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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️“The hague doesn’t scare me”: Ben-Gvir vows to expand Israeli settlements despite possible ICC arrest warrant
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has doubled down on his plans to expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, openly defying reports that the ICC is preparing to issue an arrest warrant against him. “No arrest warrant of any kind will stop me from continuing to work for the people of Israel and the land of Israel,” he declared on X. “The prosecutor in The Hague doesn’t scare me… I’ll do everything I can to protect my people, even if it costs me an arrest warrant.”
“When The Hague is against me, I know I’m on the right path,” Ben-Gvir concluded.
❗️Israel's Channel 12:
At the end of a closed session held this morning in the Knesset, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz, and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel announced that Israel has, for the first time, begun procedures to deport Palestinians with Israeli citizenship under a law that allows the revocation of citizenship from prisoners receiving stipends from the Palestinian Authority.
According to the statement, four detainees are currently in advanced stages of deportation, and preparations have begun to initiate similar proceedings against hundreds more.
❗️Gaza Health ministry: Only 17 hospitals partially operational
The director-general of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir al-Bursh, has spoken to Al Jazeera about the healthcare situation in the war-ravaged coastal enclave:
– “There are only 17 hospitals in Gaza that are partially functioning today.”
– “Twenty percent of hospitals in Gaza are unable to provide ambulance services.”
– “The occupation arrested more than 360 of our medical personnel in Gaza.”
⭕️ A Minnesota couple has brought their grandchildren back to the US after discovering they were trapped for years in a Syrian prison camp in northeast Syria. The children were born to their son, who had joined US-backed ISIS and later died.
The grandparents spent years pressuring US authorities to repatriate the children, who had been held in dire conditions alongside thousands of others linked to suspected US-funded ISIS members.
❗️Italy's FM rejects expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani reaffirmed his rejection of Israeli ministers' calls to expel Palestinians from Gaza, stating that such a move is “not and will never be an acceptable option.”
Addressing parliament, Tajani also condemned Israel's brutal war on Gaza, describing it as "absolutely tragic and unacceptable."
“The bombings must stop, humanitarian assistance must resume immediately, and respect for international humanitarian law must be restored,” he said.
Tajani voiced support for Egypt’s initiative for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction, emphasizing: "The expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is not and will never be an acceptable option."
❗️According to The Wall Street Journal, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan was preparing arrest warrants against Israel’s ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir atop Natanyahu’s before stepping aside due to a “misconduct probe.”
With Khan on leave, the decision now lies with his deputies, though it remains unclear whether they will proceed. Some legal experts suggest the court may hesitate without a sitting chief prosecutor, citing the political fallout of targeting senior Israeli officials amid growing scrutiny of Israeli apartheid and war crimes.
⭕️ A student representative on the UK’s Board of Deputies of British Jews has resigned, denouncing the body’s complicity in what he called Israel’s “ongoing genocidal assault on Gaza.” Daniel Grossman, speaking at a board meeting on Sunday, condemned its leadership for refusing to explicitly criticize Israel’s massacre of Palestinians and for legitimizing war criminals through meetings with Israeli ministers like Gideon Saar.
Grossman, a deputy for the Union of Jewish Students, said the board had abandoned both its ethical responsibilities and any pretense of representing the growing number of Jews outraged by Israeli atrocities.
❗️A well-informed Palestinian source tells Al-Araby al-Jadeed that preparations are underway to facilitate a visit by a delegation of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries to Ramallah in June.
The delegation, expected to include representatives from six Arab and Islamic states, is anticipated to meet in Ramallah as a step to announce their political support for the Palestinian Authority (PA).
❗️The Israeli army has said it “confiscated” more than 7 million shekels ($2 million) during raids on money exchange shops in the West Bank yesterday, which killed at least one Palestinian and wounded more than 30.
It added that 30 individuals had been arrested during the military operation.
❗️Footage shows the aftermath of the recent Israeli attack on Sanaa International Airport in Yemen’s capital, which reportedly destroyed the last functioning aircraft at the facility.
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⭕️ While the Trump administration seeks to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues threatening to derail the talks by launching an attack on Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment sites.
