Daily Briefing July 29: Day 662 – PM vows more aid to Gaza amid talk of siege, annexation

Times of Israel editor David Horovitz discusses mixed signals from Netanyahu on the humanitarian crisis, truce talks, postwar Gaza

With:
  • Jessica Steinberg
    Jessica Steinberg

    Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel’s culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center

  • David Horovitz
    David Horovitz

    David Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel. He is the author of “Still Life with Bombers” (2004) and “A Little Too Close to God” (2000), and co-author of “Shalom Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin” (1996). He previously edited The Jerusalem Post (2004-2011) and The Jerusalem Report (1998-2004).

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 for today’s episode.

Key aspects of the day-to-day situation in Gaza remain unclear, says Horovitz, with the lack of independent journalism in Gaza continuing to fog the narrative. For the moment, Israel has reversed its policy on aid to Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s two far-right coalition members, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, not invited to the cabinet meeting that approved this.

Horovitz discusses the mixed signals and strategic incoherence of the government, with the supply of more aid into Gaza getting underway at the same time as unsourced reports say the army has proposed a tightened siege in the Strip and the government itself is weighing the occupation of all of Gaza and/or the annexation of some of it if a hostage-truce deal cannot be finalized.

Horovitz also discusses a wave of European recommendations to exclude Israel from academic projects, plus instances of Israeli tourists requiring security assistance in various EU locations, amid the rising tide of criticism against Israel.

Israeli and US negotiators are no longer in Doha, with both countries having characterized Hamas’s response to the latest proposal as unacceptable, even as Hamas claims it is surprised by this assessment.

Horovitz says Israel’s overall strategy is incoherent, including Netanyahu’s continued endorsement of US President Donald Trump’s original February call to relocate all Gazans, which the US leader is no longer highlighting.

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

For further reading:

How Israel made itself responsible for Gaza, and for all the death, hunger and destruction there

PM says Israel will ensure lots of Gaza aid; ministers said to mull occupation, annexation

‘You can’t fake that’: Trump sees ‘real starvation’ in Gaza, says Israel must do more

Image of Gazan child with genetic illness being used to falsely smear Israel, COGAT charges

Smotrich signals he won’t bolt coalition despite objecting to Gaza humanitarian aid

EU proposes cutting Israeli access to research funds over Gaza humanitarian crisis

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.

Check out yesterday’s episode here:

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