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. Political correspondent Sam Sokol joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's show. Sokol discusses the political machinations in the Knesset as voting over the 2025 budget leads National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and several ultra-Orthodox parties to threaten to oppose the bill, given some of the planned cuts. While Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have banded together in the past over their political aspirations, the two have been at odds for some time, which could possibly lead to a break in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, explains Sokol. Sokol reviews the further political dramas that played out on Tuesday in the Knesset, as Netanyahu, recovering from a successful prostate removal surgery at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, was forced to leave his hospital bed and return to the Knesset, in order to cast a decisive vote on the budget law, and thwart Ben Gvir. Another Knesset member, Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, who was in the midst of the seven-day mourning period for his mother, was also pushed to leave the shiva and come to the Knesset and vote in favor of the bill. Sokol also offers a brief description of the fragment of a Houthi missile that landed in his Beit Shemesh neighborhood late Monday night. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: PM leaves hospital to cast decisive vote on a budget law, thwarting Ben Gvir revolt Coalition factions threaten to vote against key budget bill over cuts, Haredi draft In rare cross-aisle cooperation, MKs back bill to penalize ministers who snub oversight IDF downs ballistic missile from Yemen as sirens heard across central Israel 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: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a vote at the plenum of the Knesset in Jerusalem, on December 31, 2024. (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/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. Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is recovering after a successful prostate removal surgery at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem on Sunday. The premier was moved to an underground, fortified recovery ward where he is expected to spend several days under observation amid fears he could be targeted by rocket or missile fire during the ongoing war. What do we know about Netanyahu's health moving forward? Netanyahu held a high-level meeting during which he told those present that Israel will resume fighting after a hostage deal, if one comes about, according to a Channel 12 report. Horovitz discusses the fraught ongoing hostage talks and reports that Hamas has changed the number of hostages that will be released in any potential first phase. Jimmy Carter, the longest-lived American president, died on Sunday at the age of 100. We hear how Carter is remembered in Israel and how the issue that toppled his presidency -- Iran -- is increasingly resonant for the United States. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Netanyahu stays in the hospital Monday night after prostate surgery Report: Alarming hostage negotiators, PM says Israel should be upfront about plan to resume war after deal Hamas said willing to free only 22 of 34 living hostages demanded by Israel in deal PM on Carter’s death: Israel-Egypt peace treaty ‘offers hope for future generations’ ‘He will rot in hell’: Iranians remember Jimmy Carter as ‘architect of sanctions’ 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: Former US president Jimmy Carter holds a copy of his book, 'Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid,' at a book signing in Tempe, Arizona, December 12, 2006. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)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. Arab Affairs reporter Gianluca Pacchiani and reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show. Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke on Al Arabiya and gave a glimpse of his plans for the country, including divulging that holding elections in Syria could take up to four years and that drafting a new constitution could take up to three years. Pacchiani weighs in. For the past week and more, swaths of Israelis from many parts of the country have found themselves seeking shelter in the middle of the night as the Houthis continue their campaign of projectiles, vowing to continue their attacks on Israel “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.” We hear when they rose to power — and how? Sweden-based Yemeni activist Luai Ahmed, 31, has become something of a celebrity in Israel and he comes by it genetically, it seems: After fleeing Sanaa in 2014, Ahmed, who is openly gay, received refugee status in Sweden and later acquired Swedish citizenship. But his family still lives between Yemen and Egypt, and his mother, Amal Basha, is one of the most prominent women’s rights advocates in Yemen. We hear about Ahmed. Surkes has done a deep dive into Israeli international aid organizations and has discovered that their funding has dried up for two main reasons: antisemitism -- people don't want to give to a Zionist body -- and patriotism -- funders prefer to donate to a group doing work inside Israel proper. She explains why. The Energy Ministry has identified geological formations capable of holding 10 million tons of carbon dioxide a year and kickstarting a carbon storage industry worth an annual estimated NIS 1 billion ($275 million). Surkes is cautiously optimistic. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Syrian leader: New elections could take up to 4 years, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will be dissolved ‘Houthis are simply insane’: In Tel Aviv, Yemeni activist explains current conflict Energy Ministry: Geological formations could store 10 million tons of CO₂ annually 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: Syria's new leader and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) chief Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) receives Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (Andriy Sybiga) in Damascus on December 30, 2024. (Bakr Alkasem / AFP)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. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show. Some 240 suspected terror operatives were detained during the operation against Hamas at northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, including the medical center’s director and 15 terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel. Fabian sheds light on the operation, which involved the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit. Israeli air defenses on Saturday intercepted two rockets fired from Gaza’s Beit Hanoun toward the Jerusalem area, an increasingly rare occurrence after nearly 15 months of war. The IDF said both rockets were successfully intercepted, with no injuries or damage reported. Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck the launchers used by the Palestinian terrorists. We hear what surprised Fabian about this rocket attack. Air defenses intercepted a missile fired from Yemen that triggered sirens in the Jerusalem, southern West Bank and Dead Sea areas early Saturday morning, the military said, in the sixth such overnight attack on the center of the country in less than two weeks. Along with Israel's defense array, the Thaad system was used for the second time, after its use early Friday morning. Fabian explains how it complements Israel's air defense systems. Fabian was deep in the Gaza Strip last week and writes that everything the Israel Defense Forces has established in the Netzarim Corridor is reportedly temporary, "But the reality on the ground in this zone bisecting the Gaza Strip indicates that the IDF will remain here for the foreseeable future." In the second half of the program, we discuss the massive zone and the more than a dozen small military outposts stationed there. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: IDF completes raid on north Gaza hospital, says some 240 terror suspects arrested IDF intercepts rare 2 long-range rockets fired from Gaza at Jerusalem area IDF downs missile from Yemen as sirens blare in Jerusalem, Dead Sea area In Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, IDF establishes temporary bases for an indefinite stay 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: Inside an IDF forward operating base in the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip, December 26, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.