Daily Briefing Dec 9: Day 64 - Failed hostage rescue as IDF pushes into Hamas strongholds

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.

Today is day 64 of the war with Hamas. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today’s episode.

The air force, navy and ground troops continue to operate in all parts of Gaza. As of this evening, 97 soldiers have fallen in the ground operation. We begin today’s episode with a failed hostage rescue attempt overnight between Thursday and Friday in which two soldiers were seriously wounded and several Hamas abductors were killed, but no hostages were freed.

We hear updates on what is happening on the ground in Gaza, including the discovery of arms hidden inside a school’s teddy bear. Fabian also explains the widely circulated pictures of Gaza men stripped to their underwear.

We turn to the northern border and learn about IDF drone strikes in Syria.

Also, Fabian recently joined the 261st Brigade’s 8717th “Alon” Battalion, in the town of Salatin, on the outskirts of Jabaliya, in northern Gaza. We hear what he learned there.

A senior Israeli defense official was quoted in media reports that the Israeli military needs another three to four weeks to complete its current offensive in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis and a similar amount of time after that to wrap up the first stage of the war against Hamas. Fabian weighs in and explains what the next stages may look like.

For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.