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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️Lebanese Army reinforces presence in the southern Lebanese town of Aita al-Shaab
The Lebanese Army, in coordination with the Aita al-Shaab municipality and UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), has begun removing earthen berms and reopening roads.
It is also announced, in a statement, that a new army post will be established next to a local public school, in preparation for setting up additional positions along the border in the coming phase.
❗️Israeli settlers tried to enter the Dome of the Rock in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem carrying ritual items, including a slaughtered animal, alcohol, and a bloodied cloth.
Guards stopped them, and Israeli police removed them from the site.
❗️Qassam Brigades announces that its fighters targeted an Israeli tank with a Shawaz explosive device and a Yassin 105 shell on 1 June in the Qizan al-Najjar area, south of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
Quds Brigades announces that its fighters detonated a "highly explosive device" in an Israeli Hummer jeep at a newly constructed Israeli military site east of Gaza City on 29 May.
❗️US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee releases a "Statement of Media Misinformation on Gaza," claiming that "The efforts of GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) have resulted in over 5 million meals to civilians without incident," while demanding an "immediate retraction of the lies."
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❗️Qassam Brigades announces that its fighters targeted an Israeli D9 military bulldozer with a Yassin 105 shell on Saturday in the Qizan al-Najjar area, south of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
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⭕️ Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam after meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri:
– "We’re not a weather observatory, we’re not here to forecast or heat things up. The Speaker of Parliament is very understanding, and the government has not taken any steps outside the ministerial statement."
– "Speaker Berri has no concerns when it comes to reforms. We support peace based on the Arab Peace Initiative, that’s its name, and we can’t change it."
– "The issue of weapons is addressed in the ministerial statement, which states that arms must be under the control of the state."
– "My doors are open, whether at home or at the Grand Serail (Lebanese HQ of PM), and I’m leaving room for goodwill with [head of Hezbollah's parliament block MP] Mohammad Raad."
– "I haven’t said a single word that contradicts the ministerial statement. We remain committed to it, and I discussed the reconstruction file with Speaker Berri to reaffirm my commitment to it."
❗️Six children among 14 killed in Israeli attack on family home in northern Gaza: Civil Defense
Earlier, Gaza’s Civil Defense reported that two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on the Al-Barash family home on Old Gaza Street in the northern area of Jabalia al-Balad.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesman of the rescue service, says the death toll now reached 14, including six children and three women.
More than 20 missing are still under the rubble, he added.
❗️UNRWA official: Gaza aid scenes resemble “herded animals in pens”
Sam Rose, the acting director of UNRWA in Gaza, described the situation in the enclave as “horrific,” following recent killings at US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid points. Speaking to Al Jazeera from Oxford, Rose said Gaza has reached a new level of devastation, stating: “This is what people have been reduced to: literally herded animals in pens.”
US hits pause on 'maximum pressure' sanctions on Iran: Report
Iran has recently received a new proposal for a deal, which aims to break the stalemate on recent disagreements over Tehran’s uranium enrichment
BREAKING | Two Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on family home in northern Jabalia, Civil Defense reports
Gaza’s Civil Defense says two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Al-Barash family home on Old Gaza Street in Jabalia al-Balad, located in northern Gaza.
The emergency service added that an unspecified number of others were injured in the attack.
❗️British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement today that the situation in Gaza is “intolerable” and “getting worse by the day,” stressing the urgent need for increased humanitarian aid. Speaking to reporters in Scotland, Starmer said the UK is working with allies to push for faster and larger-scale aid deliveries to the besieged enclave.
“We are working to make clear that aid must get in at the speed and volume currently lacking,” he said, warning that the current shortfall is causing “absolute devastation.”
❗️Palestinian child dies from wounds after Israeli airstrike erases family in Deir al-Balah
Mohammad Hussein Aqeilan, a Palestinian child, has succumbed to injuries he sustained in an Israeli airstrike that struck his family’s home in Deir al-Balah two days ago, Wafa news agency reports.
