The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️UN rights office: Israeli attacks killed hundreds in houses and tents
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says 629 Palestinians have been killed in the last week in Gaza.
At least 358 of those were killed in attacks on houses and tents for displaced people, with children and women comprising at least 148 of the victims, it added.
Nine Palestinian journalists were also killed last week, making it one of the deadliest for the profession since the conflict began in October 2023, the agency added.
❗️Israeli forces have once again targeted the Interior Ministry headquarters west of Gaza City in a new air raid, local sources report.
Читать полностью…❗️Photos reveal the aftermath of a violent raid by Israeli settler militias last night on the town of Bruqin in the central occupied West Bank. The attack took place just hours after Israeli forces ended a week-long offensive and lifted a military curfew, leaving the town exposed to settler violence.
Читать полностью…⭕️ The Trump administration sent a letter to Harvard University revoking its exchange visitor program certification following a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigation. The decision barred the university from enrolling international students and required current foreign students to transfer to another institution or risk losing their legal status.
DHS Secretary Krisiti Noem has accused Harvard of supporting anti-Semitism, and cooperating with the Communist Party of China.
(NYT)
Illegal Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian homes in newest West Bank attack
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the ‘flattening’ of two West Bank towns following the killing of a settler in a nearby settlement
❗️Israel’s Attorney General Office has charged two Israelis with collaborating with Iranian intelligence, according to a statement issued on Friday. Israeli authorities claim that one of the defendants was contacted by Iranian agents via Telegram, while the second was actively recruited and invited to cooperate.
Читать полностью…⭕️ The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent stated on Thursday that a paramedic survived the Israeli massacre that left 15 aid workers dead on 23 March because he pleaded for mercy in Hebrew to Israeli soldiers. He expressed hope that the survivor's account would contribute to achieving justice.
Читать полностью…❗️The Gaza Ministry of Health announced Thursday that 29 children and one elderly person have died from starvation in recent days, warning that thousands more face the same fate. “In the last couple of days we lost 29 children,” said Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan during a press briefing.
While Israeli authorities reportedly allowed limited aid trucks to enter Gaza after an 11-week blockade, both Palestinian and international officials say the supplies are woefully insufficient, calling the gesture a symbolic drop in the ocean amid a deepening humanitarian catastrophe.
Heavy Israeli strikes hit south Lebanon ahead of final vote in municipal elections
The last round of municipal elections will be held on Saturday in Nabatieh and other war-ravaged areas of southern Lebanon
🇾🇪 The Yemeni Armed Forces announces the launch of a hypersonic ballistic missile targeting Ben Gurion Airport in response to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, claiming successful disruption of airport activity. They vow continued escalation until the siege is lifted and warn regional silence will bring disgrace and danger.
Читать полностью…❗️UNICEF spokesperson in Palestine:
“The aid allowed in after a 78-day blockade is nowhere near sufficient to meet the catastrophic needs on the ground.”
(Al Jazeera)
❗️Government Media Office in Gaza:
“The occupation commits a horrific massacre, killing 6 aid workers in Deir al-Balah.”
BREAKING | The Israeli army announces that it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, after missile sirens rang in Tel Aviv.
Читать полностью…❗️Israel has killed at least 85 Palestinians in attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn today.
(Medical sources to Al Jazeera)
⭕️ Israeli soldier in Gaza learns father was killed fighting for Ukraine against Russia
Artem Nelipa, an Israeli soldier serving in the Golani Brigade, learned while deployed in Gaza that his father, Ukrainian actor and soldier Maksym Nelipa, was killed in action last week while serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to Hebrew media, Maksym Nelipa died on 12 May.
❗️Al-Hadath TV channel reports that the Lebanese government will begin confiscating weapons from Palestinian refugee camps in June.
Читать полностью…❗️Hamas has welcomed the joint statement by 80 countries acknowledging Gaza’s dire humanitarian crisis and condemning the use of aid for political or military purposes. The group called for immediate international pressure to ensure relief reaches civilians without obstruction.
Читать полностью…❗️At least 11 Palestinians, the majority of them children, were killed early Friday when Israeli warplanes bombed the al-Dughma family home in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip.
