Morning Briefing: July 5, 2025

ANKARA 

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Saturday, including the Pakistani army claiming 30 suspected militants were killed near Afghan border; the discussion between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy; and Hamas’ ‘positive’ response to mediators on Gaza ceasefire proposal.

TOP STORIES

• Pakistan’s army claims 30 suspected militants killed near Afghan border

The Pakistan army claimed it killed at least 30 suspected militants as they attempted to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The military said the movement of a group of militants trying to infiltrate through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border was detected by security forces in the general area of Hassan Khel in the North Waziristan tribal district, near the border.

“Our troops effectively engaged and thwarted the Indian-sponsored Khawarij’s attempt to infiltrate. As a result of precise and skillful engagement, all thirty Indian-sponsored Khawarij were sent to hell,” it said in a statement.

• Trump, Zelenskyy discuss air defense, joint production in phone call

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “very important and fruitful” call with US President Donald Trump, congratulating him on the US Independence Day while discussing battlefield developments, air defense and joint military production.

“We – in Ukraine – are grateful for all the support provided. It helps us protect lives, safeguard our freedom and independence,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “We support all efforts to stop the killings and restore just, lasting, and dignified peace. A noble agreement for peace is needed.”

The two leaders discussed recent Russian airstrikes and frontline developments. “President Trump is very well informed, and I thank him for his attention to Ukraine,” he added, saying they agreed to work on strengthening Ukraine’s air defense and hold a meeting between their teams.

• Hamas says it submitted ‘positive’ response to mediators on Gaza ceasefire proposal

Palestinian resistance group Hamas said it submitted a “positive” response to mediators on a new proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and prisoner exchange.

“We have completed our internal consultations and with Palestinian factions and forces regarding the mediators’ latest proposal to halt the aggression against our people in Gaza,” it said in a statement.

Hamas “delivered the response to the mediators, which was positive,” it added.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• South Korea hosted a training program for officials from nine member countries of an international chemical weapons watchdog, said its defense ministry.
• Japan began evacuating citizens from the southwest islands amid recurring tremors.
• Israeli army attacks across the Gaza Strip killed at least 64 Palestinians, including 20 who were waiting for humanitarian aid as Tel Aviv escalated its genocidal war on the enclave, medics said.
• New Zealand established its first dedicated air force space unit, a government statement said.
• China decided to impose anti-dumping duties and price undertakings on import-related brandies from the EU for the next five years, beginning Saturday.
• At least 69 people have died and 31 others are missing after days of monsoon rains and multiple cloudbursts in India’s northern Himachal Pradesh state, state authorities said.
• An explosion at a gas station in southeastern Rome injured at least 50 people, according to the Italian news agency, RAI.
• South Korea reported another data breach as a luxury brand suffered a cybersecurity incident, while the government fined a telecom firm for a separate breach, according to Yonhap News Agency.
• Flu cases have reached a nearly five-year high in South Australia, with more than 10,000 reported in 2025.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) strongly condemned recent “provocative and unacceptable” statements by Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin that called for Israel to extend sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
• China urged the US to jointly promote “stable” economic ties as President Donald Trump mulls sending letters to nations concerning his “Liberation Day” tariff.
• The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) raised alarm about rising hunger levels in the Gaza Strip.
• The UN human rights chief welcomed a decision by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights affirming that states in the Americas have legal obligations to address the climate crisis, calling it a “landmark step forward for the region — and beyond.”
• Authorities declared a state of emergency in parts of the municipality of Ierapetra following a devastating wildfire in eastern Crete that has since been brought largely under control, local media reported.
• Moscow and Kyiv carried out another exchange of prisoners of war under the June 2 Istanbul agreement, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.
• Europe began to cool from an intense early-summer heat wave, but several regions remain at high risk of another temperature surge and accompanying wildfires.
• Saudi Arabia called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and stressed the urgency of ending the “horrific suffering” endured by Palestinians amid the Israeli assault.
• At least 31 Israeli soldiers have been killed by friendly fire during the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Army Radio reported.
• Russia carefully considered US President Donald Trump’s comments about his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
• Israeli forces shelled a house, a bulldozer and a workshop in southern Lebanon in what marks a new violation of a ceasefire agreement that has been in place since Nov. 27.
• Prague and the northern regions of the Czech Republic were hit by a massive power outage, public broadcaster Radio Prague reported.
• French President Emmanuel Macron admitted that discussions with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, made no progress toward achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine.
• Tech billionaire Elon Musk, once a close confidant of Donald Trump, who later engaged in a public feud with the president, renewed his call to shake up what he described as the “uniparty” system in the US.
• At least 57,268 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, in updated figures on the war’s death toll.
• The Attorney General at the French Court of Cassation, Remy Heitz, requested that the arrest warrant against Bashar al-Assad for complicity in crimes against humanity in Syria be upheld, Le Orient du Journal reported.
• The UK will, for the first time, legally redefine a non-violent protest group, Palestine Action, as a terror organization after a last-minute legal challenge to suspend the group’s ban under anti-terrorism laws failed at a high court.
• Former BBC presenter and footballer Gary Lineker has criticized the broadcaster for failing to show a Gaza documentary, saying it should “hold its head in shame.”
• The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, currently under Russian control, has lost all off-site power, calling the situation “extremely precarious.”
• More than 714,000 people have been displaced inside the Gaza Strip since Israel resumed its assault March 18, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.
• The leader of Mozambique’s opposition Democratic Revolution (DR) party was abducted in the city of Beira in the Sofala province, his lawyer said.
• Palestinians in the occupied West Bank endure a sharp rise in settler attacks, alongside a 40% increase in the number of settlement outposts under the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media said.

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