Daily Briefing Nov 17: Day 42 - IDF finds bodies of two female hostages at Shifa

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Today is day 42 of the war. Political correspondent Tal Schneider and legal and settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon join host Jessica Steinberg for today’s podcast.

Schneider discusses the IDF’s discovery of the bodies of two female hostages, Yehudit Weiss and soldier Noa Marciano, based on data that was found and collected in the Shifa Hospital compound.

Sharon talks about physical assaults against Palestinians in the West Bank by some extremist settlers and IDF reservists who harass the communities, hoping to force them to leave.

Schneider looks at a poll from Channel 12, an unusual move for a wartime period, showing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s popularity has plummeted and National Unity leader Benny Gantz has taken the lead, after he entered the war cabinet “to help the country, not help Netanyahu.”

Sharon speaks about a rally planned for Tel Aviv on Saturday night calling for a ceasefire, and being allowed by police after a prolonged legal battle, but with certain limitations in place.

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