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.
ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As the US and Iran continue talks regarding a permanent deal, Horovitz says the regime feels it has established control over the Strait of Hormuz and views the US as vulnerable.
Horovitz discusses the deal-making tendencies of Trump, a way of thinking that ultimately worked in favor of the Hamas hostage deal, but is harder to achieve with the dilemmas in Iran, with Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Following Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's recent comment that former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s decision to include the Islamist Ra’am party in his 2021-2022 government was far worse than the governmental failures tied to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, Horovitz comments on the level of political hostility and the absence of empathy among Netanyahu's government for all the bereaved Israelis and hostage families.
Finally, Horovitz reflects on the recent Golders Green stabbing attack, an iteration of the antisemitic attacks happening all over the Jewish diaspora, and how the British government has handled the situation.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
US, Iran said closing in on framework for permanent deal, as Trump renews bomb threats
Board of Peace won’t hold Israel to truce terms if Hamas doesn’t okay disarmament offer
Smotrich: Including Arab party in government ‘a thousand times’ worse than Oct. 7 failures
We’re not in the 1930s… yet
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.
IMAGE: ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI)
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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.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
US President Donald Trump says the US will be pausing the operation Project Freedom that it launched on Monday to assist vessels stuck in the Strait of Hormuz due to progress made in talks toward a permanent ceasefire with Iran. Magid parses Trump's Truth Social post announcement and updates us on statements made earlier in the day by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The US-led Board of Peace, the newly formed body tasked with overseeing the postwar management of Gaza, does not intend to hold Israel to the terms of the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire if Hamas does not accept the international panel’s framework for the terror group’s disarmament, a document obtained by Magid shows. We hear the potential implications of this new approach.
And finally, we turn to a new report on a recurring issue: The US State Department informed Congress last month that the Palestinian Authority has not ceased making payments to the families of security prisoners and slain attackers, despite reforming, and ostensibly ending, its system of cash transfers awarded in accordance with the amount of time served behind Israeli bars. Magid unravels this knotty issue.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Iran threatens Hormuz shipping, as Trump said to shelve strikes amid diplomacy
Iran ceasefire ‘not over,’ US ‘not looking for a fight,’ Hegseth says after Tehran fires on Gulf
Draft UN resolution threatens sanctions on Iran unless it opens Strait of Hormuz
Board of Peace won’t hold Israel to truce terms if Hamas doesn’t okay disarmament offer
US says PA continuing to pay security prisoners despite reformed welfare criteria
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.
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Iran fired over a dozen missiles and several drones at the United Arab Emirates on Monday, renewing attacks on the Gulf state for the first time since a fragile ceasefire took hold last month. Berman explains how US President Donald Trump really doesn't want to go back to war. But, at the same time, he might.
Lebanon’s parliament speaker said on Monday there could be no negotiations with Israel without a halt to the war that has raged on in southern Lebanon in spite of a ceasefire. Since the Iran negotiations are so intrinsically tied to the conflict in Lebanon, Berman speaks about Israel's difficult position.
In the final half of the program, we turn to the concept of "strategic independence." We hear how European leaders on Monday said that Trump’s snap decision to pull thousands of US troops out of Germany is a fresh sign that Europe must take care of its own security. And earlier this week, we heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that future defense procurement will focus on expanding Israel’s capabilities and its independence. Berman weighs in.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Iran restarts attacks on Emirates as US fights to restore traffic in Strait of Hormuz
Lebanon’s Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker: No talks with Israel until war ends
Europe seeks to ‘take charge’ of its own defense as US to cut presence of troops
Netanyahu says project to counter drone threat underway, but ‘will take time’
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yitzhak Ledee filmed and edited this episode.
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 correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war with the US and Israel, calling it unacceptable. Meanwhile, Trump said the United States would on Monday morning begin an effort to “guide” stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, which he is branding "Operation Freedom." Fabian fills us in on an IDF briefing he attended on Friday, which assessed the Iran war's achievements so far.
Amid constant tit-for-tat explosive conflict between Hezbollah and the IDF, the ceasefire doesn't exist in southern Lebanon, states Fabian. We delve into the Iranian-backed terror group's use of relatively cheap drones that are guided by fiber optic cables, making them effectively immune to electronic jamming.
US President Donald Trump’s ​plan for the Gaza Strip, which was initially embraced by Israel and Hamas, calls for Israeli troops to withdraw from the enclave and reconstruction to ⁠start as Hamas lays down its weapons. As Hamas is not showing any signs of disarming, how is the IDF preparing?
Religious Zionist rabbis from a range of institutions representing the community expressed their concern over a plan to allow women to serve with men in the Israel Defense Forces Armored Corps, with at least some vowing to instruct the students not to serve in tanks as long as that remains a possibility. Fabian delves into the recent conscription data of fighters from the haredi community versus female fighters.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Trump: Latest Iran terms unacceptable; US on Monday to start guiding ships out of Hormuz
IDF official says Iran war will be ‘one big failure’ if enriched uranium not removed
Hezbollah fires rockets at troops in Lebanon, no injuries; IDF strikes terror sites
Ministers set to discuss renewing Gaza war as Hamas refuses to disarm — report
Religious Zionist rabbis say students will not enlist in Armored Corps with women
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited 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.
Jewish world and real estate correspondent Zev Stub joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
WATCH the full episode here:

With London Jews feeling scared and angry about last week's stabbing attack of two men in Golders Green, Stub discusses the community sentiment that the government isn't doing enough to fight antisemitism, and similarities to events in Canada and Australia.
Stub reports on his trip to the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, noting that the local economy, weakened by more than two years of war, has only 60% of residents who have returned after being evacuated.
There is a need for more ultra-Orthodox housing, Stub discusses, reviewing possible government plans to create three Haredi hubs in the south and raising questions about economic viability and the various social service issues inherent in an ultra-Orthodox city.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.For further reading:
Starmer booed at site of Golders Green terror; promises to tackle antisemitism, extremism
‘The city is dead’: Israel’s north struggles to recover as war leaves uneven economic scars
Housing snapshot April 2026: Home prices continue slide, bringing yearly drop to 1.7%
Separate cities or shared space? Ministries at odds over huge Negev housing plan for Haredim
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: Jewish world and real estate correspondent Zev Stub joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing. (ToI)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.