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.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider and reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

As Israel marks 30 years since the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Schneider reflects on the Saturday night rally held near the square where he was shot and why the annual event commemorating him wasn't held for the last five years.

After the frenzied hours on Sunday evening when police searched for and then found IDF legal chief Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi alive and well -- the advocate general who resigned last week after admitting to leaking an abuse video at the Sde Teiman military detention facility --  Schneider discusses the complexities of the case, as Tomer-Yerushalmi was often blamed by liberal politicians for not prosecuting enough and conservative lawmakers for putting too much pressure on soldiers.

Surkes examines two situations of growing pollution, first in the northern West Bank, where Palestinians often burn garbage, resulting in clean air complaints, and in Hadera, known as Israel's most polluted city because of the massive power station in its midst.

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

For further reading:

‘The shots still resonate’: 150,000 mourn at protest rally 30 years after Rabin’s murder

Ex-IDF legal chief Tomer-Yerushalmi found alive after frantic beachside search

As trash burns in the West Bank, NGO sees huge jump in reports of smoke, foul smells

Residents of most-polluted city fight bid to extend life of coal-fired power station

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: A rally marking 30 years since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, with participants holding signs that read, 'Rabin was right,' near Rabin Square on November 1, 2025 (Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/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.

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

As pressure mounts for the Hamas terror group to lay down its arms, we take a minute to focus on the terrorists' military capabilities and current activities.

Hamas has still not returned all the bodies of the hostages. Before the weekend, Israel returned the bodies of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza as part of an ongoing exchange deal after Hamas handed over the bodies of two hostages, 84-year-old Amiram Cooper and 25-year-old Sahar Baruch. The subsequent Hamas transfer, however, did not proceed smoothly. Fabian fills us in.

Four members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Saturday night, a day after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of responding to its offer to negotiate by intensifying its airstrikes. Fabian weighs in on whether his accusations hold water.

The military’s top lawyer, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, announced her resignation from the Israel Defense Forces on Friday, acknowledging that she had approved the leaking of a surveillance video from the Sde Teiman detention facility, which purported to show soldiers severely abusing a Palestinian detainee last year. We go through the timeline of this complicated scandal that is shaking the IDF to its core.

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

For further reading:

Partial remains handed over by Hamas are not of hostages, Israeli authorities assess

US military publishes drone video of Hamas looting aid truck in Gaza

IDF says strike in south Lebanon killed four elite Hezbollah operatives

Lebanon accuses Israel of responding to negotiation offer by ‘intensifying’ attacks

US envoy: Lebanon a ‘failed state,’ is unlikely to be able to forcibly disarm Hezbollah

IDF’s top lawyer quits; says she approved leak of detainee abuse video

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

IMAGE: Members of the Qassam Brigades control crowds in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, October 28, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with former hostage Eli Sharabi.

Sharabi, whose bestselling book, "Hostage," was recently translated into English, spoke to What Matters Now a few days before burying his brother, Yossi Sharabi, whose body was recently released home to Israel after he was taken hostage on October 7 from Kibbutz Bee'eri, the community where both brothers lived with their families.

Sharabi speaks about reuniting with recently released hostage Alon Ohel, his fellow captive from months in a Gaza tunnel, and the joy of realizing that reunion.

He talks about how work, the book, and public speaking have been therapeutic acts for him, after his wife and daughters were killed on October 7.

Sharabi speaks about Kibbutz Be’eri, where he lived for 35 years, his chosen community that can no longer be a home for him, but that he hopes will be rehabilitated and rebuilt.

And so this week, we ask Eli Sharabi, 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: At the October 27, 2025 Kibbutz Be'eri burial for Yossi Sharabi, whose body was brought back from Gaza captivity, with his brother, former hostage Eli Sharabi, center, eulogizing him (Paulina Patimer/Hostages Forum)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This week, amid pomp and circumstance at the Vatican, the Catholic Church marked 60 years to the Nostra Aetate, a document that — among other things — attempts to redefine the two-thousand-year-old relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.

Berman delves into the Nostra Aetate's long-standing significance, especially as the relationship between Israel and the Vatican has frayed during the two-year war in Gaza launched by Hamas's murderous onslaught on southern Israel.

