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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
US President Donald Trump will recognize Palestine, Gulf source tells Media Line
Regarding US President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia and his 'surprise' announcement, a Gulf diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Media Line, “President Donald Trump will issue a declaration regarding the State of Palestine and American recognition of it, and that there will be the establishment of a Palestinian state without the presence of Hamas.”
The source further stated, “If an announcement of American recognition of the State of Palestine is made, it will be the most important declaration that will change the balance of power in the Middle East, and more countries will join the Abraham Accords.”
He also noted that while economic agreements will be part of the process, many have already been made public, and Gulf states may receive tariff exemptions.
UPDATE | Israeli media reports, citing the army, that 9 soldiers, including two senior officers, were injured by an explosive device in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City overnight.
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⭕️ Iran has agreed to a fourth round of nuclear negotiations with the United States, set to take place on Sunday in Oman, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on Friday, noting that the talks are progressing.
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⭕️ Alon Ben David writes in Israeli newspaper Maariv that Netanyahu is increasingly isolated, sidelined by Trump who is pursuing deals in West Asia, including with Iran and Saudi Arabia, without Israel’s input.
Trump’s disregard for detail, eagerness for a quick win, and ongoing negotiations could lead to a new nuclear deal with Iran that Israel neither supports nor can influence.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu faces internal pressure as public confidence in the Gaza war wanes, with reservist turnout seen as a key referendum on his government.
❗️Israel has killed at least 10 Palestinians in strikes across the Gaza Strip since dawn today.
(Medical sources)
❗️Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University, was released from immigration detention on Friday after a federal judge expressed concern that holding her could suppress “the speech of the millions and millions of individuals in this country who are not citizens.”
During a hearing at the Federal District Court in Vermont, Judge William K. Sessions III ordered her immediate release, stating, “Her continued detention cannot stand.”
Ozturk was detained for 45 days after coauthoring an op-ed critical of her university’s response to Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.
(NY Times)
⭕️ A new Amnesty International report says that the United Arab Emirates supplied Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with advanced Chinese-made weaponry.
"By analysing pictures and videos showing the aftermath of attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Amnesty International identified Chinese GB50A guided bombs and 155mm AH-4 howitzers. This is the first time GB50A bombs have been documented in active use in any conflict worldwide, " adding that "the weapons were almost certainly re-exported to Sudan by the UAE."
❗️Israeli media reports that at dawn, an Israeli military vehicle in the Shujaiya neighborhood was hit by an anti-tank missile, injuring several soldiers. Helicopters evacuated the wounded, and the Israeli army responded with artillery fire.
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⭕️ According to Reuters, Iran is planning to send Russia Fath-360 launchers for short-range ballistic missiles that the US says were already sent to Russia last year for use in Ukraine.
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De-dollarization 'gains momentum' in Asian markets
The ASEAN+3 bloc of nations approved a landmark financial assistance mechanism this week that ditches the greenback for the yuan and other regional currencies
WATCH | As part of the Qassam Brigades' "Gates Of Hell" series of operations east of Rafah, its fighters carried out a complex ambush targeting Israeli soldiers.
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Israel's military strategy in Lebanon: Escalation, propaganda, sedition
Tel Aviv’s carefully calculated, multi-pronged political and military campaign against Lebanon aims to weaken Hezbollah, paralyze the state, and reshape West Asia’s balance of power – one violation at a time.
By Mohamad Hasan Sweidan
Breaking | Yemen’s Ansarallah strikes Ben Gurion Airport, enforces no-fly zone over Israel
Ansarallah’s military spokesman just announced a “qualitative operation” targeting Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Lod with a hypersonic ballistic missile, claiming the strike successfully hit its target.
The spokesman said the attack is part of enforcing a no-fly zone over Israel’s airspace in response to Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
In a separate operation, Ansarallah reported striking a “vital Israeli enemy target” in Tel Aviv with a Yaffa drone.
The group renewed warnings to international airlines that continue flights to Israeli airports, stating that the air traffic ban over occupied Palestine will remain in effect until the aggression on Gaza ends.
