401: Hostage Deal Begins - Three Israeli Hostages Released After 471 Days of Captivity in Gaza + Iran State TV Shows Secret Underground Naval Missile Base + First US Navy Destroyer Fitted with Hypersonic Missile Tubes + More

I - On Defense Podcast

For review:
1. Hostage Deal Begins - Three Hostages Released After 471 Days of Captivity in Gaza.
The first three hostages freed under the deal were civilians Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31. Romi Gonen was abducted from the Supernova music festival, while Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher were taken from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
2. Syrian leader (Ahmed Al-Sharaa) pushes for Israel to leave buffer zone between the two countries.
“Israel’s advance in the region was due to the presence of Iranian militias and Hezbollah. After the liberation of Damascus, I believe that they have no presence at all. There are pretexts that Israel is using today to advance into the Syrian regions, into the buffer zone,” said Sharaa.
3. Iran State TV Shows Secret Underground Naval Missile Base.
State television said the base was built at a depth of 500 meters, somewhere in the Gulf, showed tunnels with long rows of what it said were a new version of Taregh-class radar-evading speedboats which can launch cruise missiles, and said that some of the vessels were “capable of destroying US warships and destroyers.”
4. One and a half mile-long airstrip being built on Yemen's Abd al-Kuri island.
Abd al-Kuri is part of the Socotra Archipelago, separated from Africa by only 60 miles and from Yemen by some 250 miles.
5. Norway and France to increase defense cooperation.
Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram Gram welcomed his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu for talks in Oslo on Thursday, followed by meetings with the French and Norwegian defense industries, the government said in a statement.
6. First US Navy Destroyer Fitted with Hypersonic Missile Tubes.
USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is back in the water after the installation of four missile tubes that will eventually carry the Conventional Prompt Strike weapon.
The tubes that will field three missiles a piece- for a total of up to 12 hypersonic missiles.