Accessibility links
Daniel Estrin Daniel Estrin is NPR's international correspondent in Jerusalem.
Daniel Estrin
Stories By

Daniel Estrin

Daniel Estrin
Enlarge this image
Daniel Estrin
Daniel Estrin
Daniel Estrin

Daniel Estrin

International Correspondent, Jerusalem

Daniel Estrin is NPR's international correspondent in Jerusalem.

Since joining NPR in 2017, he has reported from Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. He has chronicled the Trump administration's policies that have shaped the region, and told stories of everyday life for Israelis and Palestinians. He has also uncovered tales of ancient manuscripts, secret agents and forbidden travel.

He and his team were awarded an Edward R. Murrow award for a 2019 report challenging the U.S. military's account about its raid against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Estrin has reported from the Middle East for over a decade, including seven years with the Associated Press. His reporting has taken him to Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Jordan, Russia and Ukraine. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, PRI's The World and other media.

Story Archive

Friday

Middle East

After cease-fire with Hamas collapses, Israel resumes hitting targets in Gaza

Israel's warplanes began pounding targets in Gaza, shortly after it announced the collapse of a twice-renewed truce that had allowed the release of more than 100 hostages seized by Hamas militants.

After cease-fire with Hamas collapses, Israel resumes hitting targets in Gaza

Listen · 3:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1216340261/1216340262" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Israel resumes airstrikes after it says Hamas violated truce

Workers rush injured people to Mohammed Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah as Israel resumed its bombing Friday morning in the Gaza Strip. Anas Baba/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Anas Baba/NPR

Middle East crisis — explained

Israel resumes airstrikes after it says Hamas violated truce

Israel's military resumed combat operations in the Palestinian enclave after a seven-day cease-fire broke down. During the pause, Hamas freed some 100 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians.

Thursday

Six more hostages released by Hamas as talks over extending the Gaza truce continue

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, listens as Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks Thursday in Tel Aviv. Blinken urged Israeli officials to take "more effective steps" to avoid harm to civilians in Gaza. Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Six more hostages released by Hamas as talks over extending the Gaza truce continue

As both sides prepared for the final planned hostage-for-prison swap, gunmen killed three Israelis in an attack on the outskirts of West Jerusalem early Thursday.

Wednesday

What it's like on the ground in Gaza from an Israeli and a Palestinian

Eman Abusaei The Abusaeid family hide caption

toggle caption
The Abusaeid family

State of the World from NPR

What it's like on the ground in Gaza from an Israeli and a Palestinian

We hear about two experiences of life in Gaza. One from a 22 year-old Israeli reserve soldier sent into the Gaza Strip with his unit. And a mother of two who lives in Gaza trying to shield her children from the horrors of war and stay alive.

What it's like on the ground in Gaza from an Israeli and a Palestinian

Listen · 12:53
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1196978565/1215943968" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Tuesday

Middle East

Israel and Hamas strike deal to extend the temporary cease-fire in Gaza

Israelis and Palestinians are waiting to see how much longer the cease-fire could be extended, and how many more hostages and prisoners will go home.

Israel and Hamas strike deal to extend the temporary cease-fire in Gaza

Listen · 3:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1215512640/1215512641" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

The Hamas leader behind the October 7 attack and the hostage release

Yahya Sinwar, chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza, delivers a speech during a rally to mark "Jerusalem Day," or Al-Quds Day on April 14, 2023. Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

State of the World from NPR

The Hamas leader behind the October 7 attack and the hostage release

The secretive leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahiya Sinwar, is thought to be the mastermind of the October 7 attack on Israel and he has led the Hamas negotiations on hostages. Our Jerusalem correspondent has met the Hamas leader at press conferences over the years and has this look at who he is and what his war strategy seems to be.

The Hamas leader behind the October 7 attack and the hostage release

Listen · 6:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1196978550/1215480933" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Who is Yahya Sinwar?

Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar. MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East

Who is Yahya Sinwar?

Hamas leader, Yahiya Sinwar, is believed to have masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks and led Hamas negotiations on hostages. NPR's Daniel Estrin questioned him at two press conferences in recent years.

Who is Yahya Sinwar?

Listen · 5:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1215477151/1215477152" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Middle East

It's the last day of a scheduled 4-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas

Three rounds of hostage-prisoner exchanges have taken place since Friday --another exchange is expected later Monday. Both sides say they're open to more releases and a longer cease-fire.

It's the last day of a scheduled 4-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas

Listen · 3:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1215332263/1215332264" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

Middle East

Israel and Hamas complete third prisoner-hostage exchange

For a third day, Hamas released hostages and Israel released Palestinian prisoners. Also, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas complete third prisoner-hostage exchange

Listen · 3:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1215298016/1215298022" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Hamas says it wants to extend truce after latest exchange of captives with Israel

A Red Cross vehicle carrying Israeli hostages drives by at the Gaza Strip crossing into Egypt in Rafah on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. Fatima Shbair/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Fatima Shbair/AP

Middle East crisis — explained

Hamas says it wants to extend truce after latest exchange of captives with Israel

The announcement from the Islamist militant group came after a third hostages-for-prisoners swap with Israel in which 17 captives and 39 Palestinian prisoners were released.

