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 reporter Tal Schneider and settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal are scheduled to resume in Qatar on Thursday, with US mediators touting the summit as possibly the final opportunity to release the hostages captured by Hamas on October 7, end the 10-month-long war in Gaza. Schneider tells us what we’re hearing about how the negotiations could also avert the possibility of an all-out regional war with the involvement of Iran.

The influential newspaper aligned with the United Torah Judaism political party Yated Ne’eman blasted National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for “endangering Jewish lives” by visiting Temple Mount on the solemn Jewish fast day of Tisha B’av and insisting that Jewish prayer was permitted at the site, in direct contradiction to the status quo upheld by the Israeli government. Sharon weighs in on the ideology guiding Ben Gvir and then Schneider discusses the political fallout.

Schneider brings a report about a petition to the High Court that was brought by dozens of parents of IDF fighters who have been in battle for most of the 313 days of the war against Hamas. They claim that the IDF has no regulations in place to handle this long-term situation and as a result, their children are being denied really basic things, such as basic hygiene or the right to even take their boots off for over 80 days. What do the parents hope to accomplish?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Biden: Iran expected to push off attacking Israel if Gaza ceasefire deal clinched

US leads international condemnations of Ben Gvir’s ‘provocations’ at Temple Mount

Ben Gvir scorns PM’s objections as Jews seen praying on Temple Mount: ‘It’s my policy’

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: Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas since the October 7 attacks lift flags and placards as they demonstrate calling for their release in Tel Aviv on August 10, 2024. (Oren Ziv / 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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and reporter Canaan Lidor join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi held an assessment and approved battle plans for “the various fronts,” the military said yesterday, as the country braced for an attack from Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. How is the IDF ramping up its preparations for "peak alertness"?

The military wing of Hamas on Monday said that members of the terror group assigned to guard Israeli hostages killed a male captive and seriously wounded another two female hostages. The Israel Defense Forces said it could neither confirm nor deny the claim. Fabian tells us what little we know.

The United Nations Security Council is set to meet today to discuss Gaza in the wake of this weekend’s Israeli airstrike on what it says was a terror HQ inside a school that was being used as a shelter. Fabian updates with new numbers of terrorists killed during Saturday's strike.

In a petition filed Sunday to the Tel Aviv District Court, 14 Tel Aviv residents and the Rosh Yehudi group accused the municipality of facilitating sex-segregated prayers on public grounds by Muslims on their holidays, while preventing similar activities by Jews on Yom Kippur and beyond. Lidor gives background to this tinderbox issue.

Today is the annual Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B’Av. Lidor notes a sad new addition to the lamentations traditionally recited today.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF on ‘peak alert’ for Iran, Hezbollah attacks; US expects it may happen this week

IDF chief approves multi-front battle plans as Israel girds for Iran, Hezbollah attack

Hamas says its guards killed a hostage, wounded two others; IDF investigating claim

IDF names another 12 Hamas, Islamic Jihad terrorists killed in Gaza school strike

Sidelined by war, fight over gender-segregated prayer in Tel Aviv resumes in court

October 7 trauma reconnects Israelis with a 2,000-year-old Jewish day of mourning

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: Jewish men pray during Tisha B'Av, at the Wall Western, in the Old City of Jerusalem, August 13, 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.

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

Lebanese media is reporting that in recent days Hezbollah has entirely evacuated its headquarters in the Beirut suburb of Dahieh and last night AXIOS reported that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke last night with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and told him Iran’s military preparations suggest Iran is getting ready for a large-scale attack on Israel. What are we hearing about Israel's preparedness?

On Saturday morning, after the IDF struck a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command room at the Taba’een school in Gaza City, international media was aflame with damning headlines. Horovitz weighs in.

The widely endorsed ceasefire and hostage release deal presented to Israel and Hamas earlier this year is still viable, according to US President Joe Biden, despite the Palestinian terror group’s announcement that it would not be sending a delegation to the August 15 confab.

During Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Yariv Levin reportedly pushed for the renewal of the government’s legal overhaul, which has been frozen since October 7. We hear how the judicial overhaul influenced the country last year, leading Borschel-Dan to ask, why make this push now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

In reversal, Israel said to now believe Iran plans to attack in next few days

Hamas says it won’t attend Thursday’s ‘last opportunity’ talks for hostage-truce deal

In cabinet meeting, justice minister said to call to revive judicial overhaul plan

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: Vehicles drive past a huge billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and slain Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at Tehran's Valiasr Square on August 12, 2024. (Atta Kenare/ 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.

