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 in ToI's Jerusalem office for today's episode.

The commander of the Israel Defense Force’s 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Ehsan Daqsa, was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. We hear about Daqsa, 41, from the Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel, who was one of the most senior officers to have been killed in the fighting in Gaza.

Yesterday, Fabian spent several hours in Rafah, where he was debriefed by Col. Sivan Bloch -- the head of Bislamach, the School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders -- who stressed that the elimination of Yahya Sinwar by a patrol under his command was “not a stroke of luck.” We hear why.

The IDF said jets hit dozens of sites overnight that are linked to an organization that funds the Hezbollah terror group in Beirut and south Lebanon. We learn about the strikes' targets: branches of an unlicensed gray-market bank seen as one of the group’s main sources of cash.

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

Discussed articles include:

Commander of IDF’s 401st Armored Brigade killed in battle in northern Gaza

At site of Sinwar’s slaying, IDF commander says incident was ‘not a fluke’

Blasts rock Beirut as Israeli sorties target financial group helping fund Hezbollah

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: The house where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by troops, in southern Gaza’s Rafah, October 20, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

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