I - On Defense Podcast

For review: 1. President Trump Announces Ceasefire & Hostage Agreement between Israel & Hamas. Deal to be Signed Thursday in Egypt. Hostage Release to Begin Saturday. President Trump to Visit the Region this Weekend. 2. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty tells the Saudi channel Al-Arabiya that “additional Arab countries will sign peace agreements with Israel if the war in Gaza comes...

For review: 1. "Positive Atmosphere" at First Day of Talks in Egypt. 2. IDF on High Alert for 07 October Anniversary and Holiday Period (Sukkot). 3. Families of hostages held in Gaza urged the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Monday to give the Nobel Peace Prize to United States President Donald Trump this month for his efforts to secure the release of their loved ones.  4. U.S. President Do...

For review: 1. Negotiations to Enact President Trump's 20-Point Peace Plan Begin Monday in Cairo. 2. The head of Hezbollah said Saturday that Washington’s plan for a ceasefire in Gaza was “full of dangers,” - but said the decision of whether to accept it was ultimately Hamas’s. 3. The IDF says it has intercepted a single missile fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen.  There are no immediate rep...

For review 1. Hamas Agrees to Release Israeli Hostages & Hand-over Gaza to Technocrats; Other Plan Details Require Negotiation. 2. IDF to Halt Gaza City Campaign: Will Prepare for Operations to Support Hostages' Return. 3. World Reaction

For review: 1. Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot condemns the deadly attack on Jewish worshippers outside a synagogue in Manchester, which took place on Yom Kippur. 2. Hamas to Submit Amendments to President Trump's 20-Point Plan. 3. Hamas Fires Rockets at Israel on Yom Kippur; IDF Surrounding Gaza City. 4. US to Support Ukraine with Intelligence for Long-Range Targeting. 5. Germa...

For review: 1. US Government shutdown imminent. US Senate to meet Wednesday morning for further round of voting. 2. US Secretary of War Hegseth meets with Senior Military Leaders at Quantico, VA. 3. Israel Agrees to President Trump's 20-Point Gaza Peace Plan; Hamas Response Due Wednesday. 4. A ballistic missile (with cluster bomb warhead) was launched by the Houthis at Israel overnight on Sun...

For review: 1. Iran Snapback Sanctions. Widespread UN sanctions against Iran return into force for the first time in a decade, after last-ditch nuclear talks with Western powers failed to produce a breakthrough. 2. US 21-Point Plan for Post War Gaza. 3. Around 780,000 Palestinians have so far evacuated Gaza City to the Strip’s south, Israel said Saturday, as the IDF intensified its offensive to de...

1. The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on Thursday against Houthi military sites in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. 2.  Israeli PM Speech at UN General Assembly. PM Netanyahu: "You know deep down that Israel is fighting your fight. I want to tell you a secret. Behind closed doors, many of the leaders who publicly condemn us, privately thank us." 3.  US President Donald Trump said on Friday...

News from the UN General Assembly in New York. 

For review: 1. Multiple Countries Recognize Palestinian State at UNGA Summit. 2. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that Hamas must have “no role” in governing Gaza in the future and called on the militant group to hand over its weapons. 3. Hamas has drafted a letter to US President Donald Trump requesting that he guarantee a 60-day truce in Gaza in exchange for releasing ha...

For review: 1. IDF Continues Gaza City Campaign; Egypt massing military force on border with Gaza. 2. PA President Abbas to Speak Virtually at UN General Assembly. 3. The Trump administration has told Congress it plans to sell nearly $6 billion in weapons to Israel. The planned package includes 30 AH-64 Apache helicopters, and 3,200 infantry assault vehicles for the Israel Defense Forces, accordin...

For review: 1. Houthi Drone Hits Hotel in Southern Israeli city of Eilat. Some damage, no injuries.  2.  IDF Strikes Hezbollah Targets in S. Lebanon. The strikes had targeted several weapon depots belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. 3. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days...

