For today, links to a report from Agence France-Presse and to an article of commentary from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for LEBANON 12-3-25, and for GAZA, UKRAINE and MEDIA entries.) — MCM

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Israel says to strike south Lebanon, issues evacuation call. From AFP. The Israeli military said today it would soon strike what it described as Hezbollah military infrastructure in southern Lebanon and warned people in two villages to evacuate immediately. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AFP report in French, and HERE for headlines of others.

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FROM DEC. 3  Israel’s silent war on Lebanon: How digital espionage rewrites the rules of assassination, by Mohamad Shams Eddine | The Cradle  For every assassination Israel carries out against a Hezbollah commander, a familiar question reverberates through Lebanon’s resistance circles: how did they track him? READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to three reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, and the Moscow Times; headlines of others are accessible by clicking on their names and initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 12-3-25, and up or down for LEBANON, GAZA and MEDIA entries.) — MCM

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Putin says there are points he can’t agree to in the U.S. proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, by Dasha Litvinova | AP  Russian President Vladimir Putin says some proposals in a U.S. plan to end the war in Ukraine are unacceptable to the Kremlin, indicating in comments published to day that any deal . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. 

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Ukraine stares down the barrel of population collapse, by Max Hunder | Reuters  HOSHCHA, Ukraine — The maternity ward in the Hoshcha hospital has recorded just 139 births so far this year, down from 164 in 2024 — a far cry from over a decade ago when more than 400 babies were born every year, according to local authorities. Ukraine is facing . . . READ MORE . . .

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Trump says he believes Russia wants peace even as Putin vows to take all of Donbas. From the Moscow Times. U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes Russia’s Vladimir Putin wants to end the war in Ukraine, while the Kremlin leader has renewed threats to seize more Ukrainian territory, and peace talks in Moscow this week . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to four reports: from National Public Radio and the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and to an article of commentary from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for MEDIA 12-1-25, and up for LEBANON, GAZA and UKRAINE entries.) — MCM

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New York Times sues Pentagon over media restrictions, by David Folkenflik | NPR  The New York Times sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today over the Pentagon’s new policy that requires media outlets to pledge not to gather information unless defense officials formally authorize its release. Click HERE to read and, later, listen.

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FROM DEC. 2  Inside Israel’s shadow campaign to win over American media, by Conner Echols | Responsible Statecraft  Back in March 2011, the Israeli consulate in New York City had a problem. A group of soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces were coming to the U.S. on a PR trip, and Israeli officials needed help . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 3  Israel’s silent war on Lebanon: How digital espionage rewrites the rules of assassination, by Mohamad Shams Eddine | The Cradle  For every assassination Israel carries out against a Hezbollah commander, a familiar question reverberates through Lebanon’s resistance circles: how did they track him? READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 2  Is Paul McCartney’s ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ simply . . . horrible? Reported by Scott Neuman | NPR  There are almost certainly worse holiday songs than Paul McCartney’s 1979 “Wonderful Christmastime” — by the same Beatle who penned “Let It Be” on the band’s final album. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM DEC. 3  In ‘Wings,’ Paul McCartney recounts the making of his post-Beatles band. A Martínez of NPR speaks with Paul McCartney about his new book, Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run, an oral history of the band McCartney formed after The Beatles broke up. Click HERE to listen and read.

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For today, links to two reports: from Middle East Eye and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 12-2-25 — and for today’s GAZA, UKRAINE and LEBANON entries.) — MCM

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Israel to build wall deep inside West Bank that ‘accelerates annexation,’ by Lubna Masarwa and Huthifa Fayyad | Middle East Eye  JERUSALEM —  The Israeli army is preparing to erect a new separation wall deep inside the occupied West Bank, in what experts warn is a dangerous redesign of Palestinian geography to advance de facto annexation. Haaretz first reported on the planned barrier. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 2  Photos capture olive harvest as villagers fear more violence by Israeli settlers, by Leo Correa | AP  TURMUS AYYA, West Bank — The olive harvest that was marked by violence is complete in the West Bank, but fear still hangs over many Palestinian villages, where residents keep constant watch for armed Israeli settlers. In recent months . . . Click HERE for more text and a dozen or so photographs by Correa.

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For today, links to two reports: from Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (Scroll down for GAZA 12-2-25 and up or down for today’s WEST BANK, UKRAINE and LEBANON entries.) — MCM

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Israel used bulldozers to bury Palestinians in shallow, unmarked graves: CNN. From Middle East Monitor. Israeli forces bulldozed dead bodies of Palestinians and buried them in shallow graves,according to a CNN investigative report based on extensive video analysis, satellite imagery and testimonies from witnesses and former soldiers, revealing that . . . READ MORE . . .

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Bodies returned by Israel shock Gaza families, by Maha Hussaini and Mohammed al-Hajjar | Middle East Eye  GAZA CITY / NUSEIRAT, occupied Palestine  Independent medical personnel in Gaza report that many of the bodies received bore clear signs of torture, fractured bones, and, in some cases, were . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to three reports: from Middle East Eye, the Cradle, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for LEBANON 12-2-25.  Scroll up for today’s WEST BANK, GAZA and UKRAINE entries.) — MCM

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Lebanon and Israel hold first direct talks since 1983. From Middle East Eye. Israel and Lebanon held their first direct meeting in decades today, one year after a ceasefire agreement ended a war with Hezbollah. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Cradle.

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FROM DEC. 2  Pope Leo XIV sends message of support to southern Lebanon as he ends 1st foreign trip, by Nicole Winfield, Kareen Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue | AP  BEIRUT — Pope Leo XIV prayed today at the site of a deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion that has become a symbol of dysfunction and official impunity and called for justice to prevail, as he offered words of consolation to . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. 

For today, links to four reports: from Middle East Eye and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (Scroll down for GAZA 12-1-25 — and for WEST BANK, UKRAINE and LEBANON entries.) — MCM

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Israeli killings today and yesterday near ‘buffer zone’ yellow line. From Middle East Eye. Israel’s air force today killed three Palestinians including a photojournalist who crossed the yellow line in the “buffer zone” in Gaza, agreed upon as part of the ceasefire, in the southern and northern Gaza Strip. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Monitor.

How Israel’s genocide in Gaza extends to digital annihilation, by Sujoud Awais | Middle East Eye  Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza has decimated Palestinians’ personal and collective archives — physical and digital, historical, cultural, academic and social — essentially stripping them of their legal existence. READ MORE . . .

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Egypt says discussions ongoing with U.S. to hold Gaza reconstruction conference. From Middle East Monitor. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said today that Cairo is conducting consultations with the U.S. on an international conference for rebuilding the Gaza Strip following Israel’s two-year war on the enclave, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to reports from the Associated Press and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (WEST BANK 12-1-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  Scroll down for UKRAINE and LEBANON entries.) — MCM

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Palestinians in the West Bank fear more attacks by Israeli settlers, by Julia Frankel | AP  TURMUS AYYA, West Bank — The fear is palpable in this Palestinian village. It’s clear in how farmers gather their harves  for the same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. ts quickly, how they scan the valley for movement, how they . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. 

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Israeli settlers uproot hundreds of trees belonging to Palestinians in West Bank, by Mera Aladam | Middle East Eye  Israeli settlers stormed Palestinian agricultural land south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Monday, destroying hundreds of olive and grape trees, vandalising infrastructure and bulldozing fields, according to local media outlets and Bedouin rights groups. READ MORE . . .

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