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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
⭕️ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls for the immediate release of all remaining Israeli captives in a single phase. If this fails, Netanyahu’s alternative—aligned with the so-called "generals' plan"—is to resume intense military operations, create civilian safe zones, and restrict humanitarian aid distribution to those areas under international oversight.
According to Haaretz, Netanyahu is waiting for the new Israeli army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, to assume command and finalize a detailed strategy. The plan reportedly includes the destruction of all buildings in Gaza City, refugee camps in central Gaza, and Khan Yunis, whether by airstrikes or ground operations.
❗️Violent explosions reported south of Rafah city, heard as far as Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip.
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❗️Israeli bulldozers destroy a road and property near a school in Tulkarem, occupied West Bank.
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❗️HTS-led Religious Endowment forces stormed the shrine of Sayyeda Zaynab, closed it, took control of all its administrative offices, and expelled its workers.
Yesterday, the transitional Syrian government terminated the appointment of Sheikh Adham al-Khatib, banned him from leading congregational prayers, took over Al-Mustafa Mosque, humiliated worshippers in the Sidi Miqdad area in the countryside of Damascus, and annexed the mosque to the Ministry of Religious Endowment, despite it being privately owned.
They also removed pictures of scholars and insulted Shia religious symbols, saying "put the photos next to the shoes."
❗️Palestinian Prisoners Club:
"The Israeli occupation has arrested 365 citizens from the Jenin and Tulkarem governorates since the beginning of its current aggression."
❗️Statement issued by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (PIJ):
"The fact that the [Israeli] occupation forces have resorted to using tanks as an additional instrument of oppression in their ongoing escalation against our Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank, and the decisions by the Ministry of Aggression to evacuate three Palestinian refugee camps, represent a new aggressive step aimed at uprooting our people from their land and establishing military dominance through the creation of settlement corridors that further divide West Bank cities and their camps, confirming the occupation's plan to annex the West Bank by force.
These repressive measures and the organized terrorism practiced by the occupation government underscore the dire situation of the embattled and defeated occupation in Gaza, and reveal the fear of its Nazi-like government in the face of the repercussions of its abject failure to achieve its objectives. It is unequivocally affirmed that the plan to forcibly displace the Palestinian people from their land is unrelated to the heroic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023; rather, it is part of an ongoing strategy based on ethnic cleansing, extermination, and the theft of Palestinian land.
Today, the occupation has crossed every boundary in its project of de facto annexation of the West Bank, including areas classified under the administration of the Ramallah Authority. Settlement expansion continues unabated, and new realities are being imposed on the ground with clear American support and a suspicious international silence, bolstered by the endorsement of former US President Donald Trump for these criminal practices. This American backing, which goes beyond mere statements, reveals the active role of the US administration in overseeing the annexation process and in expanding 'Israel' at the expense of our people's rights by forcefully imposing a new settlement reality.
Our Palestinian people, who have withstood fifteen months of ongoing genocide in Gaza, will confront these racist policies with unyielding determination and resilience. They will not allow the occupation to impose its Judaization plans on their land. Just as the attempts at liquidation and displacement in Gaza have failed, this plan will also fail in the West Bank and Jerusalem, no matter how intense the aggression or how great the sacrifices."
❗️Israeli occupation forces fired gas bombs near a school in Qabatiya, south of Jenin, occupied West Bank.
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⭕️ Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's envoy for the Middle East, intends to visit Tel Aviv later this week to discuss prolonging the initial phase of the Gaza ceasefire, he told CNN on Sunday.
“We have to get an extension of Phase 1, and so I’ll be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that,” he said during an interview.
“And we’re hopeful that we have the proper time … to begin Phase 2 and finish it off and get more hostages released,” Witkoff added.
The initial 42-day truce is scheduled to conclude on the first of March.
Witkoff expressed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want Hamas to govern Gaza.
“He wants to see hostages released, that’s for sure. He also wants to protect the State of Israel. And so he’s got a red line. And he said what the red line is, and that is that Hamas cannot be involved in a governing body when this thing is resolved,” Witkoff said regarding the upcoming discussions.
