For now, links to 10 reports: from Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, Reuters, Middle East Monitor, the Cradle, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, LEBANON, IRAN, UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE, HERE, HERE and  HERE, or scroll up or down.  GAZA 3-20-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

FROM MARCH 20  Hamas fires first rockets since Israel broke recent ceasefire. Reported by Anas Baba, Kat Lonsdorf and Daniel Estrin | NPR  GAZA CITY / TEL AVIV — The Israeli military expanded its ground offensive in Gaza, and killed at least 80 Palestinians in a new wave of strikes Thursday, Gaza health officials said. Hamas fired its first rockets since Israel broke a recent ceasefire and resumed heavy airstrikes on Gaza this week. Click HERE to read and listen to a separate NPR report.

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For now, links to six reports: from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, the Moscow Times, and Substack; others or at least their headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, LEBANON, IRAN and GAZA entries for this date, so far, are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up.  UKRAINE 3-20-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Russian drones strike Ukrainian city of Odesa, underlining challenges for even limited truce, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Russian drones pummeled the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, injuring three people and sparking massive fires, officials said Friday, an attack that . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine hopes to secure ‘at least’ partial ceasefire in Saudi talks: senior official. From AFP. A team of U.S. negotiators will hold separate talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday with Ukrainian and Russian delegations, a senior Ukrainian official said. READ MORE . . .

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UE will next week accelerate plans for Ukraine peacekeeping force, by Andrew MacAskill | Reuters  LONDON — British military planners will meet again at the Northwood base in London next week to discuss how how the force could operate and the structure, a spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday.

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How likely is a fresh Russian offensive on Ukraine’s Sumy region? by Bashir Kitachayev | The Moscow Times  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed this week that Russia is readying a new attack on Ukraine’s Sumy region, which borders Russia’s Kursk region. Moscow’s army has continued . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine still in talks with U.S. about minerals deal, spokesman says. From Reuters. KYIV — On Thursday the White House said it had moved beyond “just the economic minerals deal framework” and was focused on peace between Ukraine and Russia, and President Donald Trump said  the U.S. would sign the minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine shortly. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 20  The money equation in Ukraine, by Seymour M. Hersh | Substack  The timing was right for a grand bargain this week, an involved American official told me, “Trump knows that Putin has control of the politicians but not the military. The army wanted out. The war is a diminishing return, and Trump is not a politician. He’s a businessman . . .” READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to reports from the Anadolu Agency and the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (YEMEN, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down.  SYRIA  3-18-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Israeli army to conduct military drill in Syria’s occupied Golan Heights, by Abdelraouf Arnaout and Ahmed Asmar | Anadolu Agency  The Israeli army planned to conduct a military exercise today in the Syrian Golan Heights, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 19  Dozens of Israeli military vehicles push deep into south Syria in ‘biggest incursion yet.’ From the Cradle. Israeli forces carried out a massive incursion in southern Syria on Tuesday evening when approximately 50 vehicles including armored and reconnaissance units entered the village of Al-Adnaniyah in the Quneitra countryside. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to reports from the Cradle and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  YEMEN 3-19-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Yemen targets Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, USS Truman in Red Sea. From the Cradle. The Yemeni Armed Forces targeted Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv early today, its second attack on Israel since the resumption of all-out war on the Gaza Strip, and also carried out its fifth operation targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, following several new US attacks on Yemen. READ MORE . . .

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Trump threatens Houthi rebels that they’ll be ‘completely annihilated’ as airstrikes pound Yemen, by Jon Gambrell | AP DUBAI — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday that they’ll be “completely annihilated” as American airstrikes pounded locations under their control, while further pressuring the group’s main benefactor Iran. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to seven reports: from the Cradle, Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and the Anadolu Agency, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, YEMEN and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  GAZA 3-19-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Qassam Brigades targets Tel Aviv with first rocket barrage in months. From the Cradle. Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, launched a barrage of rockets toward Tel Aviv today for the first time in months, coming after over 700 Palestinians were killed by Israel within a period of two days. The Israeli army said . . . READ MORE . . .

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Gaza’s death toll rises. From Middle East Eye. Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza starting on Tuesday have killed a total of 506 people and injured 909, the majority of the victims women and children, the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement, adding that at least 85 Palestinians have been killed and 133 others injured in the attacks on Gaza since dawn. READ MORE . . .

Israeli strikes across Gaza hit multiple homes, killing at least 58 Palestinians, medics say, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR-AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed at least 58 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight and into today, according to three hospitals. The strikes hit multiple homes, killing men, women and children as they slept. Hours later, the Israeli military restored a blockade on . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israel launches new ground invasion into Gaza after breaking ceasefire. Reported by A Martínez and Kat Lonsdorf | NPR  Israel has launched a new ground offensive in Gaza after it broke the nearly two-month-long ceasefire with Hamas. On Tuesday, a series of airstrikes killed more than 400 Palestinians in the territory. Click HERE later to listen and, still later, read. Click HERE and HERE for March 19 reports from the Cradle and NPR.

