Day 341 - Urine bottles show slain hostages in tunnels for weeks

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 and political reporter Tal Schneider join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Late yesterday, the IDF released a video filmed in the tunnel where hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi were executed by their captors on August 29 before being discovered by the IDF on August 31. Fabian explains what we learned from the video about the hostages’ conditions. An American peace activist who was shot dead in the West Bank last week had “with high probability” been hit by IDF troops’ mistaken gunfire, the army said Tuesday, expressing regret for the killing. What further steps are being taken? Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told foreign journalists on Monday that Hamas is no longer an organized military force in the Gaza Strip after Israel’s 11-month ongoing military campaign, sparked by the terror group’s October 7 massacre. We hear about Gallant’s assessment of Hamas’s capabilities and the need for the continued quenching of its guerrilla operations. How does that square with the IDF’s projections for the war against Hamas? On Tuesday, Gallant told troops that the IDF was shifting its focus from Gaza to the northern front and that they should prepare for a ground offensive there. Fabian describes how Gallant delivered this news to a group of soldiers. US Vice President Kamala Harris asserted that Israel has the right to defend itself after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, as Republican candidate Donald Trump accused her of “hating” the Jewish state. Schneider describes what else the two said about Israel. After the official echelons decided not to pursue a widespread investigation into the failures of October 7, an independent civilian commission of inquiry was launched. Schneider explains who and how this got off the ground and what we're hearing so far. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: IDF video shows ‘horrific conditions’ in tunnel where 6 hostages were held, executed IDF regrets ‘indirect and unintended’ fire that likely killed US woman in West Bank Gallant: Hamas as ‘military formation’ in Gaza is gone, IDF focus shifting to north IDF hits Hezbollah launchers after rocket fire; Gallant to troops: Prepare for ground op At debate, Harris backs Israel’s right to self defense; Trump says she ‘hates Israel’ Witness: For years before Oct. 7, ‘PM told me he’d never order IDF to topple Hamas’ Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves. IMAGE: This image released by the IDF on September 10, 2024, shows bottles filled with urine and a makeshift toilet inside of a tunnel in southern Gaza's Rafah where six Israeli hostages were murdered by Hamas terrorists (Israel Defense Forces) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.