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.

Horovitz speaks about recent comments made by Defense Minister Israel Katz on the IDF remaining in Gaza as a way to reiterate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s positioning in the current ceasefire negotiations.

He also discusses what’s being said about a possible hostage deal and progress on some kind of three-phase deal no longer conditioned by Hamas to seek Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, thus given a clear softening of Hamas’s position.

Horovitz discusses the latest in Netanyahu’s government coalition, which was able to pass budget legislation even when Otzma Yehudit’s leader, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, voted against parts of the budget legislation in a show of defiance and disagreement over the judicial overhaul.

Horovitz also reviews what’s being said by Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani, a known fighter with a US bounty on his head, even though he speaks about his desire to build a better country. Syria is an unknown quantity at the moment, explains Horovitz.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Katz said to tell MKs hostage-truce deal ‘closer than ever,’ echoing Hamas optimism

Trump says he’s ‘trying to help very strongly’ to bring hostages home

Otzma Yehudit votes against state budget, as coalition splits over bid to fire AG

Syrian Islamist leader says rebel groups to be disbanded, minority rights protected

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.