For review: 1. Israeli PM Netanyahu to visit White House on 29 Sep, after scheduled address to US General Assembly. 2. Three IDF Divisions Operating inside Gaza City.  The military said that the 162nd and 98th divisions were expanding their operations in Gaza City, and in the coming days, a third division, the 36th, would join. In addition to the Gaza City offensive, the IDF said the 99th Division...

For review: 1. Arab and Muslim leaders called for a review of ties with Israel after emergency talks in Doha on Monday following last week’s IDF strike on Hamas members in the Qatari capital. The Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation joint session brought together nearly 60 countries. 2. On Monday, US Secretary of State Rubio met with Israeli PM Netanyahu one-on-one for about an hour...

For review: 1. WSJ Report: IDF Employed Air-Launched Ballistic Missiles in Doha Strike.  According to the report, eight F-15s and four F-35s took part in the operation, flying south from Israel over the Red Sea before launching ballistic missiles toward Qatar from the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula. 2. President Trump to Meet with Qatari Prime Minister in NYC. US Sec of State Rubio to Visi...

For review: 1. IDF Hits Houthi Camps in Sanaa. 2. Indications Point Doha Strike on Hamas Leaders Unsuccessful. 3. Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha on Sunday and Monday to discuss the Israeli attack on the Gulf state’s capital city that targeted Hamas leaders. 4. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Thursday evening that “there will be no Palestinian state,” as he s...

1. Israel Strikes Hamas Leaders in Doha. 2. Defense News Top 100 Defense Companies for 2025. 

For review: 1. A drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels evaded Israeli air defenses and smashed into the Ramon Airport terminal in southern Israel on Sunday. The unmanned aerial vehicle struck the passenger terminal at the airport north of Eilat, causing damage, according to airport authorities. 2. President Trump Warns Hamas to Accept Terms for Hostage - Ceasefire Deal. According to the reported...

For review: 1. President Trump's Executive Order Returns Department of War Title. 2. US special envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly met in Paris with Qatari officials on Thursday to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, though Israeli officials sounded skeptical about progress toward an agreement. 3. Finland is joining a declaration calling for the implementation o...

For review: 1. A top United Arab Emirates official warned Israel on Tuesday that annexing the West Bank would cross a “red line” that would “end the vision of regional integration.” It would foreclose the idea of regional integration and be the death knell of the two-state solution,” Emirati special envoy Lana Nusseibeh told The Times of Israel. 2.  Belgium will recognize the State of Palestine at...

For review: 1. Israel declared on Sunday that Hamas spokesman Hudayfa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout, alias Abu Obeida, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. 2. Russia & China Reject E3 Snapback Sanctions Against Iran. 3. Chinese President XI Jinping hosted more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries at a summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organizat...

For review: 1. Houthi Prime Minister Reported Killed in IDF Strike.  Yemen’s Al-Jumhuriya channel and the Aden Al-Ghad newspaper reported that Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in an Israeli attack on an apartment in the capital Sanaa,  The IDF assesses that the entire Houthi cabinet — including the prime minister and 12 other ministers — were likely killed in Thursday’s strikes in...

For review: 1. Report: IDF Strikes Gathering of Houthi Leadership in Sanaa.  The strike was first reported by the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV, and then confirmed by Defense Minister Israel Katz and the Israel Defense Forces, though they did not confirm the targets. 2.  IDF Ground Operation on Syrian Military Installation Near Damascus. According to a Syrian source who spoke to Al Jazeera, the raid in...

For review: 1. Australia expels Iran's Ambassador over connection to antisemitic events. 2. Israeli Defense Minister: IDF Troops Remain on Syrian Side of Mt. Hermon. 3. Lebanon's Plan to Disarm Hezbollah Due on 29 Aug. 4. President Donald Trump is signaling fresh doubts about whether Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Russian President Putin will meet anytime soon.  “I don’t know that the...

For review: 1. Warning Shots Fired Across Korean DMZ. 2. Israel Strikes Houthis; Destroys Presidential Palace in Sanaa.  3. Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday and into Sunday- as the IDF increased its troop presence in northern Gaza as part of an offensive aimed at bolstering the army’s control in the area. 4. Report: Possible securi...