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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
⭕️ Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett flat-out denies latest massacres in Gaza, laments Israel's isolation: 'This is a horrific lie because it portrays IDF soldiers as murderers and strengthens Hamas and Israel’s enemies ... There's no one to talk to.'
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"This morning, international media outlets—BBC, CNN, and others—published major headlines: 'Israeli tanks opened fire on a food distribution center, killing 26 civilians.' This is a horrific lie because it portrays IDF soldiers as murderers and strengthens Hamas and Israel’s enemies. For four hours, this lie spread and echoed across the world. For four hours, Israel remained silent. Only now—an eternity in terms of public diplomacy—have denials begun to be released. There was no massacre and not even army fire—only warning shots by the American company, mostly using smoke grenades. Since this morning, I’ve been on the phone with journalists around the world, trying unsuccessfully to get answers from our side. There’s no one to talk to. Israel is simply not being run. Change will come."
⭕️ Yesterday, Israeli occupation forces set up a checkpoint between the villages of Khan Arnaba and Jaba in Syria’s Quneitra province to search passengers, after infiltrating the area, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The patrol, consisting of ten soldiers in Hummer vehicles, was reportedly looking for weapons that could pose a threat to 'Israeli security.' This follows a similar incident on 30 May, when residents expelled another Israeli patrol near Ruwaihina Dam and removed Israeli flags from its vehicles.
Iran slams IAEA report as politically motivated, based on forged Israeli documents
The IAEA issued a report on Saturday claiming Iran was in non-compliance with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty
❗️Gaza journalist Mohammad al-Ghareeb:
"Today, I was covering the Mawasi Rafah [aid] massacre since 4 am:
– Dozens of martyrs and wounded, all trying to secure a piece of bread for their children.
– The occupation deliberately shot people in the head and chest with intent to kill.
– Women and children were crawling to reach the aid.
– Thousands of people from Gaza and the north had come to Rafah in hopes of receiving assistance.
– Thousands left with nothing.
– Thugs and looters stood in the middle of the street robbing the starving who managed to get a bag of food for their children.
– And other scandals I won’t mention, but it’s clear we are in a state of chaos and a moral collapse that has struck the fabric of our society in the ugliest way."
⭕️ 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.
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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.
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❗️❗️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.
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❗️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
❗️Huckabee to France: 'Instead of forcing a Palestinian state on Israel, give Palestinians the Côte d’Azur'
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US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee lashed out at France for pushing to recognize a Palestinian state, calling it “revolting” and suggesting Paris offer Palestinians the French Riviera instead. Huckabee called it “incredibly inappropriate” to pressure Israel during wartime.
❗️Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mardawi:
"After weeks of serious and responsible negotiations with the US envoy, we reached a draft proposal that was acceptable and aligned with the minimum national goals and the requirements for protecting our people. The US envoy agreed to present it to the Israeli side. However, the occupation rejected the proposal and asked the Americans to present it to us as a final, non-negotiable offer.
It is worth noting that this proposal contains catastrophic loopholes—worse even than previous Israeli proposals:
It does not guarantee a real withdrawal from any areas.
It does not guarantee a comprehensive ceasefire at any stage.
It does not ensure a sustainable flow of humanitarian aid.
It does not secure the implementation of any commitments beyond Day 7, the day Israeli captives are to be released—after which everything is left to Israeli estimations and intentions, without guarantees.
In clearer terms: Take what we offer now, and we’ll see later if we implement our side.
Despite this, our response was: Yes—but…
We gave an initial 'yes,' but we refused for the understandings to become a form of legitimization for continued genocide and starvation, or a gateway for political and security deception.
We demanded the amendment of clauses that fail to stop the killing, that do not open the door to sustainable aid or the return of displaced people, and that do not impose clear obligations on the occupation to withdraw or cease fire.
Ironically, these amendments match—word for word—what was already agreed upon with the US mediator in recent weeks.
The result—unfortunately:
Instead of supporting the original consensus paper, the American stance described our response as a 'step backward' and 'unacceptable,' despite knowing that it was a precise adherence to what we had agreed with them.
Our message to all concerned parties and to the world:
We are not the party sabotaging the efforts or stalling.
We submitted a responsible approval, and requested amendments that would protect our people from annihilation.
We demand an end to the aggression, the entry of aid, the return of displaced people, and freedom for the prisoners.
What we are asking for are not political conditions, but the bare minimum of human dignity.
If anyone truly wants this war to end, they should pressure the one who is killing, starving, and besieging—not the one defending his people and asking only for guarantees of implementation.
We will continue to exert every effort to reach an agreement that ensures Israeli withdrawal and ends the war, the starvation, and the genocide."
❗️Since 27 May, Israeli forces have killed 49 Palestinians and injured over 305 others at GHF 'aid distribution' sites, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. The latest toll includes 32 killed and over 230 wounded today alone.
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❗️Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Amman, Jordan to attend a meeting of the ministerial committee formed by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit to discuss ending Israel's war on Gaza and lifting the aid blockade. The meeting focuses on coordinating regional efforts to support Palestinians amid the ongoing crisis.
(SPA)
⭕️ 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.
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⭕️ 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.
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❗️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.
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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.
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❗️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.
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