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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️The PIJ's Quds Brigades announces that its fighters, in a joint operation with Hamas's Qassam Brigades, eliminated an Israeli force that had infiltrated the European area southeast of Khan Yunis by targeting it with an anti-personnel shell and engaging in direct close-range combat.
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❗️Somaliland says US recognition 'is on the horizon'
"We are a partner in security ... a partner in counter-terrorism ... a partner in safe marine routes for world trade."
Somaliland's new president Abdirahman Mohammad Abdullahi says that it is “likely” that the country will be recognized, as US president Donald Trump could be the first leader to recognise Somaliland in return for building a military base near the port of Berbera, a strategic location on the Gulf of Aden.
Project 2025, a Trump administration initiative, proposes the recognition of Somaliland as a “hedge against the US’s deteriorating position in Djibouti."
“Recognition is on the horizon,” said Abdullahi.
“It’s a matter of time. Not if, but when and who will lead the recognition of Somaliland,” he added.
Abdullahi also said that US military officials, including the Horn of Africa’s most senior officer, have recently visited the capital Hargeisa. Another Washington delegation is expected to “evaluate the asset (Berbera).”
(The Guardian)
❗️The Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ) Quds Brigades reports from the field that its fighters targeted an Israeli special force consisting of 10 soldiers who had fortified themselves inside a building in the European Housing area. They struck the location with a TBG shell, causing casualties among the soldiers, some killed and others wounded, which prompted the landing of several helicopters at the site. The operation took place at 4:00 PM yesterday, Thursday, 29 May 2025.
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⭕️ Freedom Flotilla Coalition to launch new voyage to Gaza after drone attack on last aid ship
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced that its next vessel, the Madleen, will set sail from Catania, Sicily, this Sunday in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza. Named after Gaza’s only known fisherwoman in 2014, the Madleen will carry activists, including Greta Thunberg and Liam Cunningham, despite what organizers describe as ongoing threats and international inaction.
The announcement follows a recent drone attack on the coalition’s previous ship, the Conscience, in international waters.
🇾🇪 Yemeni Armed Forces announced that it targeted Ben Gurion airport with a hypersonic ballistic missile yesterday at night.
"The operation has successfully achieved its objective, causing millions of usurping Zionists to rush to shelters and bringing the airport to a standstill."
⭕️ ISIS claims first attack on Syria’s new government forces since the fall of Bashar al-Assad
The US-backed Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for its first attack against the new Syrian government forces, according to a statement published by SITE Intelligence Group on Thursday.
The group says it detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) planted earlier on a Syrian military vehicle in Sweida, killing one and injuring three soldiers from the 70th Division. While ISIS activity has persisted in northeastern Syria, attacks on the newly installed government in Damascus have been rare since it took power in December 2024.
❗️Hamas signals rejection of US ceasefire proposal in Gaza
A senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group will likely reject the US-brokered ceasefire proposal recently approved by Israel, citing the absence of a humanitarian mechanism to allow the entry of hundreds of aid trucks daily into Gaza.
Hamas says the proposal fails to guarantee a permanent ceasefire or prevent Israel from resuming hostilities if talks collapse. Politburo member Bassem Naim stated the deal “does not meet any of our people’s demands.”
❗️French President Emmanuel Macron says France will 'toughen' stance against Israel if Gaza aid blockade continues
Speaking at a joint press conference in Singapore with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Macron reiterated France’s commitment for a 'Two-State Solution'.
"The humanitarian blockade is creating a situation that is untenable on the ground," Macron said.
He cautioned that "if there is no response that meets the humanitarian situation in the coming hours and days, obviously, we will have to toughen our collective position," noting that France is considering sanctions targeting Israeli settlers.
"But I still hope that the government of Israel will change its stance and that we will finally have a humanitarian response."
❗️Israeli Beitar Jerusalem fans assault Palestinian bus drivers after football cup final loss
Following Beitar Jerusalem’s defeat in the Israeli national football cup final last night, multiple eyewitness reports confirm that Palestinian bus drivers were brutally attacked in the aftermath of the match by Israeli settlers.
The attackers, affiliated with Beitar’s nationalist fan base, unleashed verbal abuse and physical violence on Palestinian workers near public transportation hubs in the city.
❗️Israeli police arrested Sanaa Salama, the widow of the late Palestinian intellectual Walid Daqqa, while she was with her daughter Milad in Jerusalem after Ben-Gvir demanded her deportation.
According to Hamas’ Prisoners’ Media Office, Sanaa was transferred to an interrogation center.
The Israeli police confirmed the arrest in a statement, claiming she was being investigated for allegedly posting content that “incites against the state and its soldiers.”
❗️At least 10 people killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza today
(Medical sources to Al Jazeera)
BREAKING | Israel issues mass forced displacement order in Gaza across vast area, but to where are people supposed to go?
In a new wave of forced displacement, Israeli authorities have demanded the immediate evacuation of all residents from the neighborhoods of Al-Atatra, Jabalia al-Balad, Shujaiya, Al-Daraj, and Al-Zeitoun, now declared “active combat zones.”
These areas cover a huge portion of northern Gaza; neighborhoods where tens of thousands of civilians, including many already displaced, are currently sheltering. The map issued with the announcement shows an extensive red zone now marked as “dangerous combat area.”
