Morning Brief: Hamas Leaders Head to Cairo for Ceasefire Talks; Putin, Kim Pledge Closer Military Cooperation Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit

· Guy D. McCardle

Israeli airstrikes hit civilian homes in the Gaza Strip, circa 2023-25. (Wikimedia Commons)

It’s Wednesday morning, August 13, 2025, and the headlines are loaded. The VA battles worsening staffing gaps, Trump takes over the Kennedy Center, and Mexico extradites 26 cartel bosses to the US Gaza reels from deadly Israeli strikes ahead of Cairo ceasefire talks, Zelenskyy rejects Russia’s Donetsk demands before the Trump-Putin summit, Orban claims Moscow’s already won, and New Zealand’s PM blasts Netanyahu while weighing recognition of Palestine.

—

 

VA Watchdog Reports Rising Staffing Shortages in Veterans’ Medical Centers

A new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) shows a sharp rise in severe staffing shortages across VA medical facilities, with doctors, nurses, and psychologists among the hardest positions to fill.

Surveys from March and April at 139 Veterans Health Administration sites found a 50 percent increase in reported shortages for specific occupations compared to the previous year. Nearly all facilities, 90 percent, reported shortages of medical officers, while 79 percent cited shortages of nurses, continuing a trend first noted in 2014.

The findings come weeks after news that the VA planned to cut tens of thousands of jobs through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, later reduced to about 30,000 positions by September 30.

The Trump administration dismissed the OIG surveys as unreliable because they reflect perceived difficulty in hiring, not actual vacancies. VA officials said vacancy rates, around 14 percent for doctors and 10 percent for nurses, are in line with historical averages and lower than other health systems.

Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and the American Federation of Government Employees, argue the cuts and hiring difficulties threaten veterans’ access to care and reflect a push toward VA privatization. They warn of longer wait times, fewer specialists, and reduced services.

The VA has also moved to terminate most collective bargaining agreements, a step it says will improve accountability but which union leaders say will harm recruitment.

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) noted applications to work at the VA are dropping, questioning how shrinking staff will make care more efficient for veterans.

 

Trump to Attend Kennedy Center Honors After Taking Control of Institution

US President Donald Trump will attend the Kennedy Center on Wednesday as this year’s honors are announced, marking his return to an event he avoided during his first term after artists threatened to boycott.

Now serving as the Kennedy Center’s chairman, Trump has fired and replaced the board of trustees with loyalists, vowed to end drag performances, and indicated he will play a direct role in honoree selection and programming.

In a Truth Social post, Trump hinted at renaming the venue and promised a full restoration of “luxury, glamour, and entertainment.”

The Kennedy Center has not disclosed how this year’s honorees were chosen, though it teased recipients including a country music icon, a British performer, a New York rock band, a dance “queen,” and a billionaire actor. Trump has previously floated honoring Paul Anka and Sylvester Stallone.

Since retaking office, Trump’s overhaul of the institution has prompted cancellations from high-profile artists, including the producers of Hamilton. His moves have drawn both political support and criticism, with some House Republicans pushing to rename parts, or all, of the center after Trump or First Lady Melania Trump.

Established in 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors traditionally celebrated a wide range of performers across political divides, with presidents of both parties attending until Trump’s first term.

 

US Army Sergeant Charged in Fort Stewart Shooting of Five Soldiers

US Army Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, was formally charged Tuesday with six counts of attempted murder, six counts of aggravated assault, and one count of domestic violence after allegedly opening fire on members of his supply unit at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Army prosecutors said one of the victims was Radford’s intimate partner, prompting the domestic violence charge.

The shooting occurred on August 6 inside an office building, where witnesses reported hearing gunfire before finding hazy gun smoke and wounded soldiers in hallways and offices.

Fellow soldiers disarmed and restrained Radford until military police arrived. All five wounded soldiers survived. The sixth attempted murder charge covers a soldier Radford shot at but missed.

Radford, a supply sergeant with the 2nd Armored Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, enlisted in 2018.

Fort Stewart officials have not commented on his motive. Under military law, attempted murder carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Brig. Gen. John Lubas credited quick-acting soldiers with saving lives by providing immediate first aid, sometimes using their bare hands to stop bleeding.

The day after the attack, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll awarded Meritorious Service Medals to six soldiers for their actions in restraining the gunman and treating the wounded.

Radford remains in pretrial confinement as court-martial proceedings move forward.

