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.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Following US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's Sunday visit in Israel, Berman discusses the seemingly coordinated statements made by Rubio and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister spoke about the deep synchronicity between him and the Trump administration, a relationship Netanyahu says he has cultivated for years, leading to an unprecedented opportunity in Israel's history.

Berman notes that there did not seem to be any pressure to discuss the second phase of the hostage deal, until Trump's Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff commented later on a Fox News interview that the second phase will happen, with talks happening this week.

Following Witkoff's statement, the Prime Minister's Office said a negotiating team would go to Cairo for the talks, and the cabinet is meeting Monday night. Berman notes there appears to be pressure from the Trump team, but it's unclear what Netanyahu wants.

There's a paradox regarding the second phase of the hostage talks, says Berman, which calls for the end of the war, yet Hamas can't remain in power in Gaza, and it still retains forces and power in the region.

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

Trump envoy says there will ‘absolutely’ be stage 2 of ceasefire, as talks continue

Hosting Rubio, Netanyahu says ‘gates of hell will surely open’ if all hostages not freed

Former Israeli hostage negotiator says Israel missed two windows for deal

Netanyahu cagey on Israel’s next steps as Trump deadline to free all hostages passes

IMAGE: Protestors blocking Namir Road in Tel Aviv on the 500th day of captivity, with signs that read, 'President Trump, leave no hostage behind - 500 days in hell' on February 17, 2025 (Credit: Dana Reany/Israeli Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

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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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

As certain details emerge regarding the 15-month captivity of the three hostages released on Saturday, Horovitz discusses the scraps of information shared so far, including what's known about Iair Horn's brother Eitan, who is still a captive, that Sagui Dekel-Chen was tortured, and the potential implications of any information that is shared. 

Horovitz also reviews the latest in the hostage deal, how many hostages remain to be released in the first stage and the delayed start to negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire. He discusses whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is debating whether to return to negotiations and what kind of leverage US President Donald Trump has in this situation. 

Horovitz also discusses comments made by a former Israeli hostage negotiator regarding the missed opportunities for a hostage deal months earlier while the Prime Minister's Office offered an official statement dismissing the accusations.

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

Hours after release, freed hostages talk of Hamas torture, psychological torment

Netanyahu cagey on Israel’s next steps as Trump deadline to free all hostages passes

Former Israeli hostage negotiator says Israel missed two windows for deal

IMAGE: Freed hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen is reunited with his wife Avital on his return to Israel after 498 days in captivity in Gaza, February 15, 2025. (IDF)

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

Released hostages Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Troufanov and Iair Horn crossed back into Israel this morning after being paraded on a stage in southern Gaza in a propaganda-filled release ceremony by the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups after 498 days in captivity. Fabian fills us in on the ceremony and their health status. We learn about how the IDF has handled the heightened tensions in the Gaza Strip this past week and its readiness to return to war-footing.

In a meeting on Friday morning, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi apologized to four recently released hostage soldiers for their warnings not being treated seriously before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, as well as for their long captivity. Halevi met with Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev, who were released from Hamas captivity after some 15 months. We learn what else was leaked from the meeting.

The outgoing deputy commander of UNIFIL was injured Friday, the international peacekeeping force said, after a convoy taking troops to the Beirut airport was attacked amid pro-Hezbollah demonstrations in the area. This occurred as the IDF is reluctantly readying a drawdown from Lebanon on February 18 -- which may or may not be its final withdrawal of troops, reports Fabian.

Finally, we hear updates on the ongoing counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank and learn how much security cooperation there is with the Palestinian Authority for it.

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

Released hostages Dekel-Chen, Troufanov and Horn in Israel after 498 days in captivity

Hamas made surveillance troops watch torture videos of male hostages, says mother

IDF chief apologizes to freed surveillance soldiers for failing them on and before Oct. 7

‘I was starved and tortured’: Keith Siegel urges Trump to ensure all hostages freed

Two weeks after his release, former hostage Ofer Calderon hospitalized with pneumonia

UNIFIL’s outgoing deputy chief wounded as convoy attacked by pro-Hezbollah rioters

IDF strikes Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, citing ‘direct threat’ to Israel

Lebanon tells Iranian flight it can’t land, after IDF’s Hezbollah smuggling claim

Troops neutralize bomb-laden car, Palestinian shot dead near IDF base, in West Bank

IMAGE: A woman holds pictures of three released Israeli hostages in Tel Aviv on February 15, 2025 in the city's Hostages Square. (Jack GUEZ / 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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode, part of The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join Berman and Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This week, Berman assesses how the current Trump administration's foreign policy seems to be shaping up. From the US president's bombshell February 4, 2025, proposal to transfer Gaza's population from the Strip to reset the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to efforts to end the Ukraine War, Trump's gaze appears to be as global as it is domestic.

