First, a link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for SYRIA 12-18-25 and today’s UKRAINE and GAZA so far.) — MCM

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U.S. bombs ‘ISIS targets’ in Syria hours after lifting sanctions on ISIS-linked govt. From the Cradle. The US military launched large-scale strikes against dozens of alleged ISIS targets in Syria on Friday, following an attack on U.S. military personnel last week. READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

First, links to four reports: from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, France24, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 12-19-25 and up and down for today’s SYRIA and GAZA so far.) — MCM

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Odessa port hit by Russian missile, killing 8, as U.S hosts as Russian envoy for talks. From AP. KYIV — A Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa in southern Ukraine killed eight people and wounded 27, Ukraine’s emergency service said Saturday, as a a Kremlin envoy was set to travel to Florida for talks on a U.S.-proposed plan to end the nearly four-year war, READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. 

For now, links to five reports: from Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, the Cradle, CNN, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (Scroll down for GAZA 12-19-25.  Scroll up for today’s UKRAINE so far.) — MCM

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Israel kills six Palestinians in strike on Gaza school hosting wedding. From Middle East Eye. The Israeli army on Friday shelled a school being used as a shelter, where displaced Palestinian families had gathered for a wedding, killing at least six people, including a five-month-old baby. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for Dec. 19 report from AP.

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Armed gangs use Israeli-occupied areas of Gaza to target Hamas, seek to be ‘subcontracted’ for post-war role. From the Cradle. Israeli-supported armed gangs and militias are using Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza as a base to carry out operations to topple Hamas, CNN reported today. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from CNN.

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FROM DEC. 19  Famine fades in Gaza, but experts warn hunger crisis not over. Reported by Hadeel Al-Shalchi | NPR  The leading food security organization says there is no longer famine in Gaza, but the situation remains fragile. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to an article of commentary via Middle East Monitor and to two reports: from National Public Radio and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 12-17-25. Scroll down for UKRAINE and GAZA so far.) — MCM

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U.S. power, settler colonialism, and the UN: The political economy of impunity, by Ranjan Solomon | Middle East Monitor  Breaking from most members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, the United States declined to condemn illegal Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank and opposed briefings on Resolution 2334 — the legal instrument affirming the illegality of Israel’s settlement project under international law. READ MORE . . .

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Israel is seizing an ancient historical site to turn it into a tourist site. Reported by Hadeel Al-Shalchi | NPR  Israeli authorities are encroaching on the ancient site of Sebastia in the West Bank to create a tourist attraction aimed at settlers, raising worries of the displacement of Palestinians. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM DEC. 18  Israel accused of carrying out ethnic cleansing in West Bank, displacing 44,000 Palestinians. From Middle East Monitor. Israel has been accused of carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the illegally  occupied West Bank, displacing tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees in a sweeping military operation aimed at permanently altering the demographic and geographic reality of the territory, according to a detailed report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to six reports: from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, the Cradle, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 12-17-25 and up or down for today’s WEST BANK and GAZA.) — MCM

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EU leaders agree on 90 billion-euro loan to Ukraine after a plan to use Russian assets unravels, by Lorne Cook and Angela Charlton | AP  BRUSSELS — European Union leaders agreed today to provide a massive interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years, but they failed to bridge differences with Belgium that would have allowed them to use frozen Russian assets to raise the funds. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others, and HERE for second AP report, and HERE and HERE for report from AFP / AFP in English and French.

EU greenlights €90 billion loan to Ukraine after Belgium blocks theft of Russian funds. From the Cradle. EU leaders have reached a deal to lend Ukraine €90 billion over the next two years, which must only be repaid if Russia eventually pays reparations for its 2022 invasion of the country. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine welcomes 90 billion-euro EU loan, despite lack of deal on Russian assets, by Andrew Gray and Max Hunder | Reuters  BRUSSELS — Ukraine thanked the European Union on Friday for deciding to provide it with 90 billion euros ($105.46 billion) of support over the next two years – even if the ​bloc failed to agree on an ambitious plan to finance it using frozen Russian assets. READ MORE . . .

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Putin says at his annual news conference that Russia’s goals in Ukraine will be met, by Harriet Morris | AP  MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin emphasized Friday that Moscow’s troops were advancing across the battlefield in Ukraine and voiced confidence the Kremlin would achieve its goals militarily if Kyiv doesn’t agree to Russia’s conditions in peace talks. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. 

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to two reports: from Middle East Eye and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for GAZA 12-18-25 and today’s WEST BANK.) — MCM

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Hamas says Miami talks must curb Israeli ceasefire breaches in Gaza. From Middle East Eye. A senior Hamas figure said today that negotiations taking place in Miami on the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire must focus on stopping Israel’s repeated breaches of the truce. READ MORE . . .

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Spread of famine in Gaza Strip averted but Palestinians there still face starvation, experts say, by Sam Mednick | AP  TEL AVIV — The spread of famine has been averted in the Gaza Strip, but the situation remains critical with the entire Palestinian territory still facing starvation, the world’s leading authority on food crises said today. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Links to two reports: from the Associated Press and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for LEBANON 12-17-25 and GAZA, SYRIA, UKRAINE and MEDIA.) — MCM

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Israel launches intense airstrikes in Lebanon as deadline looms to disarm Hezbollah, by Bassem Mroue | AP  BEIRUT — Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on southern and northeastern Lebanon on Thursday as a deadline looms to disarm the militant Hezbollah group along the countries’ tense frontier. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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FROM DEC. 17  Lebanon likely to announce full disarmament of south ‘in coming weeks,’ by Sean Mathews | Middle East Eye Lebanon is likely to announce in the “coming weeks” that it has completed the full disarmament of Hezbollah in the country’s south, as its army prepares to tackle the group’s weapons caches in the north. READ MORE . . .

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A link to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll down for GAZA 12-17-25, and up or down for today’s LEBANON, SYRIA, UKRAINE and MEDIA.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 17  Gaza ceasefire: The next steps. Reported by Daniel Estrin | NPR  The U.S. is pushing for the Gaza ceasefire to move into its next phase, but serious challenges lie ahead. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Links to an article of commentary from the Cradle and to a report from AP; others are accessible by clicking on their names and initials below. (Scroll down for SYRIA 12-15-25, and up and down for today’s LEBANON, GAZA, UKRAINE and MEDIA.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 17  How the Sharaa family and a foreign-born operative built Syria’s new deep economy, by a correspondent | The Cable  Since the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad‘s government, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has consolidated control over Syria’s military, security, educational, and economic sectors. A formal civilian facade masks a much narrower circle directing the levers of governance. The gap between appearance and reality is especially visible in the economic sphere. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 14  Attacker who killed U.S troops in Syria was a recent recruit to security forces, by Abby Sewell | AP  BEIRUT — A man who carried out an attack in Syria that killed three U.S. citizens had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard two months earlier and was recently reassigned amid suspicions that he might be affiliated with the Islamic State group, a Syrian official told The Associated Press Sunday. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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Links to three reports: from the Moscow Times, National Public Radio, and Agence France-Presse; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 12-16-25, and up or down for today’s LEBANON, GAZA, SYRIA and MEDIA.) — MCM

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Ukrainian drone attacks on Rostov region kill at least 3. From the Moscow Times. Ukrainian drone strikes on the southern Rostov region killed three people, including two sailors aboard a cargo ship, regional authorities said early today. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 17  EU leaders decide on whether to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s war effort. Reported by Teri Schultz | NPR  European Union leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday to decide on using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s war effort. Click HERE to listen and read, and HERE for report from AFP.

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