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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington, DC, yesterday and is set to meet with US President Donald Trump tomorrow. In the meantime, he will meet and potentially start up talks about the second phase of the hostage release deal with US Mideast envoy Steve ...
Feb 03, 2025•24 min
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 Israeli military on Saturday carried out three drone strikes on terror operatives in the northern West Bank. The strikes came as the Israel Defense Forces expanded an ongoing counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank, now in its 13th day. What has been t...
Feb 02, 2025•19 min
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. Three Israeli hostages were freed from Hamas captivity today and returned to their families in Israel: Yarden Bibas, Ofer Calderon and Keith Siegel. Horovitz compares today's two release "ceremonies" with the bedlam experienced on Thursday. We also learn how Hamas symbolically re...
Feb 01, 2025•22 min
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. Reporter Amy Spiro joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. With the release home of hostage and surveillance soldier Agam Berger, followed by the terrifying mayhem surrounding the release of hostages Arbel Yehoud, Gadi Mozes and the five Thai hostages, Spiro discusses Israel's delay of the release of Palestinian prisoners, and its deman...
Jan 31, 2025•20 min
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. This morning, 8 hostages — 3 Israeli and 5 Thai — returned to Israel from Gaza where they were taken by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on October 7, 2023. Agam Berger, 20, the final surveillance officer among seven young women taken hostage on Oc...
Jan 30, 2025•22 min
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 takes a look at President Donald Trump's first week in office, including Trump's controversial comments regarding Gazans and where they could be moved, even temporarily during the reconstruction of parts of Gaza, and how Egypt and Jordan view the influx of Palesti...
Jan 29, 2025•22 min
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. Legal reporter Jeremy Sharon joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Sharon was in court yesterday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed his testimony in his corruption trial. We hear whether the premier seems in good health following his prostate surgery even as his hearing was canceled today and tomorrow over a judge's illness. We ...
Jan 28, 2025•23 min
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. Israel allows thousands of Gazans to return to the north of the Strip, as per the hostage-ceasefire deal, following confirmation that hostages Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger and a third hostage would be released this week on Thursday, while three m...
Jan 27, 2025•22 min
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 Amy Spiro joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Yesterday, the four female soldiers held hostage in Gaza for 477 days — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag — were reunited with their loved ones, embracing them with smiles and tears after their release from cap...
Jan 26, 2025•19 min
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 special update. This morning, four female soldiers held hostage by Hamas for 477 days — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag — were released by the terror group after being paraded through a Gaza City square and made to participate in a demeanin...
Jan 25, 2025•17 min
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 for today's episode, a special Friday Focus on the painful issue of the release of Palestinian security prisoners as part of the hostage release-ceasefire deal. Tomorrow, another four hostages are set to be released from Gaza -- presumably women and presumably alive. Alongside the Israelis'...
Jan 24, 2025•33 min
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. Horovitz reviews the fraught, ongoing process of the hostage releases, both those that took place last Sunday and the four living women expected to be released on Saturday. He comments on how every day carries a new twist in the ceasefire and hostage exchan...
Jan 23, 2025•29 min
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 settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Four people were wounded yesterday evening by a terrorist who went on a stabbing spree in a trendy Tel Aviv neighborhood, emergency services and Israel Police said, before he was shot dead. An off-duty IDF tank officer who ha...
Jan 22, 2025•27 min
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 reviews the leadup to President Donald Trump's inauguration into office as the 47th president of the United States, including the President-elect's role in the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal that began with the release of three female hostages on Sunday. Magid points o...
Jan 21, 2025•20 min
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 political reporter Tal Schneider join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Yesterday evening, three Hamas hostages were returned to Israeli soil as part of the hostage release-ceasefire agreement that went into effect at 11:15 yesterday morning. We learn how Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Stein...
Jan 20, 2025•25 min
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 ceasefire between Israel and the terror groups led by Hamas in the Gaza Strip came into effect at 11:15 am after Hamas finally submitted the names of the three hostages set to be released this evening, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher. Fabian discuss...
Jan 19, 2025•17 min
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 Prime Minister’s Office issued a brief statement after 1 a.m. Saturday morning confirming the government approved the hostage release-ceasefire deal after meeting for more than seven hours. Twenty-four ministers voted in favor of the deal and eight opposed. The deal sho...
Jan 18, 2025•20 min
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 Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode, the weekly Friday Focus. As US President Joe Biden prepares to leave office, we take a look at the relationship between the president and the Jewish state, starting with his famous meeting with prime minister Golda Meir in which he understood the importance of being a Zioni...
Jan 17, 2025•39 min
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. Last night, the prime minister of Qatar as well as both US President Joe Biden and US President-elect Donald Trump announced that a deal had been reached. Hamas leadership quickly declared victory over Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to insist that the...
Jan 16, 2025•25 min
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. Reporter Amy Spiro filling in for diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and environmental correspondent Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. Spiro says there is optimism that the proposed hostage deal will be signed by Wednesday or Thursday, and reviews the proposed details of the deal that it is very similar to what was proposed...
Jan 15, 2025•22 min
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. This morning, a “final round” of Gaza truce talks was due to start in Qatar. According to AFP, today’s meetings “are aimed at finalizing the remaining details of the deal,” with the heads of Israel’s intelligence agencies, the Middle...
Jan 14, 2025•24 min
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 Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. Tensions are high in Israel over the possibility of a proposed hostage deal. Schneider discusses the Sunday phone conversation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden regarding the negotiations. She also r...
Jan 13, 2025•19 min
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. Legal reporter Jeremy Sharon joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Late last week, almost two years exactly to the unveiling of the initial judicial overhaul legislative package, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar unveiled a far-reaching package of changes to Israel’s judicial system which would inc...
Jan 12, 2025•21 min
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 for a bonus episode of our weekly What Matters Now series. This week, a committee appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to examine defense spending and IDF military force design for the future announced that the election of Donald Trump as US president offers an unprecedented oppor...
Jan 11, 2025•41 min
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 a special Friday Focus episode, part two of last week's discussion, " Why the IDF abandoned the offensive and ended up with Oct. 7 ." When Israel's founding prime minister David Ben Gurion envisioned the country's defense forces, he proposed a small standing army and a large reservist ...
Jan 10, 2025•37 min
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. As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken nears the end of his term in the Biden administration, Blinken says that mediators are very close to securing a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, something that hasn't been stated in a while. However, Magid says it may onl...
Jan 09, 2025•20 min
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 Emanu el Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara filed the state’s response to High Court petitions on Haredi military enlistment, stating that there is no limit on the numbers of ultra-Orthodox men recruited into the Israel Defense Forces from mid-2026. This comes as ...
Jan 08, 2025•21 min
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. Arab Affairs correspondent Gianluca Pacchiani and Tech Editor Sharon Wrobel join host Jessica Steinberg on today's show. Pacchiani discusses the latest with the Hamas list of proposed hostages that would include some 34 living captives out of the remaining 100 hostages left in Gaza, as Hamas asks for greater numbers of prisoners in a hostage exchange. ...
Jan 07, 2025•22 min
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 show. Israeli and regional media is rife with headlines about an imminent potential Gaza hostage release deal. However, after a Saudi outlet published a list it received from Hamas of 34 hostages the terror organization says would be freed in...
Jan 06, 2025•23 min
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 show. The Hamas terror group released a propaganda video on Saturday showing signs of life from 19-year-old hostage Liri Albag, the latest in a series of clips it has released of Israeli captives taken in the October 7, 2023, attack. What were the contents of the three-and-...
Jan 05, 2025•24 min