❗️Statement issued by the tribes of southern Syria:
"We, the sons of the clans of southern Syria, follow with full awareness and responsibility the aggressive statements issued by the Prime Minister of the Zionist entity, Benjamin Netanyahu, which target the unity of Syria, its land and people, and seek to spread discord among its components. In the face of these miserable attempts, we emphasize the following:
1. Rejecting any form of Zionist interference in Syrian affairs, and we consider Netanyahu's statements to be merely desperate attempts to strike at the unity of the country and divide it in a way that serves his aggressive agendas.
2. Affirming absolute loyalty to the unified Syrian state, and rejecting any calls for separation or division, as southern Syria was and will remain an integral part of the homeland, and its people adhere to the comprehensive Syrian identity.
3. Rejecting suspicious regional projects that aim to fragment Syria under any pretext, and we emphasize that the future of our country is decided by the Syrians alone, far from foreign interference.
4. Calling for national solidarity among all components of the Syrian people, Arabs, Kurds, Druze, Turkmen and others, to confront the plans that aim to tear apart the Syrian social fabric.
5. Emphasizing full Syrian sovereignty over all its territories, including the occupied Golan, and considering the Israeli occupation of Arab lands an illegal act that will not be changed by the passage of time.
6. Supporting national efforts to rebuild a new Syria on the foundations of justice, citizenship and peaceful coexistence, away from any regional or sectarian tendencies.
We, in the tribes of southern Syria, affirm that the attempts of Netanyahu and his ilk to incite sedition will not pass, and that we are an integral part of a unified Syria, rejecting any external agenda aimed at undermining our unity. We will remain faithful to our land, adhering to our national decision, and defending our Syrian identity with all our strength.
Glory to Syria and its free people, and shame and disgrace to the occupiers and their agents."
⭕️ According to Israel's Channel 14, Israeli occupation forces are replicating Gaza's Netzarim Axis in the northern West Bank, specifically in Jenin and Tulkarem, as part of their ongoing assault named "Iron Wall," which has been ongoing for 35 days.
The move reportedly aims to create new military roads to prevent Palestinian resistance fighters from planting explosive devices under existing roads and to facilitate the movement of Israeli forces.
Netanyahu declares 'no Syrian forces' to be allowed south of Damascus
During a speech to Israel army commanders, the Prime Minister also warned Israel is ready to return at any moment to 'intensive combat' in Gaza
❗️During an Israeli army graduation ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Israel is ready to resume war if needed.
"If we are forced to return to fighting, the enemy will face the IDF with power it has never known before. We are preparing for this, and we are ready for this," he said.
Katz emphasized that "the fighting will end with two clear achievements: The defeat of Hamas and the release of all our hostages," adding that Israel is committed to returning all of its captives from Hamas.
He also addressed Israel's plan for Syria: "We are committed that we will not be able to return to the reality of 7 October. There is a new policy in southern Syria. The IDF will not allow hostile forces to base themselves in the security zone in southern Syria, from here to the Suwayda-Damascus route, and we will act against any threat."
❗️Member of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Izzat al-Rishq:
"The Hamas movement strongly condemns the occupation’s decision to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners. This decision once again exposes the occupation’s evasions and its renouncement of its commitments.
The occupation’s claim that the 'handover ceremonies are humiliating' is a false pretext and a flimsy excuse aimed at evading its obligations under the agreement.
These ceremonies do not involve any humiliation of the prisoners; rather, they reflect a dignified and humane treatment towards them.
The real humiliation is what our prisoners endure during the release process, including torture, beatings, and deliberate humiliation up until the last moments.
Palestinian prisoners are released with their hands shackled and their eyes blindfolded, while their families are threatened not to hold any celebrations to welcome their freed sons.
Netanyahu’s decision reflects a deliberate attempt to obstruct the agreement, constituting a clear violation of its terms and demonstrating the occupation’s unreliability in fulfilling its commitments.
We call on mediators and the international community to assume their responsibilities and pressure the occupation to implement the agreement and release the prisoners without any delay."
EXCLUSIVE | The moment Israeli warplanes flew over Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's funeral.
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❗️Al Mayadeen:
"Hundreds of thousands participated in the funeral of the two great martyrs across Lebanon, and the organizers estimate the number to be around 1.4 million people."
❗️Reports that the explosion heard was caused by an Israeli aircraft breaking the sound barrier over Gaza.
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⭕️ Israel continues to delay the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners as part of the seventh round of the prisoner-exchange agreement with the Palestinian resistance.
