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 the latest escalation in the north, following two waves of Hezbollah device explosions this week, and the decision by the government and IDF to send more troops to the northern border.

He also describes the Shin Bet arrest of an older Israeli man, discovered to have traveled to Iran in a plot to kill the prime minister, defense minister or the head of the Shin Bet.

Horovitz reviews the Wednesday night Channel 12 report alleging that the prime minister had been working since December to torpedo a possible hostage deal for political reasons, and also delves into the collapse of the end-of-November hostage deal.

He also discusses why Netanyahu would want to swap his current defense minister, Yoav Gallant, during a war, for another political foe, MK Gideon Sa'ar, who has no specific defense background.

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

Discussed articles include:

Gallant says IDF diverting resources to northern border in ‘new phase’ of war

20 killed, 450 wounded as Lebanon hit by 2nd wave of Hezbollah device explosions

Hungary: Exploding pagers weren’t made here, linked firm acted as trade intermediary

Will the pager operation deter Hezbollah and Iran, and is Israel prepared for war if not?

Israeli recruited by Iran in plot to kill Netanyahu, Gallant or Shin Bet head Bar

Ex-defense minister Ya’alon was target of Hezbollah bomb attack in Tel Aviv last year

Report: Nov. truce collapsed because Hamas falsely claimed women set for release were dead

Netanyahu, don’t fire Gallant again: The first was a tragedy, the second could be worse

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.

IMAGE: IDF evacuates civilians injured by missile fired from Lebanon, in the Ramim Cliff area on September 19, 2024 (Photo by Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

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