Fdd's overnight brief

Israel

A foundation created with backing from the Trump administration to establish a new system for aid to flow into the Gaza Strip said on Wednesday that it had reached agreements with Israel to begin operations in the enclave before the end of the month. It also suggested that Israel had agreed to allow aid into Gaza as the foundation is setting up its operations. – New York Times

Israel’s right-wing government has maintained a diplomatic silence this week as U.S. President Donald Trump fired off a blizzard of announcements that have shaken Israeli assumptions about their country’s standing with its most important ally. – Reuters

Israel’s attacks in Gaza this week send the signal they are not interested in negotiating a ceasefire, Qatar’s prime minister told CNN in an interview on Wednesday. – Reuters

Pained and angered by deadly clashes between Islamist and Druze gunmen in Syria in recent weeks, leaders of Israel’s own Druze minority say the Israeli military was right to intervene to defend the Druze and should do so again if violence restarts. – Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday of standing with Hamas after Macron said Israel’s policy in Gaza was “shameful”. Netanyahu said Israel was sticking to its war aims of securing the release of its hostages, defeating Hamas and ensuring Gaza poses no threat to Israel. – Reuters

Israel issued evacuation warnings on Wednesday for three seaports in Yemen after saying the Iran-aligned Houthis had fired a missile towards it. – Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is “no way” Israel will halt its war in Gaza — where airstrikes on two hospitals Tuesday killed at least eight and wounded dozens — even if a deal is reached to release more hostages. – Associated Press

After President Trump pleaded with Syria’s “attractive” interim ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to join the Abraham Accords, a senior Damascus official on Wednesday gave an unprecedented interview to an Israeli press outlet during which he called for peace. Many Israelis, though, are skeptical of what they see as a public relations campaign attempting to rehabilitate a man striving to shed his terrorist past. – New York Sun

Tzeela Gez was on her way to the hospital to bring new life into this world when hers was suddenly cut short. As her husband drove their car through the winding roads of the occupied West Bank late Wednesday, a Palestinian attacker shot at them. Within hours, Gez, nine months pregnant, was dead. Doctors barely saved the life of the baby, who is in serious but stable condition. – Associated Press

Israel’s military said it killed a Hezbollah militant in a strike on south Lebanon on Wednesday, the latest attack despite a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group. – Agence France-Presse

While Donald Trump is skipping a visit to Israel during his ongoing Mideast travels, the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza has been a significant part of discussions, as the US president dismissed claims that the Jewish state is being sidelined by his trip. – Agence France – Presse

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday will hold a landmark session on Resolution 2474, which addresses the return of the remains of missing persons held by hostile parties during armed conflict. – Jerusalem Post

Hamas is afraid of US President Donald Trump, and started treating hostages better after he was elected, US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff told hostage families in a meeting earlier in the week, recordings by N12 revealed on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post

“There are no indications from the talks in Qatar that Hamas’s position is shifting in a way that would allow for a deal. There is no reason for optimism,” said three Israeli officials. – Jerusalem Post

The IDF’s strike on Tuesday night to try to kill Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar may have killed Hamas Rafah Brigade commander Muhammad Shabana, sources estimate. – Jerusalem Post

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called Israel a “genocidal state” while speaking in the Spanish parliament on Wednesday, saying that Madrid “does not do business” with such a country. The comments sparked anger in Israel, and the Foreign Ministry summoned the Spanish ambassador to Israel for a dressing down. – Times of Israel

Editorial: Further, it was a sign: a sign that sometime in the near future, Israel could enter some very advantageous agreements with its neighbors and, although they are not next door, their joining the Abraham Accords could be the foot in the door the country needs to improve its diplomatic standing in the Middle East, recover its international reputation, and ultimately garner enough partners to put pressure on Hamas to bring about a definitive end to the war. – Jerusalem Post

Andreas Kluth writes: The historic rupture consists of the US letting an old and close friend, Israel, become ever more isolated in the world. For decades, Israel’s national interest factored into America’s. Now they are diverging. Biden should have broken with Bibi to save Zionism, but he didn’t have the courage. Trump is indeed dissing Netanyahu, but not for the sake of Israel. He’s doing it for himself. – Bloomberg

Russia and Ukraine

Ignoring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call to meet for direct high-level talks in Turkey, Russian leader Vladimir Putin dispatched to Istanbul a team of junior officials, making it uncertain that negotiations between the warring nations would occur at all. – Wall Street Journal

The head of Russia’s only independent election watchdog was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison after being convicted of working with an “undesirable” organization, according to Russian news agencies and his attorney. – New York Times

President Donald Trump is not going to Turkey to join Russia-Ukraine talks on Thursday, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. – Reuters

Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said there is a “financial gap” in the country’s budget for next year, but that Ukraine is stronger than it was a year ago and capable of continuing to defend itself. – Reuters

The Kremlin on Wednesday criticised comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that Paris is open to deploying nuclear-armed warplanes in other European countries, saying it would not enhance the continent’s security. – Reuters

Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko will travel next week to Banff, Alberta, where his counterparts in Group of Seven countries are holding their annual summit. – Bloomberg

Editorial: But it’s poised to more than replace those troops. Ukraine badly needs to raise Russia’s costs on the battlefield, if not halt (or even roll back) its recent advances. The best news: Trump increasingly seems to realize that Putin, not Volodymyr Zelensky, is the chief obstacle to peace. If he truly wants to end the war soon, he’ll need to tighten all the screws on Vlad — to the max. – New York Post

Jim Geraghty writes: Yes, Mr. President, the Russian military is perfectly willing to kill children to get what they want in this war. They bomb hospitals, they bomb schools, and either bad aim or sheer cruelty means their missiles and artillery bring roofs crashing down on elderly women, even in Russian territory. Trump is negotiating with a ruthless, remorseless foe — might be wise to start acting like it. This isn’t just another real estate deal. – Washington Post

Michael O’Hanlon writes: But if Putin thumbs his nose at his would-be friend in the Oval Office and continues his heinous assault on the people of Ukraine, that could change—and Trump could say so, even now. Even with these additional elements of a comprehensive U.S. strategy for ending the war over Ukraine, negotiating a stable and durable peace will be difficult. But right now, despite the improvements in Trump’s plan, the prospects for peace remain poor. There is more work to be done. – National Interest

Turkey

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan has probably never held more global sway: he will host the first direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks in three years on Thursday, days after his country’s militant nemesis, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), dissolved. – Reuters

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met online with U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday. – Reuters

The foreign ministers of Turkey, the United States and Syria will meet in southern Turkey on Thursday to discuss details of U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to lift sanctions on Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday. – Reuters

Mustafa Kutlay writes: Playing all sides can lead to isolation, and pursuing every opportunity for engagement can overstretch countries that simply do not have a superpower’s resources. Turkey and other middle powers may see a transactional approach as an appealing way to get ahead in today’s world. But unless they temper it with realistic expectations, the policy will likely cost more than it yields. – Foreign Affairs

Middle East & North Africa

When President Trump declared from the stage of an opulent ballroom in Saudi Arabia that the United States was done nation-building and intervening, that the world’s superpower would no longer be “giving you lectures on how to live,” his audience erupted in applause. – New York Times

The worst fighting in Libya’s capital for years calmed on Wednesday after the government announced a ceasefire, Tripoli residents said, while there was no immediate statement from authorities on how many people had been killed. – Reuters

Oil fell for a second day following a report Iran is willing to forgo nuclear weapons in a deal with the US in exchange for sanctions relief. – Bloomberg

Eli Lake writes: At the end of his speech’s section on Iran, Trump did not promise to shutter the country’s nuclear program. Instead he said, “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.” Perhaps that was just a rhetorical flourish. But in light of the high drama over his administration’s diplomacy with Iran, it counts as a mixed message buried in a speech announcing a sea change in the end goals of American foreign policy. – The Free Press

China

China convicted the former chairman of a once-highflying computer-chip conglomerate on corruption charges and gave him a de facto life sentence, concluding a high-profile case that had shaken the country’s semiconductor industry. – Wall Street Journal

The case of a Japanese man jailed for 12 years in China was handled according to the law, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday after he was asked about the man’s trial. – Reuters

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping warned on Thursday that exports in the region will barely grow this year amid the onset of U.S. tariffs, as the U.S. and Chinese trade representatives met on the sidelines of the gathering. – Reuters

China on Wednesday paused some non-tariff measures taken against 17 U.S. entities put on its unreliable entity list in April and 28 U.S. entities on its export control list, the commerce ministry said. – Reuters

China’s hosting of envoys from two of Taiwan’s few remaining allies to an event has caused some concern in Taipei about possibly losing the support on the global stage, further isolating the democracy. – Bloomberg

Asia

Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, could travel to Washington as soon as next week for a third round of trade talks with the U.S., two sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Thursday. – Reuters

Germany and the Philippines have agreed to enhance defence ties and boost joint activities as Manila builds up a range of alliances to strengthen its position in a longstanding dispute with China in the contested South China Sea. – Reuters

Australian writer Yang Hengjun, handed a suspended death sentence last year by a Beijing court, has written to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seeking support for a medical transfer home, a letter released by his supporters shows. – Reuters

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he discussed the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow, days after a U.N. report found Russia responsible for the disaster. – Reuters

Indonesia’s military has killed 18 Papuan separatists during an operation in its easternmost region of Papua, an official said on Thursday. – Reuters

