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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
Israeli army admits civilians make up 80 percent of those killed in Gaza since March
Israel privately relies on the Palestinian Health Ministry's figures for the total death toll, while publicly dismissing the data as unreliable
⭕️ US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani signed a statement of defense cooperation between the two countries. President Donald Trump also signed a joint declaration of cooperation with the Emir.
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❗️Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said today that Saudi Arabia fully supports the US-Iran nuclear talks and hopes for positive outcomes.
(Reuters)
❗️Saudi and Qatari F-15 fighter jets were seen soaring in formation to welcome US President Donald Trump during his Gulf tour earlier today.
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❗️i24NEWS Military Correspondent, Yinon Shalom Yatach claims that besides leader of Hamas in Gaza, Mohammad Sinwar, among those who were targeted in the brutal attack on Khan Yunis yesterday evening were Qassam Brigades military spokesman Abu Obeida and commander of the Rafah Brigade Mohammad Shabana, commenting, "We'll wait."
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Trump calls on Syrian president to normalize with Israel, expel Palestinian resistance factions
Normalizing relations with Syria would implicitly recognize Israel's occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights
⭕️ Oman’s Grand Mufti urges India to recall the legacy of former Muslim rulers, praises Pakistan’s defensive response
Following a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after several days of intense cross-border fire and aerial operations, Oman’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad bin Hamad al-Khalili, called on the Indian government to remember the “kindness and benevolence” of its former Muslim rulers.
In a public statement, the Grand Mufti congratulated Pakistan on their “victory over their aggressors,” referencing the recent escalation with India.
❗️Israel has killed at least 80 Palestinians in strikes across the Gaza Strip since midnight, 59 of them in northern Gaza.
(Medical sources to Al Jazeera)
⭕️ Russian President Vladimir Putin has received an invitation to visit Iran, though the timing of the trip is still under discussion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today.
On Tuesday, Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Putin’s visit to Iran “is currently being worked out.”
⭕️ Onur Genc, CEO of the financial group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), stated on Wednesday that Turkish businesses and banks stand to gain from the removal of US sanctions on Syria.
"The lifting of the sanctions would allow the Turkish companies to go there now much better, and the Turkish banks to be able to finance them - so it will help," he said.
(Reuters)
❗️Gaza Ministry of Health:
– “20 martyrs (including 1 recovered body) and 125 injuries were admitted to Gaza Strip hospitals in the past 24 hours.”
– “The total death toll and number of injuries since March 18, 2025, has reached 2,799 martyrs and 7,805 injured.”
⭕️ Iraq exports over 4 million barrels of oil to US in April
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that Iraq exported 4.59 million barrels of oil to the United States in April 2025, down from 5.48 million barrels in March. Iraq ranked as the seventh-largest oil supplier to the US that month and the second-largest from the Arab world, following Saudi Arabia.
Iraq’s daily exports ranged between 136,000 and 179,000 barrels across April’s four weeks. In 2024, Iraq’s total oil and derivative exports to the US surpassed 95 million barrels, driven by rising global demand and increased Iraqi output.
⭕️ Iran and Russia have entered the second phase of linking their national payment systems, allowing Russian Mir cardholders to make payments in Iran via NFC-enabled terminals or the Mir Pay app.
Iranian officials announced that full integration will be completed by December 2025, enabling Iranians to use their phones for purchases in Russia.
The first phase, launched in November 2024, allowed Iranians to withdraw rubles from Russian ATMs, with hundreds of thousands of transactions recorded. The cooperation aims to bypass US sanctions by strengthening bilateral financial infrastructure.
(Mehr News Agency)
⭕️ Hassan Aslih, a Palestinian journalist killed by Israeli forces on Tuesday, appears in a resurfaced video expressing a somber truth: that, like many reporters killed in Gaza, his death would likely be forgotten.
Aslih, who led the Alam24 news agency and was widely respected for his frontline reporting, had been recovering from injuries sustained from an assassination attempt weeks earlier in an Israeli strike that hit a media tent near a hospital.
That previous attack claimed the lives of two fellow journalists and left several more wounded.
❗️Hamas is indirectly participating in the talks in Doha, according to CNN.
"A high-level Israeli delegation is meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US envoy Adam Boehler in Doha, Qatar, a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN Wednesday."
❗️Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that he will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani tomorrow after the NATO Informal Foreign Ministers Meeting in Antalya.
