The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

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 117 of the war. Political correspondent Sam Sokol and news editor Amy Spiro join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Members of the Knesset House Committee overwhelmingly supported a motion to expel Hadash-Ta’al party lawmaker Ofer Cassif on Tuesday. Sokol was at the 14-2 vote to advance MK Ofer Cassif’s impeachment to the Knesset plenum after two days of contentious debate and fills us in.

In a recently released report, Tel Aviv University’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry argued that the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry was established for “petty political reasons,” “lacks vision and substance” and has “promoted few initiatives.” So should the ministry be shuttered?

Spiro, head of the Those We Have Lost series that aims to commemorate all who fell in the Israel-Hamas War, updates us on the 400 posts that represent some 485 of 1,200 victims. We hear about several trends noted by Spiro, including the popularity of tattoos among mourners as a way of becoming a living memorial.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 31, 2024

Panel votes 14-2 to expel MK Cassif for Gaza genocide claims; now Knesset will vote

An MK accused Israel of ‘genocide.’ Now he may be expelled from the Knesset

Damning Tel Aviv University report calls to shutter Diaspora Ministry

Chief Warrant Officer Ido ‘Crido’ Rosenthal, 45: A habitual hero

Cpl. Noam Avramovich, 19: Soldier was a ‘once-in-a-lifetime leader’

Eitan Ziv, 74, Tami Peleg Ziv, 72: Lives entwined with nation’s history

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: MK Ofer Cassif speaks during a press conference, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 30, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

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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 116 of the war. Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and Arab affairs reporter Luca Pacchiani join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

This morning, activists and relatives of hostages again arrived near the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the Gaza Strip, aiming to block trucks with humanitarian aid from entering as long as the Hamas terror group continues to hold 136 hostages and deny them their basic rights. Goren explains who the varied protestors are and what they represent.

The White House on Monday slammed a conference on Sunday night in Jerusalem aimed at encouraging the reestablishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, which was attended by nearly one-third of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet. We hear what this far-right conference means in the context of the war and the ongoing genocide case.

According to a Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) survey published last month, over 90 percent of Palestinians polled believe that “Hamas did not commit the atrocities seen in the videos” on October 7, referring to attacks on civilians. That number rises to a whopping 97% when only including West Bank residents, compared to 83% of Gazans. Pacchiani explains how this is possible.

According to a report last week, Hamas leaders, hunkered down in subterranean bunkers in the Gaza Strip, are reportedly communicating with each other using handwritten notes carried around the war-torn territory by runners. We hear more.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 30, 2024

Video: A stop to the trucks

US, France blast Israeli confab on Gaza resettlement attended by PM’s allies

For most Palestinians, October 7’s savagery is literally unbelievable. Blame the TV news?

Hamas leaders reportedly communicating using handwritten notes carried by runners

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

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image: File - Rally marking four years since the disengagement from Gush Katif, near the Kissufim Crossing just outside the Gaza Strip, July 28, 2009. (Edi israel/Flash 90)

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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 115 of the war. Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

We begin with what we know about ongoing talks to reach another hostage release deal after the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that a four-way meeting between the US, Israel, Qatar and Egypt took place “in Europe” to discuss a potential deal to free all Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a two-month ceasefire.

According to a report published late Sunday, employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees kidnapped Israelis, transported ammunition and the body of a dead soldier, and took part in a murderous assault on a kibbutz on October 7. We hear more specifics of these cases.

According to a NYT report on Sunday, Hamas steals a “significant number” of its weapons from Israel, and much of its material for explosives from IDF duds. Berman explains how these duds are reused.

US President Joe Biden said yesterday that the United States will respond to a weekend attack that killed three US service members in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border. Could this be the tipping point for an all-out regional war?

