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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️Israeli forces forcibly removed worshippers from Al-Aqsa Mosque after Tarawih prayers, barring them from observing Itikaf on the second Friday night of Ramadan.
This is the second consecutive Friday during Ramadan that Itikaf has been prohibited, following a similar ban on the first Friday of the month—the first such restriction since 2014. Itikaf was also banned at Al-Aqsa in 2020, with authorities citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the justification.
Israeli forces disrupted a children's entertainment event in the town of Issawiya in occupied East Jerusalem.
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BREAKING | 3 Israeli raids on the eastern mountain range targeted on the Janta outskirts in the Bekaa, eastern Lebanon.
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US envoy ‘sidelined’ by Trump after CNN interview on direct US–Hamas talks: Report
Israeli officials lambasted the envoy, who was negotiating to release US-Israeli captives after he called Hamas officials ‘nice guys’ in an interview
Egypt’s Gaza Plan impeded by Arab pettiness
Cairo’s bid to rally regional support for Gaza’s reconstruction – and scuttle Trump's Riviera delusion – hit roadblocks as Saudi and Emirati leaders hesitated, Algeria distanced itself, and Washington engaged Hamas directly.
WATCH | "We hated [Gaddafi] because of Al Jazeera ... everything is a lie."
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❗️The Media Committee in Jenin Camp, occupied West Bank:
○ “The Israeli occupation’s aggression continues on Jenin and its camp for the 51st consecutive day, with widespread destruction and arrests."
○ “The Israeli occupation forces continue their escalating aggression on Jenin and its camp for the 51st consecutive day, amidst destruction and bulldozing operations in Qabatia, incursions in Arraba, and widespread arrests throughout Jenin."
○ “Early this morning, the occupation forces destroyed the infrastructure in Qabatia town, south of Jenin, affecting the town’s streets up to the Jerusalem roundabout, the café street, and the main water supply line to the town, in addition to bulldozing several vendors’ stalls."
○ “The occupation sent military reinforcements to Qabatia town, raided the homes of several citizens, and searched them, amidst clashes."
○ “The town of Arraba, southwest of Jenin, witnessed a large-scale incursion by the occupation forces, during which they carried out mass arrests and field interrogations. The arrests also affected dozens of young men across all areas of Jenin."
○ “Simultaneously with the Israeli aggression, the Palestinian Authority's security forces besieged a house in the town of Sila al-Dahr in Jenin, pursued a group of resistance fighters, and arrested two of them."
○ “On the 12th day of the blessed month of Ramadan, about 20,000 displaced people from Jenin Camp are sheltering in temporary centers or outside their homes in difficult humanitarian conditions."
○ “Since the beginning of the ongoing aggression on Jenin and its camp 51 days ago, 36 citizens have been martyred, two of whom were killed by the Palestinian Authority’s security forces."
❗️Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X:
"The anti-Israel circus known as the UN 'Human Rights Council' has long been revealed as an antisemitic, rotten and irrelevant organization that supports terrorism. For good reason Israel decided to quit it approximately one month ago.
Instead of focusing on the crimes against humanity and the war crimes that were perpetrated by the Hamas terrorist organization in the worst massacre carried out against the Jewish People since the Holocaust.
The UN has again chosen to attack the State of Israel with false accusations, including baseless accusations of sexual violence.
This is not a human rights council; it is a blood rights council."
❗️Hamas:
○ “The UN investigation committee's report confirms the atrocity of the crime that the occupying government continues to commit."
○ “The report also highlights the international community's disregard and denial of the crimes against our people, which requires a serious international stance."
❗️Al Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib in south Lebanon:
○ “Israeli occupation soldiers fired bursts of machine gunfire from Al-Asi position opposite to Mays al-Jabal towards the outskirts of the town near the border."
○ “Enemy forces fired bursts of machine gunfire from their position on the Hamames Hill towards the orchards of Al-Wazzani, adjacent to the Lebanese Army checkpoint."
❗️The Chargé d'Affaires of the Qatari embassy in Syria, Khalifa Abdullah al-Mahmoud al-Sharif:
"A proposal to provide approved natural gas supplies to Syria via Jordanian territory for a specific period, with the goal of contributing to generating electrical power starting from 400 megawatts and gradually increasing, presented by the Qatar Fund for Development."
❗️Israeli occupation forces arrest a young Palestinian man during a raid on Al-Fawwar camp, south of Hebron, occupied West Bank.
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⭕️ Turkish sources inform The Cradle that the accounts of prominent journalists and influencers speaking up about the targeted massacres of Alawites and other minorities on Syria's coast—perpetrated by Turkish-backed, HTS-led Syrian government forces—are being censored in Turkiye. Several accounts have been "withheld" based on local laws, following legal demands.
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❗️Israeli War Minister Israel Katz claims responsibility for the bombing of Damascus and threatens self-appointed Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa that Israel will attack "terrorist targets" everywhere.