So how does that square with his promise to "Make America Great Again"?

Berman zooms out and in 30 minutes illustrates how the president appears to be adopting a new motto: "Speak brashly and carry a big stick."

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

Israel said readying for three hostages to be freed Saturday, still pushing for more

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump takes questions during a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / 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.

Political correspondent Sam Sokol and environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Sokol looks at the coalition's struggle over ultra-Orthodox army service exemptions, between those who want to minimize exemptions and those who want to use legislation to create a gradual increase leading to universal enlistment. He discusses a recent Likud lawmaker conference on the subject, that called for a more universal Haredi draft and sanctions on draft dodgers.

In honor of Tu B'Shvat, the Jewish holiday of the trees, Surkes reports on the new Jewish Climate Trust, with heavy involvement from philanthropist Steven Bronfman, of the Canadian Bronfman family. The fund, which is launching next month, will be the first to focus specifically on climate, aiming to help Jewish and Israeli climate organizations build interfaith bridges and regional bridges in the Middle East.

Surkes also speaks about several moshav communities in the south that were attacked by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. Two are located just outside the designated zone of the Gaza Envelope and are therefore not eligible for the funding necessary to rebuild after the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

Likud lawmakers hold conference calling for Haredi draft, sanctions on dodgers

Budding climate fund seeks to guide Jewish response to era’s greatest threat

Just 138 yards too far from the Gaza border, towns are denied post-Oct. 7 state support

 

 

IMAGE: Haredi men protest and clash with police against the ultra-Orthodox draft on January 28, 2025. (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.

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

Magid discusses how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flip-flopped Tuesday night with a series of statements regarding the current ceasefire and the number of hostages to be released on Saturday. Magid suggests it could be part of an ongoing effort to back US President Donald Trump's demands and to also keep Hamas guessing.

As the IDF prepares to move enlisted soldiers down south to the Gaza border and called on reservists to ready themselves, Magid says there may be more legitimacy from the US toward Israel to battle Hamas again in order to achieve the broader goals of the region.

Magid reviews Trump's meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah and Abdullah's offer to take in 2,000 sick Palestinian children, although it appears that Jordan is not interested in taking in mass amounts of Gazan refugees, and sees it as exporting the conflict.

He also talks about the Palestinian Authority agreement to review legislation regarding welfare payments for Palestinian prisoners and families of slain attackers who killed Israelis in terrorist attacks.

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

Netanyahu: ‘Intense fighting’ to resume in Gaza if hostages not released by Saturday

Trump urges ending Gaza ceasefire if all hostages not released by noon Saturday

Abdullah says Jordan will take in 2,000 sick Gazan kids as Trump pushes relocation plan

Architect of US law against PA ‘pay-to-slay’ skeptical of Ramallah effort to end it

IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a plenum session at the Knesset on February 10, 2025 (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.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider and diaspora reporter Zev Stub join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Schneider discusses further details about some of the hostages that have emerged from the recently released hostages, including signs of life about twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman. There is also the news that hostage Shlomo Mansour, 86, appears to have been killed on October 7, 2023, his body taken into captivity by Hamas terrorists.

As the government cabinet meets Tuesday morning to discuss the Hamas accusation that Israel has breached the ceasefire deal, Schneider reviews what those breaches may be, including that Israel didn't send a negotiating team to Qatar for the second stage of the deal, and its delays in sending certain supplies to Gaza.

Stub offers a preview of the World Zionist Organization's upcoming elections in March, and how the event, held every five years, represents the Orthodox-liberal struggle in the Jewish world.

He also discusses the growth of the Orthodox Union in Israel, and the organization's decision to embrace that growth by moving into new offices.

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

IDF says Shlomo Mansour was killed on Oct. 7 and his body taken to Gaza

Hamas says it’s delaying next hostage release, alleging Israeli truce violations

Trump urges ending Gaza ceasefire if all hostages not released by noon Saturday

The man with the plan: DC prof sent Trump study on Gaza relocation, development in July

Upcoming WZO election sees Orthodox-liberal struggle, opportunity for North American Jews

As religious immigration rises, OU expands presence in Israel, investing in integration

IMAGE: A protest that took place outside the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on February 11, 2025 as a cabinet meeting was held inside, discussing the ceasefire (Credit: Orna Kupferman)

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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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

With the return to Israel of the three most recently released hostages, several hostage families are receiving the first signs of life from their loved ones, including hostage Alon Ohel. Horovitz discusses the heartbreaking descriptions shared by Idit Ohel, Alon Ohel's mother, on the Sunday night news. Ohel broke down crying as she described her son's injuries and abuses, now known by the family as Ohel was held until Saturday with released hostages Or Levy and Eli Sharabi.

