Day 804 - Israel and Egypt clinch massive gas deal. What's behind it?
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 December 2025
⏱️ 35 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.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a video message that he has approved the largest energy deal in Israel’s history. The natural gas deal with Egypt is worth NIS 112 billion ($34.7 billion), of which NIS 58 billion ($18 billion) will go into public coffers. Magid gives insight into the slow rollout of this massive deal.
Magid reported yesterday that the US has secured commitments from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany to have their leaders join US President Donald Trump on the Board of Peace that will oversee the postwar management of Gaza. We review the significance of the names that are currently not on the list and the ambiguous mandate of the International Security Force -- including an apparent walk-back from forcing Hamas to disarm.
On Sunday, hundreds of Palestinians attended protests across the West Bank against the Palestinian Authority’s new prisoner payment system. Does this public anger indicate that Ramallah is moving ahead with the Western-pushed welfare reform, or is it all smoke and mirrors, as Israel's Foreign Ministry alleges?
In the annual Hanukkah party on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said that Congress “is becoming antisemitic,” as the “Jewish lobby” is no longer the strongest in Washington. Though he wasn't given a White House latke this year, Magid agrees to set the scene and delves into statements made at the celebration.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
‘Historic moment’: Netanyahu announces $34.7 billion natural gas deal with Egypt
Six countries have committed to joining Trump’s Board of Peace, say officials
ISF will not fight Hamas, say US officials, who still seek to deploy force next month
Palestinians protest PA prisoner payment reform, in apparent sign of implementation
At White House Hanukkah party, Trump laments ‘Jewish lobby’ no longer most powerful
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: A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal beach of Nasholim, on August 29, 2022. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's Daily Briefing. |
| 0:06.4 | Today is Thursday, December 18th, Day 804 of the war. |
| 0:11.8 | I'm Amanda Borchelle Dan here with our U.S. Bureau Chief, Jacob Magid. |
| 0:16.0 | Jacob, thank you so much for joining me today. |
| 0:18.1 | Hi, Amanda. Good to be with you again. |
| 0:20.0 | It is so nice to be with you, |
| 0:21.3 | and I kind of always complain about how early it is on my side when, of course, it's late on |
| 0:27.0 | your side, but this morning I just had the most glorious sunrise thanks to you. So thank you very much, |
| 0:32.3 | Jacob. Always happy to help. Today we're actually going to start with good news for a change, |
| 0:37.0 | and our prime minister, |
| 0:38.7 | Benjamin Nanyahu, announced the largest natural gas deal Israel has ever completed. So we're going |
| 0:44.7 | to hear all about that, this deal with Egypt. We're also going to learn about six countries that have |
| 0:50.4 | at least ostensibly joined U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, |
| 0:55.7 | which will help out, of course, Gaza on the day after. |
| 0:59.2 | We're going to hear about the ripple effects of the apparent termination of the Palestinian |
| 1:03.7 | authorities pay to slave program. |
| 1:06.5 | And we're going to join Jacob at U.S. President Donald Trump's Hanukkah party and hear what happened there. |
| 1:14.1 | All of this and more when we're back. |
| 1:22.9 | This Hanukkah, as candles are lit around the world to commemorate the victory over our enemies of the past, |
| 1:29.3 | we must not forget the widows and orphans who have paid the highest price for Israel's survival in the present. |
| 1:35.3 | In the past two years, more than 1,200 new widows and orphans have entered the care of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization as their |
| 1:46.0 | husbands and fathers were killed at defending Israel. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Times of Israel, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Times of Israel and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.