The Times of Israel Daily Briefing The Times of Israel

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 is day 196 of the war with Hamas. Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and military reporter Emanuel Fabian host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode in the Jerusalem office.

Explosions were reportedly heard near the Iranian city of Isfahan early Friday in what some international media is claiming was Israel’s launch of the heavily anticipated reprisal strike for the Iranian attack on Israel Saturday night. Fabian briefs us on what is being reported and gives us updates on the conflict along Israel's northern and Gaza border. Goren weighs in on the immediate consequences of the alleged attack on Iran.

Ahead of next week’s Passover holiday, Jerusalem Affairs Minister Meir Porush wrote to United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland and demanded that he work to provide the hostages in Gaza with matzah and wine for the Seder night. Goren dives into their ongoing captivity and how it is a consequence of decisions made by the Israeli government on October 7.

For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Live blog April 18, 2024

Iranian air base reportedly attacked in ‘limited’ Israeli reprisal strike

Minister demands UN envoy ensures Gaza hostages have matzah, wine for Seder night

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel

THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

IMAGE: A man walks past a banner depicting missiles along a street in Tehran on April 19, 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.

It is day 195 of the war with Hamas. Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode in the Jerusalem office.

The United States led a group of 48 countries at the United Nations in condemning Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend. Horovitz weighs in.

Egyptian officials tell a Qatari outlet that the US has accepted Israel’s plan for an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in return for not carrying out a large strike in Iran in response to Tehran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack. Horovitz postulates that Israel may have missed its chance for true retaliation for the Iran strike.

The New York Times is reporting that “multiple American officials” think that Israeli officials miscalculated the severity of Iran’s response to the April 1 strike on a building in Damascus in which several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders were killed. Based on previous targeted killings of key Iranian players, should Israel have anticipated Iran's large-scale potentially devastating strike?

Horovitz conducted an interview with Giora Eiland, a former IDF planning and operations chief and the former head of the National Security Council under prime minister Ariel Sharon. We hear highlights of their discussion.

For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Live blog April 18, 2024

PM shelved pre-approved plans for immediate Iran reprisal after Biden call — report

A top ex-general’s radical strategy for tackling Iran, saving the hostages, calming the north

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel

THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Check out yesterday's Daily Briefing episode:

https://omny.fm/shows/the-daily-briefing/day-194-tension-on-3-fronts-knesset-passes-1st-rea

IMAGE: An Iranian military truck carries parts of a Sayad 4-B missile past a portrait of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a military parade as part of a ceremony marking the country's annual army day in Tehran on April 17, 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.

It is day 194 of the war with Hamas. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian and environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Fabian discusses the latest in Gaza, as Israeli tanks pushed back into parts of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, with two brigades joining ongoing missions in Gaza while other troops are situated outside Gaza, on the border, preparing themselves to enter for the expected large-scale strike on Rafah.

He also talks about the latest in the north, as two Hezbollah commanders were killed in IDF strikes following attack drones that injured three Israelis in the Beit Hillel community in the north and no sense of when 60,000 evacuated Israelis can return home.

Fabian also speaks about ongoing clashes in the West Bank, where violence has broken out between Israeli settlers and Palestinians following the Friday killing of 14-year-old shepherd Benjamin Achimeir, near Ramallah. There are considerable troops located in the West Bank, says Fabian, but it is complicated to contain three fronts simultaneously.

Surkes turns to the passage of the first reading of the climate bill, long-discussed but narrow in terms of planned targets, and largely controlled by budgetary expectations from the Finance Ministry.

She also discusses the long-awaited shipment of livestock from Australia, turned around in the fall because of maritime attacks by the Houthis, then relaunched again in March, and noted for the crowded conditions of the lambs and cows.

Surkes then describes several building developments in Jerusalem, the planned Burj Jerusalem near Yad Vashem and Har Herzl, along with a long-debated expansion of a city police station on the city's Lupine Hill, both fiercely opposed by several community groups.

For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Live blog April 17, 2024

Commando seriously hurt as Israeli tanks said to push back into northern Gaza

2 Hezbollah commanders killed in IDF strikes as attack drones injure 3 in north

Two Palestinians shot dead by settlers in clashes near West Bank village

Knesset passes 1st reading of climate bill without any clear budgeting

Controversial shipment of livestock reaches Israel from Australia after months-long odyssey

Planned ‘Jerusalem Burj’ skyscraper draws opposition over proximity to landmarks

Police revive plan to build complex on beloved Jerusalem hill, angering residents

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel

THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown

IMAGE: Members of the emergency squad of Safed take part in a drill on April 5, 2024. (Photo by David Cohen/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.

