The Cradle

⭕️ 4,346 people have been killed and 12,301 injured in US-backed Israeli attacks on Lebanon since 2 March, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

❗️A Yemeni military source tells Saba News Agency that the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) targeted Saudi military reinforcements in Al-Mokha area and Marib province with a number of missiles and drones.

Qatar denies holding Iranian pilots as Tehran demands answers over missing airmen Iran says Qatar has held the pilots for six months incommunicado after their planes were shot down while attacking the US military's Al-Udeid air base

Palestinian families in West Bank’s Qusra besieged by soldiers, settlers for eighth day straight UN representatives and activists have been trying to get aid to the besieged Abu Rida and Hassan families for over a week

❗️Statement by Hamas: "A delegation from the leadership of Hamas, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, head of the movement’s Political Bureau, met this afternoon with Egyptian Intelligence Minister Major General Hassan Rashad at the agency’s headquarters, at the start of an official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt. The delegation reviewed the latest political and field developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, pointing to the daily violations committed by the Israeli occupation, its disregard for the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement and President Trump’s plan, and its declared rejection of the roadmap. The delegation also provided a detailed briefing on developments in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Israeli prisons, describing the occupation’s actions as a dangerous and destructive policy that requires serious attention at both the regional and international levels. The delegation includes Mohammed Darwish, head of the Shura Council; Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas abroad; Zaher Jabarin, head of Hamas in the West Bank; Dr. Basem Naim, head of the Arab and Islamic Relations Office; and Dr. Ghazi Hamad, a member of the movement’s political leadership."

US oil reserves plunge to 40-year low as war on Iran strains energy supplies President Trump said US consumers should not complain about 'paying more' for gasoline due to his war on Iran

❗️At least seven people were injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza. (Palestine Today)

⭕️ A photo of Palestinian journalist, Al-Araby TV correspondent and detainee Mohammad Arab has surfaced for the first time, showing him during a court hearing held today. Arab was abducted by Israeli occupation forces on 14 March 2024, during their invasion of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and has remained in Israeli detention ever since. (Quds News Network)

VIDEO | "They should not live. They are not people." Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calls for continued killing and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, suggesting that 30 to 40 Palestinians should be killed every night. He also called for the permanent reoccupation and settlement of the enclave, declaring that "all of Gaza" should become Israeli territory with Israeli settlements throughout, while advocating the removal of Palestinians from the Strip and saying he would "turn the world upside down" to implement the policy.

❗️Qatar rejects Iran's claims of detained pilots amid dispute over March airstrike ▪️Qatar has categorically denied Iranian claims that it is secretly detaining three Iranian Su-24 bomber pilots allegedly captured after their aircraft were shot down in March. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari described the allegations as "misleading statements" made at a sensitive moment for regional diplomacy, insisting that no surviving Iranian aircrew are being held. The denial came after Iranian General Mohammad Bagherzadeh claimed that pilots Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian, and Omran Behraveshian were captured alive after their aircraft crashed and had been held incommunicado for six months, prompting Tehran to appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross. ▪️Doha said its air defenses engaged two Iranian Su-24 bombers after they entered Qatari airspace without authorization during the March attack on Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in the region. Qatar said search-and-rescue teams recovered the body of one pilot, Majid Kazemi, coordinated its repatriation with Iranian authorities, and later invited an Iranian delegation to review the rescue operation, but Tehran had not responded to the invitation. ▪️The dispute comes as Qatar continues to mediate between Iran and the United States despite growing tensions. The exchange coincides with stalled negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz ahead of the expiration of a 60-day negotiating window established under the June memorandum of understanding. It also follows recent remarks by US President Donald Trump suggesting he could declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, comments that Tehran rejected while reaffirming it would maintain its blockade until Washington accepts Iran's conditions, according to Al Jazeera.

