Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

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As we mark the 500th day of the war in Gaza, and 500 days of captivity for the Israeli hostages who remain there, the future of this fragile ceasefire-hostage deal is looking increasingly less stable. With every day bringing new twists and turns, we turned to a “Call Me Back” regular to help us make sense of where the war stands and where it may be going.

Nadav Eyal of Yediot Ahronot is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

Link to the Bret Stephens article mentioned in this episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/opinion/trump-hamas-gaza-israel.html

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Editor

REBECCA STROM - Director of Operations

STAV SLAMA - Researcher

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research Intern

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

In the 16 months since October 7th, the leader who knows more than almost anyone about the inner workings of this war has barely been heard from – until now.

In this episode of ”Call Me Back”, we hear the behind the scenes story of the war with Hamas and Hezbollah from Yoav Gallant, who served as Israel’s Defense Minister for the first 13 months of this 16-month war.

In his first English-language interview since the war began, the former Defense Minister offers an intimate account of the war’s initial hours and days, with an emphasis on one date that could have changed it all: October 11th, 2023.

This episode is the first in a series of interviews we will be posting with General Gallant, chronicling the historic and unprecedented events of the last 16 months.

Yoav Gallant served as Israel’s Defense Minister from 2022 until 2024. He was fired by Benjamin Netanyahu twice in those two years, first in 2023, when massive protests in Israel led Netanyahu to reverse his decision, then again in November of 2024. Gallant is a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party. His military career spans five decades, beginning in 1977 as a naval commando in Shayetet 13, and serving as chief of the IDF’s Southern Command during Operation Cast Lead, an early war with Hamas that lasted from late 2008 to early 2009.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Editor

REBECCA STROM - Director of Operations

STAV SLAMA - Researcher

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research Intern

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Watch the conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zy-BEfKyQMY

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

President Trump’s dramatic and unprecedented press conference on Gaza, suggesting U.S. control and some form of relocation of its residents, has immediately shifted the conversation beyond the default two-state framework. In this episode, we break down how the Israeli public is reacting to Trump’s proposal, what it means for Netanyahu’s political standing, and the implications for the ceasefire and the hostage deal negotiations.

Joining us to unpack these developments are Amit Segal and Nadav Eyal, two Call Me Back regulars.

Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediot Aharonot and one of Israel’s leading journalists. He has been covering Middle Eastern and international politics for over two decades across Israeli radio, print, and television news.

Amit Segal is the chief political correspondent and analyst for Channel 12 News and Yediot Aharonot, Israel’s largest-circulation newspaper.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Editor

REBECCA STROM - Director of Operations

STAV SLAMA - Researcher

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research Intern

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer