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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

US President Donald Trump announced overnight Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have signed off on the “first phase” of his plan to secure the release of all hostages and end the Gaza war, two years and a day after the fighting was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 in southern Israel, with another 250 taken hostage to Gaza.

Speculation had mounted that an announcement was imminent after photographers managed to snap photos of a note that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed to Trump during a White House meeting. Trump later took to his Truth Social platform, saying, “This means that ALL of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw [its] troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable and everlasting Peace.”

Trump’s announcement of the agreement set off a flood of emotion early Thursday morning among freed captives and families and Israelis gathered at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where mass weekly rallies have been held to call for the hostages’ return, cheering the news and chanting, “Nobel Prize to Trump.”

In Gaza as well, residents cheered the news of the deal even as the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee cautioned that the area north of Wadi Gaza — the northern part of the Strip — is still defined as a combat zone.

Magid takes us through what we know of the pressures that pushed all sides to sign onto the deal and what obstacles remain. We hear about the probable timeline for the release of the hostages -- and a victory-lap visit by Trump to the region next week.

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

For further reading:

Trump announces deal reached on first part of his Gaza plan: ‘All hostages will be freed very soon’

Ex-captives and hostage families respond with tears, relief to news of upcoming release

Trump, after securing deal: ‘This is more than Gaza. This is peace in the Middle East’

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

IMAGE: People dance as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

As negotiating heavyweights White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, Middle East envoy and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer arrive for talks in Egypt, Magid surmises that it's crunch time for the potential Gaza deal. He expects discussions to revolve around thornier issues, such as disarming Hamas, and which Palestinian prisoners the terrorist group is demanding in exchange for the remaining hostages.

Following the Kumu (Rise Again) ceremony held to mark October 7 in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, Steinberg discusses the speakers, singers and audience at the event, which is run by bereaved and hostage family members, and is not an official government event.

Steinberg also talks about "Red Alert," the new October 7 drama series about four intertwined stories of survivors from that day.

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

For further reading:

PM’s office reports progress in talks on Gaza deal as top negotiators set to join

Trump ‘pretty sure’ there will be a Gaza deal, denies telling PM to not be ‘f*cking negative’

As negotiators head to Egypt, Trump aims for ‘first phase’ of Gaza deal this week

‘We will rise’: Grief, defiance and hope as 30,000 gather in Tel Aviv two years after Oct. 7

Oct. 7 series ‘Red Alert’ a harrowing global reminder of what unfolded in Hamas massacre

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

 IMAGE: At the end of the Kumu (Rise Again) October 7 ceremony in Tel Aviv, on October 7, 2025 (Courtesy Eclipse Media)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

News editor Amy Spiro joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode, highlighting eight individuals from our Those We Have Lost project, which memorializes the 1,200 who were slaughtered by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

The first entry was written on October 11, 2023, when the number of the murdered was still unclear and funerals were held around the clock.

Today, with 1,250 individual entries covering almost every single person killed by Hamas and dozens of soldiers who fell in the war, headed up by Spiro, our Those We Have Lost project paints a picture of each of their lives and the ongoing ripple effects of their deaths.

For this episode, we focus on eight immigrants to Israel who lost their lives at the very beginning of the war. They include: Carol Siman Tov, 70, from the United States; Haim Zohar, 73, from Iran; Staff Sgt. Binyamin Loeb, 23, from France; Sgt. First Class Mulugeta Gadif, 29, from Ethiopia; Silvia Mirensky, 80, from Argentina; Dr. Victoria & Prof. Sergey Gredeskul, 81, from Ukraine; Sgt. Emil Eliav Samoylov, 22, from Russia; and Jake Marlowe, 26, from England.

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

For further reading:

Carol Siman Tov, 70: Native of Pennsylvania and dedicated nurse

Haim Zohar, 73: Loving grandfather with dementia slain in Be’eri

Staff Sgt. Binyamin Loeb, 23: Orthodox paratrooper son of French rabbi

Sgt. First Class Mulugeta Gadif, 29: Police officer left behind newborn

Silvia Mirensky, 80: Argentine immigrant who loved kibbutz life

Dr. Victoria & Prof. Sergey Gredeskul, 81: Acclaimed BGU scientists

Sgt. Emil Samoylov, 22: Lone soldier immigrated from Russia to enlist

Jake Marlowe, 26: British-Israeli musician for UK band Desolated

Those we have lost

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump was asked by CNN what would happen if the Hamas terror group didn't relinquish power. Trump responded by text, “Complete obliteration!” Be that as it may, as Berman says, the Hamas terror group is treating the current talks in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh as yet another round of negotiations. We learn about who is in the room where it may happen and what Hamas is demanding.

