Daily Briefing Mar 14: Day 160 – General’s mic drop as Blinken gives IDF new ‘orders’
Editor David Horovitz on Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus’s passionate off-script remarks, the disunion of National Unity, US secretary of state’s priorities in Gaza and a missed Oscar moment
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleWelcome 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 160 of the war with Hamas. Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in our Jerusalem office for today’s episode.
Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus, the commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ 98th Division, went off script yesterday during a briefing near the Gaza border and addressed Israel’s leadership. What did he say and how were his remarks received?
The National Unity wing of the coalition is no longer united: On Tuesday evening, MK Gideon Sa’ar, the leader of the right-wing New Hope party, unexpectedly announced he was breaking off from the National Unity faction and dissolving his alliance with Minister Benny Gantz. Horovitz weighs in.
Yesterday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a a virtual meeting with ministers from Britain, Cyprus, the European Union, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on a new maritime corridor for aid into Gaza, after which he told reporters that protecting and aiding Palestinian civilians must be “job number one” for Israel in the Gaza Strip. How does this jibe with Israel’s two stated goals of the war — dismantling Hamas and bringing home the hostages?
The IDF said Wednesday it plans to direct a significant portion of the 1.4 million displaced Gazans in Rafah toward “humanitarian islands” in the center of the territory, ahead of a planned operation in the southern Gazan city. Horovitz explains what little we know about this plan and the Rafah operation’s timing.
On Sunday night, Jonathan Glazer won an Oscar — and lost Horovitz’s respect. Glazer used his acceptance speech to deliver a very damning message to the world in which he “misidentified the root cause of the October 7 slaughter and the war.” Horovitz explains.
For the latest updates, please review The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
In rare critique, IDF general says politicians must ‘be worthy of us’
Polls show slow start for solo Sa’ar, dramatic impact for Bennett and Cohen parties
‘A statesmanlike right’: Why Gideon Sa’ar has decamped Gantz’s National Unity party
Blinken: Protecting civilians must be ‘job number one’ for Israel in Gaza
IDF: Civilians in Rafah will be evacuated to ‘humanitarian islands’ before ground op
And the Oscar for incendiary misdiagnosis of the cause of a massacre of Jews goes to…
THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas’s onslaught on Israel
THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown
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