 

Mexico Extradites 26 High-Level Cartel Figures to US in Major Joint Operation

Mexico transferred 26 senior cartel members to US custody Tuesday in the latest high-profile cooperation with the Trump administration against cross-border drug trafficking.

The group includes Abigael González Valencia, leader of “Los Cuinis” and brother-in-law to CJNG boss Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, as well as former Knights Templar chief Servando “La Tuta” Gómez Martinez and Roberto Salazar, wanted for the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.

Others have ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and other violent trafficking organizations.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the defendants are linked to smuggling operations and violence that have harmed American communities, and credited Mexico’s National Security team for its cooperation.

The Justice Department agreed not to seek the death penalty in this and a previous February transfer, which included 29 cartel figures such as convicted Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent killer Rafael Caro Quintero.

The operation reflects closer US-Mexico security coordination under President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has pursued aggressive action against cartels while rejecting US military intervention.

The latest extraditions also come amid trade negotiations that delayed a threatened 30 percent US tariff on Mexican imports.

González Valencia’s Los Cuinis financed CJNG’s rise into one of the world’s most powerful and violent cartels, moving large quantities of cocaine, meth, and fentanyl. One of his brothers, José González Valencia, was sentenced in US federal court in June to 30 years for international cocaine trafficking.

 

UN Warns Israel Over Alleged Sexual Violence Against Palestinian Detainees

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned Israel that credible information indicates Israeli military and security forces committed sexual violence and other abuses against detained Palestinians.

In a letter to Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, Guterres said these violations reportedly occurred in multiple prisons, a detention center, and a military base. He cautioned that Israeli forces could be listed as abusers in his next report on sexual violence in conflict unless immediate corrective actions are taken, including investigations, strict codes of conduct, and granting UN monitors access.

Danon rejected the allegations as “baseless” and accused the UN of bias, urging it instead to focus on Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw widespread sexual violence against hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

The war that followed has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, roughly half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Guterres said Israel’s denial of access to monitors has hindered confirmation of systematic patterns but stressed that the UN has documented consistent allegations.

In March, UN-backed experts accused Israel of systematically using sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinian detainees, claims dismissed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as politically motivated and antisemitic.

The UN continues to call for immediate cessation of such acts and for time-bound commitments to prevent further violations.

 

Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Gaza as Hamas Leaders Head to Cairo for Ceasefire Talks

Israeli air and ground forces bombarded eastern Gaza City overnight, killing at least 11 people, according to witnesses and medics, as Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya arrived in Cairo for talks on reviving a stalled US-backed ceasefire plan.

The last round of indirect negotiations in Qatar ended in July without agreement on a proposed 60-day truce and hostage release deal, with both sides trading blame.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to expand military control over Gaza City in an October offensive, a move criticized by Israel’s military chief for risking hostages’ lives and drawing warnings from humanitarian groups about further displacement of over one million residents.

Foreign ministers from 24 countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia, France, and Japan, urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid into Gaza, describing conditions as “unimaginable.”

Israel denies responsibility for Gaza’s hunger crisis, accusing Hamas of diverting aid.

A Palestinian official said Hamas is ready to return to negotiations and could hand Gaza’s governance to a non-partisan committee but will not disarm before the creation of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu’s far-right coalition insists the war will continue until Hamas is destroyed.

Gaza’s health ministry reported 89 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours, with strikes hitting homes in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Mawasi. The ministry also said five more people, including two children, died of starvation and malnutrition, bringing such deaths to 227 since the war began.

The conflict, which started with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in Israel, has now left over 61,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza health officials.

Israel says it has killed dozens of militants in recent operations and destroyed more tunnels in northern Gaza while continuing to take measures it claims reduce civilian harm.

 

Zelenskyy Rejects Russian Demand for Donetsk Withdrawal Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is demanding Ukraine withdraw from the remaining 30 percent of Donetsk it controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal he firmly rejected.

Zelenskyy called the withdrawal unconstitutional and warned it would serve as a staging ground for future Russian offensives, noting that US-led diplomatic talks have not addressed security guarantees or included European participation, both key Ukrainian demands.

The territorial concession request was relayed to Zelenskyy by US officials, including special envoy Steve Witkoff, ahead of Friday’s planned Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

On the ground, Russian forces are closing in on Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian-held city in Donetsk. Analysts warn the next 48 hours could be critical, as its fall would complicate Ukrainian supply lines and hand Russia a symbolic victory before the summit. Ukrainian commanders report heavy fighting and describe the situation as “difficult, unpleasant, and dynamic.”

Separately, a Russian missile strike on a military training facility killed one Ukrainian soldier and wounded 11.