"Islamic terrorism will not have immunity in Damascus nor anywhere else."
⭕️ According to Syria’s state security, Israeli airstrikes targeted an abandoned office in Damascus today, contradicting the Israeli military’s assertion that it struck a Palestinian Islamic Jihad command center. Islamic Jihad spokesperson Mohammad Al-Haj Mousa stated that the attack hit an empty residential building, not a military facility. Syrian security chief Abdul Rahman Al-Dabag reported to SANA that the strikes injured three civilians, including an elderly woman in critical condition.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his government’s commitment to continuing such attacks against those who threaten Israel, stating that this policy extends to Syria, Lebanon, and other regions.
Hamas welcomes UN report on Israel's genocidal acts as Tel Aviv decries 'blood libel'
A commission of inquiry determined Israel committed 'genocidal acts' in Gaza and that the army uses sexual assault as part of its standard operating procedure toward Palestinians
A group of Jewish Americans held a sit-in in the lobby of Trump Tower, demanding the release of Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who was taken into custody by ICE.
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❗️Local sources report that Israeli forces arrested four Palestinian children during their raid on the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.
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Gabbard withdraws war critic from top intel job following 'smear campaign' by pro-Israel groups
The intel chief's deputy choice was a retired officer who referred to US support for Israel in Gaza as a 'moral and strategic mistake' and described war threats against Iran as 'reckless'
Israeli forces detained and blindfolded several Palestinians from the village of Farkha, located southwest of Salfit in the occupied West Bank.
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❗️Director of the information and press department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova:
○ “Russian airbase in Hmeimim has sheltered around 9,000 Syrian civilians, mostly women and children, fleeing violence in coastal areas."
○ “Russia is deeply shocked by the tragic events in Syria and strongly condemns civilian massacres, calling for accountability."
○ “The Russian military provided refuge to thousands seeking safety, recognizing the situation as a matter of life and death."
○ “Moscow acknowledges the Syrian authorities' responsibility to protect all citizens, regardless of religious affiliation, and is closely monitoring their efforts to restore security."
○ “Syria's leadership reaffirmed its commitment to national unity and launched an investigation to hold perpetrators accountable."
Qatar to 'revitalize' Syria's energy sector in US-backed initiative
The plan comes as Syria faces a severe economic crisis and will involve delivering gas into the country via Jordanian territory
⭕️ Adam Boehler, the President's envoy for hostage negotiations, has been removed by the Trump administration from handling the Gaza hostage situation. This decision follows Boehler's remarks during a CNN interview, where he referred to Hamas as "pretty nice guys," sparking criticism from Israeli officials and Republican Party members.
Boehler later clarified his stance on Twitter, emphasizing that Hamas is a "terrorist organization" responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people.
(Israel National News, Channel 7)
❗️Israeli warplanes flew over the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, creating a figure in the sky.
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❗️Spiritual leader of the Druze community in Syria, Hikmat al-Hijri:
○ “There is no agreement or harmony with the authorities in Damascus."
○ “We work for the benefit of our sect."
○ “We are at a stage of either existing or not existing."
○ “We will move in a direction that is suitable for the sect."
⭕️ Chinese company Tianjin Dredging Company (TDC) is actively dredging the quay wall, port basin, and navigation channel at Iraq's Grand Faw Port. This port serves as the starting point for Iraq's ambitious $17 billion Development Road project.
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Israel strikes Damascus, vows further attacks on ‘terror targets everywhere’
The attack on an alleged PIJ site in the Syrian capital follows a recent string of heavy Israeli airstrikes on the country’s south
⭕️ An Israeli soldier who spoke to Haaretz in August stated that Israeli senior army officials are well aware that Palestinians are used as human shields saying "It's done with the knowledge of the brigade commander, at the least." He said that soldiers were told, "Our lives are more important than their lives."
One soldier recounted an incident in which two civilians were brought to his unit. When another soldier questioned this, the commander responded, "Don't you agree that the lives of your comrades are far more important than their lives?"
According to another soldier, some of these Palestinians are used by the army for extended periods, transferred between units. They sleep in stairwells of military buildings, are guarded by soldiers, rarely receive food, and are made to carry heavy loads for the troops.
❗️Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha to Al-Araby al-Jadeed:
○ “We appreciate the efforts and endeavors of the mediators, which emphasize the necessity of the occupation's commitment to moving to the second phase of the agreement.
○ “We are committed to the agreement and its implementation and remain open to all issues that serve our people and their rights."
○ “We hope that the outcomes of the negotiations in Cairo and Doha will facilitate the implementation of the agreement and compel the occupation to adhere to the agreed terms."
○ “Hamas's principles remain the necessity of withdrawal, a ceasefire, efforts toward reconstruction, and addressing the consequences of the aggression."