43030
The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
⭕️ Morgan Ortagus, Washington’s lead official on Lebanon, is expected to resign from her post, according to several reports including Israel’s Channel 14.
The channel described her impending departure as “bad news for Israel,” given her central role in the Trump administration’s aggressive push to disarm Hezbollah.
❗️Israel is carrying out a systematic campaign to level what's left of Gaza City, relentlessly demolishing towers and residential buildings.
Читать полностью…
Israel kills dozens of hungry Palestinians at GHF 'death traps' in Gaza
Hospitals are overcrowded with scores of critical injuries as a result of the new Israeli attacks on aid distribution sites in Gaza
⭕️ Claims that Hamas rejected the Witkoff ceasefire proposal are false. According to the draft of Hamas's response, obtained by Drop Site News, the movement accepted the framework and even expanded it with significant concessions, including stepping down from governing Gaza in favor of an independent technocratic committee, a clause Netanyahu had previously demanded but later had removed.
Hamas’s response also called for immediate reconstruction, a 5–7 year mutual truce, guarantees for aid access, free travel through Rafah, and a phased release of Israeli captives. It also reaffirmed that the ceasefire would continue automatically after the 60-day pause if negotiations were still ongoing: a basic condition already included in the 19 January ceasefire agreement Netanyahu himself had signed.
Most of these terms had already been agreed with Witkoff before Netanyahu intervened, forcing key commitments — including the Gaza governance handover — to be stripped from the deal.
⭕️ Israel opened fire on civilians seeking aid in the Netzarim corridor.
This comes after Israeli forces massacred nearly 30 civilians and injured dozens in south Gaza's Rafah as crowds waited for aid outside a US-Israeli distribution centers operating under the GHF. They were told to gather there.
'Syria and Israel share common enemies': Sharaa
Damascus and Tel Aviv have reportedly been engaged in 'face-to-face' talks over recent weeks
UPDATE | US envoy Steve Witkoff rejects Hamas's amendments to his latest proposal.
Читать полностью…
❗️❗️BREAKING | Hamas submits response to US envoy Witkoff’s proposal, seeking permanent ceasefire, full Gaza withdrawal, and continued aid. Deal includes release of 10 captives, 18 bodies, and a number of Palestinian prisoners yet to be agreed on.
Читать полностью…
❗️Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa to the Jewish Journal: 'The reality is, we have common enemies — and we can play a major role in regional security'
Speaking from Damascus, Sharaa said he wants "to be clear,” adding that “The era of endless tit-for-tat bombings must end. No nation prospers when its skies are filled with fear. The reality is, we have common enemies — and we can play a major role in regional security.”
He voiced support for reviving the principles of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement (Dofa Accord), viewing it not just as a ceasefire demarcation but as a possible framework for mutual restraint and civilian protection.
“Syria’s Druze are not pawns,” he said. “They are citizens — deeply rooted, historically loyal, and deserving of every protection under the law. Their safety is non-negotiable.”
“Peace must be earned through mutual respect, not fear. We will engage where there is honesty and a clear path to coexistence — and walk away from anything less," Sharaa added.
❗️Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani:
– "Together with the State of Qatar, we will provide joint financial support for public sector workers in Syria."
– "Lifting sanctions is just the beginning, and we have taken serious steps to provide services to citizens."
– "Syria’s reconstruction will not be imposed from the outside, but will be led by the Syrian people."
– "Our role in lifting sanctions on Syria affirms that a brother stands by his brother."
Arab diplomats condemn Israel for barring West Bank visit
Foreign ministers from five Arab states sought to travel to Ramallah for talks on the establishment of a Palestinian state
❗️Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report is proof that Iran’s nuclear activities are not peaceful and that Tehran is still intent on advancing its nuclear weapons program.
“The international community must act now to stop Iran,” the office said, emphasizing that the uranium enrichment levels Iran has achieved “exists only in countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons and has no civilian justification whatsoever.”
⭕️ According to a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) obtained by The Associated Press, Iran had accumulated 408.6 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% as of 17 May.
This marks a nearly 50% increase, 133.8 kilograms, since the agency's previous assessment in February, when the stockpile was measured at 274.8 kilograms.
❗️98-year-old man and his 88-year-old wife skip daily meal in protest of Gaza’s forced starvation
June Forsyth Kenagy, an 88-year-old American journalist, nonprofit leader, and longtime activist, has begun a partial hunger strike alongside her elderly husband in solidarity with the starving children of Gaza. The couple’s act of protest aims to draw attention to the deliberate starvation of Palestinians under Israel’s ongoing siege.
❗️“Well, they’re very close to an agreement on Gaza.”
US President Donald Trump says a deal in Gaza is “very close,” and that a deal with Iran is also possible.
⭕️ Israel's Channel 14 reports that two Israeli citizens have been indicted for smuggling hundreds of tons of dual-use materials, such as potassium nitrate and calcium, to the occupied West Bank during the war, allegedly for use in manufacturing explosive devices. The materials were transferred under false shipping documents and sold without oversight to agricultural suppliers in Palestinian territories.
