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 on today’s episode.

Horovitz discusses ongoing spin regarding ongoing hostage negotiations, more than a year after the release of 105 hostages that took place during a brief pause in fighting in November 2023. It’s not clear if what’s being discussed would be a truce or ceasefire, says Horovitz, but Israel says it needs to know how many people Hamas would be releasing and who they are, and mutual recriminations continue without a final deal.

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He also discusses how it has become the “semi-norm” for half of Israel to dash for shelter in the middle of the night when the Houthis in Yemen fire rockets, and how complicated it would be to retaliate to this Iranian-backed organization.

Horovitz reviews his latest op-ed, about a new sense of awareness and preparedness of the IDF on the many fronts where it’s been fighting, including the unfolding situation in Syria, where it is being extremely wary and doing what it can militarily to minimize possible future risks from the new regime.

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

Israel and Hamas accuse each other of foiling hostage-ceasefire deal

IDF probe: Intel on 6 hostages murdered by Hamas was lacking; troops acted carefully

Houthis fire missile at central Israel for 4th night in past week; IDF intercepts it

Houthi drone crashes in south as terror group said to brace for major Israeli attack

Report: Mossad chief believes Israel should target Iran to get at Houthis; PM disagrees

IDF’s prewar complacency replaced by wariness on every front, proactivism where possible

Israel shifts focus to Houthis, but it needs partners to defeat distant foe

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