While no clear safe zones are provided, the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate.
❗️Israel preventing UN from accessing Gaza aid for three days, says spokesperson
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that around 600 aid trucks are currently waiting on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) crossing, but Israel has denied the UN permission to retrieve and distribute the supplies for the past three days.
Dujarric explained that all movement must be coordinated with COGAT, the Israeli agency overseeing activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. He noted that the UN requires Israeli clearance to access and return from the aid site and raised concerns about the safety of the approved routes. “The last time we were able to move goods, we had an agreed-upon route with the Israelis,” he said, adding, “ongoing insecurity and restrictive conditions are making it extremely difficult to deliver humanitarian assistance.”
US says Israel accepts Witkoff ceasefire proposal
The proposal reportedly does not include a guarantee that the ceasefire would become permanent, a key Hamas demand
Palestinians flee intensified Israeli attacks after mass displacement orders in north Gaza
Israel has ordered the evacuation of almost all of Gaza City and other areas of the north, where around one million Palestinians reside
❗️The Israeli military said Thursday that one of its soldiers was seriously wounded during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip. No further details about the soldier’s identity or the specific location of the clash were provided.
The army confirmed its total casualties since October 2023 now stand at 858 soldiers killed, including 416 during ground operations in Gaza.
⭕️ Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri to Reuters:
"We were surprised last night by the Israeli response, which was practically the opposite of what the movement had agreed to and communicated to the American envoy through mediators.
The Israeli response to the agreement contains no commitment to a ceasefire, no withdrawal from the [Gaza] Strip, and maintains Israeli control over the mechanism for aid entry.
Hamas did not rush to announce its position, and it will do so at the appropriate time.
What Netanyahu is offering is a bad proposal aimed at forcing our Palestinian people into submission through these conditions."
⭕️ Reuters: Turkish FM Hakan Fidan discusses Gaza ceasefire with Hamas
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone conversation on Thursday with members from Hamas to discuss ongoing efforts toward a ceasefire in Gaza.
Fidan also spoke separately with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, to review the latest developments in Gaza and Syria.
⭕️ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls for establishment of Zangezur Corridor to connect Turkiye to the 'broader Turkic world'
Speaking from Azerbaijan, Erdogan expressed support for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and emphasized the importance of establishing the Zangezur Corridor — a transport route intended to connect Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan through Armenia’s Syunik Province.
He dismissed concerns about Iran obstructing the corridor, highlighting that the project is not only a link between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan, but also a strategic route connecting Turkiye to the broader Turkic world.
Erdogan called on Iran to support the initiative, framing it as a mutually beneficial opportunity for regional peace, development, and cooperation.
(Tasnim News)
⭕️ Tension in southwest Damascus after Syrian intelligence officer killed in armed clash
A Syrian internal security officer was killed and another injured late Thursday night in the city of Qatana, southwest of Damascus, during an armed clash with suspected Druze smugglers accused of trafficking narcotics through surrounding villages.
According to local sources, the officer Jamil Momneh led a unit that intercepted a drug shipment toward Jabal al-Sheikh region. The operation led to arrests, the seizure of weapons and narcotics, and triggered rising tensions in the area, including reported retaliation and property damage targeting Druze residents.
⭕️ India grants investment rule exemption to Saudi wealth fund to boost capital inflows
India has decided to grant an exemption to Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund from certain foreign portfolio investment regulations.
The regulations in question group investments from multiple sovereign entities under a single cap of 10% in any one company, which has limited the ability of various Public Investment Fund subsidiaries to increase their investments in India.
The rule requiring investments from different sovereign entities to be grouped together restricts the Saudi fund and its subsidiaries from investing independently.
The exemption provided to the fund will enable its different branches to make separate investments, increasing their flexibility to allocate capital in Indian equity markets without exceeding regulatory limits.
(Reuters)
❗️Israel has killed at least 18 Palestinians in attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn today.
(Medical sources to Al Jazeera)
❗️A woman has been killed and several people injured in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Jabalia al-Balad, north of the Gaza Strip, according to local sources.
Sources in Gaza hospitals confirmed that three people were also killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Saftawi area, north of Gaza City.
❗️UNRWA says enough aid to save 200,000 in Gaza waits in their warehouses
UNRWA wrote on X that in Amman, a three-hour drive from Gaza, “we have enough supplies to sustain over 200,000 people for an entire month”.
“Flour, food parcels, hygiene kits, blankets and medical supplies are ready to be delivered”, the agency added, again urging the unrestricted allowance of aid into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since March.
⭕️ A video published by Israeli soldiers documents their use of a Palestinian as a human shield, after forcing him to wear military fatigues and search homes in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
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In the past two hours, Israeli warplanes launch several airstrikes on villages in south Lebanon and Bekaa.
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❗️Earlier this evening, Israeli warplanes bombed the southern Lebanese villages of Al-Rayhan, Al-Bissariya, Ramia, Yater, Ain Qana, Kfar Fila, Tebna, Wadi Barghaz, and the outskirts of Kfar Kila.
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BREAKING | Israel says it intercepted one missile launched from Yemen.
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❗️Israel has killed at least 70 Palestinians in attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn today.
(Medical sources to Al Jazeera)