Washington is reportedly weighing using weapons supplies as leverage to pressure Israel to reduce the intensity of its operations in the Gaza Strip, according to a Sunday report by US television network NBC. The IDF announced this morning that operations will be ramping up throughout the Strip. Berman discusses the push-pull on the Biden administration in this election year.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 29, 2024

Israel says Paris talks on hostage deal were ‘constructive,’ will continue this week

UNRWA workers accused of kidnapping woman, taking part in kibbutz massacre – report

Much of Hamas’s explosives comes from IDF fire that failed to detonate — report

US says 3 troops killed, 25 hurt in drone attack in Jordan; Biden: ‘We shall respond’

White House reportedly looking into holding up weapons supplies to pressure Israel

US support is firm, but Biden and Netanyahu play dangerous game with two-state fight

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

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Illustrative image: Israeli artillery unit firing shells towards Lebanon near the Israeli border with Lebanon, January 15, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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 114 of the war. Legal reporter Jeremy Sharon joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Friday’s ruling from the International Court of Justice on the matter of whether Israel is abrogating the Genocide Convention has left Israel with many instructions regarding humanitarian aid. Sharon delves into the ruling and explains what Israel's next steps may be.

On Sunday, the activists will hold a large conference on “Jewish settlement in Gaza” at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center that is expected to draw over 3,000 people. We discuss who may attend and what they're looking to achieve.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 28, 2024

ICJ tells Israel to ‘prevent genocide’ in Gaza, rejects ordering immediate ceasefire

The Hague’s decision means Israel is now in the dock for genocide

Thousands of right-wing activists are getting ready to resettle Gaza after war

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

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: Pro-Palestinian activists wave flags during session of the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, January 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

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

Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, US President Joe Biden warned against an alarming rise in antisemitism after Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught against Israel, along with efforts by some parties to minimize what happened that day. What else did Biden say?

The International Court of Justice ruled on Friday that at least some of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing war against Hamas could fall within the terms of the Genocide Convention and said it must therefore take a series of preventative measures. Magid explains the ruling and US reactions.

Yesterday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said it had fired “several” employees accused by Israel of involvement in Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on southern communities. Magid fills us in on what we know about this case.

A senior United Arab Emirates official warned Wednesday that a dragged-out war in Gaza risks turning Abu Dhabi’s nascent relations with Israel into a “cold peace.” Magid relays other points from his interview with the official last week.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 27, 2024

Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Biden warns against downplaying Oct. 7

ICJ tells Israel to ‘prevent genocide’ in Gaza, rejects ordering immediate ceasefire

UNRWA sacks staffers who allegedly participated in Oct. 7 attack; US halts funding

Israel wants UNRWA out of Gaza after staffers fired for involvement in Oct. 7 onslaught

Senior UAE official: Warm peace with Israel ‘could turn cold’ if Gaza war drags on

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

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: File - A United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) fuel truck arrives at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023. (Khaled Desouki / AFP)

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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 112 of the war. Political correspondent Tal Schneider and health editor Renee Ghert-Zand join host Jessica Steinberg.

Schneider discusses protests taking place by families of hostages, specifically at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, where some of the more right-leaning families are blocking the passage of aid into Gaza, stating that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not have the stamina necessary to hold his ground.

She also looks at talks between the CIA and Mossad regarding the hostages after the Qatari prime minister criticized Netanyahu for comments he made about Qatar.

Ghert-Zand discusses singer and actor Idan Amedi as he spoke about his injuries and recovery process since January 8, when he was hurt during an explosion in Gaza while fighting as a reservist.

She also talks about new Hadassah president Carol Ann Schwartz who came to Israel a week after taking her new position and spent part of her trip knocking on the door of the Red Cross in Israel.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 26, 2024

For second day in a row, protesters block aid reaching Gaza from Israel

CIA, Mossad chiefs to hold ‘critical’ hostage talks with Qatari, Egyptian mediators

Qatar fumes at Netanyahu’s criticism, says he undermines talks for political reasons

‘I was so burned, no one recognized me,’ says ‘Fauda’ actor Amedi of his Gaza injuries

New Hadassah Org. president makes Israeli solidarity trip her first act in office

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

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: Israelis demanding the continuation of fighting in the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, January 25, 2024 (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

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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 111 of the war. Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in the Jerusalem office.

On Monday, reports on Israeli media started speaking of “fierce fighting” in Gaza. Horovitz speaks of what it is like for Israelis to await the inevitable terrible announcement that follows such news.

