Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

Today’s panel comprises senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and ops and blogs editor Miriam Hershlag, along with host Raoul Wootliff.

On today's show, we open with a look at the state of play in Israeli politics on the final day of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opportunity to form a coalition, with his deadline to do so being midnight tonight.

What's his game plan right now? What last-minute maneuvers is he pulling from his bag of magic tricks? And what's next?

And, four days from the tragedy on Mount Meron that left 45 people dead after a deadly crush during lag B'Omer celebrations last week, we look at two voices from our blog platform trying to process the disaster.

Discussed articles include:

Last-minute maneuvers as Netanyahu’s mandate to form government set to expire

Netanyahu: I’ll let Bennett be PM first; Bennett: But you don’t have a majority

Netanyahu said to back Bennett forming coalition in return for legal protections

Rivlin said set to ask Lapid to form coalition, won’t give mandate to Bennett

Eyewitness: All I could see were faces of agony

Praying together in the depths

Mount Meron Disaster

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PHOTO: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a Likud Party election event in the northern Israeli city of Tzfat, March 8, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)

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