The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

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Day 663 - Et tu, Britain? UK on the brink of recognizing Palestine
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 reporter Tal Schneider and diplomatic reporter Nava Freiberg join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that the UK would recognize a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and meets several other conditions, including recommitting to a viable peace process. This is happening while, for the past several days, high-level representatives at a UN conference have urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state. We discuss fallout to Starmer's announcement, the “New York Declaration” and which other states may follow suit in potentially recognizing Palestine this fall. In his announcement, Starmer said that Israel could forestall the recognition by reaching a ceasefire in Gaza, making clear that it will not annex the West Bank (or Gaza), and committing to a peace process that results in a two-state solution. This comes as there are increased rumors of plans to annex parts of the Gaza Strip. But are these rumors just a negotiation tactic? Schneider weighs in. At the NY two-state solution conference this week, Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, signed a declaration condemning for the first time Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023, and calling on the Palestinian terror group to release all the hostages it is holding, disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war in the Strip. Schneider and Freiberg explain that all may not be as laudable it seems. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: UK to recognize Palestinian state in Sept. unless Israel ends Gaza war, commits to peace PM says ‘obstinate’ Hamas blocking hostage deal, as he weighs annexing parts of Gaza In 1st, entire Arab League condemns Oct. 7, urges Hamas to disarm, at 2-state solution confab 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: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a statement inside No. 10 Downing Street after the cabinet was recalled to discuss the situation in Gaza, in London, July 29, 2025. (Toby Melville, Pool Photo via AP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Day 662 – PM vows more aid to Gaza amid talk of siege, annexation
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. Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode. The situation in Gaza remains incredibly problematic and unclear, says Horovitz, with a lack of independent journalism in Gaza, complicating the narrative. For the moment, Israel has reversed its policy regarding aid to Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t invite his two far-right coalition members, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the cabinet meeting discussing an increase of aid to Gaza. Horovitz discusses the mixed signals and strategic incoherence from the current government on this mix of issues. There is talk about getting aid into Gaza at the same time as unsourced reports that the army has proposed a tightened siege in the Strip, and held discussions of annexation or occupation in Gaza, offering a great deal of contradictory information, says Horovitz. Horovitz also discusses the wave of recommendations about excluding Israel from academic projects alongside instances of Israeli tourists requiring security assistance in various EU locations, amid the rising tide of criticism against Israel. People feel deeply troubled by what they are seeing and hearing about Gaza, he notes. Israeli negotiators are no longer in Doha for the ceasefire talks, although the terrorist organization Hamas has said it is trying to make this current proposal work. Horovitz says that Israel’s strategy is hard to fathom, given its insistence on military pressure in Gaza and Netanyahu’s continued endorsement of US President Donald Trump’s initial idea of helping Gazans leave, something that the US leader isn’t saying that any longer. Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: PM says Israel will ensure lots of Gaza aid; ministers said to mull occupation, annexation ‘You can’t fake that’: Trump sees ‘real starvation’ in Gaza, says Israel must do more Image of Gazan child with genetic illness being used to falsely smear Israel, COGAT charges Smotrich signals he won’t bolt coalition despite objecting to Gaza humanitarian aid EU proposes cutting Israeli access to research funds over Gaza humanitarian crisis 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 at the site of an Israeli air strike, at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on July 29, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Day 661 - Flood, not famine: Can Israel shift its Gaza aid strategy?
