It is 9PM on Sunday May 11th here in New York City. It is 4AM on Monday May 12th in Israel.

A lot is happening, and it’s happening fast. So instead of taping today, Sunday, and releasing Monday morning as we usually do, we will be taping Nadav Eyal and Amit Segal on Monday morning and releasing the episode later in the day. In the meantime, in case you haven’t caught up yet, here’s a quick update on the events that took place this weekend.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

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

Subscribe to Ark Media’s new podcast ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/HJI2mX

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

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

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

=============================================

It’s been a busy week with a lot of moving pieces - there are new war plans in Gaza, the US-Houthi agreement, and of course, the Gulf Summit and a potential new deal between the US and Saudi Arabia. Here’s what we do know:

On Tuesday, during a press availability in the Oval Office of the White House, President Donald Trump told reporters that the total number of living hostages in Gaza dropped from 24 to 21. “As of today, it’s 21. Three have died.”, he said. Israel maintains that officially, the list of living hostages remains 24.

Trump also said that the US would stop bombing Yemen’s Houthis after the Iran-backed group had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East. The announcement did not mention the Houthi attacks on Israel, including a missile that hit Ben Gurion international airport on Saturday, to which Israel responded with a crippling attack on Yemen's international airport in Sanaa. Following Trump’s announcement, a spokesman for the Houthis pledged that the strikes on Israel would continue.

On Thursday, sources told Reuters that the United States is no longer demanding Saudi Arabia normalize ties with Israel as a condition for developing its nuclear program - a major concession by Washington. Senator Lindsey Graham says he opposes any pact with the Saudis that excludes normalization with Jewish state.

Earlier in the week, on Monday, Israel’s security cabinet authorized plans for the widening of the Gaza invasion, which if taken to its logical conclusion, meaning Hamas refuses to surrender and release the hostages – could result in an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza and reestablishing some permanent presence there.

It is unclear at this point if this military plan is going to be implemented, or if it is used as leverage on Hamas as a negotiating tactic. That said, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich said on Monday that “We are finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word’ occupation.”

To unpack what this all means, we are joined by Lahav Harkov, Senior Political Correspondent for Jewish Insider. Senior Fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security.

Ark Media is looking for two college summer interns – one who can support operations and another who can support product design. To apply, please follow the links below:

• Product: https://app.testgorilla.com/s/b1e1of2h
• Operations: https://app.testgorilla.com/s/7hy7zlpu

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

Subscribe to Ark Media’s new podcast ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/HJI2mX

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

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

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

Today’s episode:

Latest reporting from Times of Israel on wildfires: https://www.timesofisrael.com/fire-authority-needs-double-the-budget-to-cope-during-mega-fires-era-official/

Next week, President Trump is heading to Saudi Arabia to convene a summit with leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. The agenda? Arms deals, AI partnerships, and a substantial Saudi investment pledge. Israel isn't on his itinerary, although Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has just announced that he will be traveling to Israel in advance of President Trump’s Middle East trip, and that Secretary Hegseth will be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Katz and Israel’s military leadership. He will then travel to Saudi Arabia to accompany President Trump on his travels.

The Middle East visit will also take place against the backdrop of an important personnel change on Trump’s national security team – namely, the national security advisor Mike Waltz stepping down and moving to the UN.

To unpack what's at stake for Israel and the US, we're joined by Mike Singh, former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council and now managing director at the Washington Institute, and Call me Back regular, Nadav Eyal, columnist for Yediot Ahronot.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer