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 216 of the war with Hamas. Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Horovitz discusses US President Joe Biden's "bombshell" series of comments regarding withholding weaponry for Israel to attack Rafah in Gaza, and how the Israeli mainstream and right-wing politicians are reacting.

He talks about Israeli dependence on American weaponry and how Israel and the US need to find a way to resolve this latest issue.

Horovitz then tackles Hamas' counter-proposal to the hostage situation, calling it a "deceitful" offer that will not bring home most of the hostages, and which aims to free many of their high-level security prisoners, bringing some home to the West Bank, in order to inflame that region and open a second front.

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

Discussed articles include:

Biden accused of helping Hamas as Israel outraged by threatened weapons freeze

Biden: I won’t give Israel offensive weapons to attack in populated parts of Rafah

Sinister Hamas terms would let it keep most hostages, win the war, inflame the West Bank

Visiting CIA chief said to tell Netanyahu he still sees chance for deal with 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. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: President Joe Biden meets with campaign volunteers at the Dr. John Bryant Community Center, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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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 215 of the war with Hamas. Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and news editor Amy Spiro join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The Biden administration on Tuesday night confirmed reports that it had recently held up a large shipment of 2,000- and 500-pound bombs that it feared Israel might use in a major ground operation in the densely populated southern Gaza city of Rafah. But it also appeared to signal its initial approval of the operation launched by Israel early Tuesday morning to take over the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Rettig Gur weighs in on these push-pull announcements.

According to polling by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) that was released yesterday, a majority of Israelis believe that reaching a hostage deal with Hamas should be the country’s top national priority — more important than launching a military operation against the terror group in Rafah. We hear whether this accurately reflects Israeli thinking and what the numbers truly mean.

The Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, officially began Tuesday evening with the first live semifinal. Israel’s contestant is set to take the stage only on Thursday, but there’s plenty to talk about in the meantime. Spiro fills us in.

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

Discussed articles include:

US confirms holding up sale of heavy bombs it feared Israel would use in Rafah

US signals backing for ‘limited op’ after IDF takes over Gazan side of Rafah crossing

US completes construction of Gaza aid pier, but weather preventing installation

Poll: Majority of Israelis support prioritizing hostage deal over Rafah operation

Hostage families urge US, other countries to press Israel to reach deal with Hamas

Eurovision organizers rebuke performer who wore keffiyeh during first semifinal show

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. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Einav Zangauker holds a sign identifying her son Matan (24), one of the hostages taken captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during the October 7 massacre, as she stands on the roof of a car during a demonstration by hostages' relatives and supporters in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on May 6, 2024. (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.

It is day 214 of the war with Hamas. Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and Diaspora reporter Canaan Lidor join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The Israeli military confirmed that its 401st Armored Brigade captured the Gazan side of Rafah Crossing on the Egyptian border this morning. Israel is now in control of all above-ground crossings into Gaza. The crossing was captured amid a “pinpoint operation” against Hamas in “limited areas of eastern Rafah,” the IDF said. Goren weighs in on whether this is a one-and-done operation or the start of the much-talked-about Rafah op.

The New York Times reported this morning that Hamas intends to include the remains of several dead hostages among the 33 captives it says it will release in the first phase of a hostage and truce deal it proposed. Israel has previously insisted that the first stage include only living hostages and had reduced its demand from 40 hostages, with the understanding that not all those in that category were still alive. After Hamas said yesterday it had accepted a deal put forward by mediators, Israel stated that what Hamas put forward was significantly different from what Israel had agreed to.Where does this leave us?

Lidor has reported from the annual March of the Living in Auschwitz for many years. He talks about why this year, in the shadow of the October 7 massacre by Hamas, it felt so different.

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

Discussed articles include:

Army announces two reserves troops killed in Hezbollah drone attack Monday

Hamas claims to accept ceasefire, hostage deal; Israel: This isn’t what we agreed to

Specifics of a deal Hamas says it accepts, and that Israel says does not meet its terms

Protesters block roads to demand Israel accept ceasefire-hostage deal, halt Rafah push

At Auschwitz, Holocaust survivors scarred by October 7 march in a show of resilience

At Auschwitz march, participants rally around concern over hostages and antisemitism

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. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: This image grab taken from footage released by the Israeli army on May 7, 2024, shows the 401st Brigade's combat team tanks entering the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on May 7, 2024. (Fayez Nureldine / Israeli Army / 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 213 of the war with Hamas. Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and military reporter Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his American counterpart, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, in a phone call overnight that Israel was left with no choice but to launch its offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah. Fabian reports on the IDF's evacuation order for Palestinians living in the eastern part of the city, along the border with Egypt.

