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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️According to local reports from Gaza as well as Israeli reports, elements of Yasser Abu Shabab's Israel-backed militia opened fire on civilians waiting to receive US aid west of Rafah.
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❗️Eight Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces at US-Israeli GHF aid centers in Gaza
Israeli forces opened fire this morning on Palestinians waiting for food at an aid distribution point run by the US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in southern Gaza’s Rafah governorate, killing at least eight people, according to WAFA. Dozens more were injured in a separate shooting near the GHF center along the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, according to reports from journalists on the ground.
❗️Social media users have pushed back against Israel’s labeling of the Madleen aid ship as a “selfie yacht,” by resurfacing images of Israeli soldiers posing for photos amid Gaza’s ruins since the invasion began in late 2023.
Rights advocate Assal Rad posted a photo of Israeli troops in front of bombed-out buildings, captioned “selfie yacht.” Mitchell Plitnick, president of ReThinking Foreign Policy, posted similar photos, asking: “So what do we call the Israeli army?” Israeli troops have repeatedly circulated videos mocking Palestinians throughout the war.
❗️Israeli War Minister Israel Katz has instructed the military to screen video footage of the 7 October attack for international activists detained aboard the Madleen, the Gaza freedom flotilla intercepted and redirected to the port of Ashdod.
In a statement on X, Katz congratulated Israeli forces for their “swift” operation and repeated accusations that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, one of those detained, is “anti-Semitic” and supports Hamas. He claimed it would be “appropriate” for the activists to view the footage, which Israeli officials continue to use as justification for the ongoing genocide.
BREAKING | Israeli forces surrounded the Madleen vessel, boarded it, and abducted all the volunteers onboard.
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BREAKING | Israeli media reports another 'security incident' in the Shujaiya neighborhood east of Gaza City.
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❗️At the request of the US-led Ceasefire Monitoring Committee, the Lebanese Army inspects an already destroyed building in the southern suburb of Beirut's Mreijeh amid threats of another Israeli attack.
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❗️A UNIFIL patrol was intercepted in south Lebanon's Wadi al-Hujayr while conducting inspection operations without coordination with the Lebanese army.
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❗️Israeli warplanes completely destroyed An-Naqab and Al-Rafei Schools in Jabalia, northern Gaza, a short while ago.
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❗️Israel has killed at least 32 Palestinians in attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn today.
(Medical sources in Gaza)
⭕️ Southern Syria: Israeli violations in Quneitra and Damascus countryside
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Ongoing Israeli military activity in southern Syria has escalated sharply in recent days, with multiple incursions and airstrikes reported near the occupied Golan Heights. On Sunday, Israeli forces penetrated the town of al-Rafid in southern Quneitra with several armored vehicles, remaining in the area for hours before withdrawing, according to reports from both Syrian state media, Al Mayadeen, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
In a separate incident, Israeli tanks reportedly advanced into the outskirts of Jaba village (central Quneitra) on Saturday, opening heavy fire on Syrian territory before retreating. No injuries were reported, but Israeli reconnaissance drones were seen intensively patrolling the skies, heightening fears of further escalation.
Meanwhile, an Israeli drone launched a missile strike in the village of Beit Jinn in western Damascus countryside, hitting a vehicle and injuring three people. Israeli military sources claimed the target was a member of Hamas. The strike occurred just meters from the Israeli-controlled buffer zone, suggesting a dangerously expanding scope of engagement.
According to Al Mayadeen, Israeli forces also bulldozed parts of the Shahar forest near the border strip, in yet another violation of Syrian sovereignty.
(Photo: AFP)
❗️Israeli War Minister Israel Katz:
"I have instructed the IDF to act so that the 'Madleen' flotilla does not reach Gaza.
To the antisemitic Greta and her friends, I say clearly — you better turn back, because you will not reach Gaza."
Iran parliament speaker blasts US nuclear proposal over lack of sanctions relief
US President Donald Trump has shifted his stance, now demanding that Iran completely cease uranium enrichment, after previously insisting only on preventing it from developing nuclear weapons
⭕️ Israel's newest allegation: The Israeli military has now accused Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal of being a Hamas operative, specifically part of the Qassam Brigades' Al-Zaytoun Brigade.
This comes as part of Israel's all-out war on Gaza's rescue and emergency workers, journalists, academics, doctors, UN agencies and more.
⭕️ Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf strongly rejects the latest US proposal in the ongoing indirect nuclear talks, criticizing it for omitting any reference to lifting sanctions.
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Ghalibaf accused Washington of a coercive and contradictory approach, saying the proposal reflects dishonesty and offers only empty promises of economic relief while denying Iran its right to enrich uranium. He emphasized that Iran remains open to building trust through peaceful nuclear activity but only in exchange for real sanctions relief and economic benefits, in line with the Strategic Action Plan passed by parliament.
“It is clear that no rational logic would accept such a unilateral and imposed agreement,” he said, in reference to the US's failure to mention the lifting of sanctions, and its demand for 'zero' enrichment on Iran's part.
He added that the US smiles in front of cameras while making promises of economic relief, yet avoids any concrete steps toward ending sanctions or acknowledging Iran’s nuclear rights.
He also criticized US President Donald Trump, calling him "delusional" and urging him to abandon alignment with Israel and Netanyahu’s failed policies. Ghalibaf asserted that Iran should rely on internal economic strength to pressure the US into accepting a mutual deal.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, confirmed that Iran received the US proposal via Oman and will respond based on national interests and principles.
