finds
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.
IMAGE: People walking next to a poster of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, 'We won't stop until they're all released!' in Jerusalem, January 12, 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.
Legal reporter Jeremy Sharon joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Late last week, almost two years exactly to the unveiling of the initial judicial overhaul legislative package, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar unveiled a far-reaching package of changes to Israel’s judicial system which would increase political power over judicial appointments and curb the High Court’s ability to strike down legislation. The new package would stop short of some measures that sparked massive anti-government protests in 2023, but are potentially just a beginning. We unravel the new initiative and try to understand its implications.
The High Court of Justice on Friday gave the state until the end of January to explain what steps it was taking to maximize Haredi enlistment to the Israel Defense Forces and to penalize draft dodgers.
The instruction came in response to several petitions calling for the immediate conscription of all previously exempt ultra-Orthodox men. We learn about the court's impatience with the government's lack of action on this flashpoint issue.For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Overhaul redux: Levin’s ‘compromise’ proposal would again radically constrain the judiciary
Levin, Sa’ar unveil new judicial overhaul plan; wary opposition heads hold off response
High Court orders state to clarify plans to draft Haredim, penalize dodgers
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: Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar (left) with Justice Minister Yariv Levin at the Knesset on November 6, 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.
Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for a bonus episode of our weekly What Matters Now series.
This week, a committee appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to examine defense spending and IDF military force design for the future announced that the election of Donald Trump as US president offers an unprecedented opportunity to remove the threat Israel faces from Iran.
Trump’s return to the White House, said the Nagel Committee on Monday, “creates, for the first time, the potential for a fundamental change, and the removal or meaningful reduction of the Iranian threat.”
Likewise this week, incoming US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff announced that he would travel to Doha, saying a hostage deal being mediated by Qatar is on the verge of completion, as Trump again warned “all hell will break loose” in the region if an agreement between Israel and Hamas is not reached by his January 20 inauguration.
We all know that Trump is one to talk tough, but the question is -- how much of this rhetoric will translate into action? And will he aid Israel in its effort to prevent a nuclear Iran?
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: US President Donald Trump (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, May 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File)
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