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

The IDF ordered an airstrike Saturday morning on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command room at the Taba’een school in Gaza City, killing some 19 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror operatives. Fabian debriefs us on the controversial operation and what else is happening on the ground in the Strip.

Amid a Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel, a treatment and rehabilitation center for people with disabilities was hit and severely damaged after a likely Iron Dome interceptor landed in the center’s indoor pool and wreaked havoc -- without causing casualties. We learn about other drone strikes and how the IDF is combatting them.

Iranian spies created fake online profiles impersonating Israeli users as part of a scheme to recruit Israeli civilians to carry out missions for Tehran, Israeli authorities said Thursday. Fabian explains how this wasn't the first time -- and won't be the last.

In the event of an emergency, the IDF Home Front Command can announce restrictions on gatherings, the education system, and workplaces in specific areas, or across the country. We hear why it is still business as usual across the country, even as an expected reprisal attack from Iran and/or Hezbollah could be imminent.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Amid global criticism, Israel names 19 it says it killed in terror HQ at Gaza school

Hezbollah launches drones at north after IDF kills Hamas commander in Lebanon

IDF launches new offensive in Khan Younis; officer seriously hurt in Rafah

Iranian operatives have been posing as Israelis to try to recruit them, Shin Bet says

As Iran and Hezbollah attacks loom, why hasn’t the IDF adjusted civilian guidelines?

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: An Israeli anti-missile system intercepts drones fired from Lebanon over the Upper Galilee, on August 10, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode, a bonus replay of our What Matters Now weekly podcast.

Israel awaits an expected retaliatory attack from Iran and Hezbollah for the assassinations of Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh in Teheran and Hezbollah chief of staff Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

We don’t know what’s going to happen: The potential strike could be tonight, could be tomorrow — or could be never.

During this period of uncertainty, we discuss with good humor, “How do you prepare for a potential ‘Armageddon’ — both physically and metaphysically?”

So this week we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

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 bomb shelter in Nahariya painted by Lidia and Igor Katliarski (Lidia Katliarski)

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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 on today's episode.

Magid discusses conversations he had in Qatar this week, regarding the Israeli negotiating team and their sense of a lack of credibility as they make commitments during the negotiations, and then fail to get final approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon their return to Israel, impacting the hostage talks and looking at the Israeli leader as the obstacle to a deal.

He also talks about the Arab countries that don't want to participate in peacekeeping forces in Gaza after a ceasefire is approved, although there could be pressures and leverage that would allow them to change their minds.

Magid speaks about Vice President Kamala Harris' comments at a rally in Detroit, where an offhand comment she made to a far-left group about an arms embargo for Israel was taken out of context.

He also discusses Harris' recently chosen running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, his strong record with the Jewish community and Israel, which he supported without question after October 7.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Hostage deal won’t happen unless Biden squeezes Netanyahu harder, Arab officials say

Netanyahu accused of undercutting Israeli credibility in Gaza truce talks

Jordan, Qatar, Saudis hesitant to join US-driven postwar peacekeeping force in Gaza

Harris tells anti-Israel hecklers to be quiet unless they ‘want Donald Trump to win’

Aide says Harris opposes Israel arms embargo, after far-left group claims she may not

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: Demonstrators protest for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, August 7, 2024. (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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in the Jerusalem office on today's episode.

Back in April, Iran directly targeted Israel with some 500 projectiles, including drones, missiles and rockets. Since the assassination in Teheran of Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh, which Israel has not taken credit for, paired with the overt assassination of Hezbollah chief of staff Fuad Shukr, Israelis have been waiting for a retaliatory strike. Horovitz weighs in on how this is playing out on the diplomatic stage and at home.

According to the IDF, only 48 out of 900 Haredi men who received call-up notices last month showed up at the army’s induction center over the past several days for an initial evaluation. Horovitz and Borschel-Dan discuss some of the implications of the lack of manpower on the IDF and how this thorny problem must be solved through dialogue.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

The waiting

Israel said to believe Hezbollah will respond before Iran to deaths of terror chiefs

Western ambassadors pull out of Nagasaki memorial after Israel not invited

Harris tells anti-Israel hecklers to be quiet unless they ‘want Donald Trump to win’

IDF claims violent enlistment protests scaring off ultra-Orthodox draftees

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. 

Check out yesterday's Daily Briefing episode here:

https://omny.fm/shows/the-daily-briefing/day-306-resolute-christian-israelis-stay-put-near

IMAGE: Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri (L) welcomes his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi ahead of their meeting in Tehran on August 4, 2024. (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 reporter Tal Schneider and reporter Canaan Lidor join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Yesterday, the Hamas terror group named Yahya Sinwar as the new head of its “political bureau,” the highest-ranking position in the organization, following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week. Schneider explains what message Hamas is bringing with this appointment.