European security analysts warn the Alaska summit could see Trump accept Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territory or ease sanctions, moves that could fracture the transatlantic alliance and embolden Moscow’s broader ambitions in Europe.

 

Hungary’s Orban Declares Russia Has Won the War in Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Tuesday that Russia has already won the war in Ukraine, ahead of Friday’s planned Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

In an interview with the Patriot YouTube channel, Orban argued that Ukraine’s defeat is a fact the West must eventually acknowledge and warned that Europe risks having its future decided without its input.

Orban, in power since 2010, has maintained close ties with Moscow and has faced criticism from European Union (EU) leaders for opposing military aid to Ukraine.

On Monday, he was the only EU leader not to endorse a joint statement affirming Ukraine’s right to decide its own future. Hungary, reliant on Russian energy, has refused to send weapons to Ukraine and opposes its EU membership, citing potential harm to Hungary’s economy and farmers.

The Hungarian leader said Europe missed its chance to negotiate with Putin under the Biden administration and now risks being sidelined while the US and Russia set terms. He criticized the EU’s joint statement as making Europe look “ridiculous and pathetic” and warned that those absent from negotiations end up “on the menu.”

Orban’s remarks come as his government struggles to recover from an inflation-driven economic slump and as he continues to push for a foreign policy more aligned with Russia, even amid the ongoing war.

 

Poland to Boost 155mm Artillery Shell Production Sixfold by 2027

Poland plans to increase its annual output of 155mm artillery shells from about 30,000 to 180,000 by 2027, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced during a visit to the Nitro-Chem ammunition plant in Bydgoszcz.

Nitro-Chem, a major European supplier of TNT, will receive $31.2 million for new production lines as part of a wider Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) investment across four state-owned firms.

Tusk noted that in 2023, production stood at 5,000 shells annually, but will reach 30,000 this year.

The planned surge aims to fully meet Poland’s military needs, reduce reliance on imports, and strengthen NATO-standard firepower amid Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia and tightening ammunition supplies across Europe.

The 155mm caliber, NATO’s standard artillery round, offers superior range, accuracy, and capability compared to Soviet-era 152mm shells.

While not a NATO member, Ukraine relies heavily on 155mm munitions supplied by Western allies, making Poland’s expansion a critical factor in sustaining Kyiv’s defense and interoperability with allied forces.

 

Putin, Kim Pledge Closer Military Cooperation Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone Tuesday, discussing expanded strategic ties and coordination in their war efforts against Ukraine, according to state media from both countries.

Putin praised the “bravery” of roughly 15,000 North Korean troops deployed alongside Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

The Kremlin said Putin also briefed Kim on his upcoming Friday summit with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, though North Korean reports did not mention the meeting.

Kim pledged full support for “all measures” by Russia’s leadership and discussed advancing cooperation in “all fields” under a partnership agreement signed during their 2023 summit.

South Korean intelligence reports say North Korea has supplied Russia with large quantities of artillery, ballistic missiles, and other military equipment since last fall, and plans to send construction workers and deminers to the Kursk region.

Pyongyang has prioritized ties with Moscow since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, rejecting US and South Korean calls to restart nuclear disarmament talks stalled since a failed 2019 summit between Kim and Trump.

 

New Zealand PM Slams Netanyahu Over Gaza, Weighs Recognizing Palestinian State

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, saying he had “lost the plot” over the humanitarian crisis and military actions in Gaza.

Luxon condemned the lack of aid access, forced displacement of civilians, and annexation plans, calling Israel’s attack on Gaza City “utterly unacceptable.”

Luxon confirmed New Zealand is considering recognition of a Palestinian state, following Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France’s joint announcement that they will do so at a UN conference in September.

Several allied governments have urged Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza, describing conditions as reaching “unimaginable levels.” Israel denies responsibility for Gaza’s hunger crisis, blaming Hamas for seizing aid shipments, a claim Hamas rejects.

The debate has sparked protests outside New Zealand’s parliament, with demonstrators demanding lawmakers “recognize Palestine.”

Inside parliament, Green MP Chloe Swarbrick was ejected for a second day after refusing to apologize for calling government politicians “spineless” over their stance on sanctioning Israel. She was suspended after refusing to leave and exited the chamber declaring “free Palestine.”

Luxon leads a center-right coalition but has taken a firm line against Netanyahu’s recent actions, framing them as outside the bounds of acceptable conduct and signaling a possible shift in New Zealand’s Middle East policy.

 

Sources: News Agencies