A lot to think about this weekend -- Will Hamas keep its arms and its governing power in Gaza? They obviously are trying! And is Trump too soft on Hamas? Our guest expert is Professor Kobi Michael, who was deputy director-general at Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs -- and teaches at universities ranging from Northwestern to Peking and South Wales. He's a top researcher at Israel's INSS and the Misgav Institute for Strategic Studies. He predicts two very different Gaza Strips...

Dan analyzes (with audio clips) the visits to Israel by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Secretary of State Rubio -- to keep a close eye on Netanyahu ... while the Knesset votes in favor of annexing the West Bank thus "insulting" VP Vance. Amid all that -- Will Hamas honor the terms of the "Trump Deal" that ended the Gaza war? Many angles -- including possibilities for the future (Will Israel's "image" improve soon?) -- are in Dan's chat with longtim...

The Gaza war is over --- 2 years after it began with the horrific massacres and kidnappings by Hamas in Israeli territory. But is it really over? And is President Trump correct, in portraying the breakthrough as a huge step toward an overall era of peace in the Middle East? In this episode of THE MOSSAD FILES, Dan Raviv interviews Yossi Kuperwasser -- a retired brigadier general in Israel's military intelligence -- and we also hear Tal Becker of the Shalom Hartman Institute (thanks to D...

Dan expresses his doubts about the Trump Deal leading to the "eternal peace" the American President talks about -- but ending the Gaza war, after 2 years, and getting all the hostages home to Israel seems brilliant. We hear parts of the CBS News interview with two women who had the job of Secretary of State and mediated the end of "mini-wars" between Israel and Hamas: Hillary Clinton (praising Trump!) and Condoleezza Rice. Then Dan is joined by a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Jo...

Donald Trump's 20-point plan gives hope for an end to the Gaza war. That alone would be huge, but he also contends it could resolve the wider Middle East conflict. That would put all us Mideast pundits out of business. That would be good, but it's not likely to happen. There's a lot to analyze, and Nimrod Novik -- senior advisor to the late Prime Minister Shimon Peres, now with Commanders for Israel's Security (calling for an end to the Gaza war and a deal to free the hostages hel...

The director of the Mossad (Israel's worldwide espionage and special missions agency) from 2016 to 2021 -- Yossi Cohen -- talks about the apparently failed airstrike aimed at Hamas leaders in Qatar, the "reputation" of the Mossad, and more. Cohen, author of a new memoir, "The Sword of Freedom," was interviewed by Major Garrett -- host of the daily program, "The Takeout," on the CBS News 24/7 streaming channel. Dan also chats with Adam Schwarz, write and analyst on democracy, European politics...

Israel's army has entered Gaza City -- Dan speaks with Tel Aviv-based security analyst Jonathan Regev about urban combat. Is Israeli intelligence good enough to avoid harming hostages? After 2 Israelis were killed by a Jordanian driving an aid truck, Dan explores Jordan's stance on Israel and Palestinians -- interviewing Aaron Magid, author of a biography, "The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan." Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Dan's most re...

On Tuesday 9/9, Israel's airstrike on a house in Qatar's capital Doha shouldn't have been considered such a huge surprise. Israeli leaders had said they'd go after senior Hamas men wherever they might be -- and Donald Trump wrote about his "final warning" to Hamas, demanding they free all the hostages. Hear some evidence and analysis -- that the U.S. gently chided Israel, while being sure to keep Trump's friendship with wealthy Qatar: which just gifted the U.S. with a future Air Force O...

Intelligence developments include Israel's air force wiping out most of the Houthi "government" cabinet in Yemen -- meaning the Mossad geared up to become experts on the Houthi enemy -- and Israel's new spy satellite with its unique radar surveillance. Dan has a wide-ranging discussion on the Gaza war -- including its beginning on October 7, almost two years ago -- with Yaakov Katz, prominent Israeli-American journalist who is co-author of a new book, "While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised ...

This week's episode includes some of the accusations (famine, excessive killings) against Israel -- and how Israel denies them. And yet, it seems inevitable that things will get worse -- for everyone -- every day that the war in Gaza continues. With great clarity and sensitivity, Nimrod Novik -- one of the organizers of Commanders for Israel's Security -- a frequent Netanyahu critic -- a fellow of Israel Policy Forum (IPF) -- a thought leader in his country's center-left -- shares his a...

On The Mossad Files with Dan Raviv, you'll hear some of Benjamin Netanyahu's rosy scenarios -- pointing to successes against Lebanon, Syria, and Iran -- and the prime minister suggests Hamas can be defeated totally in Gaza, to force release of the Israeli hostages. But our guest, Brigadier General (Ret.) Assaf Orion -- a former head of strategic planning for the IDF -- tells us that Hamas is already defeated, and the Gaza war must end. Orion also analyzes the role of intelligence in Israel's ...

Expanding on the scoops Dan Raviv had in his ProPublica article with Yossi Melman -- co-authors of five Middle East books and countless articles -- Dan discusses who the Mossad spies were and are inside Iran. Spoiler alert: They're not Israelis. It's a veritable "foreign legion" recruited carefully and successfully by the Mossad. Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- ...

Dan analyzes (with key soundbites) the decision by Prime Minister Netanyahu and his security cabinet -- announced Friday morning (August 8) -- to try to conquer Gaza City, as a first step toward taking over the entire Gaza Strip. Doesn't this doom the hostages? Obviously, more Palestinians and more IDF troops will die. On Iran -- Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution (in Washington DC), discusses her article in FOREIGN AFFAIRS:...