❗️Raviv Drucker, chief political commentator for Israel's Channel 13 News: —— "Once again, as in the case of the deadly explosive device, the prime minister and the military claim that Hezbollah violated the ceasefire. Well, here's what happened: Israel is operating in the Ali Taher Ridge area and is besieging Hezbollah fighters with the aim of eliminating them. Hezbollah views this as a violation of the ceasefire and responds with an explosive drone. The military operation may well be entirely justified, but whoever decided to carry it out fully understood that there was a possibility it would prompt Hezbollah to respond."

⭕️ According to local sources cited by Palestine Today, a UNICEF delegation has arrived at the besieged home in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, carrying food supplies and drinking water.

❗️US strategic petroleum reserve falls to lowest level since 1980's amid war on Iran, raising fears over emergency readiness ▪️The United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has fallen below 300 million barrels for the first time since it was filled in the early 1980s, after Washington released 172 million barrels in response to supply disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. Stocks are projected to fall to around 243 million barrels, prompting experts to warn that the rapid drawdown could damage the underground salt caverns used to store the oil, reduce the reserve's ability to respond to future energy emergencies, and leave critical infrastructure at increased operational risk, according to CNBC. ▪️Energy experts told CNBC that while the US Department of Energy says the reserve can safely operate with as little as 70 million barrels, the practical operational floor is closer to 250–300 million barrels, warning that repeated large-scale releases over decades have weakened the aging storage system. They said continued drawdowns risk slowing emergency oil releases, damaging pumping equipment, destabilizing the storage caverns, and reducing the reserve's long-term viability. A Government Accountability Office report also warned that repeated drawdown-and-refill cycles have deformed caverns and left parts of the reserve unavailable, with one former US energy adviser cautioning that inventories below 300 million barrels place the US in a more vulnerable position during future crises such as major hurricanes, according to CNBC.

Israel escalates strikes on strategic hill near Nabatieh after attack wounds three soldiers Occupation forces have been trying to capture south Lebanon's Ali al-Taher Hill for months, but have failed despite their non-stop bombing and shelling

❗️Israeli War Minister vows to 'settle scores' amid escalating massacres in south Lebanon ▪️Israeli War Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that "no score on any front will remain unsettled," adding that Israel would "forcefully defend our soldiers and citizens" following reports of overnight airstrikes in southern Lebanon, as reported by the Times of Israel. His remarks came after three Israeli soldiers were reportedly seriously wounded by a Hezbollah explosive drone attack near the Ali al-Taher Ridge, with the Israeli military also announcing it had killed another senior Hezbollah commander in strikes the previous day. ▪️Lebanese sources said Israeli warplanes carried out fresh strikes on the Ali al-Taher Ridge overnight, hours after residents in northern Israeli settlements were warned to expect explosions from military activity across the border. The reported raids followed Israeli strikes on Saturday that massacred 11 people, including women and children, while Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks as a "clear message" ahead of upcoming US-sponsored negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. Hezbollah, meanwhile, warned that the strikes would receive an "appropriate" response.

⭕️ According to local sources, Jewish settlers, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces, continue to besiege the homes of the Abu Rida and Hassan families in Qusra, south of Nablus in the West Bank, for the eighth consecutive day.

❗️Israeli attacks continued across southern Lebanon overnight ▪️According to the page of the late Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib, Israeli attacks since midnight have included phosphorous artillery shelling and helicopter machine-gun fire around Ali al-Taher; airstrikes targeting the area between Ali al-Taher and Al-Dabsha, Kfar Rumman, and the outskirts of Qantara toward Deir Siryan; Merkava tank shelling of Mansouri; heavy machine-gun fire targeting Taybeh and the outskirts of Kfar Shuba; illumination flares over Kfar Rumman; artillery shelling of Haddatha and Burj Mtoullin northeast of Kfar Shuba; the incursion of two Merkava tanks and a D9 bulldozer into the Al-Shmeis area northeast of Kfar Shuba; and an Israeli demolition operation in Majdal Zoun.

VIDEO | Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on the Ali al-Taher hills in southern Lebanon moments ago.

❗️Israeli occupation forces conducted 3 explosions in Taybeh and one in Kfar Tebnit, south Lebanon, a short while ago.