I - On Defense Podcast

1.  Iranian Naval Exercise in Gulf of Oman & Indian Ocean. 2. The Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for carrying out today’s ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel. 3. A Hezbollah weapon depot in southern Lebanon’s Deir Kifa was targeted in an Israeli strike, the IDF says. The military says the site was a violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. 4. Israeli Defense Minis...

For review: 1. Israeli PM to IDF: Shorten Timeline for Seizing Gaza City. 2. Israel to Call up 60k Reservists to Support Gaza City Campaign The forces included 12 brigade-level teams, each of which has infantry, armored, artillery, and combat engineering forces, along with combat support. In addition, the Gaza Division’s northern and southern brigades — normally tasked with the border — are set to...

1. President Trump Hosts Ukraine President - European Leaders at White House. Hopes of a breakthrough (in Peace) rose after President Trump said he had spoken by phone with Russian counterpart Putin  -- following a "very good" meeting with the Europeans and the Ukrainian president at the White House. European Leaders who attended: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Ursula von der Leyen ,...

For review: 1. Hamas negotiators in Cairo this week signaled a willingness to come down from demands they made last month that led to the collapse of hostage talks in Doha.  Arab mediators passed along the development to Israel, but Jerusalem responded that it is not interested in another partial ceasefire. 2. The IDF on Friday said it destroyed dozens of “terror targets” in its new offensive on Z...

For review: 1. Mossad Chief to Qatar. Mossad Director David Barnea was in Doha on Thursday to meet with the Qatari Prime Minister al-Thani.  The Mossad Director conveyed to the Prime Minister that Israel was not bluffing with its plan to conquer Gaza, and intends to do so unless there’s progress in the talks to free the hostages. 2. IDF CoS Approved Gaza City Take Over Plan. 3. During a meeting in...

For review: 1. Australia will recognize a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Monday. 2. Israel - Hamas Hostage & Ceasefire Negotiations Could Restart This Week.  Israel may send negotiators to Doha this week for meetings on a comprehensive agreement for the release of hostages held by Hamas and a ceasefire in Gaza. 3...

For review: 1. Israeli PM explains why recognition of Palestinian Statehood will not bring peace to region. 2. IDF Plan for Gaza City Complete Next Week. 3. Iranian nuclear scientists have been sent into hiding after dozens were killed by Israel during its 12-day offensive against Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programs in June. 4. Iran has arrested 20 people it alleges are operatives of I...

For review: 1. Israeli Cabinet Decision: IDF to Take Over Gaza City. 2. President Trump to Meet with Russian President in Alaska (15 Aug). 3. President Trump Oversees Azerbaijan & Armenia Peace Agreement. 

For review: 1. Kadena AB in Japan to inspect all F-15E Eagles after fighter landed w/o landing gear wheel. 2. Gaza Occupation Plan to Israeli Cabinet Thursday. According to report, in the plan’s first phase, Israel will issue an evacuation notice to the residents of Gaza City to allow time for the establishment of civilian infrastructure in central Gaza, including hospitals and camps for evacuees....

For review: 1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told ministers this week that he will seek cabinet backing for a plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip. 2. Netherlands & Germany Committed to Send Patriot Systems to Ukraine. 3. President Trump threatens high tariffs/secondary sanctions on buyer's of Russian oil (that economically support Russian war effort). 4. France Continues De...

1. Hamas on Saturday said it would not disarm “as long as the occupation exists,” despite announcement from Arab League, urging the terror group to disarm.  2. The Israel Defense Force defeated Hamas’s Beit Hanoun battalion, the IDF declared on Saturday. The majority of the Hamas gunmen in the Beit Hanoun Battalion were either killed during the fighting or fled. 3. President Trump Announces Submar...

For review: 1.Arab League Condemns 7 October Attack; Calls for Hamas to Disarm.  Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, signed a declaration (New York Declaration) Tuesday condemning for the first time Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023, and calling on the Palestinian terror group to release all the hostages it is holding, disarm and end its rule of G...

For review: 1. Ceasefire Between Thailand & Cambodia. After efforts by Malaysia, the United States, and China to bring both sides to the table, the two countries' leaders agreed during talks in Putrajaya, Malaysia to end hostilities, resume direct communications and create a mechanism to implement the ceasefire. 2. Dozens of ministers gathered at a United Nations conference on Monday to u...