Monday’s operation was to destroy two buildings facing Kibbutz Kissufim as part of a buffer zone the IDF is constructing along the Gaza-Israel border. We hear more about the planned zone.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 25, 2024

Disaster just inside Gaza shows a war far from won, and shines light on a buffer zone

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

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: Buildings razed in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, as part of the army’s efforts to establish a buffer zone on the border with the Gaza Strip, as seen in an image provided by the IDF on January 10, 2024. The Israel-Gaza border runs across the bottom of the picture. (Israel Defense Forces)

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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 110 of the war. Knesset correspondent Sam Sokol and reporter Gavriel Fiske join host Jessica Steinberg.

Sokol discusses a tense week in the Knesset as family members of hostages burst into a Knesset Finance Committee meeting, protesting the return to business as usual, followed by testimonies by released hostages about the sexual abuse suffered by women and men held captive in Gaza.

Fiske speaks about sets of bereaved Israeli parents whose soldier sons were killed on October 7 and are receiving solace and trauma therapy in Cyprus, at an Israeli-owned retreat center in the forest.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 24, 2024

Relatives of hostages burst into Knesset Finance Committee, demand government action

‘Right now someone is being raped in a tunnel’: Knesset hears of Hamas sex crimes

At an exclusive Cyprus retreat center, Supernova rave survivors get help to move on

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

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: Family members of hostages held in Gaza react during a plenum session of the Knesset on January 22, 2024. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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 109 of the war. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Israelis awoke today to the terrible announcement that 21 Israeli soldiers were killed Monday when they came under attack in the southern Gaza Strip, triggering a blast that collapsed two buildings with soldiers inside them. Fabian tells us what we know so far.

Israel has reportedly submitted a proposal through Qatari and Egyptian mediators that would see it agree to pause its military offensive against Hamas for as long as two months, in exchange for a phased release of the remaining 136 hostages in Gaza. Berman and Fabian weigh in on what a ceasefire would do to the war effort.

Iran is “very directly involved” in ship attacks that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have carried out during Israel’s war against Hamas, the US Navy’s top Mideast commander told The Associated Press on Monday.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg of their capabilities. Berman weighs in with what he's finding.

To close out today's program, Berman puts on his "chaplain's hat," a role he held in university, as Borschel-Dan asks what can help Israel as a nation move forward after such terrible news this morning.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 21, 2024

In deadliest incident of Gaza combat, 21 soldiers killed as buildings collapse in blast

Israel said to offer two-month pause in Gaza fighting for staged release of hostages

US Navy’s Mideast chief says Iran ‘very directly involved’ in Houthi attacks on ships

While Iran’s recent strikes show weakness, its threat of escalation is working

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

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: Family and friends of Israeli soldier Hadar Nissim Kapeluk attend his funeral at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on January 23, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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 108 of the war. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for a one-on-one conversation.

Last night, the Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday the death of soldier Staff Sgt. Shay Levinson, 19, who was killed and abducted by Hamas on October 7. Fabian updates us.

Fabian was in the Gaza Strip yesterday. The details of what you saw are under an embargo until tonight, but he shares his impressions of what’s happening on the ground and how the offensive is progressing.

In an eye-opening find, troops of the Israel Defense Forces operating in the southern Gaza Strip recently uncovered a tunnel where Israeli hostages had been held by the Hamas in “inhumane conditions.” We hear some of the sources of intelligence and what the conditions are there.

On Saturday, Israeli air force planes dropped leaflets on the southern area of Rafah urging Palestinians seeking refuge there to help locate hostages held by Hamas, residents said. But do these leaflet campaigns actually lead to intelligence?

The IDF reported three missiles were fired from south Lebanon overnight that landed in open, uninhabited areas near the moshav of Shomera, a community of a few hundreds people near in the Galilee region in northern Israel. But yesterday also saw an alleged IDF strike targeting a Hezbollah commander. We hear what else is happening on the northern border, including a strange alert Friday night that brought Haifa residents to their safe rooms.

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

Discussed articles include:

Live blog January 21, 2024

IDF says soldier held captive in Gaza was killed on October 7, body held by Hamas

IDF finds tunnel in Khan Younis where 20 hostages were held in ‘inhumane conditions’

IDF drops leaflets with pictures of hostages over southern Gaza, seeking info

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

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: This image released by the IDF on January 20, 2024, shows the inside of a cell from a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza's Khan Younis where hostages were held. (Israel Defense Forces)

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