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.

Today is day 81 of the war. Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's podcast.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that before there is peace between Israel and the Palestinians, “Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarized, and Palestinian society must be deradicalized," which he also laid out in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Rettig Gur delves into the remarks and posits who was the target audience.

Also yesterday, in his first public message since the massacres of October 7, Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar spoke defiantly against Israel the "occupying force" and grossly inflated the terror group’s achievements in the war. What was he really saying -- and why yesterday?

Rettig Gur was among the hundreds who attended the funeral of IDF Master Sgt. (res.) Nitai Meisels, 30, on Monday, a day after he was killed in the Gaza Strip. Born in Baltimore during a family relocation to the US for his father’s postdoctoral fellowship, Meisels was laid to rest in his hometown of Rehovot. We hear about the always-smiling man.

For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Live blog December 26, 2023

PM: For peace, Hamas must be crushed, Gaza demilitarized, Palestinians deradicalized

In first public message since Oct. 7, Sinwar says Hamas won’t surrender

‘You will forever remain 30’: Soldier Nitai Meisels, killed in Gaza, laid to rest

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

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IMAGE: Left: Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, Gaza City, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) Right: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, December 10, 2023. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP)

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