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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
Syrian Alawites protest child abduction, sectarian murders
Violence by Damascus-linked forces against the Alawite religious minority have intensified since the Syrian president returned from his New York visit last month
⭕️ Spain formally approves permanent arms embargo on Israel
Spain’s parliament has formally approved a permanent arms embargo on Israel, voting 178 to 169 to ban the sale of weapons, dual-use technology, and military equipment in response to what it called the genocide in Gaza.
The measure, announced earlier by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, formalizes a ban in effect since October 2023 and is part of broader efforts to increase pressure on Israel. Sanchez also announced a ban on ships carrying fuel for the Israeli military from docking in Spanish ports.
BREAKING | Hamas announces that an agreement has been reached to end the war on Gaza.
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‼️ Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari announces that mediators have agreed on the terms for implementing the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The agreement will lead to an end to the war and the release of both Israeli and Palestinian prisoners.
It will also allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip, with details to be announced later.
❗️US President Trump announces that the first phase of his so-called 'Peace Plan' has been agreed to by Israel and Hamas.
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‼️ US President Donald Trump claims negotiations in Egypt with Hamas are going well and that there is a “good chance” of reaching a deal to end the war on Gaza. He adds he may travel to West Asia on Sunday.
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❗️Haaretz, citing a "very informed" diplomat on the negotiations, reports that the parties still need between 3 to 5 days to reach an agreement.
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Marco Rubio to join Paris conference on Gaza 'post-war' plans
US officials present in Cairo for ceasefire talks will reportedly 'not leave without a deal'
Syria’s captagon empire: A trade too deep to die
The captagon economy in Syria was never the creation of a single political authority. New data suggests it is part of a deeply rooted regional network that transcends borders, governments, and even regime change.
By Aghiad Hegazi
Israel thwarts Iranian attempt to smuggle ‘advanced weapons’ into West Bank
Tehran has been arming West Bank fighters in recent years, in line with a 2014 call by the country’s supreme leader to support resistance in the occupied territory
Indian traders switch to Chinese yuan for Russian oil purchases: Report
Washington has clamped down on New Delhi with high tariffs due to its energy ties with Moscow
❗️Tel Aviv claims it intercepted large Iranian arms shipment bound for West Bank resistance
A joint Shin Bet–Israeli military statement says they foiled a large Iranian-origin weapons shipment bound for resistance fighters in the occupied West Bank, seizing rockets and an RPG launcher, 4 drones (2 explosive), 20 hand grenades, 53 pistols, 7 assault rifles, 9 machine guns and some 750 rounds, among other items.
Authorities claim they arrested an arms dealer from the Ramallah area; investigators say the consignment was sent by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ special operations and Quds Force as part of an ongoing effort to arm resistance cells.
Shin Bet and the military said the bust follows earlier seizures and targeted assassinations in Lebanon, and that they will continue to hunt and interdict Iranian smuggling.
❗️Sources to Al Araby TV:
"The Sharm el-Sheikh negotiations are currently witnessing extensive discussions on the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."
⭕️ Oil prices rise over 1% on OPEC+ output hike smaller than expected
Oil prices rose by more than 1% on Wednesday, supported by a smaller-than-anticipated output increase from OPEC+ for next month. Brent crude futures increased by 82 cents, or 1.3%, reaching $66.27 a barrel by 09:45 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 85 cents, or 1.4%, to $62.58.
In the previous session, the benchmarks ended largely unchanged as investors balanced concerns over a supply surplus with OPEC+’s modest November output boost. "The bare minimum that OPEC+ decided to get away with on Sunday still provided some support," PVM oil analyst Tamas Varga said in a note on Wednesday.
Hamas firm in demanding release of ‘high-profile’ prisoners, Israeli withdrawal as Cairo talks enter third day
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law and former advisor Jared Kushner are participating in the negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh
Pakistan’s Gaza assignment: Policing resistance for Trump’s 'peace'
Trump's Gaza proposal enlists Pakistani forces for a US-led plan to pacify Palestinian resistance and reshape the region's balance.
By F.M. Shakil
Donald Trump in a phone interview with Fox News, referring to the Gaza ceasefire:
Netanyahu reportedly said to Trump “I can't believe it, everybody is liking me know” to which Trump replied “More importantly they’re loving Israel again,” adding that “Israel cannot fight the world.”
‼️ BREAKING | Official statement issued by Hamas
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• "Following responsible and serious negotiations conducted by the movement and Palestinian resistance factions regarding President Trump’s proposal in Sharm el-Sheikh—aimed at ending the genocidal war against our Palestinian people and ensuring the withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip—the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announces that an agreement has been reached to end the war on Gaza, withdraw occupation forces from the Strip, allow the entry of aid, and carry out a prisoner exchange.
• We highly value the efforts of our brothers mediating from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye, and we appreciate the efforts of US President Donald Trump aimed at achieving a complete and final end to the war and ensuring the full withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip.