A Washington Post columnist wrote this morning that the United States’ diplomatic efforts to temper Iran’s retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh might be working and that Iran may yet rethink its plans after the US rushed its forces to the region and passed along messages to Iran warning of serious consequences for the new government of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Schneider delves in.

If hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalate, the northern port city of Haifa is likely to get hammered with dozens, if not hundreds, of rockets a day, possibly for weeks on end. Lidor was there on Sunday and reports back.

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox extremist protesters breached the Tel Hashomer army base on Tuesday, jumping over the fence in an attempt to disrupt the enlistment of yeshiva students to the Israel Defense Forces. Schneider and Lidor discuss the ongoing efforts of the IDF to conscript this population and the extreme pushback.

Several thousand residents of the Aramean Christian village of Jish, situated about 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) from the border, have not evacuated and are indeed hunkering down. Lidor illuminates this inspiring community.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar chosen to replace Haniyeh as Hamas leader

19 injured, one critically, as Hezbollah drones strike near northern city of Nahariya

In Haifa, locals meet the prospect of imminent war with calm resolve

Extremist Haredim storm IDF recruitment base to protest drafting of yeshiva students

In Jish, an indigenous Christian minority defiantly stays in Hezbollah’s crosshairs

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: Christian worshippers attend church in the Jish village in northern Israel near the Lebanon border on January 17, 2024. (Jalaa Marey / 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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian, US bureau chief Jacob Magid and Olympics correspondent Amy Spiro join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Fabian updates us on what he knows about the IDF’s preparations for a multitude of scenarios for a retaliatory strike from Iran and its proxies over the assassinations of Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah chief of staff Fuad Shukr last week. He speaks about the Homefront Command's new system to send location-based public warning messages, following successful trials.

Seven reservists were wounded, including four seriously, during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday morning. Also yesterday, an Israeli truck driver was lightly injured by a rocket impact near Kibbutz Re’ím, as terrorists in the Gaza Strip launched a barrage at southern Israel. Fabian debriefs on the current fighting in Gaza.

Early this morning, an anti-tank missile hit the backyard of a home in the evacuated northern community of Avivim, without causing casualties. But, as Fabian describes, just yesterday there were attacks that left IDF soldiers wounded. We hear how the IDF retaliated.

IMAGE: Sharon Kantor of Israel celebrates her women's iQFOiL windsurfing class silver medal win among the waves during the 2024 Summer Olympics, August 3, 2024, in Marseille, France. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Magid reports on his way to the US from Doha about what he heard in Qatar about the hostage release negotiations.

Spiro fills us in on all the excitement surrounding a so-far unprecedented six medals garnered by Team Israel at the Olympics and we hear what else may be in store.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

At command center, Gallant says IAF preparing for ‘quick transition to offense’

IDF can now send location-based alerts to phones in case of large-scale attacks

7 IDF reservists wounded, 4 of them seriously, in blast in southern Gaza

CNN: Hamas central Gaza battalions still effective, may hold hostages; IDF denies claims

Two IDF soldiers moderately wounded in Hezbollah drone attack on north

Hostage talks on hold until after Iran response, replacement of Haniyeh — officials

Double medalist Dolgopyat wants to inspire young athletes to ‘believe in themselves’

Judo Olympic medalists return home: ‘Our goal was to raise the flag of Israel high’

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. 

 

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Yesterday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told counterparts from G7 countries that Washington believes an Iranian attack on Israel could begin within the next day or two, according to an Axios report. According to a Kan broadcaster report, unnamed Western diplomats estimate that the same regional coalition that helped repel Iran’s direct drone and missile attack in April can be put together again to thwart another potential attack. Rettig Gur zooms out to look at Iran's options versus those who will support it over Israel.

Three soldiers suspected of the sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility in southern Israel were released from custody on Sunday following new information brought into the case. A week after the arrests of 10 reservists and a mob of far-right activists and lawmakers that broke into two IDF bases, Rettig Gur gives some perspective.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

US said to believe Iran attack on Israel imminent, Biden to hold situation room meeting

Diplomats said optimistic coalition that foiled Iran’s April attack can be reassembled

3 suspects in Sde Teiman abuse case released after new evidence presented

Torture, abuse, unfit conditions: The allegations over Sde Teiman and its guards

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 portrait of slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is displayed during a demonstration denouncing his killing and that of Hezbollah's senior commander Fuad Shukr, in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon, on August 2, 2024. (Mahmoud Zayyat / AFP)

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