(TRT)
Netanyahu says Macron 'stands with Hamas' for criticism of Israeli-created famine in Gaza
Israeli army officers have quietly acknowledged that the blockade on Gaza will lead to mass starvation if not immediately reversed
⭕️ Qatar signed a $200 billion deal with Boeing to purchase 160 jets for Qatar Airways, the largest 'widebody' aircraft order in the history of the company. Trump and Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani attended the signing ceremony in Doha.
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⭕️ "Young, attractive guy."
US President Donald Trump described Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa as a fighter with a strong past, adding that he is young and attractive.
❗️Israeli occupation forces continue to demolish Palestinians' homes in the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq neighborhood in the middle of Nour Shams camp in West Bank's Tulkarem.
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⭕️ Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed US President Donald Trump’s labeling of the country as the “most destructive force” in west Asia as “deceptive,” just days after the fourth round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States.
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❗️Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds to French President Emmanuel Macron's condemnation of Israel's Gaza policy:
"Macron has once again chosen to side with a murderous Islamist terrorist organization and to echo its false propaganda, while accusing Israel of blood libel.
Israel is engaged in a multi-front struggle for its existence following the horrific massacre carried out by Hamas against innocent civilians on 7 October, including the murder and abduction of dozens of French citizens.
Instead of supporting the Western democratic camp fighting Islamist terror organizations and calling for the release of the hostages, Macron is once again demanding that Israel surrender and reward terrorism.
Israel will neither stop nor surrender.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is determined to achieve all of Israel’s war objectives: the release of all our hostages, the military and governmental defeat of Hamas, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel."
🇾🇪 In the span of less than 24 hours, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced three missile strikes targeting Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, including two hypersonic ballistic missiles and one Zulfiqar ballistic missile.
The strikes disrupted air traffic and sent thousands fleeing to shelters, according to thei military statements.
Israel escalates massacres after dropping bunker busters on Gaza's Khan Yunis
Dozens were killed in attacks on Wednesday morning after Israel carried out what it says was an assassination of top Hamas leader in Gaza, Mohammad Sinwar
⭕️ International tourism to the US dropped over 11% in March
Analysts point to rising concerns over political and geopolitical instability, border scrutiny, ICE abductions, and the impact of the US dollar as key factors deterring tourists.
The number of international travelers to the United States fell sharply in March 2025, with figures showing an 11.4% decline compared to the same period last year. Just 2.4 million visitors entered the US that month.
❗️Iran to sue Google over “Persian Gulf” distortion
Iran’s National Virtual Space Center announced plans to pursue legal action against Google and other platforms for replacing the term “Persian Gulf” with fabricated alternatives. The center’s spokesman, Hossein Dalirian, condemned the move as a deliberate falsification of a historically recognized name and a violation of Iran’s national identity.
Dalirian cited international recognition of the term, including by the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names, and warned that tampering with such nomenclature breaches international law, including Article 19(3) of the ICCPR. Legal consultations are underway.
⭕️ Video shows Israel's massive bombing of the vicinity of the European Hospital in Khan Yunis yesterday, during which bunker buster bombs were used.
Israel claims it destroyed an underground complex belonging to the Palestinian resistance, in an attempt to assassinate top leader Mohammad Sinwar.
The attacks killed dozens of Palestinians.
❗️Israel has killed at least 70 Palestinians in strikes across the Gaza Strip since midnight, 54 of them in northern Gaza.
(Medical sources to Al Jazeera)
⭕️ ‘Shameful, unacceptable, inhumane’ – Macron blasts Israel’s Gaza policy, considers 'revisiting' EU-Israel cooperation
French President Emmanuel Macron slammed Netanyahu’s Gaza policy as “unacceptable” and “shameful,” saying, “There is no water, no medicine, the wounded cannot get out, the doctors cannot get in.”
He called the crisis “an unacceptable humanitarian tragedy,” and said he “got angry” in talks with Netanyahu, but noted Israel “depends on American weapons, not us.”
Macron revealed he visited the Egypt-Gaza border and personally witnessed that “all the aid that France and other countries deliver is blocked by the Israelis.”
“We need the United States. President Trump has the levers,” he said, emphasizing that only Washington can apply decisive pressure on Israel.
While stopping short of calling it genocide, Macron stated, “It is not up to a president of the republic to say ‘this is a genocide,’ but rather to historians.”
He urged Europeans to consider increasing pressure and sanctions, and raised the idea of revisiting EU–Israel cooperation agreements, which currently allow duty-free Israeli exports.