Day 331 - Israel shattered as 6 murdered hostages' bodies recovered

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 episode. The bodies of six hostages abducted alive by Hamas on October 7 were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah a few days ago, shortly after they were murdered by terrorists, the Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday. They were named as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lubnov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27. We learn about the operation to recover their bodies and what we know about the killings of the six. Late last week, the IDF announced it had wrapped up a three-week operation in the southern Gaza Strip and also that the Hamas terror group’s Rafah Brigade had “collapsed” as a result of the Israel Defense Forces’s ongoing offensive in the city. What is the current status of the Hamas brigades and the location of the fighting on the ground? A health official said Saturday that a polio vaccination campaign had begun in Gaza after the war-torn territory recorded its first case of the disease in a quarter of a century. The campaign involves two doses and aims to cover over 640,000 children under age 10. How are these temporary pauses in fighting being carried out? Three Israeli police officers were killed in a shooting attack in the southern West Bank on Sunday morning. The attack came after terrorists on Saturday detonated two car bombs in the southern West Bank’s Gush Etzion settlement bloc. Two soldiers were lightly and one moderately hurt in the explosions. Fabian describes the two terror incidents. Last week, the military launched an ongoing counterterrorism operation in several West Bank cities. Fabian updates us on the operation's achievements so far and describes what cooperation the IDF is seeing with the Palestinian Authority. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Bodies of 6 hostages, murdered by Hamas just days ago, found in Rafah – IDF IDF wraps up 3-week raid in south Gaza; 250 gunmen killed, 6 km of tunnels destroyed IDF: Hamas’s Rafah Brigade has collapsed, 80% of border tunnels neutralized Polio vaccination campaign begins in Gaza, health officials say 3 cops killed in southern West Bank shooting attack; IDF pursuing gunmen 2 car bombs detonate in coordinated West Bank attacks; terrorists killed by troops Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Zev Levi. IMAGE: Pictures of 107 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are displayed by their families and friends as they protest outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, Auguest 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.