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 on today's episode. Yesterday, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he was striving for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group within the coming days, after a hopeful conversation with US special envoy Amos Hochstein and as reports emerged with...

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 joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode. Sokol discusses the fiery start of the Knesset fall session this week, as young women dressed to resemble hostage Naama Levy and her bloodstained clothing and hands when she was taken captive on October 7, were in attendance at the Knesset Committee on the Status of...

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 on today's episode. Two bills overwhelmingly passed through final votes last night, which ban UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory and bar Israeli authorities from any contact with the agency. We discuss how Israel or the international community will fill the vacuum this would...

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 on today’s episode. The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet today to debate Israel’s strikes on Iran. Horovitz discusses how Saturday’s strikes were received by Israel’s international supporters — and detractors. Almost immediately following reports of Israel’s strikes on Iran,...

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 on today's episode. This morning, according to initial reports of a truck-ramming incident being classified as a suspected terror attack near the Glilot Army Base, 35 victims have been taken to hospitals, including six in serious condition, five in moderate condition, 20 who are...

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 on today's episode. Early this morning, Israel launched Days of Repentance, its long-awaited retaliatory strike against Iran, almost a month after the Islamic Republic’s October 1 massive barrage of some 200 ballistic missiles. Fabian explains the timeline and goals of the Israeli...

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 Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast. Magid discusses Mossad chief David Barnea heading to Doha again for hostage negotiations, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahyu's recent meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The negotiations are the first in two months, and follow the death last week of...

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. In this special Simhat Torah holiday episode, host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaks with Rabbi Avi Poupko, who is currently serving in reserve duty as part of the IDF rabbinate along the northern border. Simhat Torah is an annual celebration of the completion -- and restarting -- of the Shabbat Torah-reading cycle. Usually a day of joyous prayer,...

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. Reporters Sue Surkes and Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. Surkes discusses the funerals of Druze commander Ehsan Daqsa, one of the most senior officers killed in Gaza, and Elishai Young, 19, a combat soldier from the Hebrew Israelites community in Dimona, both members of minority populations in Israel that grapple...

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 ToI's Jerusalem office for today's episode. Yesterday, prosecutors announced that seven Israeli citizens were arrested last month on suspicion of spying for Iran for as long as two years, carrying out hundreds of tasks at the behest of the Islamic Republic. This morning, another Iranian...

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 in ToI's Jerusalem office for today's episode. The commander of the Israel Defense Force’s 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Ehsan Daqsa, was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. We hear about Daqsa, 41, from the Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel, who was one of the...

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 in ToI's Jerusalem office for today's episode. The elimination of Hamas’s most dominant figure could open a small window of opportunity to achieve Israel’s elusive war aims, none of which have yet been secured, believe senior world figures, however, on Friday, Hamas released a...

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, we bring you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World hosted by deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan. This week we speak with the editors of a new prayerbook -- "Az Nashir - We Will Sing Again: Women’s Prayers for Our Time of Need" --  written by women, for women,...

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 podcast. Magid discusses the different methods used to identify Sinwar's body and what can be seen about Sinwar in the drone footage taken at the scene just prior to the strike that killed him. He reviews some of the reactions from the Biden administration, including calls made...

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 on today's special report. Tonight, Israel announced that IDF troops had killed Hamas terror chief Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on Wednesday in a firefight in Rafah, in southern Gaza. Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 Hamas invasion and slaughter in southern Israel, was shot dead along with two...

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, for the Sukkot holiday, we are bringing you a special extended episode from our partner podcast, Israel Story. Israel Story writes: This is an episode we never wanted to air. One that marks a year of war and a year of pain. A year since a day of ghastly violence, which led us into a nightmare that still has no end in sight. A year has...

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. In a letter to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, obtained by our US bureau chief Jacob Magid on Tuesday, the White House warned Israel it has one month to implement significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza...

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 Arab Affairs reporter Gianluca Pacchiani join host Jessica Steinberg in today's episode. Sokol discusses the government decision to set another memorial day for October 7 by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, held a few days after the holiday of Simhat Torah, the Hebrew date for October 7. Regev went ahead...

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. Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode. Four IDF soldiers were killed and 58 others were wounded by a Hezbollah drone strike on a military base near Binyamina in north-central Israel last night. Forty-one soldiers of the 58 soldiers wounded in a Hezbollah drone strike on an army...

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. Hezbollah rocket fire continues to rain on Israel’s north as the IDF warns southern Lebanon residents not to return to their homes among ongoing air strikes and ground operations. In the last 24 hours, the Israeli Air Force has struck around 200 Hezbollah targets...

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, we bring you a bonus episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World hosted by deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan. Shortly after October 7, when the murderous Hamas onslaught on southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza, Israel was pulled into defending itself and fighting Iran...

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. It’s been one year since October 7, 2023. To honor this day, we’ve produced "October’s Wake," a podcast mini-series, exclusively for ToI Community members. In this first episode, host Amanda Borschel-Dan brings together editor David Horovitz, senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman to answer your questions on the major...

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 reviews the nearly one-hour-long call held between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, about Israel's plans to attack Iran, although that was only discussed briefly. He discusses the US "walking away" from its initial push for...

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 on today's episode. According to a Channel 12 news report on Tuesday night, the United States and Arab states have launched covert talks with Iran for a comprehensive ceasefire aimed at calming all war fronts at once. Berman discusses what influence Iran may still have with its...

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 culture editor Jessica Steinberg join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. The UN special coordinator for Lebanon and the head of the peacekeeping force deployed along the border with Israel said this morning that a negotiated solution is the only way to restore stability. They added that Hezbollah’s attacks...