For review: 1. IDF Announces Daily 10-Hour Humanitarian Pauses in Gaza. The  pauses will take place from 10 a.m. till 8 p.m. in areas where the IDF is currently not operating with ground troops. 2. As a result of stalled negotiations- Hamas is taking additional precautionary measures to undermine potential efforts by Israeli special forces or others to rescue the hostages. For example, Hamas has r...

For review: 1. Iran and E3 Nations (France, Germany, UK) meet in Turkey for nuclear talks. 2. A ballistic missile launched at Israel Friday night by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen was intercepted by air defenses, the Israel Defense Forces said. There were no reports of impacts or injuries in the attack. 3. Israel and Hamas Hostage & Ceasefire Talks Stall: Will Resume Next Week. 4. British Pr...

For review: 1. Syria’s interim government has requested Turkey’s support to strengthen its defense capabilities following sectarian violence over the past two weeks. 2.  US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack has urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to recalibrate his policies and embrace a more inclusive approach after a new round of sectarian bloodshed last week, or risk losing international support. 3...

For review: 1. Iran and E3 Nuclear Talks in Istanbul on Friday. Iran, Britain, France and Germany will hold nuclear talks in Istanbul on Friday- following warnings by the three European countries that failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Iran. 2. Iran could withhold security commitments if European states invoke a UN mechanism to reimpose internat...

For review: 1. Ceasefire in S. Syrian City of Sweida Between Druze & Bedouin. 2. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said elections will be held before the end of the year for the Palestinian National Council, for the first time since 2006. 3. Ukraine proposes new round of peace talks with Russia next week. 4. New Round of EU Sanctions Against Russian Energy.  5. UK & Germany...

For review: 1. US Army Mid Range Capability Live-Fire During Talisman Sabre '25.  The U.S. Army hit an at-sea target with a Standard Missile 6 fired from its Typhon missile system as part of the Talisman Sabre 2025 exercise in Australia. The live-fire test is the first time the Army has tested the containerized missile launcher derived from the Navy MK 41 launchers used on warships outside th...

For review: 1. No progress on Israel - Hamas Hostage and Ceasefire negotiations. 2. In a meeting in Amman on Sunday with British former prime minister Tony Blair, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged Hamas to release the hostages it is holding and hand over its weapons to the PA, stressing that the terror group “will not rule the Gaza Strip” after the war there ends. 3. Israeli jets...

For review: 1. Doha Hostage & Ceasefire Talks Stalled. 2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “confident” he will be able to reach a deal to free hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in an interview with US media aired late Saturday. 3. Russian President Putin Supports Zero Enrichment for Iran. 4. A Syrian official and an Israeli official are expected to meet in Baku later Saturd...

For review: 1. No significant progress has been made on Hostage and Ceasefire Negotiations between Israel and Hamas. 2. Lebanon's President Aoun: Peaceful Relations but No Normalization with Israel. Addressing relations with Israel, President Aoun “distinguished between peace and normalization,” according to a statement by his office. 3. US Sec of State Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Lavr...

For review: 1. Israeli PM on Hostage & Ceasefire Deal: "Not at any price."  Israeli PM Netanyahu: “President Trump and I have a common goal. I want to achieve the release of our hostages. We want to end Hamas rule in Gaza. We want to make sure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel anymore.”  2. Israeli ground troops raided several sites inside Lebanon in recent days, destroying...

For review: 1. During interview with American commentator Tucker Carlson, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed that Israel attempted to assassinate him. 2. IDF Strikes Houthi Ports in Yemen. More than 50 munitions were dropped by IAF fighter jets on the Houthi targets, in response to repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory. 3.  Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Sunday...

For review: 1. Israel Sending Team to Qatar for Hostage Talks. However, the Prime Minister’s Office cautioned in a statement that Hamas had suggested several amendments to the proposal, which Israel found to be unacceptable. According to a source involved in the mediation efforts, Hamas proposed three amendments to the proposed framework. The source said that Hamas wants the agreement to say that...