Daily Briefing Mar. 17: Day 528 – What happens to security if the PM fires the Shin Bet head?

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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s Daily Briefing.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed on Monday to have attacked an American aircraft carrier group twice within 24 hours, calling it retaliation for deadly US strikes. How is Israel preparing for any retaliation as well?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar for an urgent meeting in his office yesterday evening and informed him that the cabinet would vote for his dismissal later in the week. The role of Shin Bet chief is one of the most important for Israel’s security. Fabian weighs in on how the upcoming dismissal could potentially shake the country’s deterrence or security standing and we hear who may be in the running to replace Bar.

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday detailed the identities of six Palestinian terror operatives it said were killed in airstrikes in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya on Saturday, including a terrorist who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught. According to Palestinian media, the strikes killed nine, including journalists. What is the IDF saying about these allegations?

Israeli soldiers shot dead two suspects who crossed into Israel from Jordan near the northern town of Beit She’an shortly after midnight between Thursday and Friday. The two suspects were part of a group of at least eight who were trying to cross into Israel together. We hear what we know about the group’s intentions in entering Israel.

Amid the unrest in Syria, Israeli fighter jets on Thursday struck a residential building that the military said served as a Damascus headquarters for Palestinian Islamic Jihad to plan and carry out terror activities. Fabian delves into the IDF’s current approach to nipping Palestinian terror group activities in the bud in tumultuous Syria.

The IDF has taken a platoon of reservists out of the Gaza Strip after a video posted to social media showed the troops opening fire during the reading of the Book of Esther. Yesterday, the reservists were sentenced. Does the punishment fit the crime?

This conversation can also be viewed here:

Please see today’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Houthis claim 2 attacks on USS Truman; US strikes said to target seized Israel-linked ship

Air Force on high alert for resumption of Houthi missile, drone attacks on Israel

Netanyahu says he’ll fire Shin Bet chief Bar; AG says he can’t before legal review

IDF: Oct. 7 terrorist and others ‘operating under guise of journalists’ killed in Gaza

IDF troops shoot dead two suspects trying to cross into Israel from Jordan

IDF strikes alleged Islamic Jihad nerve center in Damascus, said to be leader’s house

IDF removes reservists from Gaza over video of them shooting during Purim scroll reading

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Check out yesterday’s Daily Briefing episode here: