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 and settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Yesterday, the United Arab Emirates joined almost two dozen countries, the United Nations and the European Union in condemning Israel for approving the controversial E1 settlement project outside Jerusalem. Sharon explains where the planned 3,400 units would be built and how this could potentially affect negotiations over a two-state solution. He also delves into why this decades-long project is bring fast-tracked right now.

On Friday, a UN hunger monitor declared for the first time that famine had struck northern Gaza. Israel vehemently denied the reports as “lies” and “modern blood libel,” and the United States appeared to dismiss the declaration as part of a “false narrative of deliberate mass starvation” from Hamas. We learn about the United Nations Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, which issued the report, saying that an estimated 514,000 people — or nearly a quarter of the enclave’s population — are experiencing famine. Sharon explains why Israel and the US allege that the findings are flawed and describes how data is gathered.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Smotrich rejoices as settlement plan that ‘erases 2-state delusion’ gets final greenlight

Netanyahu’s office calls Gaza famine declaration a ‘modern blood libel’

Global hunger monitor declares famine in Gaza for 1st time; Israel rejects ‘biased’ 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: View of the area of the planned E1 project between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim West Bank city, August 21, 2025. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

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