This potential operation comes after four Israeli soldiers were killed and 11 more were wounded in a Hamas-claimed rocket attack on a staging ground near the Gaza Strip on Sunday. We hear what was and was not targeted in the barrage.

Berman weighs in on whether the timing of the barrage -- during a particularly sensitive moment in hostage negotiations -- was coincidental. We hear updates from the past several days and why Berman thinks the talks are potentially still ongoing.

A siren sounded throughout Israel at 10 am, marking Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. We learn about Holocaust survivor and partisan Dr. Hanan Karshai, who recently died in Jerusalem, aged 98.

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

Discussed articles include:

IDF calls on Palestinians to evacuate eastern Rafah ahead of planned offensive

Gallant to US defense chief Austin: Israel has ‘no choice’ over Rafah operation after deadly Hamas barrage

3 soldiers killed, 11 hurt inside Israel by Hamas rocket attack from Rafah

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. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Palestinians hold leaflets dropped by Israeli planes calling on them to evacuate ahead of an Israeli military operation in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
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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 211 of the war with Hamas. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Iman Zareb, a senior figure in the Iran-backed group’s Rafah Brigade, was killed along with two other Islamic Jihad fighters in an Israeli bombardment on a “hideout apartment” in Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet Security Service said yesterday in a joint statement. We hear more about Zareb and what his terrorist organization's role was on October 7 and until now.

An officer in police’s elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit was seriously wounded and five Palestinian gunmen, members of a terror cell, were killed Saturday during a 12-hour raid in the West Bank town of Dayr al-Ghusun. Fabian explains the goals of the raid and how it was carried out.

Elyakim Libman, 23, an Israeli who was thought to have been abducted by Hamas during the October 7 attacks, was declared dead Friday after his body was found in Israel. We learn how this identification was made, and what led to his murder.

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday announced the promotion of five generals as part of a series of appointments in the General Staff — a forum of senior commanders responsible for the various branches and departments of the military — including the next head of intelligence. As expected, there has been a lot of blowback, both from families of victims and hostages and from politicians.

On Wednesday, Channel 12 news reported that nearly all of the army’s posts along the border with the Gaza Strip failed a routine inspection carried out just three days before Hamas’s October 7 onslaught. Fabian weighs in on why this is troubling, but not exactly a comparable test of the base's readiness that October 7 proved to be.

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

Discussed articles include:

Islamic Jihad commander who led Oct. 7 assault on Sufa killed in Rafah strike — IDF

5 Palestinian gunmen killed, Israeli officer seriously hurt in 12-hour West Bank op

Remains of Elyakim Libman, presumed a hostage since Oct. 7, found in Israel

IDF appoints new intel chief, promotes 4 other generals, despite far-right opposition

Father of soldier killed on Oct. 7 to petition appointment of new IDF intel chief

Report: Many IDF posts on Gaza border failed inspections in days before Oct. 7

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. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Elyakim Libman, security guard at the Supernova desert rave who was murdered on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)
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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 211 of the war with Hamas. US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

After a day filled with a flurry of optimistic headlines surrounding the proposed hostage release deal, Taher Nunu, a Hamas official and advisor to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, said meetings in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators have begun and Hamas is dealing with their proposals “with full seriousness and responsibility.” However, he reiterated the terror group’s demand that any deal should include an Israeli pullout from Gaza and an end to the war, conditions that Israel has previously rejected. With no real movement on either side, why the media storm?

Qatar is prepared to accept a request from the US for it to expel Hamas’s leaders from Doha and is anticipating one could be made soon, a source familiar with the matter told Magid. If expelled, to where is the terror organization expected to relocate?

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a DC event that whatever one thinks of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the current government, “what’s important to understand is that much of what he’s doing is not simply a reflection of his politics or his policies; it’s actually a reflection of where a large majority of Israelis are in this moment.” We discuss how this stance is starkly different than previous takes by the Biden administration.

Magid reported onsite from anti-Israel protests at several Chicago area high schools and universities this week. We hear what shocked him.

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

Discussed articles include:

Hamas indicates it may agree to deal; Israeli official insists truce won’t end the war

Qatar anticipating US request to expel Hamas leaders, is open to doing so — source

Blinken says Netanyahu’s handling of war reflects views of ‘a large majority of Israelis’

Gaza campus protests spread to Chicago high schools, alarming Jewish students

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. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Campus police stand between demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian, abti-Israel encampment on the campus of the University of Chicago and counter demonstrators after a brief skirmish between the groups on May 3, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP)
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