Daily Briefing Feb 6: Day 123 - Political acrimony may thwart PM's 'total victory' vow

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 123 of the war. Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and education reporter Gavriel Fiske join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s episode.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to fly to Egypt today as part of a Middle East crisis tour seeking a new truce and “an enduring end” to the Israel-Hamas war. However, any deal is getting huge pushback from within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid reiterated his offer to enter the government to replace the ultranationalist wing and provide support for a deal to free the hostages in Gaza. Goren explains why this isn’t a realistic option for Netanyahu.

At the same time, indications of increasingly strained relations between the prime minister and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are growing. Goren explains why.

The Israel Defense Forces will hold an early recruitment round in March of some 1,300 Israelis currently enrolled in pre-army, yeshiva, and community service programs. A new grassroots protest movement of mostly mothers is speaking out against the lack of parity between the secular and religious conscripts being called up. Fiske tells us more.

Out of some 360,000 reservists called up to the war by the IDF, an estimated 100,000 were enrolled in one of Israel’s major universities — accounting for around 30 percent of all students enrolled for the current academic year. Now that many are released from service, how are they reintegrating?

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