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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️Israeli aircraft launch fierce raids east of Gaza City.
(Palestine Today correspondent)
WFP warns food aid for famine-struck Sudan coming to an end due to funding collapse
The UAE-backed genocide of non-Arab tribes has created the world's largest displacement crisis, with more than 12 million people uprooted
US officials claim Gaza 'stabilization force' can be deployed as early as January: Report
The report says a ‘two-star US general’ is being considered to lead the ISF, but that no decisions have been made yet
❗️Israel approves legalization of 19 West Bank settlements, Hamas condemns escalation
Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan to legalize 19 Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, following a proposal by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, according to Israeli media. The decision includes newly established sites as well as previously dismantled settlements, such as Ganim and Kadim, marking what Israeli outlets described as a “full return” to settlement activity in the northern occupied West Bank. An accelerated planning process is expected to follow, further entrenching illegal settlement expansion.
In response, Hamas condemned the move as a dangerous escalation in Israel’s annexation and Judaization policies, saying it reflects the extremist nature of the current Israeli government and its efforts to impose colonial realities by force. The movement warned that continued settlement expansion aims to fragment Palestinian geography and displace Palestinians, calling on the international community to take concrete action to halt settlement growth and hold Israeli leaders accountable.
❗️Moments ago, Israeli forces dropped a stun grenade over a Lebanese fishing boat operating in territorial waters off the coast of Naqoura, south Lebanon.
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Lebanese FM says Beirut warned Israel preparing ‘large-scale assault’
The foreign minister’s comments came as Israel carried out heavy attacks on southern and eastern Lebanon
❗️Trump threatens fresh strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites if Tehran tries to restart its program
President Donald Trump intensified his rhetoric toward Tehran on Thursday, 11 December, warning that the US would strike any new Iranian nuclear site if Iran attempted to restart its program without an agreement. “If they do want to come back, and they want to come back without a deal, then we're going to obliterate that one, too,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump claimed Iran’s nuclear capacity had already been “wiped out” in June during attacks carried out by US and Israeli forces, a narrative that has been contested. He claimed that Tehran could have avoided the destruction by accepting a US-dictated deal earlier.
❗️Venezuela moves toward ICC withdrawal in show of support for Palestine
Venezuela’s National Assembly has approved a law paving the way for the country to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, framing the step as a gesture of solidarity with Palestine and a response to what lawmakers call the court’s persistent failure to act.
The Law for Palestine and Humanity, Repealing the Rome Statute removes Venezuela’s legal commitment to the treaty and opens the door for a formal withdrawal.
Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said the decision reflects the will of the Venezuelan people and their support for Palestinians, whom he described as enduring severe and prolonged suffering. He argued that the measure exposes what he called the ICC’s political bias and its inability to protect vulnerable populations.
Rodríguez added that once the repeal is finalized, President Nicolás Maduro will have the authority to decide whether to proceed with a full withdrawal, which would take effect one year after official notification. Venezuela has consistently aligned itself with the Palestinian cause throughout the war on Gaza, characterizing the situation as genocide.
Cyprus latest nation unwilling to commit to Gaza ISF, seeks 'clarity’ on mandate
Several regional states are uncomfortable with the idea of being tasked with clashing with Hamas and forcing its disarmament
VIDEO | Israeli settlers cut through and vandalized a fence surrounding Palestinian farmland in Khirbet Mghayir al-Abid, in Masafer Yatta south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank.
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❗️Swiss Eurovision winner Nemo returns trophy over Israel’s participation
Nemo, the Swiss singer who won the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, has announced they are returning their trophy in protest against Israel being allowed to participate in next year’s competition. The artist said there is “a clear conflict” between Eurovision’s stated values of unity, inclusion, and dignity and the decision to admit Israel amid its genocide in Gaza.
In a statement posted on Instagram, Nemo expressed gratitude for the Eurovision community but said the trophy “no longer feels like it belongs on my shelf.” Their move comes as Eurovision 2026 faces growing turmoil, with five countries already announcing boycotts over Israel’s involvement.
❗️UN warns Sudan famine rations to be cut amid funding shortfall
Food rations for communities facing famine in Sudan will be cut starting next month due to severe funding shortfalls, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
"We will be having to reduce from January to 70% rations for communities that are facing famine, and 50% for those that are at risk of famine," Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Rome.
"As of April we will fall off a cliff when it comes to funding," he added.
❗️Gaza’s Civil Defense says its teams have recovered six bodies after a home belonging to the Badran family collapsed in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
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Israeli strikes hit southern, eastern Lebanon in new escalation
Tel Aviv claims it targeted a ‘training camp’ used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit
❗️Putin: We support Iran on the nuclear issue
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, said that Tehran and Moscow remain in close and continuous contact on sensitive international issues, including Iran’s nuclear file, adding that Russia supports Iran.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE: Two rival allies.
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US takeover of Iraq’s West Qurna field sidelines Russia, reasserts energy dominance
US sanctions and Iraqi compliance cleared the way for ExxonMobil to replace Russia’s last major oil foothold in Iraq, redrawing the lines of control without firing a shot.
By Abbas al-Zein
📹 The US Marines are now testing a Shahed-136 clone, after years of dismissing Iran’s drone strategy.
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Turkiye says 'no change' on Russian S-400 systems despite US demands
Washington insists Ankara must give up the air defense system to rejoin the F-35 program under US law
❗️UC Berkeley faces backlash over suspension of pro-Palestine professor
Activists at the University of California, Berkeley, are rallying behind computer science lecturer Peyrin Kao, who was suspended for six months after engaging in pro-Palestine advocacy and staging a hunger strike over Israel’s genocide in Gaza, according to local media reports. Administrators said Kao violated a campus policy on political activity in the classroom.
