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.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
After a Bethlehem family was shot in their car Friday evening by an IDF soldier, killing a seven-month-old baby and critically injuring his mother, Magid discusses the army's reaction and its hesitation to take disciplinary action in the current political climate, following a recent coalition uproar over similar incidents involving soldiers' questionable actions.
As images emerge of masked settlers riding in on white pickup trucks on Shabbat to attack Palestinians in the village of Huwara, Magid discusses reactions from opposition politicians who called for the IDF to move quickly and take a far harder line in controlling the situation in the West Bank.
Magid also reports on his experience observing the activists taking part in Protective Presence, an Israeli initiative to protect Palestinians in the West Bank, as they joined a Bedouin community that has been repeatedly expelled and attacked by Jewish settlers.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
IDF soldier fires at vehicle in Hebron, killing 7-month-old baby and wounding his parents
9 Palestinians wounded in settler rampage in Huwara; IDF soldier seen beating man
1 lightly hurt as Palestinian car hits settlers who blocked West Bank road and hurled stones
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzhak Ledee.
IMAGE: US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI / Flash90)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.
Lt. Col. (res) Sarit Zehavi joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
This week, Hezbollah resumed striking Israel soon after an announcement out of DC that the Jewish state and Lebanon had agreed on Wednesday to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which the terrorist group would be banned.
From her vantage point, only 10 km from the northern border, Zehavi, the head of the Alma Research and Education Center, explains how this plan was unrealistic from the start: Hezbollah is not going to willingly vacate its territory and the Lebanese army -- many of whose members openly support Hezbollah -- is not the force to uproot the terrorist group from southern Lebanon.
Zehavi gives us an overview of the options on the table -- none of them good -- and hypothesizes that the only way Hezbollah will be driven out of Lebanon is if the government takes a principled stance and risks civil war.
And finally, Zehavi, a member of Forum Devora, speaks about how the organization is promoting the equal representation of women in key decision-making positions in the fields of national security and foreign policy.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Rockets, drones trigger warnings in north after Hezbollah rejects Lebanon ceasefire proposal
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.
Israel and Lebanon agreed on Wednesday to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah terrorists would be banned. This comes as the US House, for the first time, approved a war powers resolution that would halt the US military action against Iran, even as the US is still negotiating a permanent ceasefire with the Islamic Regime. Horovitz unwinds the storm of headlines from the US and speaks about the relationship between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox extremists smashed windows and caused property damage while trying to break into Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg’s house during a riot Wednesday night, in the latest such violent demonstration targeting law enforcement over the arrest of Haredi draft dodgers. Sohlberg’s wife, Meira, said to reporters outside her vandalized home. “Look at this devastation; it’s a pogrom. What is this, Kristallnacht?” Horovitz weighs in on what led up to this smashing of a societal red line.
Lawmakers voted 61-57 in the Knesset on Wednesday to elect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, Michael Rabello, as state comptroller in a controversial do-over vote marred by accusations that illegal pressure tainted the election. Can Rabello freely criticize the government of his former client? We get Horovitz's take.
And finally, Horovitz narrates a troubling conversation he held this week -- with AI.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Israel and Lebanon agree to renew truce, create ‘pilot’ zones where Hezbollah is banned
US House backs symbolic resolution aiming to halt Iran war, in rebuke of Trump
Netanyahu downplays row with Trump, says he and US leader agree on the ‘main things’
‘A pogrom’: Haredi rioters smash windows, damage home of deputy Supreme Court chief
Netanyahu forces through election of his lawyer as state comptroller amid tainted vote
Google’s Gemini AI admits it is unfit for purpose: ‘You should not trust a single thing I say’
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Ariela Karmel joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
An overnight Knesset session ended early Tuesday with first readings of a bill that calls for dissolution of the Knesset, as well as of two controversial pieces of legislation that would split and weaken the role of the attorney general, reports Karmel. She puts the latter bills in context of the broader war the government has long waged against the judiciary.
A meeting on aid for the Hezbollah-battered north of Israel was tied to a bill by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that would increase tax benefits for West Bank settlements, and Karmel notes that the discussion ended once again without the much-needed financial aid for the north being approved. The aid was finally okayed on Tuesday.
Karmel also reviews the harrowing images of far-right lawmakers disrupting a Knesset event on settler violence against Palestinians, with the MKs posting videos of their antics on social media to boost their image with voters.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Legislation to split and weaken role of attorney general passes first Knesset reading
Funds for war-torn north delayed as Smotrich forges ahead with tax breaks for settlements
Coalition MKs disrupt Knesset event on violence against Palestinians, threaten attendees
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Political correspondent Ariela Karmel joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI / Flash90)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.
Israel and Lebanon were set to hold a fresh round of talks between their ambassadors to the US on Tuesday, as Hezbollah continued to target Israeli troops in Lebanon and fresh IDF strikes were reported. The talks come as US President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that Washington had brokered a fresh truce between Israel and Hezbollah, after the one reached in April unraveled in recent days.
Magid weighs in on US-Israeli relations after Trump reportedly fumed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Monday call, calling the premier “fucking crazy” and telling him that everyone “hates Israel.” He demanded Israel agree to a ceasefire with the Hezbollah terror group, and US officials were quoted as saying Trump told Netanyahu that he has kept him out of prison, an apparent reference to Trump’s repeated public demand that Israeli President Isaac Herzog pardon the prime minister, who is in the midst of a lengthy corruption trial.
We hear how Gulf states are handling the Iran war after Kuwait’s military said its air defenses responded to an “enemy” attack on Thursday.
Gaza mediators were set to renew disarmament talks with Hamas in Egypt on Thursday and were considering alternatives to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, two Arab diplomats involved in the process told The Times of Israel.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Hezbollah and IDF trade fire despite nominal truce as Lebanon-Israel talks to resume
Trump announces fresh Lebanon truce as Netanyahu appears to call off Beirut strikes
Trump said to yell at Netanyahu: ‘You’re f**king crazy. You’d be in prison if not for me’
Ceasefire rattled as Iran targets 4 ships at Hormuz, US fires on Iran, which then targets US base
Gaza mediators to resume Hamas disarmament talks in Egypt looking to unblock impasse
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.