June 3rd, 2025: Media Falls For Desperate Hamas Hoax & Russia-Ukraine Talks Resume
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Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today.

I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three-month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. It's Tuesday, the 3rd of June. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed.

We'll start things off with a global headline and narrative that, well, unraveled fast. Now, dozens of Palestinians were reportedly killed at an aid site in Gaza. That's according to Hamas-controlled sources. But now, new evidence suggests that it never happened. We'll explain why major media outlets ran with a false narrative. I mean, could it be just because they suck at being objective? Or perhaps they just suck at fact-checking.

Or, well, it could be both. And also why Hamas and the UN are desperately trying to discredit the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Later in the show, Ukraine and Russia meet for a second round of talks in Istanbul after a weekend of large-scale aerial assaults from both sides. We'll tell you what happened there, and spoiler alert: nothing happened there. Plus, Washington quietly signs off on Syria's plan to enlist thousands of former jihadist rebels into its national army.

And in today's Back to the Brief, because apparently the world isn't already stupid enough, Greta Thunberg and a Game of Thrones actor are leading a flotilla to breach Israel's naval blockade of Gaza. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.

This weekend, a major story rocketed across the globe, landing on front pages everywhere. Dozens of Palestinians killed and over 100 wounded after Israeli forces allegedly opened fire on civilians at an aid distribution site in Gaza.

Now, CNN, The Washington Post, NBC News, and, well, you name it, they all ran with it. The story was sourced to Palestinian health officials – that's a Hamas-led ministry – and claimed the Indus incident took place at a distribution site run by an organization called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF. Now, if that name sounds familiar, it's because, well, we've covered them here before on the President's Daily Brief.

GHF is a controversial organization because it's operating independently of the UN, but one that's supported by both the Israeli and US governments to get food and supplies directly to civilians in Gaza.

The fact that it bypasses traditional UN channels, often linked to Hamas, is why the UN and others have their knickers in such a twist. Frankly, when we saw the initial reports of the incident this weekend,

We made the decision, after much discussion, to hold off on sharing it with you until we could corroborate the Hamas narrative. The details felt off, the sources felt shaky, and the narrative, well, felt too perfect for Hamas. So we waited approximately 48 hours in an attempt to fact-check. Now, we're glad we did. Look as an aside, you can rightly be sad or appalled or both

at the current suffering of the residents of Gaza, just as you could be appalled and disgusted at the actions of Hamas that started this latest conflict. And you can agree or disagree with the Israeli response to these 7 October attacks by Hamas. But when you purport to be a journalist, regardless of your feelings or political leanings or sympathies,

Well, you have an obligation to fax check, to be as accurate as possible, to question the credibility of sources or hearsay. You have an obligation to get it right, even if it means you're not the first to report something, even if it means that the actual facts don't line up with your feelings or political leanings. Otherwise, you're not a journalist. You're just somebody with a pen and an opinion.

Let's break down what we know about the incident. First, the Israeli Defense Forces flat out denied that such an attack occurred. Then came a statement from GHF, the aid distribution organization. It read, "...all aid was distributed today without incident, no injuries or fatalities. We have heard that these fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas. They are untrue and fabricated."

Now, it could be that both organizations were just engaging in some sort of cover-your-ass or, well, CYA, since we all love an acronym. But here's the kicker. Surveillance footage from the aid site on the very day in question backs them up. It shows calm, orderly aid distribution. No chaos, no gunfire, no ambulances rushing in. Just civilians receiving supplies in an uneventful operation. And, in fact, the BBC and others have since said

apologized, in a sense, for getting it wrong. So how did the narrative, though, that was first reported get legs? Well, because major media outlets, once again, ran with claims from Hamas-linked sources without verifying the facts. This is not the first time that this has happened, of course. Early in the war, remember the story about Israel bombing a hospital and killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians? Well, the media ran wild with it.

Until later evidence showed it was a misfire Hamas rocket that struck a hospital parking lot. But of course, the damage to public perception had already been done. Much like this latest incident, even with corrections, you can guarantee that more people read the initial headlines than will ever read the corrections. So, why lie about this? Why fabricate a massacre at an aid site?

And on top of that, why threaten and bully Gaza residents as Hamas has done to keep them from accepting the desperately needed assistance? Well, the reason is because Hamas is desperate and because the GHF is an existential threat.

Let me work to explain that. For years, the United Nations, particularly UNRWA, has relied on local infrastructure and workers in Gaza. And in many cases, as has been explained and evidenced, those networks overlap with Hamas itself. And that gives Hamas an enormous amount of leverage over the distribution of aid. They control who gets what. They punish the disloyal. They reward allies. And in a place where food and medicine are scarce, that kind of control is

is power. It's how Hamas has maintained its grip over Gaza's population, even as war rages on.