We learn of the history behind the creation of the landmark document and the push-pull concerns from the Catholic communities in Mideast countries. We hear of the Jewish French historian Jules Isaac, who compiled Catholic anti-Jewish teachings and delivered them to Pope John XXIII, confirming the need to chart out a new path in the Church.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Pope Leo XIV attends a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Vatican 1965 declaration Nostra Aetate (In Our Time) in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, October 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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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.

Political correspondent Sam Sokol and legal reporter Jeremy Sharon join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

With hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men expected to rally at the entrance to Jerusalem Thursday afternoon, a protest originally scheduled to coincide with the revised Haredi conscription bill, Sokol discusses the significance of all ultra-Orthodox sects and factions uniting to protest conscription.

The event will follow Wednesday's Supreme Court criticism of the government for its failure to take effective enforcement measures against Haredi draft evaders, says Sharon.

Sharon discusses the timing of the legal and political processes in the Haredi conscription bill, noting the number of Supreme Court justices from the religious Zionist world, a community with a significant rate of combat service, which may be reflected in the court's orders to the government.

Sokol also talks about the political significance of removing Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman, from the committee, and being replaced by controversial lawmaker Tally Gotliv.

Following Wednesday's announcement of a criminal investigation into the leaking of surveillance video from the Sde Teiman detention facility that purported to show soldiers severely abusing a Palestinian detainee last year, Sharon discusses the significance of the announcement as some right-wing government ministers see the investigation as a vindication of the accused soldiers.

IMAGE: Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather around an Israeli soldier playing the piano at the Yitzhak Navon train station in Jerusalem, on their way to attend the Haredi protest against IDF conscription on October 30, 2025 (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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The IDF announced this morning that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is now once again in effect, following “a series of significant strikes” targeting dozens of Hamas targets and operatives. The strikes came after Palestinian operatives carried out an attack on troops stationed in the Rafah area of the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing soldier Master Sgt. (res.) Yona Efraim Feldbaum.

This strike on IDF soldiers, along with Hamas’s failure to return the deceased Israeli hostages -- even faking the recovery of one slain hostage -- led to Israel's retaliation, which, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, killed over 100.

Horovitz weighs in on the nature of Hamas and the White House's recognition of Israel's right to retaliate. We hear how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the US of his intention to strike, and today appears bent on continuing with the Trump-brokered ceasefire.

The Haredi community in Israel is planning a massive protest at the entrance of Jerusalem tomorrow, while the High Court is hearing petitions that the IDF draft tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox young men, and at the same time, the Knesset is working to draft a bill that will allow most of the Haredi young men to continue to avoid conscription. We learn some details of the leaked bill being discussed by the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and hear about some of the Likud MKs who are speaking out against it.

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

For further reading:

IDF reservist killed in Tuesday attack in Rafah; Israel says ceasefire restored

Hamas fakes ‘unearthing’ partial remains of hostage whose body IDF recovered in 2023, Israel says

Trump: ‘Nothing’ will jeopardize Gaza ceasefire, Israel ‘should hit back’ if troops killed

Revised ultra-Orthodox military draft bill said to reduce penalties for dodgers

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

Illustrative image: Hamas terrorists carry a white bag believed to contain a body, after retrieving it from a tunnel during a search for the remains of hostages in Hamad City, Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, October 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

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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.

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

With phase one of the ceasefire deal still in process, given the 13 bodies of hostages still in Gaza, Magid discusses the US desire to move into phase two of the 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war. The US is trying to create facts on the ground, says Magid, but there are concerns from the other partners regarding some of the decisions, including whether the focus should be on Hamas disarmament or postwar management of Gaza.

Following last week's vote in the Knesset on a West Bank annexation bill, and the angry reaction from the US administration over the vote, Magid discusses how the Trump government has shifted its tone since February, when it announced it would back Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank and floated the idea of a Gaza Riviera.

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

For further reading:

US weighs which side’s red line to cross as it seeks to implement Gaza deal’s 2nd phase

Trump says ‘Israel not going to do anything with the West Bank’ as US fumes over annexation vote

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

IMAGE: U.S. Marine soldiers walk past a mural of a coffee shop near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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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.