Skirmishes are ongoing in Gaza despite a pause in offensive activity by Israeli forces. The IDF is reporting that it carried out a number of airstrikes in response to Hamas attacks yesterday and troops on the ground are carrying out defensive operations. Berman explains what "defensive operations" entail when there are tens of thousands of troops on the ground in the Gaza Strip.

And finally, we speak about the large intercepted flotilla and the status of the hundreds of activists that were aboard. We learn that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg will be among more than 70 people of different nationalities to leave Israel on Monday, even as another flotilla is on the horizon this week.

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

For further reading:

As negotiators head to Egypt, Trump urges ‘first phase’ of Gaza deal this week

Hamas said to demand release of terror chiefs, Oct. 7 terrorists in deal for hostages

Hamas faces ‘complete obliteration’ if it clings to power in Gaza, warns Trump

Greta Thunberg set to be deported from Israel Monday on flight to Athens

Israel denies abuse as Ben Gvir touts harsh handling of Greta Thunberg, flotilla activists

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

IMAGE: A man walks past a mural depicting the Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, with a message that reads in Arabic, 'See you soon,' on Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, August 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Intensive negotiations to potentially finalize the Trump peace plan are set for Monday in Egypt. Israel and Hamas are sending teams and US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to join with Arab mediators in what may be a final attempt to broker the agreement to release all Israeli hostages and end the almost two-year war in the Gaza Strip.

To begin the program, Magid fills us in on some of Hamas’s amendments to the 20-point deal. In its response to US President Donald Trump, the terror group overtly said it expects to be part of a "comprehensive Palestinian national framework" that discusses the future of the Gaza Strip, and will contribute to it with full responsibility." What does that mean for Israel's insistence that Hamas has no role in Gaza?

On Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a cautiously optimistic statement that he hopes to see the hostages back home, “even during the Sukkot holiday,” which begins this week. The Israel Defense Forces was ordered to halt its offensive to capture Gaza City on Saturday after Trump said his Gaza truce plan was accepted by Hamas and called on Israel to stop bombing the Strip. We hear more about Netanyahu's statement and learn about a Friday phone call between the prime minister and the US president.

In another sign of public support for the peace plan, Chief Sephardic Rabbi David Yosef, at the start of a weekly homily delivered after the end of Shabbat, said Israelis “must pray that leaders make the right decisions.” Magid describes the careful steps that politicians such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir -- who oppose stopping the war -- are taking as they navigate the push-pull of public support and elections on the horizon.

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

For further reading:

PM: Hopeful all hostages will be freed in days; Trump: I told Bibi, this is your victory

Full text: Hamas’s response to Trump plan for ending Gaza war, returning hostages

IDF strikes in Gaza City ‘significantly subside,’ but dozens said killed in past day

Ben Gvir threatens to bolt government if Hamas ‘continues to exist’ after hostages freed

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

IMAGE: IDF forces operate in the Gaza Strip in this October 3, 2025, handout photo. (IDF)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Goldberg-Polin, who has become a well-known voice in the Jewish and Israeli world since October 7, 2023, when Hersh was taken captive by Hamas terrorists, speaks about the challenge of being active, present, and even thankful in the aftermath of Hersh's death.

She speaks about the public nature of the family's mourning, as she and her husband, Jon Polin, remain active advocates for the remaining hostages, but grapple with their deep mourning in the public eye.

Goldberg-Polin shares anecdotes about her life, including her extended Jerusalem community during the high holiday period, and her desperate hope to grow from the challenges she's faced during the last two years.

She speaks about the need to help repair herself and the world around her and the need for some relief from the pain and suffering of this time period.

And so this week, we ask Rachel Goldberg-Polin, what matters now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: People walk next to a mural of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin in central Jerusalem, August 18, 2025. (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

New York reporter Luke Tress joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

The New York City mayoral race pits candidate Andrew Cuomo against Zohran Mamdani as Mayor Eric Adams drops out of the race, discusses Tress, but while Cuomo will gain some of Adams' votes, Mamdani is still the frontrunner.

Tress discusses how close Adams has been to the New York City Jewish community and some of the distance that exists between Cuomo and the Haredi population of New York, especially after he instituted COVID restrictions on gatherings while serving as governor during the pandemic.

Tress mentions a complaint filed this month to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands by an Israeli resident of New York State, whose family was killed by Hamas terrorists. The complaint charges Iran with genocide and other crimes for its involvement in the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel.

Following the various protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the United Nations last week, Tress notes that while all the protests were against the Israeli leader, their politics don't allow them to align with one another.

