Day 738 - Emotional split screen as 20 hostages return home, Trump visits
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 13 October 2025
⏱️ 22 minutes
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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.
All 20 living hostages were released in two stages this morning. Fabian speaks about their releases and their status. We hear about some of the more well-known faces among them and how they are faring today.
Shortly before releasing them, the Hamas terror group on Monday morning orchestrated video calls between some of the living hostages and their families, who were anxiously awaiting their return.
As we recorded just ahead of the Simhat Torah holiday in Israel, US President Donald Trump had just finished a long and colorful speech to the Knesset, in which, among other statements, he firmly announced the end of the Gaza War. Fabian summarizes Israel's losses and wounded in the war.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Hamas stages video calls between hostages, families in lieu of handover ceremonies
‘You hero’: Emotional videos show returned hostages reuniting with their families
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.
IMAGE: People hold Israeli flags in celebration after the arrival of freed hostages at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, Israel, following their release from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, October 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing. |
| 0:06.4 | Today is Monday, October 13th, day 738 of the war. |
| 0:11.7 | Amanda Borchelle Dan here with our military correspondent, Emmanuel Fabian, on this historic day. |
| 0:18.1 | Hi, Mannie. |
| 0:19.1 | Hi, Amanda. |
| 0:20.1 | Thanks so much for joining me. Now, as we're recording, U.S. President |
| 0:23.7 | Donald Trump has just finished a landmark speech in Israel's Knesset following the release of |
| 0:29.8 | the final 20 living hostages in the Gaza Strip from Hamas captivity. So, Manny will take us through |
| 0:37.3 | their releases and what we know about their health status right now. |
| 0:40.9 | We'll talk a little bit about the mood in the country on this very emotional day and more after the break. |
| 0:53.9 | Nothing has given me such delight as the proposal to establish a Hube university in Jerusalem. |
| 0:59.6 | More than a century has passed since Albert Einstein wrote this in his diary. |
| 1:04.1 | A century of cutting-edge research and innovation at Israel's leading academic institution |
| 1:09.0 | that Einstein, alongside many other luminaries, helped establish. Join me, Gilad Halpern, for the View from Mount Scopus, a podcast series exploring the past, present and future of the Hebrew University. The View from Mount Scopus, available wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:37.3 | I'm Amanda Borschelle, Dan here with our military correspondent Emmanuel Fabian. |
| 1:42.4 | As we are recording, it's just ahead of the Simchat Torah holiday here in Israel, |
| 1:46.1 | and U.S. President Donald Trump just finished a long and extremely colorful speech in the Knesset, in which, among other statements, he firmly announced |
| 1:52.3 | the end of the Gaza War. He, during the speech, recognized many main players who brought about |
| 1:58.3 | the peace deal and joked that he was running very late for his |
| 2:01.7 | date in Egypt with Arab and Muslim country leaders. He also called on President Isaac Herzog |
| 2:08.5 | to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently on trial on corruption charges |
| 2:14.0 | and stands accused of fraud and breach of trust over a scandal involving the acceptance |
... |
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