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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
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
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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.
⭕️ Israel secretly approves 22 new illegal settlements in occupied West Bank
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Israel’s Security Cabinet has secretly approved the construction of 22 new illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank, according to a report by Yedioth Ahronoth. The move includes the re-establishment of settlements dismantled under the 2005 disengagement plan, and was proposed by War Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The Cabinet also approved resuming land registration in Area C, which makes up 61% of the West Bank and is under full Israeli control.
The move comes despite a July 2024 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declaring Israel’s presence in the occupied territories unlawful. Since October 2023, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in West Bank attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.
⭕️ French President Emmanuel Macron reiterates support for 'Two-State Solution'
"Only a political solution will make it possible to restore peace and build for the long term," Macron said.
"Together with Saudi Arabia, we will soon be organizing a conference on Gaza in New York to give fresh impetus to the recognition of a Palestinian state and the recognition of the State of Israel and its right to live in peace and security in this region," he added.
Macron made his remarks while in Indonesia.
❗️Israel bombs Yemen’s Sanaa airport
The Israeli Air Force has hit Ansarallah targets at Sanaa International Airport in Yemen, the army has said in a post on X. Yemeni media is also reporting strikes on the capital’s airport.
‼️Israel’s Channel 12 reports that over 10 warplanes participated in the bombing of Sanaa International Airport.
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UAE’s sub-imperial project: Erecting a covert empire across the Red Sea
From Sudan to Socotra, the UAE fuses soft power with militarized control to dominate trade routes, fuel proxy wars, and entrench Israeli–Emirati security interests across the Horn of Africa and Yemen.
By Mawadda Iskandar
Malaysia hosts first ever ASEAN-GCC-China summit under shadow of US tariffs
Beijing and members of the Southeast Asian bloc suggested including Persian Gulf nations in a regional trade pact and called to uphold 'open regionalism and true multilateralism'
⭕️ The US-Israeli "Gaza Humanitarian Fund" announced that approximately 8,000 aid boxes, equivalent to around 462,000 meals, were distributed.
It claimed, as did Israeli media, that delays in distribution were due to checkpoints allegedly set up by Hamas.
In response, Palestinian analyst Azzam Abu al-Adas wrote:
“The level of foolishness and pettiness that the Hebrew media has reached is unbelievable. The Hebrew media claims that ‘checkpoints’ erected by Hamas have prevented people from reaching the distribution centers. Israel has bombed everything—even teachers, doctors, and nurses—yet somehow allows Hamas members to set up checkpoints and search people?”
The entire experience has been widely described as dehumanizing, with harrowing images of Palestinians herded into isolated ghetto-style "buffer zones" to receive limited aid. Meanwhile, thousands of aid trucks are held up at the border.
❗️UNRWA's Director of Communications Juliette Touma says there are over 3,000 trucks of mood and medicine waiting for the green light to enter Gaza.
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Chaos in south Gaza as US-Israeli aid mechanism falls apart hours after launch
US mercenaries fled GHF distribution centers after Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of starving Palestinians who stormed the sites in an attempt to secure food
❗️800th planeload of US bombs lands in Israel since 7 October, 2023
Over 800 military cargo planes and 140 ships have brought more than 90,000 tons of military equipment and armaments from the United States to Israel since 7 October, 2023, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry.
The shipments have included armored vehicles, munitions, bombs, ammunition, personal protection gear, and medical equipment, the ministry said.
❗️The aftermath of the destruction caused by Israeli occupation forces at Al-Khaleej Exchange shop following their raid, during which they confiscated its contents and arrested several of its employees during their invasion of Jenin in the West Bank.
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❗️After severing diplomatic ties with Israel, Colombia appoints first ambassador to Palestine
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Colombia has formally appointed Jorge Iván Ospina as its first ambassador to the State of Palestine.
The new embassy in Ramallah will focus on humanitarian aid, advancing a two-state solution, and securing the release of Colombian-Israeli citizen Elkana Bohbot.
Ospina, former mayor of Santiago de Cali, pledged to denounce the ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
⭕️ Hamas condemns US-Israeli aid scheme as “trap” to control Gaza, calls for urgent international intervention
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"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.
❗️Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, is willing to recognize and open diplomatic relations with Israel if an independent Palestinian state is recognised by Tel Aviv, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has said.
Standing alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, Prabowo said Israel’s security needed to be guaranteed, and that France would also continue to support steps towards independence for a Palestinian state.
