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.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington this morning for a meeting that he calls “critical for the future of the war.” What are the main goals?

The IDF confirmed that it shot down an apparent Hezbollah drone over the Lower Galilee. It was shot down by air defenses in an area that houses a major factory belonging to the Rafael defense contractor. Also overnight, Israeli fighter jets shot down a drone heading toward Israel from the eastern direction. The announcement comes after the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed to have launched a drone at Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat early this morning.

On Saturday, the IDF struck several targets, including a Hamas military site in Gaza City’s Shati neighborhood. Reports in Hebrew and Arabic media said the Shati attack targeted senior Hamas commander Raad Saad, head of Hamas operations. We hear who he is and the status of the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Also on Saturday, Israel said it had killed a top Hamas operative in Lebanon, Ayman Ghatma, who was responsible for supplying weapons to Hamas in Lebanon as well as to the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya terror group. We hear about the tangled Lebanon-based overlap between Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

An Israeli civilian Amnon Muchtar, 67, of Petah Tikva was shot in his vehicle by unknown gunmen in the West Bank city of Qalqilya on Saturday and later died of his wounds. Fabian describes the incident, which is being labeled as a terror attack, and puts it into context with other recent conflicts in the area.

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

Discussed articles include:

Heading to US, Gallant says meetings ‘critical for the future of the war’

Israeli strike said to target Hamas operations chief Raad Saad in Gaza; unclear if he died

IDF kills top Hamas man in Lebanon; US said to promise Israel full support if war erupts

Israeli man shot and killed in his car in West Bank’s Qalqilya in apparent terror

IDF says it is investigating soldiers who tied Palestinian detainee to hood of car

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel

THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown

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: Israel Defense Forces operating in Gaza, June 22, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

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