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Thursday to discuss defence cooperation and global trade, after arriving in Jakarta on his first international visit since his re-election. – Reuters

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon signed a law on Wednesday removing criminal liability for “liking” posts on social media containing material that publicly calls for terrorism or other serious crimes, his press service said. – Reuters

Bonny Lin, John Culver, and Brian Hart write: To the extent that China is misunderstanding the United States, it will be crucial for the Trump administration to correct and push back against Chinese narratives, both in public and in private. If the Trump administration does not want a crisis on its hands, it should not leave such a door open for Beijing. The Taiwan Strait will be volatile enough over the next few years without adding to the mix muddled Chinese perceptions of what the United States is willing—or not willing—not do. – Foreign Affairs

Africa

Rehearsals were going well. The students at Butere Girls’ High School drama club had sailed through their regional heats and thought they had a good chance of winning this year’s edition of Kenya’s national theater contest. At least until police arrived at a local elementary school firing tear gas. – Wall Street Journal

It was May 2019 and national security officials were in the Situation Room discussing Iran when President Trump abruptly changed the subject. He wanted to talk about granting asylum and citizenship to white South African farmers. – New York Times

A small aircraft crashed near a village in Chad on Wednesday, killing its pilot and a passenger who were on a rhinoceros monitoring mission, the country’s Civil Aviation Authority said. – Reuters

Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM has claimed responsibility for an attack targeting a military post in Burkina Faso’s northern Loroum province in which the group said 60 soldiers were killed, the SITE Intelligence Group said on Tuesday. – Reuters

An appeals court in Mauritania handed down a 15-year prison sentence and a $3 million fine to former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz on Wednesday after he appealed a five-year sentence. – Associated Press

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa plans to hold talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington on May 21 and hopes to ease a simmering diplomatic row between the two nations. – Bloomberg

United States

U.S. President Donald Trump, whose family has major business interests in the Gulf countries he is visiting this week, said there was no talk of building a Trump Tower in Syria or golf during his meetings in Saudi Arabia that ended on Wednesday. – Reuters

Cases of migrants caught in new military zones on the U.S.-Mexico border have been stalled over legal confusion, and lawyers and a U.S. senator on Wednesday raised concerns over whether people actually know when they are entering the zones. – Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his NATO counterparts meet in Turkey on Thursday to prepare a pivotal summit of alliance leaders next month that will set the course for future European security as America focuses on challenges elsewhere. – Associated Press

Six of the top 25 award recipients under a pair of Pentagon programs to bolster small businesses have “troubling ties” to China, including a company whose leader also served on the board of a Chinese state-backed investment vehicle, a Senate investigation has concluded. – Bloomberg

Congressional Republicans are urging President Donald Trump to remain committed to a hardline Iran strategy, calling for the complete dismantlement of the regime’s nuclear enrichment capabilities in a letter that drew wide support. – Fox News

US President Donald Trump took credit for the release of hostages from Gaza, telling reporters as he was boarding Air Force One on Wednesday, “Without the United States, the hostages would not be alive now. There are about 20 alive; we will get them out, step by step. – Jerusalem Post

Editorial: “They cannot have centrifuges. They have to downblend all of their fuel,” Mr. Witkoff said, “and send it to a faraway place.” Unlike under Barack Obama’s deal, “there will never be a deal where obligations are allowed to sunset.” The lawmakers cheer these positions and seek to hold the Trump Administration to them. Iran would be wise to heed the message. – Wall Street Journal

Simon Henderson writes: In Middle East terms, the major issues of Gaza, Iran’s nuclear programme and the Houthis of Yemen (with whom Washington has organised a ceasefire) remain. But perhaps, in President Trump’s logic, they are no longer quite so intractable. And again maybe, just maybe, business deals are a route to diplomatic progress. The coming weeks and months will provide an answer. – Washington Institute

Defense

A silver rocket shot into a bright blue New Mexico sky Wednesday morning, accelerating on a streak of blue-and-orange flame. The launch by Houston-based Venus Aerospace marked the first U.S.-based flight of a powerful new variety of rocket called a rotating detonation engine. – Washington Post

A hotline between military and civilian air traffic controllers in Washington, D.C., that hasn’t worked for more than three years may have contributed to another near miss shortly after the U.S. Army resumed flying helicopters in the area for the first time since January’s deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter, Sen. Ted Cruz said at a hearing Wednesday. – Defense News

The U.S. Army will field its first Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, commonly known as FLRAA, to the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the Army vice chief of staff told an audience at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual conference Wednesday. – Defense News

The acting head of the Navy sees “tremendous opportunity” for American shipbuilding with the focused White House, Navy secretariat and Congress aligned on rebuilding the industry. – USNI News