Daily Briefing Aug. 5 – Inside Israel’s fortifications on the Gaza Yellow Line

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 correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s episode.

WATCH the full episode here:

In his first public comments on the matter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel has not agreed to the Board of Peace’s Hamas disarmament plan, which was accepted by the terror group last week, and will not withdraw behind the Yellow Line in Gaza until the terror group has laid down its arms. Fabian explains what the Yellow Line is and how it has shifted since the ceasefire began in October.

An investigation by the Israel Defense Forces into last month’s deadly clash in the West Bank village of Tell has found that the hike by Israeli settlers in the area was not coordinated or approved by the army, and that officers did not respond to an ensuing clash with Palestinians with sufficient manpower. Fabian brings more conclusions and operational failures.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday that IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, the army’s top officer in the West Bank, is “performing his duties well.” This is only news in light of Katz’s comments on national TV the night before. Fabian unravels this knotty issue.

Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Netanyahu says Israel ‘didn’t agree’ to Board of Peace’s terms for disarming Hamas

After dissing IDF West Bank chief, announcing replacement on live TV, Katz now says he’s doing ‘well,’ isn’t ousted

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

Check out yesterday’s episode here: