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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Vice President for Strategic Affairs, has submitted his resignation to President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to sources close to the government. While Zarif’s resignation letter has reportedly reached the president, no official response has been given yet.
(IRNA)
❗️Self-appointed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani) met with members of the committee tasked with drafting Syria's constitutional declaration.
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⭕️ Highlights from the occupied West Bank today, 2 March, 2025:
Nablus: Israeli settler vehicles were damaged by stone-throwing in Huwara.
Jenin: 41st day of invasion; occupation forces sent reinforcements while continuing destruction and bulldozing operations.
Tulkarem: A young man was injured by an Israeli military vehicle; 25 residential apartments were demolished in Nour Shams camp.
Ramallah: Israeli forces stormed multiple towns and villages, setting up checkpoints that restricted movement.
Jerusalem: Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy Israeli military protection; roads near Ras al-Amoud were blocked.
Jericho: Israeli occupation forces demolished a date factory and a commercial store north of the city.
Hebron: Israeli settlers raided Susya in Masafer Yatta, attacking homes; Israeli forces stormed homes in the Al-Aksha street area of Hebron.
⭕️ Families of the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza have rejected any delays in negotiations for a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal, insisting that all captives must be released at once. "Delaying negotiations for the remaining prisoners' deal is unacceptable and forbidden," they stated. Expressing frustration with Netanyahu’s government, they warned, "We are in crisis, and Netanyahu's government is preparing the army to return to war." They also acknowledged Hamas’ strong bargaining position, emphasizing, "The strongest bargaining chip in Hamas' hands today is the Israeli prisoners, and we must do everything possible to secure their release."
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Egypt says Gaza reconstruction plan ready, pushes for second phase ceasefire talks
Egypt and other Arab states are scrambling to counter Trump's plan to forcibly displace Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians
⭕️ Israeli War Minister says 'security crisis' requires more illegal Jewish settlements, blames Palestinians
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that the worsening security situation in the occupied West Bank is due to the absence of Israeli settlements, effectively arguing that further expansion is the solution to Israel’s problems.
Speaking at a conference of settler leaders in the northern occupied West Bank on Sunday, Katz emphasized that settlements serve both ideological and security purposes, describing them as a "protective belt" for Israeli cities. He admitted that Israel’s military had been largely inactive in the region for years, which allowed Palestinian resistance groups to grow stronger. Katz praised settler leader Yossi Dagan for his role in advancing settlement expansion and lobbying internationally—particularly in the United States under the Trump administration—calling his efforts "crucial for the future of the settlements and the state."
❗️Jenin Camp Media Committee (Occupied West Bank):
○ "About 90% of the camp's population was forcibly displaced."
○ "The [Israeli] occupation's aggression led to the cutting off of water and electricity, food shortages, and children's needs."
○ "The occupation destroyed about 498 homes and facilities, completely or partially."
Iran sacks economy minister as US sanctions persist, crisis worsens
Defending himself in parliament, Abdolnaser Hemmati stressed that US President Donald Trump has ‘declared economic war’ on Tehran
❗️Head of the Government Media Office in Gaza, Salama Maarouf: 962 violations and breaches by the occupation of the ceasefire agreement, including cold-blooded murders of at least 100 citizens and the injury of 490 others in different areas of the Strip.
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❗️Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati:
○ The second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza must begin immediately.
○ We seek to benefit from the European role to pressure the Israeli side to implement the ceasefire agreement in all its stages.
○ There must be a political process leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state for the security and stability of the region.
❗️Gaza Ministry of Interior:
○ "Our specialized agencies are monitoring market conditions and the availability of goods following the occupation's announcement of closing the crossings leading to the Gaza Strip."
○ "We urge citizens to remain calm while stocking up on necessities and assure that all essential goods are available."
○ "We call on merchants to act with national and moral responsibility during this period and warn against any exploitation, hoarding, or price hikes."
○ "Strict measures will be taken against those who raise prices or engage in hoarding. Police Consumer Protection Patrols have begun deploying across markets in all governorates of the Gaza Strip to monitor the availability of essential goods and ensure they are sold at standard prices."
⭕️ Israel has killed at least 4 Palestinians and injured 6 across Gaza since this morning.
Since the start of the ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 116 Palestinians and injured 490.
(Gaza Ministry of Health)
❗️Office of the Popular Resistance Committees in Palestine:
○ "The closure of Gaza's crossings and the halt in humanitarian aid to our people in Gaza is yet another Zionist violation of the agreement brokered by mediators and an escalation of the starvation war that the enemy has been waging for over 17 months.
