43032
The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
'We'll smash your head against the wall': Israeli police threaten detained EU parliamentarian
Volunteers jailed over Gaza aid mission face threats, hunger strikes, and legal battles after Israel seized their ship in international waters
❗️Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on Israel to immediately and unconditionally release French journalist Yanis Mhamdi, who remains in custody after the Israeli navy intercepted the Gaza-bound Madleen aid ship in international waters.
Mhamdi, who works with the French outlet Blast, refused to sign a deportation agreement that included admitting the mission was illegal and pledging never to return to Israeli-controlled areas. Journalist Omar Faiad of Al Jazeera, also detained, was released after 24 hours and forced to sign similar documents.
“These practices by the Israeli authorities are illegal and abusive,” said Martin Roux, head of RSF’s crisis desk, praising the journalists’ efforts to break Israel’s media blockade on Gaza.
❗️US House Speaker to address Israeli Knesset on 22 June
US House Speaker Mike Johnson will travel to Jerusalem later this month to deliver a speech before the Israeli Knesset, according to Reuters. The visit, scheduled for 22 June, comes amid heightened US support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
“Ties between the US and Israel run deeper than military partnerships and trade agreements,” said Johnson, a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
❗️US President Donald Trump says that he is getting "less confident" that Iran will agree to stop uranium enrichment in nuclear deal with the US.
"I don’t know," Trump told the "Pod Force One" podcast on Monday when asked if he thought he could get Iran to agree to shut down its nuclear program. "I don’t know. I did think so, and I’m getting more and more, less confident about it."
❗️Israeli vote to dissolve Knesset over draft bill expected today
Israeli opposition parties have placed a bill to dissolve the Knesset on today’s agenda, declaring in a joint statement that the decision was “made unanimously and is binding on all factions.”
They added: “In coordination between all factions, it was decided to remove opposition legislation from the agenda in order to concentrate all efforts on one goal: to overthrow the government.”
The motion threatens to bring down Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, already under pressure from internal rebellion over the ultra-Orthodox military draft law.
❗️Palestinian child survivor of Israeli strike that killed his entire family heads to Italy for treatment
An 11-year-old Palestinian boy who survived an Israeli air strike that killed his father and nine siblings is set to arrive in Milan, Italy, for medical treatment, Italian officials announced. Adam al-Najjar suffered severe burns and lost a hand when Israeli warplanes struck his family home in Khan Yunis on 23 May. His mother, Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, a pediatrician, was at work during the bombing. She later discovered the charred remains of her children and her wounded husband, who succumbed to his injuries last week.
Adam will travel to Milan alongside his mother, aunt, and four cousins on a medical evacuation flight carrying wounded Palestinians. Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed their expected arrival on Wednesday. In an interview published ahead of the trip, Adam said he hopes to “live in a beautiful place” where “there are no bombs” and where his mother “is not sad.”
‘All US bases within our reach’: Iran responds to threats from Washington
The Iranian defense minister’s comments came a day after the CENTCOM chief said he has provided the US government with a ‘wide range of options’ for an attack on Iran
❗️Hamas kills over 50 members of Israeli-backed Gaza militia
Hamas has killed more than 50 members of an armed group in Gaza led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a clan leader accused of collaborating with Israel, according to a statement issued by the militia. The group claimed its members were “guarding aid convoys and redistributing supplies” and accused Hamas of targeting them to “maintain control over humanitarian assistance.”
The statement comes amid reports from Israeli media that the army has directly intervened to assist Abu Shabab’s group. Channel i24 said an Israeli drone strike targeted Hamas fighters clashing with the militia, calling it the first Israeli strike in Gaza aimed solely at aiding Abu Shabab’s men. Separately, Ynet reported that the militia killed six members of Hamas’ internal security force responsible for pursuing suspected collaborators with Israel.
❗️ Al-Aqsa Voice Radio – Source in the Palestinian resistance’s security apparatus told media outlets:
"A Zionist suicide drone targeted security personnel on Tuesday at the detention site of (A.N.), who had been arrested on charges of collaborating with mercenary gangs and other security and criminal offenses. Several security officers were injured in the strike, while the detainee’s fate remains unknown."
❗️Monitor: Over 17,500 Palestinians arrested in West Bank since Gaza genocide began
Israeli forces have arrested at least 17,500 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the war on Gaza, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said on 11 June. Around 150 of these arrests occurred in the past week alone.
The group described the arrests as part of a campaign of “collective punishment,” noting that the detainees include 545 women and 1,400 children. It added that arrests remain the most “systematic” and “prominent” Israeli policy.
"My son's children are orphans, and my children are gone."
A woman who managed to secure a bag of flour after risking her life to feed her orphaned grandchildren was among the survivors of the aid massacres near the GHF US-backed distribution points in Netzarim and Rafah.
Dozens of Palestinian aid seekers massacred as GHF operations enter third week
The massacres happened as Israeli officials issued mass forced displacement orders for the entirety of northern Gaza
Smotrich moves to collapse Palestinian economy after UK sanctions
The minister’s decision to cancel a Palestinian banking waiver threatens to cut off salaries, payments, and essential services across the occupied West Bank
❗️Chants in support of Hamas among the Sumud (Resilience) Convoy, which set off from Algeria and passed through Tunisia, Libya, and then Egypt on its way to the Rafah border crossing to break the siege on Gaza.
Читать полностью…
❗️Israeli forces raid MoneyGram exchange shop in Hebron
Israeli forces stormed a currency exchange office affiliated with MoneyGram in the city of Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank, reportedly looting cash during the operation.
❗️Detained Madleen activist refuses Israeli demands to deny ‘illegal kidnapping’
Yasemin Acar, a humanitarian activist detained by Israeli forces aboard the Gaza-bound Madleen ship, has refused to sign documents that would legitimize her detention and deny her forced transfer to Israeli territory. The message was conveyed by her brother on her behalf.
❗️Qassam Brigades announces sniping of Israeli soldier near Khan Yunis
Hamas's armed wing the Qassam Brigades announced on 11 June that its fighters sniped an Israeli soldier near Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
The announcement comes amid ongoing clashes in the Khan Yunis area, where Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ) Quds Brigades also reports engaging Israeli occupation forces.
‘Not in our lifetime’: US rejects Palestinian statehood
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Arab states could ‘carve something out’ for a Palestinian state
❗️Claire Manera, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has revealed that just four trucks of medical supplies have entered the Gaza Strip since 2 March, a figure far below the urgent needs of the health sector.
Читать полностью…
❗️At least 61 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn on 11 June, according to hospital officials. Among the dead are 39 aid seekers shot near distribution centers.
Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital received 27 bodies, while seven were taken to Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat and two to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. In the southern city of Khan Yunis, Nasser Hospital recorded 25 fatalities.
BREAKING | Nine Palestinians killed near aid center in southern Gaza
Israeli forces just killed at least nine Palestinians near humanitarian distribution points in Rafah, southern Gaza, according to medical sources at the Nasser Medical Complex.
❗️PIJ's Quds Brigades announces that its fighters were able to destroy an Israeli military vehicle by detonating a previously planted highly explosive barrel bomb in the Qizan al-Najjar area, south of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, on 3 June 2025.
Читать полностью…
❗️ BREAKING: Israel is threatening EU Parliament member Rima Hassan and other activists aboard the Madleen Freedom Flotilla.
According to testimony from Al Jazeera journalist Omar Faiad, who was recently released, Israeli forces are pressuring activists who refuse to sign the “papers.”
“For example, MP Rima Hassan is still there,” he said. “She refuses to sign the papers and was directly threatened by an officer who said: ‘I’ll smash your head against the wall if you don’t sign. We’ll handle this our own way.’”
❗️ Doctors are performing surgeries by phone light in Gaza hospitals due to power outages due to Israel's ban on fuel imports.
Читать полностью…
⭕️ Prisoners’ Media Office:
Israeli occupation forces arrested around 150 Palestinians from the West Bank over the past week, including women, children, and previously released prisoners.
- The arrests were concentrated in Hebron, Jenin, Bethlehem, and Nablus, and were accompanied by large-scale raids and field interrogations.
- The campaigns also involved field executions and the demolition of private homes, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm.
- Occupation forces intensified physical assaults, field investigations, and the use of civilians as hostages.
⭕️ Italy ends contract with Israeli spyware firm Paragon over surveillance allegations
Italy has terminated its contracts with Israeli spyware firm Paragon after revelations that its technology was used to spy on critics of the government, including journalists and migrant rescue activists.
A parliamentary security report confirmed that Italian intelligence agencies had activated contracts with Paragon in 2023–2024 and used the spyware on a limited number of targets with prosecutorial approval.
Among those surveilled were activists from the Mediterranea NGO, targeted not for human rights work but over alleged links to irregular immigration.
Paragon claims it cut ties with Italy after allegations of spying on journalist Francesco Cancellato became public, and said the Italian government refused to investigate the incident jointly.
Opposition parties and the journalists’ union FNSI have called for a full inquiry. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office has not commented.
⭕️ The Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs Authority: Approximately 440 Palestinian children have been arrested by the Israeli occupation since October 7, as part of a systematic campaign of collective punishment against children.
Читать полностью…
⭕️ US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized the move by the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway to impose sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
While echoing an earlier statement from US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, Rubio went further by urging the nations to reconsider their decision.
“These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home and end the war,” Rubio said.
❗️Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said an agreement ensuring the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program is within reach and could be finalized quickly.
He noted that this aligns with both Iran’s doctrine and US President Trump’s stance against Iranian nuclear weapons.
Araghchi added that such a deal would require continued IAEA oversight of Iran’s enrichment program and the lifting of sanctions.
❗️German opposition figure urges sanctions on Israeli ministers over incitement
Franziska Brantner, co-leader of Germany’s Green Party, has called on Berlin to impose sanctions on Israeli far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, following similar moves by several western states.
Speaking to dpa news agency, Brantner accused the two of “openly calling for violence against the Palestinian population” and pushing policies of “annexation and displacement,” which she said were costing lives and obstructing peace efforts.