Israel Sending Team to Qatar for Hostage Talks + UK Reestablishes Diplomatic Ties with Syria + Iran's Supreme Leader Makes First Appearance Since Ceasefire with Israel

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 talks on a permanent ceasefire will continue until an agreement is reached; that aid will fully resume through mechanisms backed by the United Nations and other international aid organizations; and that the IDF withdraw to positions it maintained before the collapse of the previous ceasefire in March.

2. UK Reestablishes Diplomatic Ties with Syria.

3. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday made his first public appearance since the 12-day war between Israel and Iran began last month. There was no immediate report on any public statement made.  

4. President Volodymyr Zelensky described his recent phone call (occurred on 04 July) with US President Donald Trump as "the best conversation in all this time" in an evening address on 05 July.

5. Breaking Defense Opinion Article - Titled: S-400s or not, don't give Turkey the F-35.

Authored by: 

Bradley Bowman is senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). 

Sinan Ciddi is a senior fellow at FDD and director of its Turkey Program.

6. Japan's Ministry of Defense all-in on Australian Frigate competition. Japan's shipbuilder (Mitsubishi Heavy Industry) is competing against Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) to sell Australia 11 x Frigates.. A final decision on the winner is expected by the end of this year. Delivery of the first ship is expected by the end of 2029.

7. The US Military is preparing for the difficult challenge of sustaining a possible protracted operation in the Pacific theater, by developing Joint Theater Sustainment Distribution Centers.

Universal characteristics:

a. Port capability to move surface vessels with large amounts of materiel.

b. Storage capacity for classes of supply. 

c. Airfield/air capability to move materiel and supplies rapidly.