Day 741 - Is Hamas playing games with remaining hostage bodies?
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 October 2025
⏱️ 17 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.
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As Hamas announced it has handed over to Israel all the bodies of hostages it can find, Berman asks whether Hamas is playing games or whether it really can't locate the remaining 19 bodies. The prevailing thought in the cabinet is that Hamas could access more if it wanted to, and therefore Israel will slowly ramp up the pressure on Hamas -- for now, blocking the entry of reconstruction materials.
Berman also discusses the question of whether the war against Hamas has ended; Israel hasn’t declared an end and wants to keep the military threat hanging over Hamas’s head unless it moves forward with its obligations under the peace plan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was diagnosed with bronchitis on Wednesday, in the thick of his resumed corruption trial. Berman notes that the prime minister, who is about to turn 76 and is not in perfect health, had been in close contact with recently released hostages whose immune systems have been compromised.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Hamas returns bodies of hostages Tamir Nimrodi, Uriel Baruch, Eitan Levy; 4th body a Palestinian
Senior Israeli official insists Gaza war ‘not over’ until all truce phases complete
Trial hearing ends early for ill Netanyahu, who’s accused of exposing freed hostages to disease
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.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
IMAGE: With 19 deceased hostages still in Hamas captivity, in violation of the deal, protesters gathered on Begin Road in Tel Aviv to call for their release on October 15, 2025 (Credit: Adi Levi/Israeli Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel's Daily Briefing. |
| 0:06.2 | It is Thursday, October 16th, and I'm Jessica Steinberg. |
| 0:09.7 | I'm speaking today with diplomatic correspondent, Laser Berman. |
| 0:13.0 | Hey Berman, hey Berman. |
| 0:14.0 | Hey, Laser, how are you? |
| 0:16.0 | Hey, Steinberg, I'm doing well. |
| 0:18.0 | How are you? |
| 0:19.0 | Okay, doing okay. It is day 741 of the war. |
| 0:24.9 | This morning, Israel identified the latest two bodies received from Hamas as slain hostages |
| 0:30.4 | in Bar Heimann and Muhammad El-Tarash. Heimann, 27, was murdered at the Nova Festival, her body |
| 0:37.4 | taking captive, while Al-A-Trasch, 39, was murdered at the Nova Festival, her body taking captive, while Alatrash, 39, |
| 0:41.0 | a father of 13, was killed while battling terrorists in the area of Nakhl Oz on October 7th. |
| 0:48.0 | With the return of those two bodies, reaching a total of nine return to Israel, 19 more are still reportedly held in Gaza. |
| 0:56.8 | We'll discuss that issue, the status of the war, the end of the war in Gaza, |
| 1:02.5 | and the latest in the prime minister's ongoing criminal trial. |
| 1:05.9 | Stay with us. |
| 1:16.6 | What does it mean for countries to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN? What really makes a state? |
| 1:19.6 | And why does this issue provoke such outrage from some and hope from others? |
| 1:25.6 | On unpacking Israeli history, host Noam Weisman explores these questions in a special series |
| 1:33.0 | on Palestinian statehood, with voices from across the spectrum, Samir Siniglawi, Michael |
| 1:39.2 | Koppelau, Ahmed Fuad al-Katib, and Enat Wilf. |
| 1:42.6 | He traces the story from the British mandate to Oslo |
... |
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