(NYT)
❗️Two separate clashes broke out on Wednesday between residents of the southern Lebanese towns of Yater and Froun and UNIFIL soldiers, after peacekeepers attempted to enter the towns without a Lebanese Army escort.
The situation escalated to the point where UNIFIL personnel brandished their weapons, prompting the Lebanese Army to intervene, request reinforcements, and eventually restore calm.
Local media reported rising public resentment toward UNIFIL, fueled by a BBC report showing peacekeepers escorting a journalist to a former Hezbollah site.
These incidents follow similar tensions in May, including confrontations in Jmaijmeh and Shebaa, where residents objected to UNIFIL patrols operating without Lebanese army coordination.
Separately, UNIFIL has accused the Israeli army of firing near its positions along the Blue Line and issued protests over these violations, calling on all parties to respect the safety of UN personnel and property.
Israeli warplanes launch new strikes on Yemen’s main airport
A Yemenia Airways plane was hit by the Israeli strikes on Sanaa Airport, which was disabled by Tel Aviv’s bombardment earlier this month
❗️Syrian senior security official publicly denies direct talks with Israel
——
In a statement, senior security official and governor of the southern Syrian province of Quneitra, Ahmad al-Dalati dismissed claims of engagement with the Israeli side, describing them as "baseless and lack even the slightest degree of accuracy and credibility," and said that the Syrian state's stance on the matter is "firm, clear, and not open to interpretation."
He further stated that the Syrian leadership remains committed to taking all necessary steps to "protect the Syrian people and defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," underscoring "Syria's absolute commitment to its national principles and national constants."
⭕️ Students at Senegal’s largest university expelled Israeli ambassador Yuval Waks from campus on Tuesday amid loud protests denouncing Israel’s war on Gaza. Waks had been invited to speak at a conference on international relations at Sheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, but his appearance was swiftly met with resistance.
Dozens of students rallied outside the venue, chanting “Free Palestine,” “Free Gaza,” and “Israel is a war criminal,” forcing the ambassador to leave the premises.
❗️Iran hangs man accused of spying for Israel
Iran has executed Pedram Madani, a man convicted of espionage for Israel, according to a report by Iran’s IRNA news agency. Authorities say Madani traveled to Israel and passed on classified information, specifically about infrastructure sites, to Israeli intelligence officers. He was compensated with foreign currency and cryptocurrency and reportedly met with Mossad operatives at Israel’s embassy in Belgium.
This marks the second known execution this year linked to collaboration with Mossad. In April, Mohsen Langarneshin was also executed for espionage and for his reported involvement in the 2022 assassination of a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard officer in Tehran.
❗️The UN sharply criticized the US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Wednesday after 47 people were injured during a chaotic aid distribution in Gaza. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemned the alternative system as wasteful and harmful, calling it a distraction from Israel’s ongoing atrocities and a threat to existing humanitarian efforts.
“We already have an aid distribution system that is fit for purpose," Lazzarini said during a visit to Japan, warning that the GHF’s operations bypass the UN-led mechanism and deepen the crisis rather than address it.
❗️Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inspected ongoing construction on the Kalbajar-Lachin highway, a key infrastructure project in the occupied Karabakh region. The 75.8-kilometer road, which includes 17 planned tunnels and multiple lanes, is intended to connect Kalbajar and Lachin while significantly reducing travel time to the newly built Lachin International Airport.
Azerbaijan says 44% of the highway is complete, with construction progressing on 16 tunnels. The project aims to tighten control over the formerly Armenian-populated areas and integrate them into Azerbaijan’s transport network, in coordination with Turkiye.
⭕️ Speaking before the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Saleh Hijazi, Policy Coordinator at the BDS National Committee (BNC), praised the growing global grassroots momentum for an arms embargo on Israel and called on states to uphold their legal responsibilities by enforcing one.
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⭕️ Oman and Iran signed 18 cooperation documents during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s official visit to Muscat, signaling a push to deepen bilateral ties.
The agreements, signed in the presence of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, cover legal, judicial, investment, customs, and trade cooperation.
❗️Israeli occupation forces displace another family and demolish their home in the al-Rifaiyya area of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the West Bank.
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❗️The US-Israeli “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” announced that its aid distribution hubs will remain closed Wednesday morning after being overrun the day before by desperate, starving civilians. Many had walked over 15 kilometers to reach the site, only to be met with barbed wire enclosures resembling cages.