Читать полностью…❗️Dr. Munir al-Bursh, Director General of Health in Gaza, revealed that Israeli forces have intentionally killed 12 of the Ministry of Health’s most skilled nurses and paramedics within a single week. Many of the victims were intensive care specialists, and some were killed alongside their entire families. The losses, he said, have crippled Gaza’s already overwhelmed medical system amid ongoing bombardment.
Читать полностью…❗️Ahmad al-Sharaa (Julani) handed over Mossad’s Eli Cohen archive to Israel in deal to win Trump’s favor
New revelations by The Times of Israel suggest that Syria’s de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa authorized the quiet handover of Israeli spy Eli Cohen’s personal archive to Tel Aviv as a political offering to US President Donald Trump in hopes of easing Western pressure and gaining legitimacy.
The archive, long held by Syrian intelligence, was reportedly discovered after Sharaa’s forces ousted Bashar al-Assad. Instead of preserving the legacy of Syrian resistance against Israeli occupation and illegal territorial expansion, Sharaa allegedly chose to return the files, including over 2,500 documents and personal items to Israel via UAE-mediated backchannels. Sources say the move was part of a broader effort to eventually normalize ties with Israel, including talks over returning the remains of Israeli soldiers. For many Syrians, the gesture is seen as a betrayal of the sacrifices made over decades of confrontation with the Israeli entity.
❗️On Thursday, a convoy of 31 humanitarian aid trucks passing through Salah al-Din Street near Deir al-Balah came under coordinated attack by looters reportedly enabled by Israel, according to local sources. The armed group opened fire in an attempt to seize the desperately needed supplies. Palestinian security personnel intervened to stop the looting, only to be targeted by Israeli airstrikes, which killed multiple members of the protection team.
The attacks continued as civilians rushed to rescue the wounded, only to be struck themselves. Ambulances and rescue vehicles were also targeted in a series of at least eight consecutive airstrikes. The assault left a heavy toll of martyrs and injuries.
⭕️ Defying a direct order from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the appointment of the Israeli military's Maj. Gen. David Zini as the next Shin Bet chief.
This move came just one day after the High Court ruled Netanyahu's dismissal of outgoing Shin Bet head Ronen Bar was "improper" and "unlawful," citing a conflict of interest. Baharav-Miara had explicitly barred any new appointment while the legal implications were being assessed.
Despite this, Netanyahu insisted the government has the authority to make such appointments, calling it essential to national security.
The attorney general condemned the appointment, warning it was made under a potential conflict of interest and through a flawed process.
⭕️ Trump-linked Jewish-American businessman quietly entrenched in Abu Dhabi’s ruling circles
Marty Edelman, an 83-year-old Jewish-American real estate lawyer and longtime associate of Donald Trump, has become a discreet yet powerful fixture within Abu Dhabi’s inner political circles. Public records also list Edelman as Israeli, and he is reported to have played a key role in laying the groundwork for the Abraham Accords. His involvement in shaping the emirate’s international dealings and AI ventures came into sharper focus during Trump’s recent visit—reportedly arranged with Edelman’s quiet backing.
Though not a member of the Al Nahyan ruling family, Edelman’s access and influence are unmatched for an outsider. Dubbed “Abu Dhabi’s man in Manhattan,” he is known for maneuvering between western power brokers and Gulf royals, cementing relationships that have increasingly aligned Emirati strategic interests with US and Israeli agendas.
⭕️ Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff are set to hold a fifth round of indirect talks through Omani mediators, despite both Tehran and Washington issuing hardened public positions on Iran’s uranium enrichment program.
Читать полностью…⭕️ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under increasing domestic scrutiny after a Palestinian lawmaker was forcibly removed from the Knesset podium while accusing him of extending the Gaza war for personal political survival.
Читать полностью…❗️Gaza Civil Defense:
Over 50 martyrs and missing after an Israeli airstrike leveled a home in Jabalia al-Balad, northern Gaza Strip.
Israeli settlers attacked Bruqin, west of Salfit in the occupied West Bank, burning many Palestinian homes with the permission of the Israeli occupation forces.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported at least 8 burn cases.
Israel has significantly escalated attacks against Lebanon, launching nonstop strikes across the south tonight.
Читать полностью…BREAKING | Dozens massacred and dozens more wounded in an Israeli attack that targeted the Dardouna family home, leveling an entire building in north Gaza's Jabalia. Many of the victims are women and children.
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