The suspension comes as part of what advocates describe as a broader crackdown by US President Trump’s administration on the Palestinian rights movement, including immigration authorities targeting international students for deportation.
Columnist John K Wilson argues in Inside Higher Ed that UC Berkeley leaders “violated Kao’s academic freedom and the First Amendment."
❗️PIJ: Technocratic Gaza administration acceptable, ‘Board of Peace’ and disarmament rejected
Speaking to Ultra Palestine, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) spokesperson Mohammad al-Haj Musa said Palestinian resistance factions have broadly agreed that there is no objection to the formation of a technocratic government or committee to administer Gaza solely on a non-political basis, focused on managing people’s daily affairs, operating under accountability, and implementing clear, defined programs.
However, he stressed that any attempt to impose a trusteeship over Gaza to carry out the occupation’s agenda is categorically rejected and would be confronted at the appropriate time.
Haj Musa said the movement rejects Trump's 'Board of Peace' in principle, arguing that it does not address the root cause of Gaza’s crisis, which he said lies in the ongoing Israeli occupation, its crimes, and its efforts to expand regionally.
He added that the PIJ is willing to engage with mediators on the basis of accepting a stabilization force with a limited mandate restricted to securing Gaza’s perimeter, monitoring ceasefire agreements, and preventing a return to fighting, but warned that any force seeking to enter civilian areas or disarm the resistance would be treated as an extension of the occupying army and would not be allowed.
Winter storm devastates Gaza as Israel continues to block entry of shelters, vital supplies
Three infants are among the recent casualties in the strip who have died due to exposure and collapsing buildings
❗️Gaza’s Ministry of Interior and National Security has reported a preliminary death toll of 14, including children and women, as a result of a severe weather system that has battered the Gaza Strip since Wednesday, causing partial and total collapses of homes and buildings on their residents.
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❗️UK sanctions target four UAE-backed RSF commanders for crimes against Sudanese civilians
The UK has imposed sanctions on four senior commanders in Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accusing them of involvement in severe abuses against civilians in El-Fasher. London stopped short of targeting the RSF’s chief, Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, or the United Arab Emirates, which backs the RSF militarily and diplomatically.
British officials said they hoped to exert pressure on Abu Dhabi and Hemedti through private channels, even as Sudan’s nearly three year civil war shows no sign of a ceasefire. Diplomats warned the conflict could spill into South Sudan and Eritrea, and noted rising concern that competition between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, already evident in southern Yemen, could further inflame the war.
UK assessments identify up to 26 potential arms routes into Sudan across 10 originating countries. Saudi Arabia and Egypt continue to align with the Sudanese army, while the RSF remains supported by the UAE.
WATCH | Israeli rabbis are now touring shuttered synagogues in Syria under heavy state protection, inspecting Jewish assets in Aleppo and Damascus as Israel relentlessly expands its footprint and escalates assaults across the region.
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❗️FM says Lebanon warned of imminent Israeli attack, blames Hezbollah for occupation
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji said Beirut has received warnings from Arab and international parties that Israel is preparing a large-scale military operation against Lebanon.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said Lebanon is intensifying diplomatic contacts to shield the country and its vital facilities from potential Israeli strikes, stressing that current meetings under the “mechanism committee” do not amount to traditional negotiations with Israel.
Rajji added that Lebanon seeks a return to the 1949 Armistice Agreement, while a peace treaty with Israel remains distant. He claimed that Hezbollah’s weapons failed to protect Lebanon or support Gaza and instead brought Israeli occupation, confirming that the Lebanese state is in dialogue with Hezbollah over disarmament, which the resistance movement rejects.
He also described Iran’s role in Lebanon and the region as destabilizing, saying Beirut is open to dialogue with Tehran only if it halts interference in Lebanese affairs and stops funding what he called an “illegal organization.”
❗️Fourteen people, including three children, have died in Gaza over the past 24 hours as homes collapsed on residents amid severe cold brought by the ongoing winter storm.
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❗️Tehran urges UN action over new US limits on Iranian diplomats in New York
Tehran urged the UN to step in over the "tightening of restrictions on Iran's diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York," according to a foreign ministry statement released on Thursday.
The statement also denounced a US State Department move "to prevent the continuation of the activities" of three staff members at Iran’s mission in New York.
In September, the US introduced strict limits on the Iranian delegation attending the UN General Assembly, restricting their movements and barring them from wholesale stores and luxury goods.
"The imposition of extensive restrictions on the residence and movement of Iranian diplomats, tightening restrictions on bank accounts, and imposing restrictions on daily purchases are among the pressures and harassment ... to disrupt the normal and legal duties of Iranian diplomats," the statement said.
❗️Storm Byron leaves at least 12 dead or missing as humanitarian disaster deepens in Gaza
The Gaza Government Media Office warned that Storm Byron has begun unfolding with devastating consequences, confirming earlier alerts as extreme weather battered the Strip between Wednesday and Friday, killing or leaving missing at least 12 people, collapsing 13 homes, and destroying or flooding more than 27,000 displacement tents.
Torrential rain, flooding, violent winds, and storm surges have placed over 1.5 million displaced Palestinians at direct risk, with more than a quarter of a million people suffering immediate harm as fragile tents and makeshift shelters failed. The office said the unfolding climate catastrophe is inseparable from Israel’s ongoing siege and war, citing the continued closure of crossings, the blocking of aid and shelter materials, and the prevention of at least 300,000 tents and mobile homes from entering Gaza.
It urged the UN, international organizations, mediators, donors, and the US administration to act immediately to force the opening of crossings, deliver emergency shelter and rescue supplies, and provide urgent protection to displaced families as the storm and further weather systems threaten additional loss of life.
BREAKING | A house has collapsed on its residents in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City due to a extreme weather and rainfall.
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