⭕️ In a historic Baghdad neighborhood, members of Iraq’s Jewish community have begun restoring the tomb of 7th-century Rabbi Isaac Gaon, once left in ruins and buried under garbage. The $150,000 project, backed by the Jewish community with permission from Iraqi authorities, marks a rare effort to reclaim the country’s lost Jewish heritage. Khalida Eliyahu, head of the community, says the shrine is part of Iraq’s cultural fabric, not just Jewish memory.
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❗️At least eight people have been killed in an Israeli attack on the home of Gaza journalist Osama al-Arbid in northern Gaza, with at least 15 deaths across the Strip since dawn.
(Al Jazeera)
BREAKING | Israeli warplanes bomb Sanaa International Airport in Yemen.
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“Yes, we are committing war crimes.” These are the words of Israel’s former prime minister, not its critics.
After months of denying the reality of what Israel is doing in Gaza, Ehud Olmert calls it what it is: a war of annihilation.
US delivers 90,000 tons of weapons to Israel in 600 days of genocide
Washington remains the leading provider of the bombs used to ethnically cleanse Gaza, followed by Germany and Italy
❗️Israel's Channel 12, citing a source:
"The extreme overcrowding and intense pressure at the new aid center led Gazans to seize everything—they took the aid, the equipment, the tables, the chairs, the nets—everything they could find."
BREAKING | Gaza Government Media Office: "The Israeli occupation has utterly failed in its project to distribute aid in the 'racist buffer zones' amid the collapse of the humanitarian pathway and escalation of the crime of starvation.
We affirm that the Israeli occupation's project to distribute aid in so-called "buffer zones" has completely failed, as confirmed by field reports and even acknowledged by Hebrew media. Thousands of starving people—who have been besieged and denied food and medicine by the occupation for nearly 90 days—rushed into these zones in a heartbreaking and tragic scene. The situation ended with the storming of distribution centers and the seizing of food under the pressure of deadly hunger, prompting the occupation forces to open fire and injure several civilians. This clearly reflects the total collapse of the humanitarian path that the occupation falsely claims to uphold.
What happened today is undeniable proof of the occupation's failure to manage the humanitarian crisis it deliberately created through policies of starvation, blockade, and bombing. It constitutes a continuation of a full-fledged genocide under international law, especially Article II of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Moreover, the establishment of "isolated ghettos" for the distribution of limited aid amid danger of death, bullets, and starvation does not reflect any genuine intent to resolve the crisis. Instead, it represents a systematic political engineering aimed at sustaining starvation, dismantling Palestinian society, and imposing politicized humanitarian pathways that serve the occupation's military and security agendas.
📌 Based on this catastrophic failure, we affirm the following:
First: We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible—legally and morally—for the state of food collapse in Gaza. We condemn its use of aid as a weapon of war and a tool of political blackmail, and its ongoing obstruction of relief entry through official crossings and international humanitarian organizations.
Second: We call on the United Nations and the Security Council to take immediate and effective action to halt this crime, urgently open the crossings without restriction, and enable humanitarian organizations to carry out their duties independently of the occupation and its agendas.
Third: We demand the dispatch of independent international investigation committees to document the crime of starvation and prosecute Israeli leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Fourth: We appeal to Arab and Islamic nations, and to all free countries of the world, to intervene immediately and activate independent and safe humanitarian channels that break the siege and prevent the occupation from continuing to use food as a vile weapon in its genocidal war.
Fifth: We categorically reject any project that relies on 'buffer zones' or 'humanitarian corridors' under the supervision of the Israeli occupation—the very entity starving, killing, and exterminating civilians. We consider such zones a modern version of racist ghettos that deepen isolation and genocide rather than save lives.
What is happening in Gaza is a major crime unfolding before the eyes of the world, and silence is a clear act of complicity. We will continue to sound the alarm in the name of our great Palestinian people and hold the occupation, along with its backers—led by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France—fully responsible for the ongoing famine and mass slaughter of civilians in the Gaza Strip."
BREAKING | Members of the US-Israeli aid mechanism flee the area after Israeli forces opened fire at the scene west of Rafah, after thousands of starving Palestinians stormed the distribution centers in an attempt to secure food.
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UK deploys trade envoy to Israel days after 'suspension' of talks
Critics have referred to the visit as ‘mixed messaging’ following strong UK condemnation of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza and the announcement of a suspension of free trade negotiations
❗️The PIJ's Quds Brigades reports that on 24 May, 2025, its fighters detonated a pre-planted barrel explosive targeting an Israeli military vehicle near the supply line north of the New Abasan area, east of Khan Yunis.
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⭕️ Today, 32 year old Mahmoud al-Kharaz was deliberately shot and killed by Israeli snipers during a military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.
Footage shows the moment he was targeted.