It is day 193 of the war with Hamas. Arab affairs reporter Gianluca Pacchiani and political reporter Sam Sokol join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Today, Israel reassured Arab countries in the region that its response to Iran’s attack will not place them in danger. One neighboring country, Jordan, which was a player in foiling the Iran strike Saturday night, is presented with an even more complicated situation with its large Palestinian population. Pacchiani weighs in.

On Sunday, far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government issued strident calls for Israel to react to Iran’s attack on Israel with a show of force, while other moderate members of the coalition, including war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, urged a balanced approach aimed at avoiding a spiraling escalation. Sokol explains who is currently calling for what.

Yesterday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party said that it was no longer bound by coalition discipline, following opposition by ultra-Orthodox coalition parties to an expansion of his authority. We hear what this expansion is and how the Haredim are play quid pro quo.

We hear impressions from a long interview Pacchiani conducted with Gazan journalist Sami Obeid, who brings his thoughts on who should run the Gaza Strip after the war and life on the ground in Rafah right now.

For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Live blog April 16, 2024

Jordan’s help against Iran shows relationship with Israel still strong, despite Gaza

Shaken by daily mass protests on Gaza, Jordan accuses ‘infiltrators’ of stoking unrest

Should Israel launch an immediate retaliatory attack on Iran? Lawmakers are divided

Ben Gvir says no longer bound by coalition discipline, in spat with Haredi factions

Gazan journalist to ToI: We, the people of Gaza, are also living like hostages of Hamas

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel

THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

IMAGE: Illustrative - Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks during a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron, February 16, 2024 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)
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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.

It is day 192 of the war with Hamas. Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

To start Berman, who is currently in the United States shares how American media has depicted the foiled Iran strike.

Berman wrote an analysis following the Iran strike that examined the roles played by Israel's neighbors and Centcom partners. He analyzes how this teamwork developed and where it can go from here.

Neighboring Arab countries played greater and lesser roles in foiling the Iranian projectiles, including Jordan, but also Saudi Arabia. In an interview with the Israeli Kan broadcaster, a Saudi official criticized Iran for having engineered a war in Gaza in order to destroy the progress it was making in normalizing relations with Israel. Berman weighs in.

After over three hours of deliberations on Sunday afternoon, Israel’s five-person war cabinet did not reach a decision as to how the country would respond to Iran’s massive missile and drone barrage on Saturday night. Berman describes the United States' point of view as well as some potential strike options on Israel's table.

For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Live blog April 15, 2024

With its aerial attack, Iran could break Israel’s isolation and reframe the Gaza war

‘Not seeking war’: White House stresses US won’t join Israeli counterstrike on Iran

War cabinet said to favor hitting back at Iran but divided over when and how

Should Israel launch an immediate retaliatory attack on Iran? Lawmakers are divided

US House to vote on Israel aid package following Iran attack

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel

THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

IMAGE: In this photo obtained from the US Department of Defense, the US Navy's aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (IKE) transits the Strait of Hormuz on November 26, 2023. (Ruskin Naval / US Department of Defense / 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.

It is day 191 of the war with Hamas. Editor David Horovitz and military reporter Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Late Saturday night, Iran launched a large wave of some 300 attack drones and missiles from its territory toward the Jewish state, in the first-ever direct attack on Israel by the Islamic Republic, triggering air raid sirens throughout the country early Sunday as the military worked to intercept the Iranian projectiles.

Fabian walks us through the timeline of the Iranian attack and explains what appears to have been Iran's goal. We hear which allies helped out in foiling the attack and how the long-range Arrow air defense system managed to knock down the “vast majority” of the 120 ballistic missiles, according to the IDF, although some penetrated Israel’s defenses and struck the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel.

We hear about some sense of the IDF's next steps and how it may retaliate.

The United States took one of the lead roles in staving off the attack on Israel. Horovitz weighs in on what this means for the reportedly fraying Israel-US relationship, as well as that with Israel's other allies, including Jordan.

For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Live blog April 14, 2024

Waiting for the drones and the missiles, at the opening of a regional conflict

Iran fires some 300 drones, missiles at Israel in first-ever direct attack; 99% downed

As Israel waits for potential attack, what are Iran’s missile and drone capabilities?

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel

THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

IMAGE: Demonstrators wave Iran's flag and Palestinian flags as they gather at Palestine Square in Tehran on April 14, 2024, after Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel. (Atta Kenare / AFP)
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