Cautious optimism as talks on deal continue * How Hezbollah’s Shukr was killed * Midwives prepare expectant mothers for birth under fire *Officer who ran 8 miles to fight

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Sunday, August 18, 2024 Presented by [Help Negev Farmers Rebuild]( [US ‘bridging proposal’ for Gaza deal said to exclude two of Netanyahu’s key demands]( By ToI Staff Further talks set for Cairo on Sunday, as Blinken heads to Israel; mediators aiming to finalize deal in days, PM’s office cites optimism, but Hamas indicates it will reject terms [Blinken heads to Israel for 9th time since Oct. 7, hoping to close hostage-truce deal]( By Agencies and ToI Staff [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing Aug. 18: Day 317 – Strategic importance of 2 Gaza corridors in hostage talks]( By ToI Staff [Asked about civilian deaths in Gaza, top Hamas official ends CNN interview]( By ToI Staff Osama Hamdan charges host Jim Sciutto looking at conflict through ‘Israeli eyes’ when pushed on whether terror group accepts responsibility for using Palestinians as human shields [Two senior Hamas operatives killed in IDF drone strike in West Bank city of Jenin]( By Emanuel Fabian Live updates [LIVE: Warplanes hit Hezbollah sites as barrage of 20 rockets fired at Kiryat Shmona]( By ToI Staff Netanyahu says Israel standing firm on key demands in hostage talks, willing to be flexible in other areas * IDF ‘deepening’ operations in central, southern Gaza Donation Request [Help farmers on the Gaza border rebuild]( They took a sandy plot of land unfit for growing vegetables and transformed it into a beautiful farm, and they’re ready to do it all over again. They need your help. [2 IDF reservists killed by bomb during logistics supply mission in central Gaza]( By Emanuel Fabian Military issues fresh evacuation orders in Maghazi, says dozens of gunmen killed across Strip; Gazan rescuers say 15 people from same family killed in Israeli strike [‘Sign a deal now’: Tens of thousands around country say hostage release is now or never]( By Jeremy Sharon and ToI Staff Amid reports sides edging closer to potential agreement on Gaza ceasefire, protesters say remaining captives are running out of time [Hostage Romi Gonen’s family marks her 24th birthday with event to ‘spread light’]( By ToI Staff [Phone call lured Hezbollah’s Shukr to his Beirut apartment minutes before strike – report]( By ToI Staff Official from Lebanon-based terror group tells WSJ it’s working with Iran to probe how Israel breached security to hurry secretive commander into easy-to-target 7th-floor home Top Ops Sally Berkovic [It’s Tu B’Av – spread the love, yes even this year]( It’s the festival of compassion, of women’s friendship, and, especially, a day when anyone can be a matchmaker Michael Berenbaum [Can a museum – any museum – ‘eliminate hate?’]( True, Holocaust museums are at a crossroads, just not the way Edward Rothstein thinks they are [Those We Are Missing]( [The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown]( [Read Here]( Reporter's notebook [In northern Israel, midwives prepare expectant mothers for birth during war]( By Diana Bletter With ‘First Contractions,’ expectant mothers get ready for worst-case scenarios: delivering their babies safely at home if they can’t get to a hospital and nobody can reach them 'Remarkable heroism' [The young IDF officer who ran 8 miles to the Gaza border on Oct. 7 to fight terrorists]( By ToI Staff ‘It was the hardest run I’d ever done’: 2nd Lt. Avichail Reuven tells his heroic story, which Netanyahu briefly shared with Congress last month to standing ovation, in TV interview [IDF leaders didn’t know intel chiefs obtained Hamas battle plan in April 2022 – report]( By ToI Staff Television report says 40-page document detailing Hamas’s plans for Oct. 7 assault was withheld from military, political leadership even after concerns were raised Interview [Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Revisionist History’ podcast examines influence of 1936 Olympics]( By jacob gurvis Together with co-host Ben Naddaff-Hafrey, the writer delves into the complex developments behind Nazi Germany hosting the Berlin Games, and what led countries to participate [As airlines scrap flights, Israeli travel has become a costly, often madcap endeavor]( By Asaf Elia-Shalev Israelis and visitors often left with no choice but costly, circuitous routes, as some complain of ‘price-gouging’ by local carriers [Those We Have Lost]( [Those We Have Lost]( [Civilians and soldiers who have fallen since Oct. 7]( [Read Here]( [Half of Israeli Jews would prefer to marry in non-Orthodox wedding ceremonies — poll]( By ToI Staff Two-thirds of public backs lifting Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly on Jewish weddings to include Reform, Conservative, civil ceremonies; only ultra-Orthodox, far-right voters oppose [Trump: ‘Never been a more dangerous time since the Holocaust’ to be Jewish in US]( By ToI Staff and Agencies Former US president doubles down on fight against antisemitism, courting Jewish voters; reiterates claim VP Harris rejected Josh Shapiro as running mate because he’s Jewish [‘She doesn’t need us’: Harris struggles to regain Arab American support as DNC nears]( By AP [Day 317 – Strategic importance of 2 Gaza corridors in hostage talks]( [listen to the podcast]( More Headlines [Crocodile attacks worker at Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo during routine maintenance]( By ToI Staff [Police said to refuse to arrest settler who tried entering Palestinian village]( By Jacob Magid and ToI Staff [Norway shutters Palestinian office after Israel revokes diplomats’ accreditation]( By ToI Staff [Herzliya woman charged with aggravated murder of 6-year-old son]( By ToI Staff [The daily edition]( [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? 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