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

Israel does not know the location of four of the remaining 13 bodies of hostages held in Gaza, even as Egypt is reportedly bringing 12 additional heavy vehicles into the enclave this morning to clear roads and assist in efforts to locate the deceased. Berman weighs in on the stability of the ceasefire as the US increases its rhetoric, pushing Hamas to release the bodies to begin the transition to phase two of the 20-point Trump peace plan.

A transnational terror network run by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force is behind a string of recent attacks on Jewish sites in Western countries, the Mossad intelligence agency said on Sunday. We learn about senior IRGC-Quds Force commander Sardar Ammar, who heads a network of some 11,000 operatives carrying out covert operations and strikes on Jewish sites.

Catherine Connolly, a veteran lawmaker on the far left of the Irish political spectrum, was elected president by a landslide margin on Saturday. She has drawn criticism for her views on the Hamas terror group, which she said in September was “part of the fabric of the Palestinian people,” as well as claims that Israel is carrying out a genocide in Gaza. Does Berman see an even rockier relationship with Israel on the horizon?

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

For further reading:

Israel reported to know location of 9 out of 13 deceased hostages still held in Gaza

Israel reveals Iran’s Guards leader behind attacks on Jewish sites in Europe, Australia

Far-left candidate who called Israel ‘terrorist state’ elected president of Ireland

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: Illustrative: Members of the Hamas terrorist group search for bodies of the slain hostages in an area in Hamad City, Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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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.

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

Last night Egyptian forces and heavy equipment entered the Gaza Strip to help search for the 13 bodies of hostages still not returned to Israel after US President Donald Trump issued fresh threats to Hamas on Saturday, saying the terror group would be to blame if the ceasefire collapsed. We learn about where the IDF is still deployed and how things stand on the ground.

The United States has reportedly begun deploying surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip to ensure that Israel and Hamas are complying with the ceasefire, The New York Times reported Saturday. Fabian plays down the significance of these reports and reminds us that, among other nations, Britain has previously flown drones over Gaza during the war.

The IDF confirmed carrying out a drone strike last night in the southern Lebanon town of Qlaileh, saying it killed a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. He is the third commander to be targeted in the past few days, leading Borschel-Dan to ask: Is there a step-up in Hezbollah forces near Israel?

The Israeli Air Force plans to establish several new squadrons that would operate light aircraft on Israel’s borders with the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, under the Israel Defense Force’s various regional divisions. We learn how planes used for fighting fire or for crop dusting are meant to be adapted for military operations and may soon take to the skies.

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

For further reading:

Trump says Hamas withholding bodies of hostages, warns he’s watching ‘very closely’

Egyptian team enters Gaza with Israel’s approval to help locate hostages’ remains

US said flying drones over Gaza as more nations join ceasefire-monitoring HQ

Clearing Gaza’s ‘minefield’ surface of ordnance could take 20-30 years — aid group

IDF: Hezbollah commander killed in drone strike targeting vehicle in south Lebanon

IAI teams up with US contractor for new light aircraft for Israel’s border defense

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: This aerial picture shows destroyed buildings in Gaza City's Al-Rimal neighborhood on October 23, 2025. (AFP)

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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Orna and Ronen Neutra, parents of Omer Neutra, a tank platoon commander who was killed on October 7, 2023, his body taken hostage by Hamas terrorists.

The Neutras, Israeli-born Americans who have been living in the US for the last 20 years, talk about the last days since the start of the ceasefire, the joyous return home of 20 living hostages, as the bodies of 13 hostages are still held in Gaza.

Orna Neutra discusses how they knew they would never hug their son again, but how difficult it is to reconcile his death until they can bury his body.

Ronen Neutra offers more details about October 7, 2023, his son's heroic final moments as a commander on the so-called White House IDF post near the Gaza border.

The Neutras discuss their alliance with both the Biden and Trump administrations over the last two years, their more than 40 visits to Washington, DC, and how each US administration embraced the hostage families.

Yet, says Orna Neutra, there is still the challenge of explaining that a deceased hostage is still a hostage, and can't remain in Gaza.

Ronen Neutra talks about the gray zones of the ceasefire agreement concerning the deceased hostages, and how this war is not over until the last hostage is back.

And so this week, we ask Orna and Ronen Neutra, 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: Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of Omer Neutra, killed on October 7, 2023, his body still held in Gaza, at the October 18, 2025 rally at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square (Tzachi Dovrat/Israeli Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

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