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Israeli army bans Palestinians from using main route from northern Gaza to south, by Abdelraouf Arnaout and Ahmed Asmar | Anadolu Agency  JERUSALEM — The Israeli army today banned Palestinians from traveling through the Salah al-Din Street, a route designed by Tel Aviv for safe passage between northern Gaza and the south. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 19  March 18, 2025: The day 183 children in Gaza were massacred by Israel, by Rayhan Uddin | Middle East Eye  “There was no evacuation notice given,” said Rachael Cummings of Save the Children. “This was a complete bombardment across the whole of Gaza.” READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to seven reports from National Public Radio, Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, Tass, the Associated Press, and the Russian Foreign Ministry’s journal the International Affairs via the Flautist; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (SYRIA, YEMEN and GAZA entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up.  UKRAINE 3-19-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Zelenskyy and Trump speak after Trump call with Putin. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley | NPR  After a phone call with President Trump Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to stop striking Russian oil depots and energy infrastructure as part of a ceasefire deal. Click HERE to listen and, later, read, and HERE for report from Kyiv Post.

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Russia’s Engels airbase ablaze after Ukrainian drone strike, Kyiv says, by Martin Fornusek and Chris York | The Kyiv Independent  Russia’s Engels-2 airbase in Saratov Oblast was successfully hit by Ukrainian drones overnight, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine confirmed. READ MORE . . .

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Russian forces strike military train with Ukrainian ammo, armament over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces struck a military train with ammunition and armament for the Ukrainian army over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 19  Zelenskyy and Putin have agreed to a limited ceasefire, but implementation is work in progress, by Hanna Arhirova | AP  KYIV — Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders this week, though it remains to be seen . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 19  Trump admin. cuts funding for program that tracked Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Reported by Ailsa Chang, Tinbete Ermyas and Marc Rivers | NPR  Funding for a U.S.-based program that tracks thousands of Ukrainian children allegedly abducted and taken to Russia has been cut and U.S. lawmakers worry that a database with crucial information . . .  Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM MAY 25, 2024  Report from Donbas — Part 1, by Guy Mettan | The International Affairs / The Floutist  DONESTK — How could they do this to us? Why does Kiev want to destroy us? These are the questions that the people of Donbas have been asking themselves for the past 10 years. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and HERE for article in French and German from Arrêt sur Info, and Die Weltwoche.

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For today, links to five reports from Reuters, the Cradle, and the Associated Press; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.  There is no previous Yemen entry.) — MCM

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U.S. strikes Houthi strongholds in Yemen where leaders are hiding, Yemeni sources say. From Reuters. The U.S. hit targets across Yemen in airstrikes overnight, including Saada province, which Yemeni sources say is a long-time hideout for Iran-aligned Houthi leaders, and the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 18  Yemen launches ballistic missile at Israel, says ‘no dialing down’ despite U.S. war. From the Cradle. The Yemeni Armed Forces launched a ballistic missile toward Israel, triggering rocket sirens to sound across the northern Negev on Tuesday evening. The Israeli military said it had intercepted . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 17  Trump lobs new threats at Iran over Yemen’s pro-Palestine operations. From the Cradle. U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran will be held responsible and face “dire consequences” for any further attacks by Yemen’s Ansarallah-led armed forces on U.S. and Israeli ships in the Red Sea — this after the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for March 17 report from AP.

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Israel’s multiple wars in the Middle East, by Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan | Reuters  DUBAI — Israel has been fighting wars on several fronts in the Middle East since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked communities in the country in October 2023 and triggered a conflict in Gaza. It has engaged in heavy bombings and assassinated some of its most implacable foes, all backed by Iran. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to 12 reports: from the Cradle, Reuters, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Middle East Eye, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below (YEMEN and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  GAZA 3-18-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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NEWER  Israeli strike on Gaza City kills dozens after new evacuation orders. From the Cradle. Over a dozen people were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City this afternoon, during the second day of Tel Aviv’s renewed campaign against the strip. READ MORE . . .

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Israeil strikes kill 10, Palestinian medics say, UN site hit, by Nidal al-Mughrabi| Reuters  CAIRO — Israeli strikes killed at least 10 Palestinians in Gaza today, local health workers said, as the Israeli military resumed its bombardments and issued new orders for residents to evacuate combat zones. READ MORE . . .

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UN staffer was killed and 5 others wounded in a strike in the Gaza Strip, UN says, by Wafaa Shurafa, Julia Frankel and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An international United Nations staffer was killed and five others were wounded in a strike today on a UN guesthouse in the Gaza Strip. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 18  Israel readies new ground invasion of Gaza: report. From the Cradle. The renewed Israeli military operations in Gaza that have killed over 400 Palestinians in 24 hours are open-ended and expected to expand, including through a possible ground invasion, an Israeli official told AP. READ MORE . . .