But the GHF doesn't go through Hamas. It bypasses the UN. It works with vetted local partners and distributes aid directly and undermines Hamas's monopoly on humanitarian support. And that's the real story here. Because if GHF or similar organizations are successful, if they prove that aid can reach civilians without Hamas, then suddenly, Hamas isn't necessary. Their authority fades. Their narrative

of being the sole protectors, the only providers, collapses. Hamas might survive bombs and they might survive bullets. What the Iranian backed and built group cannot survive is irrelevance.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation may not carry weapons, but it does carry something far more dangerous to Hamas. Proof that life-saving aid can exist without them. That people can survive and even rebuild without Hamas at the center of it all. And that's a battle that Hamas can't afford to lose.

All right, coming up next, Ukraine and Russia return to the table in Istanbul, and the U.S. quietly backs Syria's plan to absorb former jihadist rebels into its army. I'll be right back.

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Welcome back to the PDB The second round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia wrapped up Monday in Istanbul with no ceasefire and no sign that Moscow is ready to abandon its war aims Despite the long-awaited memorandum delivered by the Russian delegation intended initially for presentation following last month's prisoner swap Moscow continues to reject the US-backed ceasefire framework already accepted by Kyiv

Now, according to Ukrainian officials familiar with the talks, the Russian proposal recycled familiar talking points. Ukrainian withdrawal from territories Russia claims is its own. The same red lines, of course, that Kyiv has dismissed as non-starters since the onset of the three-year-long war with Putin's invasion back in February of 2022.

In what appeared to be an attempt at diplomatic improvisation, the Russians also floated the idea of a conditional "package" ceasefire but declined to spell out what those conditions would entail. A Ukrainian aide present at the talks proposed a summit between President Zelensky and Vladimir Putin before the end of June. The Kremlin refused once again.

Only one substantive agreement emerged from the otherwise fruitless three-hour meeting, although some reports suggested it lasted less than one hour, and that was a massive 6,000 for 6,000 prisoner exchange covering seriously wounded captives and Ukrainians under the age of 25. Ukraine's defense minister, who headed Kyiv's delegation, called the deal, quote, "...the only real progress to come out of what many now see as performative diplomacy on the Kremlin's behalf."

But even that modest breakthrough was overshadowed by what came next According to two Ukrainian officials in the room, Kyiv's defense minister confronted Russia's chief negotiator, Vladimir Badinsky, with a list of several hundred Ukrainian children who Ukraine says were illegally moved to Russia from occupied territories

Medinsky reportedly dismissed the documentation as, quote, propaganda, denying any such transfers occurred. Omitted from the Russian account, of course, is the fact that many of these children, Ukrainian officials allege, have already been adopted by Russian families.

While Kiev's negotiators sparred with the Russian delegation, Zelensky himself took to X after his address to the NATO Security Summit in Lithuania to deliver a far more forceful message. He posted, quote, The key to lasting peace is clear. The aggressor must not receive any reward for war. Any reward will only show Putin that war pays off, end quote.

Ukraine has been given one week to formally respond to Russia's terms, though officials close to the matter say that rejection is all but certain. Zelensky and his allies are pushing instead for a full ceasefire, echoing the conditions originally laid out by President Trump as a precursor to diplomacy. Under Ukraine's framework, reviewed by Reuters, the

The ceasefire reportedly stipulates that talks begin from current frontline positions and insists on several redline conditions: no restrictions on Ukraine's military posture, reparations for wartime destruction, and an international refusal to recognize Russian control of occupied Ukrainian territory

Zelensky used his NATO appearance to press once more for Ukraine to join the alliance. That's a demand, of course, that remains among Russia's fiercest objections. Zelensky stated, quote, If Putin is allowed to decide who joins NATO, where NATO infrastructure can or can't be, then Russia's appetite for war will only grow.

Meanwhile, Turkey, which hosted the talks, continues to position itself as mediator. President Erdogan is lobbying for a future summit in either Ankara or Istanbul and is hoping to bring Putin, Zelensky, and President Trump to the same table. The White House says Trump is open to attending, though no formal date for any future meeting has been announced.

Okay, turning to Syria. The US has thrown its weight behind a controversial new plan by the Islamist-led government to integrate thousands of former foreign jihadist fighters into the national army.

According to our Reuters exclusive report, Syrian defense officials confirmed that some 3,500 foreign fighters, most of them Uyghurs from China and neighboring Central Asian states, are set to be funneled into a newly formed 84th Division of the Syrian Army. They'll serve alongside domestic troops in what is being billed as a national reintegration effort in the post-Assad security structure. Now, these aren't newcomers to the battlefield.

Many of the fighters once fought under the jihadist umbrella of HTS, that's the faction that broke from al-Qaeda, played a pivotal role in Syria's 13-year civil war, and ultimately helped to topple former President Assad. Now the same fighters are being reframed as stabilizing assets. That's an outcome that until recently would have drawn a red line from Washington. But in a significant policy pivot, following President Trump's Middle East tour and his

meeting with Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharant, that red line appears to have blurred. The White House has since lifted key Assad-era sanctions and, according to newly appointed Syrian envoy Thomas Barak, signaled cautious support for the plan. He told Reuters in Damascus, "I would say there's an understanding with transparency." The logic from the administration's side is pragmatic.