While the agency did not disclose his age, it confirmed that the attack killed his entire family, effectively removing them from the Palestinian civil registry.
WATCH | PIJ's Quds Brigades publishes footage of its fighters targeting Israeli soldiers and vehicles with mortar shells in Khan Yunis.
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❗️Israel kills 4 displaced Palestinians in designated ‘safe zone’ in Al-Mawasi
Four Palestinians were killed and dozens injured after Israeli shelling targeted a tent sheltering displaced people in the Mawasi area near Khan Yunis, Gaza. The attack set multiple tents ablaze, with survivors treated for severe burns. Al-Mawasi has been officially designated by Israel as a humanitarian safe zone, yet continues to come under fire.
The area now hosts tens of thousands of evacuees from Rafah and Khan Yunis, forced there by repeated Israeli evacuation orders. Residents say they have nowhere else to go, as their original homes lie inside ‘dangerous zones’ or are already destroyed.
❗️White House freezes new Iran sanctions as Trump-era pressure campaign stalls
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has reportedly ordered a pause on all new sanctions activity toward Iran, stalling momentum on former President Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign, The Wall Street Journal reports. The directive was sent to senior officials at the National Security Council, Treasury, and State Department, with broader coordination across agencies managing Iran-related policy.
The move reflects growing complexities in enforcing sanctions, particularly given Iran’s deepening energy ties with China, now the buyer of over 90% of its oil exports, as well as intersecting interests with Japan, Europe, India, and Southeast Asia. A source close to the administration described the current approach as “running in place.”
❗️Israel will not dispatch a delegation to Doha to negotiate indirectly with Hamas, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
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❗️Reuters: US signals support for new Syrian leadership plan to integrate thousands of foreign fighters into national army
When asked whether Washington endorsed the inclusion of foreign fighters in Syria’s restructured military, Thomas Barrack, US ambassador to Turkiye and recently appointed special envoy to Syria, responded: "I would say there is an understanding, with transparency."
He added that keeping these fighters. many of whom are "very loyal" to Syria’s new government, within a state-controlled framework was preferable to leaving them on the outside.
Moscow, Kiev return to negotiating table one day after major drone attack hit Russia
Ukraine’s security service claimed a massive drone attack on Sunday damaged or destroyed 41 Russian military aircraft and inflicted $7 billion in losses
⭕️ Ex-Biden official Matthew Miller says Israel committed war crimes in Gaza, but stops short of calling it genocide
In an interview with Sky News’s Trump 100 podcast, Miller disclosed that there were both “small and big” internal disputes within the Biden administration regarding its approach to the US-Israel relationship.
“There were disagreements all along the way about how to handle policy. Some of those were big disagreements, some of those were little disagreements,” he said.
When asked if he thinks there is a genocide going on in Gaza, he responded: “I don’t think it’s a genocide, but I think it is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes.”
Pressed on why he didn’t voice these views while in office, he said: “When you’re at the podium, you’re not expressing your personal opinion. You’re expressing the conclusions of the United States government. The United States government had not concluded that they committed war crimes, still have not concluded [that].”
Chile to reduce 'dependence' on Israel over Gaza genocide
Reports say the US is planning to impose sanctions on Chile after its recent withdrawal of all military attaches from Tel Aviv
Israel kills over 50 aid seekers at GHF sites in one week since launch
Aid groups have called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid scheme 'ineffective and dehumanizing'
❗️The Qassam Brigades announced it targeted a group of Israeli soldiers east of Al-Qarara, in southern Gaza, with 13 mortar shells of 120mm and 60mm caliber on 31 May. The group did not provide details on the outcome of the strike.
In a separate attack the same day, the Israeli military’s Ein al-Thalatha site, located east of the town, was struck with three short-range Rajum missiles, according to a statement.
