43031
The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️Israel's Channel 12 - Amit Segal:
Bezalel Smotrich resigns as Finance Minister and returns to the Knesset in protest against National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's greed for an additional ministerial post.
Israeli army killed over 1,400 medical staff in Gaza since start of genocide: Officials
Fifteen Palestinian humanitarian workers, including civil defense teams, Red Crescent medics, and a UNRWA employee, were recently executed by the Israeli army during rescue operations
Trump’s Iran policy: a grudge-fest with no strategy
Driven by self-aggrandizing optics and a thirst for imperial legacy, Donald Trump’s pursuit of a 'big, big' war on Iran risks igniting a regional conflict with nuclear consequences – one that could collapse US hegemony, not reinvigorate it.
By Hussein Assaf
❗️Palestinian journalist Louay Sawalha to Palestine Today Channel:
"The [Israeli] occupation has demolished more than 600 homes since the beginning of its aggression on the [occupied West Bank] city of Jenin and its camp."
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor:
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Hungary on April 2—despite an active ICC arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. This visit poses a direct challenge to international justice—and Hungary is enabling his evasion of accountability.
Hungary is a State Party to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court. Under Articles 86 and 89 of the Statute, Hungary is legally bound to cooperate fully with the Court, including the arrest and surrender of any individual subject to an arrest warrant—such as Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hungary claims it is not required to comply with the ICC’s arrest warrant, arguing that it has not “promulgated” (i.e., formally incorporated) the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute into domestic law due to alleged constitutional concerns. However, this argument violates Hungary’s binding obligations under both the Rome Statute and general international law.
Hungary ratified the Rome Statute in 2001, and under Article 88, it is legally obligated to ensure that its national legal framework enables full cooperation—including arrest and surrender. Nearly 24 years later, it has yet to enact the necessary legislation. This is not a legal oversight—it is a calculated political decision to shield those accused of atrocity crimes from accountability.
Under Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) (VCLT)—to which Hungary is a party—“a party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.” A state cannot use domestic law as a shield against treaty obligations. This core principle of international law is one that Hungary cannot escape.
The principle of pacta sunt servanda, codified in Article 26 of the VCLT, obliges states to perform their treaty commitments in good faith. A state cannot ratify a treaty and then invoke domestic legal barriers to justify non-implementation. Such conduct is fundamentally incompatible with the principle of good faith and effectively nullifies the binding nature of the treaty commitment.
Article 31(1) of the VCLT requires treaties to be interpreted in light of their object and purpose. The object and purpose of the Rome Statute is unequivocal: to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes of international concern—not to provide loopholes to shield suspects or safe havens. Hungary’s position undermines this foundational purpose, nullifies the Statute’s legal effect, and entrenches impunity as the opposite of the accountability it was designed to guarantee.
Hungary’s refusal to execute the ICC arrest warrant constitutes a serious breach of its obligations under the Rome Statute. It may trigger formal action by the Assembly of States Parties—including condemnation, diplomatic repercussions, and measures to confront deliberate non-compliance.
By hosting Netanyahu, Hungary is not merely failing to comply with international law—it is providing haven to a fugitive wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is not diplomatic neutrality. It is active complicity that grants impunity to someone who ought to be brought to justice.
Allowing non-compliance in this case would set a dangerous precedent—undermining the enforceability of international criminal law, diminishing the ICC’s authority, and signaling to States that obligations under the Rome Statute can be ignored without consequence and that accountability is negotiable.
We urge ICC States Parties, the Assembly of States Parties, and the broader international community to take immediate and coordinated steps to enforce the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and to hold any state accountable for defying the Court’s authority. Failure to act not only weakens the Court—it abandons the victims of Gaza to impunity.”
❗️The Israeli occupation army, accompanied by settlers, assaulted and detained several Palestinian youths in the Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron (Al-Khalil).
Читать полностью…
BREAKING | Israel massacres at least 10 Palestinians, including children, in an air-raid that targeted a house on Jaffa Street in Al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
Читать полностью…
Satellite images reveal 'growing network' of Israeli outposts in Lebanon, Syria
Israeli officials have signaled that they will not give up control of the regions they currently occupy in both countries
❗️Israel has proposed a new extended truce deal in Gaza in exchange for the return of around half of the remaining captives, according to Israeli officials.
The proposal does not include an agreement to end the war.
(Reuters)
Israeli forces detain and assault a Palestinian youth at the entrance to Al-Arroub refugee camp, north of Al-Khali (Hebron) in the occupied West Bank.
Читать полностью…
⭕️ Iranian Supreme Leader during a sermon delivered after Eid al-Fitr prayers in Tehran:
– “The brave nations and the proud youth” of the region are labeled as “proxy” forces by western officials, “whereas the Israeli regime is the only proxy force in the region, which works on behalf of colonialist forces to violate the territories and sovereignties of countries.”
– “The Zionist regime, as a proxy of the colonizers, incites fire, commits genocide, and perpetrates crimes, and if it gets the chance, it violates [the territories of] other countries, just as it is violating Syria’s today.”
– “If others defend their rights or their land, they are labeled ‘terrorists;’ yet, [it is] the wicked Zionist regime [that] overtly commits genocide, murders children, targets the general population, assassinates individuals, and even openly declares that it has carried out these actions.”
– “This depraved, wicked, and murderous band must be rooted out from Palestine — and by God’s grace, it will be.”
– “They [the US and Israel] will certainly receive a heavy blow in return” if they carry out “any such act of evil” against Iran.
