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.

ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unprompted and incendiary allegation on Tuesday that a Biden administration "embargo" directly caused the deaths of Israeli soldiers, Horovitz explains what might have prompted his remarks and highlights their implications for Israel's already-strained relationship with the Democratic Party.

As US President Donald Trump is expected to decide whether to launch airstrikes against Iran, Horovitz discusses one of the presumed aims of an attack: to weaken the regime's ability to crack down on future protests, and by extension, encourage the Iranian public to return to the streets with greater prospects of bringing down the leadership.

Horovitz also reviews Hamas's revival in Gaza as Trump moves to advance phase two of his peace plan, and the prime minister's press conference acknowledgement that there is next to nobody in the Strip without ties to the terror group or to the Palestinian Authority.

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

For further reading:

Trump wants to create conditions for ‘regime change’ in Iran — US sources

Israel warns Hamas may soon formally cede Gaza to technocrats, but maintain actual power

Netanyahu’s incendiary accusation against Biden underlines need for the state inquiry he opposes

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)