Day 772 - Hamas still rules in Gaza. Can a UN resolution topple it?
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 November 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.
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Last week, the US officially launched negotiations within the 15-member United Nations Security Council on a draft resolution that would follow up on Israel and Hamas’s October 9 ceasefire-hostage agreement. Tomorrow, the Security Council is set to vote on the resolution, which would deliver Gaza to an International Stabilization Force (ISF) and an apolitical Palestinian administration overseen by a Trump-chaired Board of Peace. In the first half of the program, Berman gives an analysis of some of the implications for Israel -- and questions the world's appetite for seeing through in the demilitarization of Hamas.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that he was considering agreeing to a deal to supply Saudi Arabia with F-35 stealth fighter jets, which are made by Lockheed Martin. We hear whether a more robust Saudi air force could affect the Middle East and learn why the United Arab Emirates has not yet received its promised planes.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Friday that the Israeli army had built walls on the Lebanese side of the UN-demarcated Blue Line, the de facto border. We learn about the Blue Line and discuss whether a complaint to the UN has any teeth.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
US says its plan for postwar management of Gaza offers pathway to Palestinian statehood
US: Failure to back UN resolution based on Trump’s Gaza plan is a vote for Hamas, war
Indonesia says it has trained 20,000 troops for Gaza peacekeeping force
First storm of the season pummels Gaza, flooding tent camps and makeshift shelters
Trump says he’s weighing Saudi request to buy F-35s, hopes Riyadh will normalize Israel ties
Lebanon to file UN complaint accusing Israel of building border wall beyond Blue Line
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IMAGE: Illustrative: An armed Palestinian Hamas gunman stand not far from an International Red Cross (ICRC) vehicle, as a search for the bodies of killed Israeli hostages takes place, in Gaza City on November 2, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing. |
| 0:06.3 | Today is Sunday, November 16th, day 772 of the war. |
| 0:12.6 | Amanda Borchelle, Dan, here with our diplomatic correspondent, Laser Bearman. |
| 0:16.5 | Hi, Laser. Did you have a nice Shabbat? |
| 0:18.8 | I had a lovely Shabbat up at Kibbutz Tiraat Svi on the Jordanian border. It's wonderful. |
| 0:25.0 | Oh, how fun is that? And it was raining up there? |
| 0:27.5 | It was gorgeous. Rain, sun, winter, absolutely beautiful. |
| 0:32.7 | Amazing. Great time of year here in Israel. |
| 0:35.3 | The United Nations Security Council is set to vote tomorrow on a |
| 0:39.8 | resolution endorsing U.S. President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan. The plan includes an |
| 0:46.4 | international stabilization force as well as a pathway to a Palestinian state. So, |
| 0:52.7 | Laser will update us on the resolution and Israeli responses so far. |
| 0:58.4 | Saudi Arabia's crown prince is visiting Washington, D.C. this week, and Trump is toying with the idea of a massive fighter jet sail. |
| 1:07.1 | So how could this affect the Middle East and Israel specifically? |
| 1:17.5 | And finally, Lebanon's president said the country will file a complaint to the UN Security Council, |
| 1:21.9 | alleging that Israel is building a wall in southern Lebanon. |
| 1:25.9 | So we'll hear all about this and more when we're back. |
| 1:36.6 | This episode is brought to you by the Jewish Communal Fund, helping individuals and families make the most of their charitable giving. |
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