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.

Tech Israel editor Sharon Wrobel and health editor Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing.

As Israel's two largest banks, Bank Hapoalim and Discount Bank, posted massive financial gains for 2023, Wrobel discusses how Israel's banks achieved increases during months of war. She notes that Israelis may have ignored banking issues and statements while serving prolonged reserve duty and dealing with more heightened personal issues during the height of the war.

Bletter delves into her investigative piece of the allegations pointed at Israel, regarding whether IDF troops targeted Gazan children during the war. She looks in particular at the allegations made in two essays printed in The New York Times and The Guardian, discussing her interview with an American urban warfare expert, the lack of forensic evidence and the long history of Hamas of exploiting and harming minors and adult civilians to advance its political goals.

As Israir becomes the third Israeli airline to join the Tel Aviv-New York route, offering more competition to carriers El Al and Arkia, Wrobel discusses what it will take for Israir to gain customers, as travelers seek better deals. Wrobel also talks about Israelis booking cruises, as they seek some relief from war and October 7 trauma, and a secure vacation given anti-Israel sentiment worldwide and the high prices of airline tickets.

With thousands of residents of the Western Galilee heading home last week, Bletter visited Arab al-Aramshe — the only non-Jewish community evacuated in Israel for the war, a Bedouin village whose residents were holed up in hotels and other communities for the last months.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Israeli banks rake in record profits as their war-battered customers drown in debt

After doctors accuse Israel of shooting Gazan kids, experts see need for a second opinion

Israir set to become third Israeli carrier serving New York route, with lower airfare

As war brings spikes in airfare and antisemitism, cruise ships see a new wave of Israelis

Bedouin and Jewish residents who evacuated from north return home to mourn and rebuild

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: Parked airplanes belonging to Israir and  El Al at the Ben Gurion International Airport, August 8, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/FLASH90)

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