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.

With the return to Israel of the three most recently released hostages, several hostages’ families are receiving the first signs of life from their loved ones. Horovitz discusses the heartbreaking descriptions shared by hostage Alon Ohel’s mother, Idit Ohel, on the Sunday night news. Ohel broke down crying as she described her son’s injuries and the abuse he has undergone, which are now known to the family because her son was held with Or Levy and Eli Sharabi, who were released Saturday. She also raged at the selection process that determined who gets to be one of the 33 hostages set to be released in the first part of the deal.

More from The Daily Briefing

Horovitz talks about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s return home to Israel, where he and his cabinet summarily postponed the discussion of convening a state commission of inquiry into the failures that led to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, which critics say is for fear the findings of such a commission could cause his government to fall.

Horovitz also reviews Netanyahu’s reactions to US President Donald Trump’s ideas about the Gaza Strip, a plan that the prime minister seemingly didn’t know about before arriving in the US last week, and how Trump’s support of Israel is pushing Netanyahu forward on his goals in Gaza.

Please see today’s ongoing live blog for more updates.

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.

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