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.
As pressure mounts for the Hamas terror group to lay down its arms, we take a minute to focus on the terrorists' military capabilities and current activities.
Hamas has still not returned all the bodies of the hostages. Before the weekend, Israel returned the bodies of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza as part of an ongoing exchange deal after Hamas handed over the bodies of two hostages, 84-year-old Amiram Cooper and 25-year-old Sahar Baruch. The subsequent Hamas transfer, however, did not proceed smoothly. Fabian fills us in.
Four members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Saturday night, a day after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of responding to its offer to negotiate by intensifying its airstrikes. Fabian weighs in on whether his accusations hold water.
The military’s top lawyer, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, announced her resignation from the Israel Defense Forces on Friday, acknowledging that she had approved the leaking of a surveillance video from the Sde Teiman detention facility, which purported to show soldiers severely abusing a Palestinian detainee last year. We go through the timeline of this complicated scandal that is shaking the IDF to its core.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Partial remains handed over by Hamas are not of hostages, Israeli authorities assess
US military publishes drone video of Hamas looting aid truck in Gaza
IDF says strike in south Lebanon killed four elite Hezbollah operatives
Lebanon accuses Israel of responding to negotiation offer by ‘intensifying’ attacks
US envoy: Lebanon a ‘failed state,’ is unlikely to be able to forcibly disarm Hezbollah
IDF’s top lawyer quits; says she approved leak of detainee abuse video
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IMAGE: Members of the Qassam Brigades control crowds in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, October 28, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)
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