Day 709 - IDF paves the way for imminent Gaza City ground op
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 14 September 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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 correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s episode.
On Tuesday, Israel targeted leaders from the Hamas terror group gathering in Qatar who were reportedly there to discuss a new ceasefire proposal put forward by Trump’s administration. Yesterday, Netanyahu appeared to acknowledge that the missile strike had failed to kill the targeted leaders. Fabian brings us new information on how the strike was carried out.
Following an evacuation warning, the IDF says it struck a high-rise tower in Gaza City that was being used by Hamas. Just after recording time, two more 10- to 15-story buildings were demolished, in each case after civilians were warned by the IDF to evacuate. We learn about why the IDF is targeting these buildings and how they are taken down.
A drone launched by the Houthis in Yemen was intercepted by Israeli air defenses near Ramon Airport in southern Israel this morning. Last week, a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthis evaded air defenses and smashed into the Ramon Airport terminal. Fabian speaks about the Houthis’ new targeting tactic and its results so far.
Israeli soldiers raided the home of Palestinian activist and Oscar-winning director Basel Adra in the southern West Bank yesterday after two Israelis were injured by stone throwing in the area, according to the military. Adra told The Associated Press that before the army raid, Israeli settlers had attacked his village of at-Tuwani, injuring two of his brothers and one cousin. Fabian discusses how these “he said-he said” attacks are all too common.
To close the program, we turn to last week’s violent terror attacks in Jerusalem and Kibbutz Tzuba. Fabian explains how intensive IDF efforts in the West Bank have brought attacks of this nature to almost zero — but that there is a steep price to be paid.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
IDF says 280,000 Gaza City residents have left; high-rise said used by Hamas hit in strike
IDF downs Yemen missile aimed at Tel Aviv; Houthis claim it had cluster bomb warhead
West Bank home of Basel Adra, activist and Oscar-winning director, raided by IDF
IDF seals homes of Palestinian terrorists behind deadly Jerusalem shooting
Two wounded, one seriously, in terror stabbing at hotel west of Jerusalem
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IMAGE: IDF strikes leveling mid-rise buildings in Gaza City on September 10, 2025. (Screencapture/STRINGER/AFPTV/AFP)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing. |
| 0:06.0 | Today is Sunday, September 14th, Day 709 of the war. |
| 0:11.0 | Amanda Borsel Dan here with our military correspondent, Emmanuel Fabian. |
| 0:15.0 | Hi, Manny. |
| 0:16.0 | Thanks for joining me today. |
| 0:17.0 | Hi, Amanda. |
| 0:18.0 | Manny will update us with more information on the Israel Air Force strike in Doha last week |
| 0:23.3 | and how it was carried out. We'll hear about what is happening on the ground in Gaza City and the |
| 0:29.0 | IDF's reasons and processes for taking down a series of 10 to 12-story buildings there ahead of the |
| 0:35.7 | expected wide-scale operation. |
| 0:38.7 | We'll hear about the Houthi's recent activity and what is going on in the West Bank |
| 0:43.1 | in light of the uptick of violent and deadly terror attacks in Israel. |
| 0:48.1 | All of this and more when we're back. |
| 0:58.8 | You say the story of Zionism has been stolen and rewritten by others. |
| 1:01.5 | Let's just be very clear about what's going on campus. |
| 1:03.9 | Very little of this, I think, is actual criticism. |
| 1:07.0 | It is an attempt to rewrite the Zionist story. |
| 1:12.4 | This narrative has the same themes that we've seen for 2,000 years. On identity crisis, |
| 1:17.2 | a podcast from the Shalom Hartman Institute host to Euda Kurtzer talks with author Sarah Hurwitz about shame, assimilation, and what it takes to reclaim the Jewish story. Your aspiration is that |
| 1:22.8 | we become uncool knowing Jews. Actually knowing the profound, brilliant, challenging, humane wisdom behind |
| 1:30.5 | all of these rituals and traditions will make you want to do them. Here's the full conversation |
| 1:35.6 | on Identity Crisis, a podcast from the Shalom Hartman Institute creating better Jewish conversations |
... |
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