Day 68 - Daring Gaza rescue missions with tragic consequences

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. Today is day 68 of the war. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and filmmaker Eli Katzoff, creator of our Times of War video series, join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's podcast. Israel awoke to the news of 10 fallen soldiers in Gaza. We’re hearing that many of the troops killed in Gaza that were announced this morning died in a series of blasts while searching buildings in a Gaza City suburb. Fabian fills us in on this tragic operation and what is happening on the ground in Gaza in general. Of the 115 Israeli soldiers killed to date in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s ground offensive against Hamas, 20 were killed by so-called friendly fire and other accidents. What is the army doing to prevent more such deaths? Yesterday we heard the IDF announce that it had recovered the bodies of civilian Eden Zacharia and IDF Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. At the same time, this operation came at a terrible cost. Fabian speaks about the operation and the IDF's mandate to retrieve the fallen. Finally, filmmaker Eli Katzoff speaks about the behind-the-scenes decision-making that goes into the ongoing Times of War video series, now featured on The Times of Israel. For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog December 13, 2023 IDF troops in Gaza uncover arms, footage of Oct. 7 massacres as battles rage IDF: Deaths of 20 out of 105 soldiers killed in Gaza op were friendly fire, accidents IDF retrieves bodies of two hostages from Gaza: Eden Zacharia and Ziv Dado Times of War video series THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.Illustrative image: Family and friends of Israeli soldier St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Zvika Lavi mourn at his funeral at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on December 12, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.