Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

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

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

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

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

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

Discussed articles include:

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

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

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

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

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

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