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⭕️ Pope Leo XIV appealed on Wednesday for a ceasefire in Gaza, and called for complete respect of international humanitarian law.
"In the Gaza Strip, the intense cries are reaching Heaven more and more from mothers and fathers who hold tightly to the bodies of their dead children," he said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.
❗️Gaza Ministry of Health:
– “28 martyrs (including 5 recovered martyr) and 179 injuries arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals over the past 24 hours.”
– “The death toll and injuries since March 18, 2025 has reached 3,924 martyrs and 11,267 injuries.”
❗️British surgeon Waseem Saeed voiced alarm over the severe lack of both medical resources and adequate nutrition in Gaza, stressing that recovery is impossible without proper food. “Nutrition is the most vital medical supply,” he said, explaining that surgical efforts become futile when patients are too malnourished to heal. “People have been surviving on extremely poor diets for over a year and a half now — there’s little nutritional value in what they’re eating.”
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⭕️ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that Syria’s new Foreign Minister, Assad al-Shaibani, has a standing invitation to visit Russia. Lavrov noted the invitation follows a meeting in April in Antalya and reflects ongoing dialogue with Syria’s new leadership.
Lavrov added that Russian President Vladimir Putin previously spoke with Syrian President Ahmad Sharaa and sent a message outlining future bilateral cooperation. A Russian delegation also visited Damascus in January for talks with Sharaa.
(TASS)
❗️Heavy clashes erupted near Aleppo International Airport on Tuesday between Damascus-affiliated General Security forces and unidentified armed groups, coinciding with a visit by self-appointed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to the Aleppo Citadel.
The groups involved reportedly belong to factions that refused to dissolve or join the Syrian Defense Ministry, despite a 17 May ultimatum that expired on 27 May without any formal response. The incident follows growing security tensions in Aleppo, including earlier confrontations in Al-Jazmati neighborhood involving former members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
(ANHA)
⭕️ Hamas condemns US-Israeli aid scheme as “trap” to control Gaza, calls for urgent international intervention
——
"The scenes of thousands of our people surging into the center designated for implementing the occupation’s aid distribution mechanism—accompanied by live gunfire on civilians who had gathered there under the pressure of hunger and siege—leave no doubt about the utter failure of this suspicious mechanism, which has become a trap endangering civilian lives and a tool for enforcing security control over the Gaza Strip under the guise of 'aid.'
This plan was specifically designed to sideline the United Nations and its agencies and aims to advance the political and military objectives of the occupation, focusing on control rather than assistance. This constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.
What is referred to as 'safe distribution sites,' set up in so-called buffer zones, are nothing but coercive models of rigged 'humanitarian corridors,' deliberately humiliating the afflicted and turning aid into a tool of blackmail—part of a systematic scheme of starvation and subjugation. All of this continues alongside the total ban on aid entry through official crossings, in clear violation of international legitimacy.
We call on the international community, the United Nations, and the Arab and Islamic nations to act urgently to stop this dangerous scheme, and to pressure the occupation to open the crossings and allow the entry of aid through the United Nations and its internationally recognized humanitarian agencies."
❗️Israeli Defense Minister: ‘whoever harms us will be harmed sevenfold’
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has confirmed that the air force hit the Yemeni airport in the capital, Sanaa.
“This is a clear message and a direct continuation of the policy we have established: whoever fires at the State of Israel will pay heavy prices,” Katz said, adding that the retaliation was part of a military operation dubbed “Golden Jewel”.
⭕️ Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Esalmi stated that Tehran may reconsider its acceptance of US-driven inspections through the IAEA if a new agreement is reached, urging the agency to act professionally and reduce Zionist influence. Speaking on ongoing nuclear transparency, Islami emphasized that Iran’s nuclear program is strictly peaceful, fully supervised by the IAEA, and vital to producing radiopharmaceuticals—highlighting uranium enrichment as a red line tied to national sovereignty.
He criticized the disproportionate scrutiny Iran faces, noting that while its nuclear capacity constitutes less than 3% of global capability, it accounts for 25% of IAEA inspections. “No other country has endured such pressure,” he said, adding that Iran has received no formal proposal regarding joint enrichment.