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The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

ToI reports from new Lebanon 'forward defense area'

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

News

4.51.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2026

⏱️ 29 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 Sunday, for the first time since hostilities with Hezbollah escalated last month during the Iran war — when the terror group resumed rocket and drone attacks on Israel — Israeli reporters were allowed by the Israel Defense Forces to enter southern Lebanon, in an escorted visit to the newly established security zone. Fabian was there and reports back on the experience of entering Lebanon and the new road infrastructure that has been laid there.

We discuss how the Israeli military is, in essence, reestablishing a security zone that it left some 26 years ago. Fabian explains why commanders say that this time around, it will not carry with it the same dangers that troops faced during the 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 1982-2000.

In the second half of the program, we turn to a briefing Fabian attended on Friday. The IDF said that it remains on high alert and ready to return to fighting in both Iran and Lebanon if the fragile ceasefires in both countries collapse or expire without an extension in the coming weeks. We also learn about the IDF's somewhat pessimistic assessment of the truces announced by US President Donald Trump.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

26 years later, IDF restores its south Lebanon security zone — with key changes

IDF on high alert amid fragile, temporary ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple PodcastsSpotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.

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. Today is Monday, April 20th. I'm Amanda Borschal

0:09.7

Dan from our Jerusalem studio here with our military correspondent Emmanuel Fabian. Mani, thank you so much

0:15.6

for joining me today. Hi, Amanda. It is such a pleasure to see you. And yesterday, Mani was

0:20.8

inside the new Lebanon front line.

0:24.5

We're going to hear all about the terminology and what is happening on the ground in Lebanon right now.

0:30.1

We're also going to talk about the IDF's assessment of the Iran arena and how ready it is to restart. So all of this and more when we're back.

0:45.3

I want to tell you about a podcast called Boundless Insights, hosted by Aviva Clompis.

0:55.6

It's a smart, incisive show featuring thoughtful conversations on Israel,

1:00.7

anti-Semitism, and the forces shaping Jewish life today.

1:04.3

For Yomazikaron, Aviva sits down with Rabbi Daron Perez, whose son, Captain Daniel Perez,

1:10.7

was killed defending Israel on October 7th

1:13.4

after his tank was overrun. His body was taken hostage and later returned. In this deeply

1:19.0

moving conversation, Rabbi Perez reflects on his son's final moments and on what it means to live

1:24.7

with grief, faith, and purpose in the aftermath of loss.

1:29.6

Search boundless insights wherever you get your podcasts.

1:33.9

Before we continue, you should know that in Jerusalem, as rockets fly and sirens blair,

1:39.5

doctors and nurses urgently treat patients deep underground.

1:43.8

Operating rooms, intensive care units, maternity

1:46.3

wards move to these subterranean fortified facilities in a matter of minutes. This is what Hadassah

1:52.6

hospitals do, because lifesaving medical care can never stop, even during war. Hadassah, the Women's

1:59.6

Zionist Organization of America, built these hospitals

2:02.3

and is now working to rapidly expand these underground areas. There is a critical need to equip

...

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