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Former peace negotiator Diana Buttu discusses the ceasefire collapse in Gaza. Leila Fadel of NPR talks with Diana Buttu, a human rights lawyer and former Palestinian peace negotiator, about the collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM MARCH 18  How Israel repeatedly violated the Gaza ceasefire before breaking it completely, by Nader Durgham| Middle East Eye  The Israeli military has carried out countless air strikes across the besieged Palestinian enclave in violation of the ceasefire it agreed to with Hamas in January. Middle East Eye details some of the ways Israel violated the fragile truce before, on Tuesday, unilaterally resuming the conflict altogether. READ MORE . . .

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Why did Israel resume the war in Gaza? Reported by Daniel Estrin | NPR   TEL AVIV — Israel broke the ceasefire agreement reached by the Biden administration. It wants new terms. Israelis were surprised by the return to war. Hamas has not yet fired back at Israel, but has not budged from its position. Click HERE to listen and read, and HERE for March 18 report from AP.

FROM MARCH 18  Netanyahu says Israeli strikes across Gaza that killed hundreds are ‘only the beginning,‘ by Wafaa Shurafa, Josef Federman and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday that killed more than 400 Palestinians, local health officials said, shattering a ceasefire in place since January as it vowed to force Hamas to release more hostages and relinquish control of the territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 17  UAE lobbying Trump administration to reject Arab League Gaza plan, officials say, by Sean Mathews | Middle East Eye  The UAE is lobbying the Trump administration to torpedo a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip that Egypt drafted and which has been endorsed by the Arab League, according to U.S. and Egyptian officials. READ MORE . . .

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Israel’s Ramadan massacre obliterates any remaining western claims of moral leadership, by David Hearst | Middle East Eye  At 2:20 a.m. on Tuesday local time in the Gaza Strip, Washington inaugurated a new era in world politics. This was the moment Israel timed its attacks on dozens of targets in the enclave to coincide with suhoor, the predawn meal eaten by Muslims in preparation for a day of fasting. The timing was designed . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to nine reports: from the Moscow Times, National Public Radio, the Associated Press, Reuters, Kyiv Post, and the Kyiv Independent, and to commentary from Consortium News; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (YEMEN and GAZA entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up.  UKRAINE 3-18-25  entry is HERE, or scroll down.) – MCM

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Russian military accuses Ukraine of ‘undermining’ energy truce with oil depot strike. The Moscow Times. Russia’s Defense Ministry today accused Ukraine of “undermining” a temporary pause on attacks against energy infrastructure by launching a drone strike on an oil depot in the southern Krasnodar region overnight. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Tass.

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Kremlin says it will halt strikes on Ukraine energy sector after talk with Trump. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley and A Martínez | NPR  President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced a limited ceasefire in Ukraine, where Putin agreed to stop targeting Ukraine’s energy facilities for 30 days. Kyiv reacted. Click HERE to listen and, later, read; and HERE and HERE for report from AP and Reuters.

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‘We will definitely win this war’ – Zelensky announces upcoming call with Trump. From Kyiv Post. President Volodymyr Zelensky today announce that he would be holding a conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, following Trump’s more than two-hour phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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Kremlin demands halt to foreign military aid, intelligence to Ukraine as condition for avoiding war escalation, by Kateryna Hodunova and Tim Zadorozhnyy | The Kyiv Independent  The Kremlin has demanded a complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence to Ukraine as a “key condition for avoiding an escalation of the war,” according to its statement released on Tuesday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 18  Trump and Putin agree to immediate ceasefire for energy and infrastructure in Ukraine conflict, by Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller and Vladimir Isachenkov | AP  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a lengthy call Tuesday to an immediate pause in strikes against energy and infrastructure targets in the Ukraine war, but the Russian leader . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 18  War fever grips Europe, by Uroš Lipušcek | Special to Consortium News  LJUBLJANA — The Russians are coming and Europe is preparing for war. Political elites are spreading hysteria. As if two world wars born in Europe were not enough. Leading media are doing their part. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to reports from the Cradle and Reuters; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names below. (IRAN, SYRIA, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down.  WEST BANK 3-17-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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UN condemns Israel’s ‘significant expansion’ of illegal West Bank settlements. From the Cradle. Israel has expanded and consolidated Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as part of a campaign to illegally annex these territories into the State of Israel, the UN Human Rights Office stated in a new report issued today. READ MORE . . .

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Israel’s multiple wars in the Middle East, by Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan | Reuters  DUBAI — Israel has been fighting wars on several fronts in the Middle East since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked communities in the country in October 2023 and triggered a conflict in Gaza. It has engaged in heavy bombings and assassinated some of its most implacable foes, all backed by Iran. READ MORE . . .

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