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.
US President Donald Trump unexpectedly announces an extension of the truce with Iran hours before the April 22 deadline, reports Magid, adding that the president's recent spate of muddled messaging hasn't helped matters. Magid notes that a divide within the Iranian leadership is slowing decision-making, as it continues to play hardball.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee heads to the US for a second round of Israel-Lebanon talks that appear to have some momentum, says Magid, but will require the ability of the Lebanese government to crack down on Hezbollah if any real progress is to be made.
Magid notes that the April 11 deadline set by the Board of Peace for Hamas to respond to the disarmament deal has passed. Hamas doesn't want to be blamed for the collapse of talks, says Magid, but the Board of Peace is still aiming for a phased disarmament.
Finally, Magid reports on another deadly incident in the central West Bank village in which two Palestinians were killed, allegedly shot by an IDF reservist from the Hagmar regional defense unit.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
In major about-face, Trump announces extension of Iran truce hours before deadline
Vance reportedly set to depart for Pakistan, but still unclear if Iran will join talks
New round of Israel-Lebanon talks set for Thursday as US said trying to extend truce
‘They’re not easy’: Board of Peace envoy admits Hamas disarmament talks stalled
2 Palestinians, one of them 14, killed in alleged settler attack in West Bank
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: US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing (ToI)
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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with author Rachel Goldberg-Polin.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin began writing her new book, "When We See You Again," as a way of finding some relief from her pain after she buried her son, 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was executed by his Hamas captors in August 2024, after being held captive for 330 days in a Gaza tunnel.
Goldberg-Polin speaks about the process of writing the book, urged by her husband, Jon Polin, and how the book became a kind of answer to people asking her how she was.
The bulk of the book takes place after the Goldberg-Polins buried Hersh on August 31, 2024, and is an accounting of their lives in what Goldberg-Polin terms the Before and After.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Author Rachel Goldberg-Polin joins host Jessica Steinberg for an episode of What Matters Now
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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.
Tech editor Sharon Wrobel joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As the shekel crossed the below-3-to-the-dollar threshold, its strongest level in 30 years, Wrobel notes that the shekel's strength against the dollar shows its resilience and the market's belief in the currency following the war with Iran, although it does create problems for Israeli exporters.
With Israeli airspace reopened following the ceasefire with Iran, Wrobel reports on how Israeli airlines are responding to passengers as they work at getting back to full speed.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Shekel breaks below 3 to the dollar in first since 1995; exporters warn of economy risk
Israeli airlines accused of reselling stranded customers’ seats for wartime windfall
Comptroller pans government for failing to plan for air travel turbulence during 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 Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Tech editor Sharon Wrobel joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing. (ToI)
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.
On Sunday, for the first time since hostilities with Hezbollah escalated last month during the Iran war — when the terror group resumed rocket and drone attacks on Israel — Israeli reporters were allowed by the Israel Defense Forces to enter southern Lebanon, in an escorted visit to the newly established security zone. Fabian was there and reports back on the experience of entering Lebanon and the new road infrastructure that has been laid there.
We discuss how the Israeli military is, in essence, reestablishing a security zone that it left some 26 years ago. Fabian explains why commanders say that this time around, it will not carry with it the same dangers that troops faced during the 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 1982-2000.
In the second half of the program, we turn to a briefing Fabian attended on Friday. The IDF said that it remains on high alert and ready to return to fighting in both Iran and Lebanon if the fragile ceasefires in both countries collapse or expire without an extension in the coming weeks. We also learn about the IDF's somewhat pessimistic assessment of the truces announced by US President Donald Trump.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
26 years later, IDF restores its south Lebanon security zone — with key changes
IDF on high alert amid fragile, temporary ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon
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.
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
A damning Wall Street Journal report depicts US President Donald Trump as making key decisions about the war in Iran in a slapdash manner without input from his advisers, stating he was eager for a ceasefire to address rising fuel prices.
As the ostensible end of the two-week ceasefire with Iran looms, Berman assesses five points of apparent failure on the part of the joint US and Israel conflict with Iran, including the focus on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's new position there; the percentage of missiles still available to Iran; the current strength of Iran's proxies; the uptick of Iranian-linked terror abroad and the status of the Iranian nuclear program.
We then turn our gaze to the Lebanon front, where Hezbollah was granted a reprieve from the conflict with Trump's imposed ceasefire. What are Israel's concerns -- even as this could be an opportunity for direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli leadership?
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
IDF reservist killed, nine wounded by explosive in southern Lebanon amid truce
IDF reservist killed by Hezbollah explosive in Lebanon amid truce, 3 troops hurt
Iran parliament speaker touts ‘progress’ in US talks, but Strait of Hormuz still shut
Iran reimposes Hormuz closure after US maintains blockade; IRGC gunboats fire at ships
Trump: Iran ‘got a little cute’ by blocking Hormuz again, but talks going ‘really well’
Netanyahu: ‘Road to peace’ with Lebanon begins; Trump: Israel ‘PROHIBITED’ from bombing there
Amid truce with Israel, Aoun says Lebanon to now seek ‘permanent agreements’
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.