After several Israeli captives were freed early Saturday, Netanyahu’s office later announced that the Palestinian prisoners would not be released until there were guarantees that the remaining Israeli captives would be freed "without degrading rituals."
In response, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou stated on Monday that the movement would not engage in any new ceasefire talks or prisoner exchanges until Israel fully meets the first stage requirements of the agreement, accusing Netanyahu of blocking progress for personal gain and endangering the lives of the remaining Israeli captives. He also noted that "the failure to implement the humanitarian protocol and the postponement of the release of the seventh batch of prisoners is evidence of the occupation's intentions to disrupt the agreement and its lack of seriousness in continuing it."
❗️The casket of late Hezbollah Secretary-General Hashem Safieddine arrives in his hometown of Deir Qanoun, Tyre (Sour), south Lebanon.
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Tribes of south Syria reject Netanyahu’s ‘aggressive’ call for ‘demilitarization’
Israel’s prime minister said Tel Aviv will not allow any government forces or armed presence in the areas of Syria that it has illegally occupied
❗️Protests erupted in Khan Arnabat in the Syrian Quneitra Governorate, denouncing the statement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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❗️Israeli reinforcements storm the city of Tulkarem, occupied West Bank, on the 29th day of its invasion.
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⭕️ Hebrew radio station Kol Barma quoted Israeli Knesset Deputy Speaker Nissim Vaturi as saying that all male Palestinian adults in the Gaza Strip need to be "eliminated," adding that Israel is dealing with Gaza's residents "in a way that is too tolerant," and that "the residents of Gaza are not welcome anywhere, and everyone is pushing them toward Israel."
"They (the Palestinians in Gaza) are outcasts and no one in the world wants them. Children and women must be separated and adults must be eliminated."
These remarks follow a pattern of similar genocidal statements made by multiple Israeli officials.
❗️Quds Brigades - Jenin:
○ "Our fighters in Al-Sila al-Harithiya Brigade detonated a highly explosive KJ37 ground-based explosive device, prepared in advance, on a military patrol at the entrance to Al-Sila al-Harithiya, achieving confirmed injuries."
○ "After contact was restored with one of our combat formations in Al-Sila Al-Harithiya, they confirmed to us that at dawn today they were able to confront the enemy forces and military reinforcements on the various fighting fronts in the town and at the entrance to Al-Saylah al-Harithiya and shower them with heavy showers of bullets and pre-prepared explosive devices, achieving confirmed casualties."
❗️Snow covers the destruction in Kfar Kila, south Lebanon.
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'All measures complete' to restart Iraqi Kurdistan oil exports to Turkiye
US President Donald Trump has put strong pressure on Baghdad to resume Kurdish oil exports as part of a plan to end Iranian oil exports
Israeli tanks enter occupied West Bank for first time since 2002
Israel deployed the tanks to the Jenin Refugee camp as part of a month-long military campaign that has killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians
❗️Al Manar:
"The coffins of the martyr Sayyed Al-Ummah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and the martyr Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, arrive at the courtyard of the shrine of the martyr Sayyed Nasrallah."
Massive crowd bids farewell to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
About 1.4 million people took part in the funeral procession for the Lebanese resistance icon, while Israeli jets carried out repeated overflights to intimidate mourners
⭕️ Hamas:
○ "On the day of the great farewell to the two martyred leaders, we renew our heartfelt condolences to the brotherly Lebanese people and to our entire Arab and Islamic nation."
○ "On this solemn day, we recall the heroic and honorable positions of the martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, his firm and principled adoption of the Palestinian cause, and his insistence on forming a support front with our people in the Gaza Strip."
○ "We affirm that the crimes of the Zionist occupation and its cowardly assassinations of resistance leaders in Palestine, Lebanon, and everywhere will not halt our blessed path but will only strengthen our determination to continue on the path of our martyred leaders."
⭕️ During a meeting with an Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun emphasized Lebanon’s "significant sacrifices" for the Palestinian cause and voiced support for the Riyadh summit’s stance on a two-state solution.
In response, Qalibaf affirmed Iran’s commitment to respecting Lebanon’s independent decisions, and conveyed Tehran’s readiness to cooperate with Arab and Islamic nations in rebuilding areas devastated by Israeli attacks.