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.

Health reporter Diana Bletter joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Israel and Lebanon held a historic summit on Tuesday in Washington, DC, as envoys for the two nations met with the hopes of reaching a peace deal that would end decades of conflict. The talks ended without a clear way forward on the goal of demilitarizing Hezbollah and no date for a follow-up meeting had been set as of Tuesday evening.

On Tuesday morning, the Iranian-backed terror organization Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets to Israel, sending tens of thousands of Israelis to bomb shelters and wounding one.

Bletter explains what life is like in the north and focuses in on a visit she paid to Ora Hatan in Shtula. Hatan, who will light a torch next week for Israel's Independence Day, has cooked thousands of meals for IDF soldiers since the conflict erupted in the north on October 8, 2023.

A Beersheba family court judge on Friday ruled that the sperm of Yotam Haim, an Israeli hostage who was mistakenly killed by troops after escaping Hamas captivity in Gaza, may be used to conceive a child, saying it was his express wish before his death. Bletter delves into some of the 250 cases of postmortem sperm retrieval and the questions the procedure raises.

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

For further reading:

Israeli, Lebanese envoys hold historic summit in Washington to discuss peace deal

Judge rules slain hostage’s family may use his sperm with a surrogate

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

IMAGE: Ora Hatan’s family restaurant, Hemdat HaGalil, in Shtula, destroyed by Hezbollah rockets in 2024, on April 12, 2026. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)

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