Ex-Shin Bet Chief Sues Netanyahu for Defamation Over Oct. 7 Claims

In this episode

The stories Maya and Daniel cover, in order. Each one opens the full story.

1. Ex-Shin Bet Chief Sues Netanyahu for Defamation Over Oct. 7 Claims
2. Two Workers Dead After Intel Plant Explosion in Kiryat Gat
3. IDF Rules Out Terror Attack in West Bank Incident, Driver Questioned
4. Israelis Abroad Begin Voting in General Elections
5. Hezbollah Claims Explosives Shipment Seized in Lebanon Was Destined for Israel
6. Delegations Walk Out During Israeli President's Speech at Asian Summit

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Transcript

Maya

Two workers are dead after an explosion and fire at Intel's plant in Kiryat Gat.

Daniel

And a third is fighting for his life in critical condition.

Maya

This is Good Morning, Israel from baba News. It's Friday, October sixteenth. I'm Maya.

Daniel

And I'm Daniel.

Maya

Daniel, set the scene. Kiryat Gat, for listeners who've never heard of it.

Daniel

It's a city in southern Israel, inland from the coast. It's home to one of Intel's big manufacturing plants, a major employer in the area.

Maya

And what happened there?

Daniel

On Wednesday, October fourteenth, there was an explosion, then a fire. It happened during what's described as a routine operation, unloading gas.

Maya

Routine. Which makes it worse, somehow.

Daniel

Right. Yakir Kozashvili died that evening. Then on Thursday, Ilya Chechulin died of his injuries. A third worker is in critical condition.

Maya

Do we know the cause?

Daniel

A technical malfunction is suspected. That's the working theory, but the investigation is still going.

Maya

And Intel?

Daniel

The company says it's cooperating with the investigation and supporting the families.

Maya

What comes next?

Daniel

The investigators will want to know whether that gas unloading procedure was followed, and whether the equipment failed. At a plant like this, safety protocols are everything.

Maya

Two families grieving, a third waiting by a hospital bed. We'll follow it.

Daniel

Staying with security, and an incident that turned out to be something other than it first looked.

Maya

Near Atarot. Where is that?

Daniel

Atarot is on the northern edge of Jerusalem, in the Binyamin region, which runs north of the city into the West Bank. There was an incident there that raised initial concerns of a terror attack.

Maya

And the I D F's conclusion?

Daniel

After an initial investigation, the I D F determined it was not a terror attack. The driver was handed over to the security forces, and police are investigating it as an accident.

Maya

So, a scare, then a clear answer.

Daniel

Exactly. And it shows why the army issues these clarifications quickly. In that area, people assume the worst first, for good reason.

Maya

To Lebanon now. Hezbollah has just admitted something it usually keeps quiet.

Daniel

Lebanese authorities seized a shipment of explosives last week. Five hundred kilograms of C four and T N T. Now Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist organization, says it's theirs.

Maya

And what does it say the explosives were for?

Daniel

Hezbollah says they were meant to be used against Israel.

Maya

Wait. They're admitting that openly?

Daniel

Openly. And demanding the release of two people who were arrested while transporting the explosives.

Maya

That's quite a demand to make of the Lebanese state.

Daniel

Right, and the Lebanese government is pushing back. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam vowed a firm response to illegal weapons. And President Joseph Aoun assured U S Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the security forces are acting.

Maya

So why would Hezbollah confess?

Daniel

Analysts suggest it's a political move. Hezbollah wants to control the story, and present itself as still fighting Israel, rather than look like a group that got caught.

Maya

From Israel's side, that's half a ton of explosives that didn't reach its target.

Daniel

That's the headline. And the question now is whether Beirut actually follows through on disarming Hezbollah, or whether the two suspects quietly walk free.

Maya

Now the election, which is twelve days away. And some Israelis have already voted.

Daniel

Voting abroad began on Thursday. Israel doesn't let ordinary citizens vote from overseas. It's for people serving the state abroad, diplomats and official envoys.

Maya

How many are we talking about?

Daniel

About four thousand eight hundred eligible voters. They're voting at one hundred and one polling stations, in ninety-nine locations around the world.

Maya

And it follows the sun.

Daniel

Exactly. It started in New Zealand, and runs for about thirty hours, wrapping up on the U S West Coast.

Maya

Who runs that?

Daniel

The Central Elections Committee, together with the Foreign Ministry. Ballots have to be secure, then brought back to Israel to be counted.

Maya

And there's a record holder.

Daniel

Ambassador Yonatan Peled voted abroad for the eighth time. A personal record.

Maya

Eight elections from overseas. That's a diplomatic career, and also a comment on how often Israel goes to the polls.

Daniel

Both things are true.

Maya

To Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, where President Isaac Herzog gave a speech, and some people left the room.

Daniel

Herzog spoke at the summit of C I C A, an Asian forum on security and cooperation. Delegations from Iran, Turkey, Kuwait, Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority walked out.

Maya

And who stayed?

Daniel

That's the more interesting list. The Emir of Qatar stayed. So did representatives from Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and the Central Asian countries.

Maya

So the walkout was the expected crowd, and the room still had plenty of people in it.

Daniel

Right. And Herzog had real meetings. He sat down with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, a close partner of Israel, and with Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

Maya

And there's a detail about the flight.

Daniel

His plane flew through Turkish airspace, even though Turkey bans Israeli government planes. Azerbaijan reportedly didn't notify Turkey in advance.

Maya

So the President got to Baku over Turkey, with Turkey finding out later.

Daniel

That's how it's being reported.

Maya

Business now. And a tech founder who wants to sell you a burger.

Daniel

Assaf Rappaport and his co-founders from Wiz, the Israeli cloud security company, are nearing a deal to take over the McDonald's franchise in Israel.

Maya

How big is McDonald's in Israel?

Daniel

Around two hundred and thirty branches, and one point eight billion shekels in annual revenue.

Maya

And who owns it right now?

Daniel

McDonald's itself. The global company bought back its Israeli operations in April twenty twenty-four, amid boycotts abroad.

Maya

And these guys have run a restaurant before?

Daniel

No food industry experience at all. But other major Israeli business groups competed, and Rappaport's group came out as the only remaining candidate.

Maya

From securing the cloud to supersizing the fries.

Daniel

That's quite a pivot. It's a big expansion beyond tech for the founders.

Maya

A quick round now. A new study on Wikipedia.

Daniel

The Anti-Defamation League, the A D L, says biased edits about Israel persist on Wikipedia, even after some editors were banned. A significant share of edits by banned users remain in key articles, and new accounts keep shaping the content.

Maya

And what does the A D L want?

Daniel

A full review of the affected articles. And it's warning A I companies to be careful about training on Wikipedia, since chatbots could spread the same bias.

Maya

Finally, something the I D F found in Gaza.

Daniel

A letter written by Ibrahim Sinwar, the ten-year-old son of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, at the start of the war. It was found in Gaza in twenty twenty-four, and the I D F has now revealed it.

Maya

What does it say?

Daniel

He writes that he misses his father, and that he wants to hold a Kalashnikov and shoot Jews. There are drawings of weapons and missiles.

Maya

Written by a ten-year-old.

Daniel

The I D F says it shows how Sinwar's ideology shaped his own children, and how Hamas shapes Gaza's young people.

Maya

Something to watch today. The last ballots from Israel's diplomats abroad are cast on the U S West Coast, closing that thirty-hour voting window.

Daniel

Follow Good Morning, Israel so tomorrow's episode is waiting for you.

Maya

See you tomorrow morning.