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. Yesterday, aircraft from Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan airdropped dozens of pallets of humanitarian aid in the northern and southern Gaza Strip. This morning, Israel says more than 120 truckloads of food aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies in the Gaza Strip on the first day of a partial pause in fighting. Berman explores how Israel's currently softened position is playing out on the global stage and compares it to previous cycles in which Israel allowed more aid into the Strip. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to press US President Donald Trump on ending “the unspeakable suffering” in Gaza when they meet at the US president’s golf resort in Scotland today, according to a Downing Street spokesperson says. The meeting at Turnberry, southwestern Scotland, comes as European countries express growing alarm at the situation in Gaza. What is Trump currently saying about the war in Gaza? Foreign Ministry director general Eden Bar-Tal summoned France’s deputy ambassador Mikaël Griffon for a reprimand at ministry headquarters in Jerusalem yesterday, over French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement last week that Paris would recognize a Palestinian state. During the dressing down, he accused France of undermining talks for a hostage release deal with Hamas, as well as future negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Berman delves into the idea that all the pressure on Israel to end the war -- and this "prize" of a state to the Palestinian people -- could harm the ceasefire negotiations and drag out the war with an emboldened Hamas. And we ask, is the UK set to follow France's example? And finally, the home of a Chabad rabbi in Dnipro was hit during a deadly Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city early Saturday. We learn about the "Shabbat miracle" that saved his family and hear what is happening with the Jewish community in Ukraine as the war marks some 1250 days. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Once again, Israel tried to restrict Gaza aid. Once again, it failed miserably Trump: Israel will ‘have to make decision’ on Gaza war, images of starvation ‘terrible’ Hundreds of rabbis demand Israel stop ‘using starvation as a weapon of war’ 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: An Israeli soldier stands next to a truck at the Kerem Shalom crossing between southern Israel and the Gaza Strip on July 27, 2025. (Carlos REYES / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Day 660 - Israel does a 180 and begins aid airdrops into Gaza
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. Israel carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza early Sunday since the start of the ongoing war against Hamas, and pledged to halt fighting in certain parts of the Strip in 10-hour stints and create safe passages for the United Nations to distribute goods to the Palestinian population. We learn what has been airdropped so far, what's on the horizon and how much aid awaits distribution along the border. Fabian reports back on his trip late last week with the IDF to Gaza City. We learn that the troops are largely "fighting infrastructure" -- tunnels and booby-trapped buildings -- and that the Hamas battalion is largely defeated. Fabian wonders if this approach will indeed lead to the release of the Israeli hostages. Law enforcement on Saturday arrested a man suspected of carrying out a car-ramming attack in central Israel last week that wounded eight IDF soldiers. Police said the suspect, named earlier as Arkan Khaled, a 27-year-old Israeli resident of Taybeh, was caught while hiding at a construction site in the town of Kfar Yona close to the Beit Lid junction where the attack occurred. Israeli forces took over a pro-Palestinian activists' boat, Handala, that was attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip on Saturday night, and towed it toward the Ashdod Port. Handala is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which also dispatched the previous boat and was carrying 19 activists and two Al Jazeera journalists. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Two IDF soldiers killed when armored vehicle hit by explosive in Khan Younis IDF reservist succumbs to wounds sustained last week in roadside explosion in Gaza IDF airdrops aid into Gaza for 1st time, vows to implement ‘pauses’ for UN deliveries Back in Gaza City again, IDF finds itself fighting ‘infrastructure,’ not terrorists Suspect in Thursday car-ramming caught at central Israel construction site IDF takes over pro-Palestinian activist boat attempting to break Gaza blockade 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: Israeli Air Force staff prepare boxes of humanitarian aid ahead of an airdrop in the Gaza Strip, July 26, 2025. (IDF)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Day 659 - Dan Ben-David: Israel's moment of truth is here
Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with leading economist Prof. Dan Ben-David. Ben-David heads the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and is a senior faculty member in the Department of Public Policy at Tel-Aviv University. Earlier this month, he wrote an op-ed in The Times of Israel with the provocative headline, "‘Just not Bibi’ is not an action plan for a national pivot." In it, he lays out the need for a complete overhaul of swaths of Israeli society and institution -- and insists that this is the pivotal moment that it must be done. “The demographic-democratic window of opportunity is closing at an exponential pace. This is the time for leaders who demonstrate that they grasp the gravity of this moment and what is required of them at the crossroads that we’ve now reached,” he wrote. We drill down into Ben-David's vision for Israel 2.0 and its four cornerstones — educational overhaul, budgetary overhaul, a change in our system of government, and a constitution. We also dive into the role that the ultra-Orthodox or Haredi community plays in implementing — or torpedoing — his vision. And so this week, we ask Dan Ben-David, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at Mount Meron during the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer, which marks the anniversary of the death of the Talmudic sage in Meron, northern Israel, on May 15, 2025. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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