(IRNA)
❗️Gaza Ministry of Health:
– "80 martyrs and 305 injuries arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals, during the past 48 hours, including (53 martyrs and 189 injuries yesterday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr)."
– "There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them."
– "The death toll and injuries since 18 March 2025 has reached 1,001 martyrs and 2,359 injuries."
– "The death toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 50,357 martyrs and 114,400 injuries since 7 October 2023."
❗️Head of the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Raed Abu al-Hummus:
– "The testimonies of brutal torture published by The Independent confirm the Israeli occupation’s brutality and crimes."
– "Detainees face systematic abuse and torture, leading up to execution, without any oversight or restrictions."
– "The inaction of international institutions has enabled a reality the prisoner movement has not witnessed in decades."
– "Since October 7, 2023, Israeli prisons have been the most violent, with flagrant violations of international agreements."
– "Torture, rape, electrocution, and starvation are systematic war crimes that require accountability."
– "Newly established detention sites have turned into 'graves for the living' amid the absence of international oversight."
– "The Independent’s report necessitates international intervention to halt crimes inside military bases that have been turned into prisons."
WATCH | Quds Brigades releases footage of the its forces launching rockets at the Hatzerim airbase and settlements in the Gaza envelope.
Читать полностью…
Palestinian families flee Rafah amid fears of Israeli bombardment, following the military's orders threatening to strike an area constituting nearly 20% of Gaza.
Читать полностью…
WATCH | Are Trump's wars paving the way for a US collapse?
Watch on YouTube
BREAKING | Axios: Israel plans to reoccupy 25% of Gaza in the coming weeks as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign to force the Palestinian resistance into a new prisoner exchange deal, a senior Israeli official said.
The move has already begun, displacing Palestinians who had returned home after the January ceasefire. If no agreement is reached, officials say the military could reoccupy most of the strip and force over 2 million people into a small “humanitarian zone.”
Government forces carry out new civilian executions in Syria's coast
Hundreds have been reported missing in Syria's coast as forces from the de facto government continue to terrorize Alawite-majority villages
The Israeli army has released footage it claims shows the destruction of a one-kilometer-long underground tunnel route used by the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.
Читать полностью…
❗️Al-Akhbar's correspondent in southern Lebanon:
– "An Israeli drone dropped a sound bomb near the separation wall between Yarin and Dhayra."
– "Israeli occupation forces fired at tobacco farmers on the outskirts of Rmeish."
❗️Qassam Brigades:
"We detonated a Zionist tank with a pre-prepared explosive device while it was operating near the separation line and shelled the area with several mortar rounds east of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on 29-03-2025."
WATCH | A Palestinian child mourns his beloved on Eid al-Fitr as the Israeli massacres continue in Gaza unabated.
Читать полностью…
❗️Israeli occupation forces storm Al-Jaberyat, near Jenin Camp, occupied West Bank.
Читать полностью…
❗️Lebanese National News Agency (South Lebanon):
"Israeli vehicles were seen entering the Balat site overlooking the towns of Marwahin and Ramba inside the Lebanese territories occupied by Israel, among the five points. Therefore, the occupation is concentrated in the Balat site, which cuts off the main road linking the regions of Tyre and Bint Jbeil near the border town of Marwahin. Meanwhile, Israeli bulldozers were observed digging and raising earthen barriers and poles on which surveillance cameras and spy devices were installed. A concrete wall was also placed around the site to fortify it."
❗️Israeli occupation forces storm Madama, occupied West Bank, and fire tear gas canisters.
Читать полностью…
An image from the site of the massacre shows a vest belonging to one of the 15 murdered Palestinian humanitarian workers - members of Gaza's Civil Defense and Palestinian Red Crescent Society - killed by Israeli occupation forces in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Читать полностью…
According to Israeli media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been summoned by the Attorney General for questioning regarding the Qatargate scandal. The investigation concerns alleged unlawful ties between his close aides and Qatari officials, though Netanyahu himself is not currently a suspect.
The development comes as Netanyahu was testifying in his ongoing corruption trial at Tel Aviv District Court today. The court hearing was unexpectedly cut short, apparently to allow the Prime Minister to comply with the police summons.
Earlier today, Israeli Channel 13 reported that Netanyahu's senior advisor and office spokesman had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Qatari funds investigation.
⭕️ Reports of a new massacre in the Tartous countryside, Syrian coast
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has reported the discovery of 11 civilian bodies with gunshot wounds to the head, dumped in the Jobar River near the Baniyas refinery in the Tartous countryside.
According to SOHR, hundreds of residents from the Al-Qosour neighborhood in Baniyas remain unaccounted for, with their fate still unknown.
Meanwhile, local sources say militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and affiliated factions stormed the village of Harf B-Nimra in the Baniyas-Tartous region, opening fire on civilians and killing several people, including the village headman. A number of others were injured, including a child.
❗️Iranian Foreign Ministry:
– "According to our information, the United States has received and reviewed our response."
– "We rejected direct negotiations due to threats and reaffirm that we will not negotiate under US intimidation."
– "We have always been, and remain, ready for negotiations if they are based on equal footing."
❗️Self-appointed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in his Eid al-Fitr speech:
– "Syria is writing a new history for itself, and we have a long and difficult road ahead. We possess all the necessary elements for rebuilding at all levels. What we need now is to work together, not to be divided."
– "We announced the new Syrian government two days ago - moving from quota systems to genuine participation. Forming this government required extensive efforts to select these experienced and competent ministers whose mission is to rebuild the country. Our goal is change and improvement."