US & Iran Pause Attacks; President Trump Allowing Time for Negotiations + Hamas Elects New Leader + US State Department: Turkey Does Not Meet Criteria for F-35s

For review:

1. The United States refrained from striking Iran overnight Friday-Saturday for the first day in two weeks.

After the quiet night in Iran, there were also no reports on Saturday of attacks by Iran on its Gulf neighbors, which have been taking place daily as well.

2. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the White House, the premier’s office announced Friday, in what will be the leaders’ first sit-down since the outbreak of the Iran war on February 28.

3. The Israel Defense Forces has in recent days announced a series of strikes in the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad members who it said were involved in the October 7 attack, or the subsequent holding of hostages.

4. Khalil al-Hayya has been elected to be the new leader of Hamas, the terror group announced Monday.

Al-Hayya, who previously served as the head of the group’s political bureau in Gaza, defeated former Hamas chief and veteran leader Khaled Mashaal.

5. US President Donald Trump’s administration has maintained that Turkey does not currently meet the criteria necessary for purchasing F-35 fighter jets from the United States.

To address US concerns, Turkey has been in talks with Washington about offloading the S-400 system.

6. Ukraine and the U.S. are coordinating a new round of peace proposals to present to Moscow, hoping that changing war dynamics could create the opportunity to push Russia toward negotiations, Ukrainian and U.S. officials told the Kyiv Independent.

7. Greece has approved the purchase of a multi-layer air defense system worth up to €3.5 billion ($4 billion) from Israel, its defense minister said on Thursday.

Greece wants to build a multi-layer anti-ballistic, anti-aircraft and anti-drone system, called “Achilles Shield,” with Israeli radars and missiles from Rafael and IAI defense companies forming the core of the system.

8. Australia successfully tested a “Frankenstein” medium-range air defense system last month, harnessing existing and new capabilities in a way nobody has tried before.

This first-of-type integration, which successfully fired an SM-2 interceptor missile, offers an alternative to buying expensive air defense systems.