❗️UPDATE | Gaza Ministry of Health:
– "Gaza hospitals have received 52 martyrs (including 1 body retrieved) and 503 injuries in the past 24 hours."
– "Since March 18, 2025, the toll has reached 4,201 martyrs and 12,652 injuries."
– "The number of aid-related martyrs has risen to 75 [since 27 May when the GHF started operating] following the killing of 35 people yesterday, with total injuries at over 400 civilians in designated aid distribution areas."
⭕️ Iran’s atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said on Sunday that uranium enrichment is a red line and a non-negotiable right for Iran, rejecting US calls to halt the process.
He emphasized that enrichment is essential for maintaining Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle and advancing research and technology, stating there is no alternative to it.
Eslami criticized the latest IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear activities, claiming it was influenced by the US, Israel, and key European powers.
He stressed that Iran remains committed to the NPT and has consistently allowed IAEA inspections.
The report comes as indirect US-Iran nuclear talks continue, with five rounds held since April in Muscat and Rome.
⭕️ Incendiary attack targets pro-Israel rally in Boulder
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Multiple people suffered burns in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday 1 June when a man allegedly threw an incendiary device near a pro-Israel gathering organized in support of Israeli captives held in Gaza.
Authorities have taken 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman into custody—an Egyptian national who allegedly overstayed a tourist visa after arriving in the US in 2022—as the FBI launches a terrorism investigation into the incident.
The event, described by organizers as a peaceful walk rather than a protest, was interrupted when the suspect, reportedly shouting "Free Palestine," attacked the crowd with what witnesses described as a makeshift flamethrower.
Eight people were hospitalized, with at least one in critical condition. While the FBI characterized the incident as a targeted act of violence and potential terrorism, local police initially cautioned against jumping to conclusions about motive. Officials and institutions, including Jewish organizations and Israeli diplomats, have condemned the attack as a hate crime and act of terrorism.
The incident comes amid global outrage over Gaza, closely following the recent shooting of Israeli embassy staff members in Washington on 21 May.
❗️Israeli forces bulldoze perimeter of European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunis
Israeli forces have reportedly demolished a wall of the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunis and are conducting bulldozing operations around the facility, according to Al Jazeera.
❗️Claire Menara, an emergency coordinator with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, says medical staff are overwhelmed and operating under extreme shortages due to the ongoing Israeli blockade. With patients overflowing into corridors, Menara described the situation as “critical,” noting that many of the wounded are arriving in severe condition, and there are not enough supplies to treat them.
She added that the blockade, in place since March 2, has brought humanitarian operations to a breaking point, forcing hospital staff to donate their own blood to keep patients alive. “We can’t continue like this,” she said.
Damascus, SDF hold ‘positive’ first meeting to advance integration deal
Turkiye, a key backer of the new government in Syria, has accused the SDF of ‘stalling’ to implement a deal to integrate into Damascus’s forces
❗️Quds Brigades says it shelled Israeli soldiers in Gaza’s Khan Yunis
The Quds Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), announced that its fighters shelled Israeli forces and vehicles after they advanced into the area near the customs police site southeast of Khan Yunis.
The operation was reportedly conducted in coordination with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
⭕️ Greta Thunberg joins Gaza-bound aid boat in defiance of Israeli blockade
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham have joined a Gaza-bound humanitarian vessel that set sail from the Italian port of Catania, as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s (FFC) mission to challenge Israel’s blockade. The ship, Madleen, carries symbolic aid in barrels and is staffed entirely by volunteers.
The mission follows a drone strike earlier this month on another flotilla vessel, Conscience, outside Maltese waters, an attack FFC attributes to Israel. Thunberg emphasized the urgency of the mission, stating: “No matter how dangerous this mission is, it is nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the world in the face of genocide.” FFC framed the voyage as an act of civil resistance against Israel’s 17-year siege on Gaza, which rights groups widely denounce as collective punishment.