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 reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today’s episode.

Four IDF soldiers fell in the Gaza Strip yesterday: Cpt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, 23; Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, 20; Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri, 21; and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon, 21. We discuss how the death of Naim, a paramedic, marks the first female soldier to be killed in the ground offensive.

A massive attack against Hezbollah operatives that is being attributed to Israel saw the explosion of thousands of pagers yesterday a few hours after Israel announced an additional official war goal: getting displaced residents of the north back to their homes. Fabian fills us in on what we’re hearing from foreign reports and the possibility of retaliation.

The Shin Bet foiled a recent attempt by Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior Israeli security official using a remotely detonated explosive device, the security agency announced on Tuesday. Fabian explains how Hezbollah likely has recruits in Israel to carry out such attacks.

The Israeli military clarified on Sunday that there was no evacuation recommendation given for civilians in southern Lebanon, and that flyers dropped in the southern village of Wazzani calling on residents to leave had been distributed by a brigade commander without permission. How could this have happened?

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

Discussed articles include:

4 IDF troops killed, several hurt during fighting in southern Gaza’s Rafah

9 killed, almost 3,000 injured as vast wave of pager explosions strikes Hezbollah

Analysts say Mossad likely hid explosives in pagers before they reached Hezbollah

IDF urges vigilance as defense chiefs meet amid Hezbollah retaliation threat

Shin Bet says it foiled Hezbollah attempt to kill former top Israeli security official

After unauthorized flyers dropped, IDF says there’s no south Lebanon evacuation order

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IMAGE: Lebanese first responders carry a man who was wounded after his handheld pager exploded in an attack blamed on Israel targeting Hezbollah, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, September 17, 2024. (AP Photo)

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