Friday

Middle East

After nearly 7 weeks of war, the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas has begun

A four-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect early Friday. It sets the stage for the first exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The war began on Oct. 7.

After nearly 7 weeks of war, the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas has begun

Listen · 5:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1215057869/1215057870" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Scores of Palestinians and Israelis freed from captivity on first day of Gaza truce

A mother and her children react to the news that Hanna Katzir, who the Palestine Islamic Jihad claimed died in captivity, is among the 13 Israelis released. They are watching the news on their phone outside the Museum of Tel Aviv on Friday. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Scores of Palestinians and Israelis freed from captivity on first day of Gaza truce

As the pause in fighting appeared to hold, Hamas released 13 Israelis and 11 foreigners who were also seized in Hamas' attack on Israel last month. In exchange, Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners.

Wednesday

Israeli official says Friday is the soonest the deal with Hamas would take effect

Women prepare a symbolic dinner table during a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Tuesday, demanding the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Israeli official says Friday is the soonest the deal with Hamas would take effect

Hamas and Israel agreed to a four-day pause in fighting and to release at least 50 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and 150 Palestinians held by Israel. The official said negotiations "are progressing."

Middle East

Israel and Hamas agree to a cease-fire deal to free some hostages, Qatar says

Under a deal mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day pause in fighting to allow the release of 50 women and children being held by militants in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas agree to a cease-fire deal to free some hostages, Qatar says

Listen · 3:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1214619352/1214619353" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Middle East

In a Tel Aviv hotel, a band tries to bridge divides

A moment of music from a hotel in Tel Aviv, where a multi-cultural band plays to lift the spirits of displaced Israelis. (Story aired on Weekend Edition Sunday on Nov. 19, 2023.)

In a Tel Aviv hotel, a band tries to bridge divides

Listen · 3:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1214348649/1214356680" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

We rewind to a time when Israel and Gaza were close to peace

U.S. President Bill Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat inaugurated the Gaza International Airport in 1998 in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. The presidential visit and the launching of the airport were seen as an important steps in the effort to establish a Palestinian state. Santiago Lyon/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Santiago Lyon/AP

State of the World from NPR

We rewind to a time when Israel and Gaza were close to peace

We hear about a time when an airport opened in Gaza, a U.S. president visited and it seemed like Palestinian statehood was close to being a reality.

We rewind to a time when Israel and Gaza were close to peace

Listen · 10:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1196978494/1214285821" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday

Friday

An aid lifeline to Gaza: we go to the only crossing point in or out of the territory

Aid trucks queue to enter Palestinian territories from the Egypt side of the Rafah Border Crossing on Nov. 15, 2023. Gehad Hamdy/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Gehad Hamdy/picture alliance via Getty Images

State of the World from NPR

An aid lifeline to Gaza: we go to the only crossing point in or out of the territory

There's only one place goods or people are allowed to enter or leave Gaza. Our reporter is in Rafah, Egypt and sees the trickle of aid going into Gaza.

An aid lifeline to Gaza: we go to the only crossing point in or out of the territory

Listen · 13:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1196978487/1213905502" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Friday

Middle East

Israel gives civilians several hours a day to flee fighting in north Gaza

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are fleeing Gaza City on foot. Israel is giving civilians several hours a day to flee the fighting in northern Gaza.

Israel gives civilians several hours a day to flee fighting in north Gaza

Listen · 3:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1212080758/1212080759" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Middle East

A month into the Israel-Hamas war, where do things stand?

The Middle East has changed since Oct. 7 — when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel. As the death tolls mount, the scope of the conflict is historic.

A month into the Israel-Hamas war, where do things stand?

Listen · 3:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1211133152/1211133153" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
What will it take to free the hostages in Gaza? Many Israelis support a prisoner swap

Shira Albag, (c) mother of hostage Liri Albag protests with family outside the ministry of defense base on November 04, 2023 in Tel Aviv Israel. Liri Albag, 18, is a surveillance soldier at the Nahal Oz army base, was taken captive by Gazan militants on Saturday, October 7, as they took control of the Israeli army base. Maya Levin for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Maya Levin for NPR

Middle East crisis — explained

What will it take to free the hostages in Gaza? Many Israelis support a prisoner swap

About 240 Israeli and foreign nationals have been held hostage in Gaza for a month. Many Israelis are calling for Israel to release all Palestinian detainees in exchange for the captives' freedom.

What will it take to free the hostages in Gaza? Many Israelis support a prisoner swap

Listen · 6:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1210775385/1211041248" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org