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.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider and reporter Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.

Israelis are on edge over the possibility of the country reaching a deal with the Hamas terror group for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. Schneider discusses the Sunday phone conversation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden regarding the negotiations. She also reviews which Israeli officials are currently in Doha, along with Steve Witkoff, US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy.

More from The Daily Briefing

Schneider says Netanyahu has also made overtures to the coalition’s hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, as the prime minister seeks to prevent the two quitting the government over their expected opposition to a deal.

Bletter talks about her visits to two northern kibbutz communities, where residents have been evacuated for more than a year and now must decide what the future holds for them.

She also discusses a Weizmann Institute study about ants’ ability to work as a team — better than their human counterparts.

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

Biden stresses ‘immediate need’ for hostage-truce deal in call with Netanyahu

Netanyahu dispatches top negotiators to Qatar talks amid push to seal hostage deal

PM to meet with Smotrich to gauge support for a potential hostage deal — report

Inside the Lebanon-border closed military zone, kibbutz members prepare to start over

Ants have more ‘group smarts’ than humans, Israeli study finds

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.