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

For further reading:

NYC Mayor Eric Adams drops reelection bid, boosting pro-Israel Cuomo against Mamdani

After Adams drops out, Brooklyn Jewish group endorses Cuomo for NYC mayor

NYC mayor thanks Netanyahu for defending the West as Mamdani accuses him of genocide

Complaint to International Criminal Court seeks Oct. 7 genocide charges against Iran

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: Mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo, left, shakes hands with Zohran Mamdani, center, as Whitney Tilson reacts after participating in a Democratic mayoral primary debate, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Two people were killed and three seriously injured when a man drove a car into people outside a packed Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, northern England, on Thursday and then began stabbing them, in a terror attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. The rabbi leading Yom Kippur services at the Manchester synagogue targeted in a deadly terror attack was hailed as a hero, with eyewitnesses describing how he helped protect congregants.

Fabian begins the program with some updates from Gaza where an IDF officer was seriously wounded and two other troops, including a reservist, were lightly injured by gunfire during fighting in the central Strip earlier today. He reports on the five rockets that were launched by Hamas from northern Gaza toward Ashdod last night, with four intercepted by air defenses and one hitting an open area.

Israel’s navy intercepted what remained of the 47-boat Global Sumud Flotilla attempting to break its maritime blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. We will hear about this Yom Kippur operation that ended around 2 pm today. 

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

For further reading:

2 killed, 4 seriously injured in Yom Kippur attack at UK synagogue; terrorist shot dead

Israel intercepts Gaza flotilla, says blockade not breached; Thunberg, others detained

Hamas fires 5 rockets from Gaza on Yom Kippur, triggering sirens in Ashdod; no injuries

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

IMAGE: Activists in orange life jackets sit aboard a Gaza-bound Sumud flotilla boat as Israeli navy soldiers sail it into the port of Ashdod, Israel, October 2, 2025, after it was intercepted while approaching the Gaza coast. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Editor David Horovitz and military correspondent Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The 47-boat Global Sumud Flotilla is set to reach the Strip this week, potentially over the Jewish holy day, Yom Kippur, which starts tonight. It is carrying over 500 activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, as well as parliamentarians and lawyers. Fabian tells what he can us about the IDF’s plans for interception, within the confines of the military censor.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that Hamas documents recovered by Israeli troops in Gaza allegedly reveal the terror group’s “direct involvement” in the flotilla, through the group’s foreign arm, the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians, or PCPA. We hear more about the PCPA and how Israel links Hamas to it.

A senior Hamas official told the BBC this morning that the terror group will likely reject US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, telling the British network that it “serves Israel’s interests” and “ignores those of the Palestinian people.” Horovitz delves into the Hamas terror group's points of opposition.

We hear how Qatar, Egypt and Turkey have urged Hamas to give a positive response to US President Donald Trump’s proposed Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal. Horovitz speculates on whose best interests these countries are representing, even as they have signed on to helping rebuild and fill the security vacuum in Gaza as Israel pulls out in the day after the war.

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

For further reading:

Gaza flotilla rebuffs calls to stop, as Israel readies for complex interception

Documents from Gaza show Hamas’s ‘direct involvement’ with aid flotilla, Israel claims

Italian navy frigate to quit shepherding Gaza aid flotilla as it approaches coast

Qatar, Egypt and Turkey said to urge Hamas to accept Trump’s Gaza ceasefire proposal

Arab, Muslim nations pledge to realize Trump’s Gaza plan; Hamas examining it ‘responsibly’

Trump says Hamas has ‘three or four days’ to respond to Gaza plan or ‘pay in hell’

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

IMAGE: A boat that is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla departs to Gaza to deliver aid amidst Israel's blockade on the Palestinian territory, in the Tunisian port of Bizerte, September 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Anis Mili)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and US bureau chief Jacob Magid join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

In a dramatic joint press conference at the White House on Monday, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out some of the 20 points of the Trump plan for “eternal” peace in the Middle East with the US president as head of the “Board of Peace.”

Before we get into the content of the Trump peace plan and how it diverges from the draft we spoke about earlier in the week, we discuss the atmosphere inside the White House — especially during the seemingly very long wait for the two leaders to appear.

We also learn about an unprecedented apology delivered by the prime minister to Qatar and a plan for a vague trilateral security mechanism between Qatar, the US and Israel.

The pair assesses the chances for success for the peace plan and gives insight into some of the potential complications. 

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

For further reading:

Trump unveils Gaza peace plan, hailing backing from Israel, Arab and Muslim states

Netanyahu secures key edits to Trump plan to slow and limit Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza

Trump’s unique diplomacy offers Netanyahu a path to goals in Gaza and beyond

‘The closest we’ve ever come’: Full text of Trump, Netanyahu statements on deal to end Gaza war

Full text: Trump’s 20-point ‘comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict’

Arab, Muslim nations pledge to realize Trump’s Gaza plan; Hamas examining it ‘responsibly’

Netanyahu apologizes to Qatar for violating its territory with strike on Hamas chiefs

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

IMAGE: President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the West Wing of the White House, September 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.