• We call upon President Trump, the guarantor states of the agreement, and all Arab, Islamic, and international parties to compel the occupation government to fully implement the terms of the agreement and prevent it from evading or delaying the commitments that were agreed upon.
• We salute our great people in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and across the homeland and the diaspora—who have demonstrated unparalleled courage, honor, and heroism in confronting the fascist occupation’s schemes targeting their existence and national rights. These sacrifices and steadfast positions have thwarted the Israeli occupation’s plans of subjugation and displacement.
• We affirm that the sacrifices of our people will not be in vain. We remain true to our pledge and will never abandon our national rights until freedom, independence, and self-determination are achieved."
Palestinians in Gaza celebrate ahead of expected news of a ceasefire deal.
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❗️Citing sources in the Palestinian resistance, Al-Mayadeen reports that Hamas and other factions have officially approved the deal, and that their approval reached US President Trump while he was live on air.
The deal will reportedly be signed on Thursday in Egypt.
‼️ Israeli settlers have shot dead the freed Palestinian prisoner Jihad Ajaj, (pictured above) from the village of Deir Jarir east of Ramallah, during their attack on the village.
Israeli settlers have launched multiple assaults across several areas of the occupied West Bank tonight — including the northern Jordan Valley and towns and villages around Ramallah and Huwara. Two Palestinians were injured when settlers opened fire on their car in the village of Atara, a young man was shot in the leg in Huwara, and another was wounded by settler gunfire in the northern Jordan Valley.
❗️Civil Defense in Gaza:
"The Israeli occupation is not stopping its operations; it is merely slowing the pace of direct killings of unarmed civilians in line with its political interests, in an attempt to market a false image that it seeks to halt the war—without any regard for the lives and infrastructure that are collapsing day by day."
What is happening in Gaza is not calm; it is continuous annihilation carried out by changing methods whose ultimate aim is to erase the Palestinian presence from the heart of the city and deprive residents of any place to return to after the war."
Mass buildup of Central Asian extremists reported along Lebanon–Syria border
Heavy clashes erupted earlier this year between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the new Syrian military composed of former Al-Qaeda and ISIS militants
❗️Qassam Brigades announces that its fighters targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with a highly-explosive device near Street 10, south of Gaza City, on 5 October, 2025.
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❗️Israel's Channel 7 citing US officials reports that Jared Kushner and US envoy Steve Witkoff will not leave Sharm el-Sheikh without reaching an agreement.
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❗️US Secretary of State Rubio to join Paris ministerial on Gaza’s 'post-war transition'
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to participate in a ministerial meeting on Thursday in Paris with European, Arab, and other nations to discuss Gaza’s 'post-war transition,' three diplomatic sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
According to a note sent to delegates, the meeting will follow up on a UN conference on a "two-state solution" and aims to agree on joint actions to support the US plan for Gaza.
Attending countries will include France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkiye, and Canada. The note also stated that Washington’s participation would depend on progress in the Egypt negotiations.
❗️A scaled-down version of NATO’s central Article 5 pact now exists between Washington and Doha, a deal that several West Asia observers told Axios is without precedent.
"The Trump administration may well have intended it one way, and the region could interpret it in another. It could take on a life of its own, in a sense," Mona Yacoubian at the Center for Strategic and International Studies told Axios.
"[Qatar] has something that the others don't," she added.
Meloni, top Italian officials referred to ICC for assisting Israeli genocide in Gaza
Italy remains one of only three countries to supply major arms to Israel, including parts for the F-35 jet
❗️Western diplomats warn of unusual military movements near Lebanon–Syria border
Western diplomatic sources and field reports have warned of unusual military activity inside Syria near the Lebanese border, sparking fears of renewed instability and emerging security threats in the area.
The reports indicate the presence of thousands of armed Islamist militants, including foreign fighters from Uzbekistan, Chechnya, and China’s Uyghur minority, some of whom previously trained in eastern Syria.
Part of these groups have reportedly redeployed toward Aleppo amid tensions between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus's forces.
Diplomats cautioned that these developments could pose a serious threat to Lebanon’s security and recalled parallels with the early stages of ISIS’s expansion in Iraq and Syria.
In recent months, the border region has witnessed intermittent clashes and cross-border shelling between the Lebanese army and armed Syrian groups.
(Al Mayadeen)
❗️Hamas’s Qassam Brigades reports from the field that its fighters:
– Targeted two Israeli Humvees on Tuesday morning with two Yassin 105 shells, killing and wounding several Israeli soldiers along the enemy’s supply line near the Joura al-Lout clinic, south of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. The fighters reported seeing Israeli helicopters landing to evacuate the casualties.
– Also on Tuesday, targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers and military vehicles with two barrages of mortar shells in the Maqousi area, northwest of Gaza City.