It's safer to integrate trained fighters into a central command structure than risk them drifting into the ranks of ISIS or rejuvenated Al-Qaeda Many of the fighters have reportedly demonstrated loyalty to the new government and fought not only Assad's Iranian-backed terrorists but Islamic State holdouts as well

A Damascus-based jihadism expert put it bluntly, stating the fighters being recruited have been, quote, ideologically filtered. But he warned, quote, if you abandon them, well, they become prey to ISIS or other radical groups, end quote. At the center of this gambit are Uyghur militants, formerly affiliated with the Turkestan Islamic Party, or TIP. That's a group designated as a terrorist organization by both the U.S.,

and China. Oh, look, they agree on something. Syrian officials now claim that the group is formally dissolved. In a written statement to Reuters, a TIP political official said the fighters now operate entirely under the authority of Syria's Ministry of Defense, follow national directives, and maintain, quote, no affiliations with external entities or groups. Still,

The move is raising alarms abroad. Beijing has urged Syria to oppose, quote, all forms of terrorism and extremist forces and called on Damascus to reassure the international community that the militants won't return to transnational jihad.

Concerns in the West predate the integration plan Back in December, several foreign HTS commanders were appointed to senior posts within the emerging military hierarchy Such appointments became early sticking points and back-channel negotiations Those tensions only began to ease after Trump's May meeting with al-Sharan in Riyadh One of the more provocative ideas now gaining traction in Damascus is offering Syrian citizenship to those foreign fighters and their families

both a reward for aiding Assad's downfall and a bid for long-term loyalty. For now, the 84th Division is being watched closely not only as a test of whether jihadists can be repurposed into a national army but as a gauge for whether America's bet on Syria's new leadership will stabilize the country.

Okay, coming up next in the back of the brief, Greta Thunberg sets sail with a Gaza-bound flotilla aiming to break Israel's naval blockade. I'll have those details next.

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In today's Back of the Brief, the so-called Freedom Flotilla Coalition, or FFC, because, well, even activists like an acronym now and then, well, they set sail from southern Italy on Sunday on a mission to breach Israel's naval blockade of Gaza. On board the vessel, dubbed the Madeline, is none other than Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist whose latest crusade as

taking a hard pivot from carbon footprints to Middle East geopolitics. And for all my Middle East geopolitics info, I always turn to Greta Thunberg. At a press conference before setting sail, Thunberg declared, quote, No matter how dangerous this mission is, it's nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the lives being genocized, end quote. And in case you're wondering, genocized is not a word.

Honestly, if they want to get past the blockade, all they need to do is come up broadside on the Israeli vessels and have Greta launch a tirade.

The organizers, for their part, insist that this isn't solely about delivering aid. No, of course not. It's about civil disobedience or maybe performative art. One or the other. The FFC said in a statement, quote, this is not charity, before calling Israel's naval blockade illegal and accusing Jerusalem of war crimes. Well, Israeli officials fired back, calling the genocide charge a modern-day blood libel, part of a well-worn playbook,

aimed at delegitimizing the Jewish state. They maintain that the blockade is necessary to stop Hamas from smuggling in weapons to the enclave. Now, this isn't the flotilla group's first maritime publicity stunt. A previous attempt last year went up in smoke when another boat was reportedly struck by drones near Malta. The FFC blamed Israel for the strike, though Jerusalem declined to comment.

This time around, Madeleine is carrying what organizers describe as, quote, limited, though symbolic, aid barrels. Among the rest of the crew is French-Palestinian EU parliamentarian Rima Hassan, who happens to be banned from Israel, Brazilian activist Tiago Avila, and Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham.

The voyage is expected to take about a week, although it's hard to tell since the ship's alternative fuel source is a combustible mix of hot air and self-righteous bloviating.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem announced a partial easing of the blockade last week, allowing some shipments under UN supervision. Still, major international aid organizations have criticized a separate US and Israeli-backed initiative, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as we've described earlier, for lacking neutrality and promoting displacement. They're reportedly upset because the organization, as we've mentioned, GHF, is effectively handing out much-needed aid without the involvement of the UN,

and without Hamas having any control in the distribution. Of course, nothing says you're a humanitarian aid organization like complaining about another organization actually delivering humanitarian aid.

Avila, the Brazilian activist currently setting sail for adventure on the smug boat, said Sunday the mission is part of a broader strategy to, quote, break the siege by land. That's referring to a planned global march to Gaza, expected to reach Rafah in mid-June. Because, well, what could go wrong with crowds of international protesters and activists trying to storm one of the most tightly controlled border crossings on Earth? And by the way, it's that tightly controlled...

Ah, because the heavily fortified border wall and crossing was established by Egypt to keep Palestinians from crossing back and forth into Egypt from Gaza. Anyway, look, we'll keep tabs on the Madeleine's progress and we'll provide updates in the event that we have a small news day.

And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Monday, the 2nd of June. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. Now, of course, to listen to the show ad-free and simple, just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.