Damascus appoints extremist with ISIS links as north Syria army leader
The US criticized the appointment, despite its own past support for ISIS and its offshoot, the Nusra Front, which now rules Syria under a new name
Chinese exports surge despite US tariffs
China has reduced exports to the US as President Trump's tariffs take effect, but this has been offset by boosting trade with other Asian countries
⭕️ Over 600 health workers have accused the BBC of “censorship by omission” after it delayed airing Gaza: Medics Under Fire, a documentary about doctors in Gaza.
The film, ready since February, was pulled following backlash over another BBC documentary narrated by a 13-year-old whose father works in Gaza’s administration.
❗️Gaza Ministry of Health:
– "23 martyrs and 124 injuries arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals during the past 24 hours."
– "The death toll and injuries since 18 March 2025 has reached 2,701 martyrs and 7,432 injuries."
BREAKING | Israel bombs a house in Nour Shams Camp, Tulkarem, occupied West Bank.
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⭕️ United Arab Emirates declines Israeli request to fund new aid initiative for Gaza
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer’s aide, Moran Stav, traveled to the UAE on Thursday to seek support from Emirati Minister for International Cooperation Reem al-Hashimy. However, she told the Israeli delegation that the UAE could not support the plan in its current form, as it fails to adequately address Gaza’s needs. The official noted that the UAE’s stance could shift if the plan is revised to meet urgent needs.
(Times of Israel)
❗️Quds Brigades mourns Nour Abdul Karim al-Baytawi, commander of the Jenin Brigade, and fighter Hekmat Abdul Nabi, who were assassinated in an Israeli airstrike yesterday following a siege on a home in Nablus, occupied West Bank.
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⭕️ China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Geneva today, marking the start of talks between the two countries after weeks of tariff hikes surpassing 100%.
(Xinhua)
⭕️ A Qatari team has launched a new effort to locate the remains of US captives killed by Islamic State in Syria around ten years ago. The search began Wednesday, led by Qatar’s international search and rescue unit and joined by several Americans. The same unit had previously been deployed to disaster zones in Morocco and Turkiye, and has so far uncovered three sets of remains.
(Reuters)
⭕️ When asked about Israeli involvement in the US-backed aid mechanism for Gaza, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said, “The Israelis are going to be involved in providing necessary military security because it is a war zone but they will not be involved in the distribution of the food or even bringing the food into Gaza."
(Al-Arabiya)
❗️Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Turkiye's 24 TV that he was the target of an assassination attempt during his tenure as head of the National Intelligence Organization around 4 or 5 years ago.
“We were physically subjected to an assassination attempt, as well we were poisoned and also received treatment,” said Fidan, adding that he was given “a heavy dose of arsenic and mercury. … It later showed up in the tests.”
Syria announces major natural gas deal with Turkiye
Ankara says it will also supply electricity to the war-torn nation, enabling the extremist-led government in Damascus to 'reconstruct'
Putin hosts Global South allies in Moscow for Victory Day celebration
The presidents of China, Brazil, Serbia, Slovakia, and Palestine were in attendance for a military parade to mark the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II
New Yemeni attack targets Israel as airlines extend flight suspensions
Most international airlines suspended their flights to Israel after Sanaa imposed an aerial blockade over the ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza
WATCH | Russia marks Victory Day on 9 May with a military parade featuring troops from former Soviet states, attended by leaders from the region and the Global South.
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❗️Israeli Channel 14:
The US THAAD system failed for the second time this week to intercept a missile from Yemen.
❗️Google Earth updates reveal unimaginable destruction in Gaza:
Google Earth has updated its satellite imagery of Gaza to reflect the state of the territory as of December 2024. The new images, particularly from northern Gaza and the Netzarim Corridor, reveal an almost total erasure of once-populated areas, with entire neighborhoods and villages reduced to rubble. In parts of the corridor, not a single building remains standing across entire square miles. While southern Gaza’s imagery only extends to June 2024, before the full-scale demolitions in Rafah, the updated visuals offer a stark, nearly complete view of Israel’s brutal campaign of mass displacement and destruction.