The President's Daily Brief
June 3rd, 2025: Media Falls For Desperate Hamas Hoax & Russia-Ukraine Talks Resume
Tue, 03 Jun 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A global headline crumbles as new footage contradicts claims that Israeli forces killed dozens at a Gaza aid site. Ukraine and Russia meet in Istanbul for another round of talks following a dramatic weekend. The United States quietly approves Syria’s plan to integrate thousands of former jihadist rebels into its national army. And in today’s Back of the Brief—Greta Thunberg and a Game of Thrones actor join a Gaza-bound flotilla aimed at breaching Israel’s naval blockade. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Lean: Visit https://TakeLean.com & use code pb20 for 20% off Jacked Up Fitness: Go to https://GetJackedUp.com and use code BAKER at checkout to save 10% off your entire purchase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What recent event in Gaza has the media reported?
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.
Chapter 2: What evidence contradicts the claims about the Gaza incident?
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.
Chapter 3: What happened during the Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul?
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.
Chapter 4: Who is leading the Gaza flotilla and why?
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 U.S. 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 fact-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, quote, End quote. 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.
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Chapter 5: Why is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation important?
Just civilians receiving supplies in an uneventful operation. And, in fact, the BBC and others have since... Er, 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 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 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. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's take just a minute to talk about your personal finances and your hard-earned savings, shall we? Now look, did you know that in the last 12 months, gold's value has jumped 30%? That's right. And central banks, well, they're buying gold in record amounts.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of bypassing Hamas for aid distribution?
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Offer is valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. 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 U.S.-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 Kiev 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, quote, 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 lasted less than one hour. And that was a massive 6000 for 6000 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.
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Chapter 7: What progress was made in the latest Ukraine-Russia negotiations?
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-Sharah 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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Chapter 8: How does Zelensky propose to achieve lasting peace with Russia?
On board the vessel, dubbed the Madeleine, is none other than Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist whose latest crusade has taken 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.
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