Horovitz talks about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's return home to Israel, where he and his cabinet summarily postponed the discussion of convening a state commission of inquiry into the failures that led to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, a commission that would presumably cause his government to fall.

Horovitz also reviews Netanyahu's reactions to US President Donald Trump's ideas about the Gaza Strip, a plan that the prime minister seemingly didn't know about before arriving in the US last week, and how Trump's support of Israel is pushing Netanyahu forward on his goals in Gaza.

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

Pleading for his release, mother says hostage Alon Ohel is wounded, chained in Hamas tunnels

At rowdy meeting, cabinet delays for 3 months decision on state inquiry into Gaza war

PM returns to court for criminal trial testimony, says he faces medical ‘challenges’

Trump’s ‘Extreme Makeover: Gaza Edition’ has many flaws. One of the worst is its absent morality

IMAGE: In Kfar Saba in February 2025, a protestor holding images of hostages, Tsahi Idan, left, included in the first stage of the exchange, while hostage Alon Ohel, right, is not (Credit: Danor Aharon)

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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 Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

As the three hostages, Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami return to Israel, questions arise about what they knew of their families' fates as they were released. Fabian discusses some of the details about what each man learned upon coming home to Israel, whether Eli Sharabi found out that his wife and daughters had been killed from Hamas, the Red Cross or his family, and if Or Levy knew his wife Eynav had been killed before he was taken into captivity.

Palestinians are allowed to return to northern Gaza, along the Netzarim Corridor, after the IDF cleared out its remaining positions, says Fabian, adding that Gazans are already approaching the area.

With nine more days left in the ceasefire with Lebanon, Fabian discusses Israel's enforcement of the ceasefire agreement, and the additional understandings that allow Israel to act against any Hezbollah act, including its Saturday strikes against Hezbollah members at a strategic missile site, which Israel said were a blatant violation of the ceasefire.

Following the Saturday IDF strike on a Hamas arms depot near Damascus, the first in more than a year, Fabian talks about the site as one that was known to the IDF. It was suspected that the arms could be used to attack IDF troops in the area.

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

Almog, 3, to his dad, freed hostage Or Levy: ‘It took you a long time to come back’

IDF strikes Hezbollah operatives in eastern Lebanon; 6 reported killed, 2 wounded

IDF says it carried out airstrike on Hamas arms depot near Damascus

IMAGE: Hamas hands over hostage Or Levy to the Red Cross on February 8, 2025. (Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/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 reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Eli Sharabi, 52, Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56, are back home in Israel after 491 days of captivity. Sharabi was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri when Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023. His wife and daughters were murdered in their home’s safe room and he and his brother Yossi were taken captive. Brother Yossi has since been confirmed dead and Hamas is holding his body.

Or Levy, 34, was kidnapped from the Supernova rave near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7. His wife Eynav was killed, and their now three-year-old son Almog has been staying with his grandparents since.

Ohad Ben Ami, was kidnapped from Be’eri. His wife Raz Ben Ami was also abducted, and released as part of a week-long ceasefire in November 2023.

We learn about initial health assessments and hear about the ceremony this morning, in which Hamas forced the men to speak onstage in Dir El Balak and thank the terror organization for their "good treatment."

We discuss how the IDF is still operating in parts of the Gaza Strip and what is meant to happen in the next two weeks of phase 1 of the already mediated deal, even as phase 2 is still in process.

Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on Friday to reprimand the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, after he reportedly warned during a military assessment meeting about potential security risks relating to US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its population. Fabian weighs in on this incident and what it may signify. We discusses what is happening on the ground in the West Bank as the IDF continues its almost three-week ongoing intensive counter-terrorism operation there.

The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Thursday night, targeting weapons storage sites in the Nabatieh area and the Beqaa Valley. Fabian updates us on the extended truce in Lebanon and expected next steps ahead of the February 18 deadline.

Please see today's ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

For further reading:

Gaunt and frail, hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami freed after 16 months

Poll: 70% of Israelis support second phase of hostage-ceasefire deal

Katz reprimands IDF intel chief for warning discourse on Trump’s Gaza plan could prompt violence

IDF fighter jets hit Hezbollah weapons depots that Israel says violated ceasefire

IMAGE: Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is paraded by Hamas gunmen before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, February 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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