Daily Briefing June 26: Day 264 - Landmark decision to draft Haredim, starting July 1

Legal correspondent Jeremy Sharon discusses Haredi draft ruling, famine or not in Gaza, as environmental reporter Sue Surkes looks at energy grid concerns over war with Hezbollah

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.

Legal correspondent Jeremy Sharon and environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.

Sharon discusses the landmark decision by the High Court Tuesday determining that ultra-Orthodox men are obligated to perform military service, and the required immediate draft of 3,000 yeshiva students starting July 1, as he looks at the legal issues that led to the ruling.

He also talks about a new report by the United Nations-linked Integrated Food Security Phase Classification organization, showing that there is no famine in Gaza, despite previous predictions to the contrary.

Surkes explains the latest concerns about Israel’s power grid and its susceptibility to a possible attack by Hezbollah, with Israel’s electricity companies taking a more urgent look at what can be done to offset an all-out blackout in case of war.

She also mentions a high-tech, AI-powered ‘weed wacker,’ designed to bypass pricey human labor for crops and agricultural fields.

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