❗️Israeli drones struck multiple areas near the southern Gaza governorate of Khan Yunis late on Sunday, killing six displaced Palestinians sheltering in tent camps near Al-Mawasi and another person east of Khan Yunis city, according to local medical sources.
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❗️European Parliament bloc slams Israel’s seizure of Gaza aid ship as illegal: ‘Solidarity is not a crime.’
The Left in the European Parliament has condemned Israel’s seizure of the Madleen aid ship as a “blatant violation of international law,” carried out outside Israeli territorial waters. The political group, which includes 46 lawmakers, said the arrest of the crew and confiscation of humanitarian supplies is part of a broader strategy to “starve and massacre Palestinians in Gaza while hiding Israeli war crimes from the world.”
In a statement, the bloc urged the EU, UN, and international community to condemn the detention, demand the crew’s unconditional release, and ensure unimpeded aid entry into Gaza. “Solidarity is not a crime, genocide is,” it added.
❗️The Jewish Council of Australia has called on Canberra to secure the immediate release of the Madleen’s crew after the aid vessel, part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, was intercepted by Israeli forces earlier this morning.
Council executive officer Sarah Schwartz said Israel “cannot be trusted to ensure the safety of the Freedom Flotilla crew,” citing its history of killing activists attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. She condemned western governments for their continued inaction in the face of Israeli war crimes and warned that Palestinians in Gaza face imminent starvation as humanitarian access remains blocked.
❗️The moment Israeli occupation forces boarded the Madleen vessel.
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BREAKING | US, Israel agree to end UNIFIL mandate in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli reports.
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The United States and Israel have agreed that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) should end its operations in southern Lebanon, the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom confirmed Sunday.
The US administration has decided not to renew UNIFIL’s mandate, and Israel reportedly "did not try to convince them otherwise." A vote on the mandate is expected at the UN Security Council in the coming months.
UNIFIL, which was established in 1978 and expanded after Israel's war on Lebanon in 2006, currently includes more than 13,000 uniformed personnel tasked with monitoring hostilities along the Blue Line and ensuring humanitarian access.
No officials from the US, Israel, or the UN have publicly commented on the decision.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing for UNIFIL’s removal from Lebanon since as far back as October 2024.
Analysts believe the move is intended to eliminate international observers who could monitor or document Israeli military activity in southern Lebanon.
WATCH | As part of the “David’s Stones” series of operations, the Qassam Brigades publishes footage of its fighters targeting an Israeli military bulldozer (D9) with a Yassin 105 shell near the Yarmouk site in the Al-Manara neighborhood, south of Khan Yunis.
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❗️Israeli media reported that the Israeli Navy conducted a training exercise off the coast of Ashdod on how to seize the Madleen vessel.
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Syrian Kurds: 'No peace' with Damascus without 'decentralization'
Kurdish leader Salih Muslim Turkiye is working to undermine Kurdish rights in negotiations with Damascus to integrate the Syrian Democratic forces into the Syrian army
UPDATE | The number of aid-seeking Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza has risen to 13 since this morning.
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‘You better turn back’: Israeli war minister threatens Gaza Freedom Flotilla
Katz confirmed that the army has been ordered to prevent the aid boat from reaching the strip, and ‘will not allow anyone’ to break the blockade on Gaza
Israel kills more aid-seeking civilians after GHF misleads Palestinians into military zones
Over 100 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured at aid sites since the US-Israeli mechanism was launched
❗️The ongoing Israeli assault on Jenin Refugee Camp in the occupied West Bank has resulted in the complete destruction of 600 homes, while the remaining houses were partially damaged and rendered uninhabitable. Israel has forcibly displaced around 22,000 residents from the camp.
(Jenin Camp Media Committee)
⭕️ Extremist militants affiliated with Ahmad al-Sharaa’s HTS-led interim government in Syria desecrated the grave of the late PFLP-GC leader Ahmad Jibril in the Yarmouk refugee camp's Martyrs' Cemetery, defacing it with the words: "Curse your soul."
This phrase now appears on the tomb of a man credited with liberating Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Secretary-General Ziad al-Nakhala, and over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in the historic 1985 Jibril Deal as part of ‘Operation Galilee.’
Jibril, founder of the PFLP-GC, led countless operations against Israel and supported the resistance in Gaza and the West Bank, providing training, weapons, and logistical support to various Palestinian factions as far back as the First and Second Intifadas.
He was hated by extremist groups in Syria for siding with the Syrian state against the likes of ISIS and the Nusra Front – forces that called themselves the “opposition.”
This act is part of a wider campaign targeting Palestinian resistance factions in Syria; a campaign overseen by Ahmad al-Sharaa at the behest of the US, involving arrests, threats, and raids on resistance offices. One of Trump’s conditions for lifting sanctions on Syria was to “expel Palestinian terrorists” from the country.
❗️Israeli media reports another 'security incident' in Khan Yunis, south Gaza.
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❗️Organized theft in Gaza: Safe passage for traders, chaos for civilians
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Gaza journalist Abdallah al-Attar:
"This morning, shipments of chocolate, instant noodles, and other goods arrived in Deir al-Balah aboard what are known as “traders’ trucks” — vehicles no thief dares to touch.
Meanwhile, humanitarian aid trucks meant for civilians continue to be looted in the streets.
This stark contrast has left many in Gaza asking: Is there an organized system behind the looting? Why are some trucks untouched, while others are ransacked?
Why are the trucks carrying basic necessities — flour, sugar, oil — stolen, while those delivering non-essential goods that drain Gaza’s limited cash flow remain untouched?"