○ We warn certain merchants who align themselves with the Zionist enemy's plans by raising prices and hoarding goods. We consider anyone engaging in such actions to be a hidden Zionist tool tightening the siege on Gaza.
○ We call on the relevant authorities in the Palestinian government in Gaza to take immediate action against these criminals, impose the harshest penalties, confiscate their goods, and ban them from operating.
○ We urge all journalists, media professionals, and activists to immediately stop relaying news from Zionist media outlets, which are directed by Israeli intelligence and the military. Instead, we call on them to combat disinformation, counter rumors, and expose anyone attempting to undermine our internal front."
❗️On the second day of Ramadan, Israeli military bulldozers continue to demolish homes in Tulkarem's Nour Shams refugee camp, occupied West Bank.
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❗️Leader of Yemen's Ansarallah, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi:
"The resumption of war on Gaza will be met with the entire [Israeli] enemy entity coming under fire ... If the war returns to Gaza, we will intervene with support through various military means."
❗️Israeli forces storm the eastern area of Nablus, occupied West Bank.
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❗️Israel Hayom, citing sources:
Israel will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor.
❗️Demonstrations in front of Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem demanding the completion of the prisoner deal with the Palestinian resistance in all its stages.
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Lebanese Druze leader warns of 'Israeli plot' to 'sabotage, divide Syria' on sectarian lines
The warning comes amid rising sectarian tensions and clashes between HTS-led Syrian security forces and Druze self-defense units in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana
❗️Local sources to Al Jazeera say Israeli military bulldozers have demolished around 25 apartments in Nour Shams camp in Tulkarem, occupied West Bank, since this morning.
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❗️An Israeli army vehicle deliberately rammed into a vehicle with a Palestinian citizen inside it near Murabitun mosque west of Tulkarem, occupied West Bank.
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❗️Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs: Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque (occupied Jerusalem) 20 times and prevented the call to prayer in the Ibrahimi Mosque (occupied Hebron) 44 times during February.
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❗️Footage from after the Israeli airstrike targeting southern Gaza's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood west of Rafah earlier today.
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❗️Al-Mayadeen correspondent:
Israeli army vehicles are firing heavily at Al-Farahin neighborhood in the town of Abasan Al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
⭕️ Today, Iran's parliament voted to impeach Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati.
The representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly approved the impeachment of Hemmati with 182 votes in favor, 89 votes against, one abstention, and one invalid vote out of a total of 273 votes.
(IRNA)
After Israel announced the halt of aid to Gaza, Deputy Speaker of the Israeli Knesset Nissim Vaturi publicly called for bombing food supplies in the besieged enclave:
"Have the gates of hell opened? Bomb the food supplies that have already been brought into Gaza, today!"
Columns of smoke are rising from the southern areas of Rafah as the Israeli occupation forces set fire to the remaining homes of displaced civilians in the area.
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Israel blocks aid to Gaza, escalates violence as first phase of ceasefire expires
Hamas has rejected US envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal to extend phase one of the ceasefire, and is demanding a return to what was initially agreed upon
❗️Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party (SSNP)
"It has become evident that the Western-Zionist project to partition Syria is actively being put into motion—whether through incitement and crimes with sectarian and religious dimensions or through hostile public statements, in which the occupation entity openly declares its intent to penetrate deeper into Syrian territory under the pretext of protecting those who never sought its protection in the first place.
The party believes that the absence and deliberate weakening of state institutions paves the way for the spread of crime and chaos, ultimately facilitating the occupation’s exploitation of the situation through its agents on the ground.
In response to this grim reality, the SSNP calls for the reformation of the dissolved Syrian army on national, non-sectarian grounds, to restore the authority of the state and reassure the Syrian people across all regions. The party also urges the holding of early parliamentary elections to establish a People’s Assembly that genuinely reflects the will of the people and drafts a new constitution that aligns with the aspirations of Syrians and serves Syria’s national interests.
Furthermore, the party calls for urgent preparations for presidential elections, to elect a leader who can restore confidence among Syrians, uphold the unity of Syrian territory, resist occupation, and work towards the liberation of occupied land.
In conclusion, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party urges all popular and social forces in the Levant to unite in a genuine front that can spearhead the resistance against the enemy, which is now at the gates of Damascus and continuing its colonial expansion from the south into Syria’s interior."
BREAKING | Palestinian woman Wafaa Fathi Fseifes was killed by Israeli drone bombings targeting civilians in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis.
At least four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on several areas in the Gaza Strip since this morning, following the end of the ceasefire period:
Mahmoud Madhat Abu Harb – Rafah
Hudhayfah Al-Masry – Beit Hanoun
Mohammed Al-Masry – Beit Hanoun
Wafaa Fathi Fseifes – Khan Yunis