The accused, Yehezkel Moshe from Moshav Pedia and Jihad Vazuz, allegedly conspired with actors in the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israeli authorities claim the materials were used in resistance operations, and prosecutors are seeking their detention pending trial. Additional charges may be brought against their Palestinian partners.
❗️Lebanese President Joseph Aoun arrived in Baghdad on Sunday for an official visit at the invitation of Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid.
He will meet with President Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments.
(Shafaq News)
❗️A source in the Yemeni Ministry of Defense to Saba News Agency:
– "Foreign investors and companies operating within the Zionist entity must leave immediately; the environment will not remain safe, and it is best to do so while the opportunity still exists."
– "Our missiles are equipped with multiple warheads designed to split upon interception, striking more targets and rendering the Zionist enemy’s defense systems useless. Every Zionist should be on alert for where they might land."
– "Our missile strikes on the criminal Zionist entity will not stop until the aggression ends and the siege on our people in Gaza is lifted."
– "To the Zionist settlers: the policies of the criminal Netanyahu will only prolong your days and nights in bomb shelters in the coming period."
BREAKING | One killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcycle in Arnoun, southern Lebanon.
Читать полностью…
⭕️ Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar, husband of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, has succumbed to his wounds after their home was bombed by Israeli forces in southern Khan Yunis. His death comes just days after the strike killed their nine children.
Читать полностью…
❗️Over two weeks later, the Israeli army officially announces that it has assassinated Mohammad Sinwar, brother of the late Yahya Sinwar, and Mohammad Shabana, Commander of the Qassam Brigades' Rafah Brigade, in Khan Yunis, south Gaza.
Читать полностью…
UN nuclear watchdog accuses Iran of NPT 'non-compliance' amid western pressure
Western diplomats seek to use new reports issued by the IAEA to declare Iran in violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty
❗️Spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza to Al Jazeera:
– "The [Israeli] occupation is targeting the electric generators that power hospitals."
– "The [Israeli] occupation has destroyed the three largest electric generators supplying hospitals in the Gaza Strip."
– "The [Israeli] occupation is preventing the entry of spare parts needed to repair hospital generators."
– "Targeting hospital generators is essentially a death sentence for patients."
– "Hospital departments cannot continue operating without electricity."
– "We are rationing energy use in order to maintain health services in some departments."
WATCH | Quds Brigades shares footage of its fighters planting and detonating a barrel explosive device targeting an Israeli military vehicle during its incursion east of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
Читать полностью…
❗️Gaza journalist Anas al-Sharif:
"An unprecedented escalation in Israeli bombardment over the past three days has targeted what remains of residential buildings in Gaza City, causing widespread destruction and massacres of civilians."
❗️Qassam Brigades announces that its fighters ambushed an Israeli patrol in a trap and engaged them at point-blank range with light weapons, resulting in dead and wounded among the Israeli forces in Al-Atatra area of Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on 27 May 2025.
Читать полностью…
❗️Kuwait News Agency reports that Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa will arrive to Kuwait on Sunday, for an official visit during which he will hold talks with Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
Читать полностью…
❗️The Israeli army announced that it assassinated Mohammad Ali Jamoul, describing him as "the Shaqif region commander of Hezbollah's rocket array in the Deir al-Zahrani area of southern Lebanon."
Читать полностью…
❗️For the 131st consecutive day, Israeli forces continue their assault on Jenin and its refugee camp, marked by raids, arrests, and attacks on civilians. At dawn Saturday, former prisoner Samer Jaradat was arrested in Silat al-Harithiya, along with Khaled Hatem Alyat in Deir Abu Daif. Infantry units, backed by drones, stormed several homes while resistance fighters responded with an explosive device at the town’s entrance. In Kufeirat, civilians were detained and beaten, while military vehicles rammed a bus carrying pilgrims—families of prisoners and martyrs. In Sanur, a man and his two daughters were injured by Israeli fire.
Simultaneously, Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces arrested two wanted fighters: Ahmad al-Muadh and Hamoudeh al-Ammar, inside Jenin. Since January 21, the aggression has resulted in the full demolition of 600 homes, heavy damage to the rest, and the forced displacement of 22,000 residents. A total of 43 Palestinians have been killed, including two shot dead by PA forces, with dozens more injured or detained.
❗️Palestinian woman buries husband alone after two months under siege in Gaza
Aziza Qishta, 65, buried her husband with her bare hands in a garden in southern Gaza after two months trapped under Israeli siege. With no shroud, she wrapped his body in a curtain and laid him to rest alone.
Her husband, Ibrahim Qishta, 70, was killed by shrapnel during Israel’s assault on Rafah. The couple had refused to flee their home in Khirbet al-Adas, enduring relentless bombardment and dwindling supplies. Since Israel broke the ceasefire in March, nearly 4,000 Palestinians have been killed.