For today, links to three reports from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (UKRAINE, GAZA, SYRIA, IRAN and YEMEN entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down.  LEBANON 3-31-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

–   –   –

‘Resistance’s weapons an internal matter’: Hezbollah MP responds to U.S. pressure. From the Cradle. Hezbollah MP Ihab Hamadeh said today the Lebanese resistance’s weapons are an “internal matter” that will be discussed with the government in Lebanon as part of a “defensive strategy.” READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 7   U.S. envoy presses Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah ‘as soon as possible.’ From the Cradle. U.S. envoy to the region, Morgan Ortagus, visited Lebanon and held talks with several of the government’s highest officials over the weekend. Lebanese media have reported that her visit is intended to deliver a threat that Lebanon must disarm Hezbollah or face Israeli escalation. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 4  Hamas leader killed alongside family in Israeli strike on south Lebanon. From the Cradle. An Israeli air strike hit a building in the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon on Friday, killing a Hamas leader, Hassan Ahmad Farhat, alongside his son and daughter. READ MORE . . .

.

For today, links to reports from Middle East Eye and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE, LEBANON, GAZA, IRAN and YEMEN entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  SYRIA 4-4-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 7  Turkey and Israel mull deconfliction line in Syria, sources say, by Sean Mathews and Ragip Soylu | Middle East Eye  Turkey and Israel have held talks over the establishment of a deconfliction line in Syria to avoid any misunderstandings and prevent potential clashes between their militaries, according to two Western officials. Israeli air forces last week . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 8  Netanyahu-Trump meeting reveals unexpected gaps on key issues, by Tia Godenberg | AP  TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington this week for a hastily organized White House visit bringing a long list of concerns, including the surging influence of rival Turkey in Syria. President Donald Trump lavished praise on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan . . . READ MORE . . .

.

For today, a map from OnTheWorldMap.com and links to eight reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, and the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (UKRAINE, LEBANON, SYRIA, IRAN and YEMEN entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  GAZA 4-8-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

–   –   –

–   –   –

Israeli strike on Gaza apartment building kills at least 23, officials say, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli aircraft struck a residential block in war-ravaged northern Gaza today, killing at least 23 people including eight women and eight children, health officials said. Renewed fighting in the devastated Palestinian enclave . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and HERE for later reports from Reuters and Middle East Eye.

–   –   –

Six weeks since Israel imposed total Gaza blockade, last food is running out, by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Olivia Le Poidevin and Hatem Khaled | Reuters CAIRO / GENEVA / GAZA — Six weeks since Israel completely cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, food stockpiled during a ceasefire at the start of the year has all but run out. Emergency meal distributions are ending, bakeries are closed, markets are empty. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 8  UN Secretary General Guterres rejects new Israeli plan to control Gaza aid. From Reuters. No aid has been delivered to the Palestinian enclave of some 2.1 million people since March 2. Israel has said it would not allow goods and supplies to enter Gaza until the Palestinian militant group Hamas released all remaining hostages. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Israel plans to seize all of Rafah for Gaza ‘buffer zone’: report. From the Cradle. Israel is planning to incorporate the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city of Rafah and its surrounding areas into the buffer zone it has created along the strip’s border, which will include the barring of residents from returning to their homes, Haaretz reports. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 8  Netanyahu-Trump meeting reveals unexpected gaps on key issues, by Tia Godenberg | AP  TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington this week for a hastily organized White House visit bringing a long list of concerns: Iran’s nuclear program. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The surging influence of rival Turkey in Syria. And the 18-month war in Gaza. READ MORE . . .

.

For today, links to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE, LEBANON, GAZA, SYRIA and YEMEN entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  IRAN 4-8-25 is HERE, or scroll up or down.) — MCM

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 8  Netanyahu-Trump meeting reveals unexpected gaps on key issues, by Tia Godenberg | AP  TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington this week for a hastily organized White House visit bringing a long list of concerns: Iran’s nuclear program. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The surging influence of rival Turkey in Syria. And the 18-month war in Gaza. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 8  Iran skeptical over coming U.S. talks, Iranian officials say, by Parisa Hafezi | Reuters  U.S. President Donald Trump has said the talks on Saturday in Oman will be direct, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Tuesday repeated Tehran’s position that they should be indirect, citing . . . READ MORE . . .

.

For today, a map from OnTheWorldMap.com, and links to four reports, all from the Cradle; other reports are accessible by clicking on its name below. (UKRAINE, LEBANON, GAZA, SYRIA and IRAN entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up.  YEMEN 4-6-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

–   –   –

–   –   –

U.S. airstrikes kill several civilians in Yemen’s Hodeidah. From the Cradle. U.S. airstrikes on Yemen killed several civilians and injured over a dozen on Tuesday, a day after Washington vowed to expand its deadly war against the country. At least eight hit the eastern section of the Yemeni capital just before midnight, and in the country’s south and west . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –  

U.S. readiness for face off with China ‘hurt’ by costly Yemen campaign: report. From the Cradle. The U.S. military is becoming “increasingly concerned,” according to the New York Times, that it will soon need to relocate long-range precision munitions from the Asia-Pacific region, due to the large amounts of weaponry . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 8  Pentagon prepares to expand ‘unrelenting’ attacks against Yemen. From the Cradle. “It’s been a bad three weeks for the Houthis, and it’s about to get worse,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday in the Oval Office, while seated near U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He added . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 7  USS Carl Vinson enters Indian Ocean to join war against Yemen. From the Cradle. New satellite imagery captured on April 5 shows the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier entering the Indian Ocean, signaling Washington’s escalating military build-up in the region as part of its war on Yemen and ahead of a possible attack on Iran. It is the second U.S. aircraft carrier in West Asia, joining the USS Harry S. Truman. READ MORE . . .

.

For today, links to reports from the Moscow Times, the Cradle, and Reuters; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names below. (UKRAINE and GAZA entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll down.  IRAN 4-6-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

–   –   –

State Duma ratifies strategic partnership treaty with Iran. From the Moscow Times. Lawmakers in Russia’s lower-house State Duma today ratified a 20-year strategic partnership treaty with Iran, deepening military and political ties between the two countries as they remain under heavy Western sanctions. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Iran confirms ‘indirect’ nuclear talks with Washington. From the Cradle. “Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said early today. “It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court.”  READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Kremlin says Russia is ready to do all it can to help resolve U.S.-Iran nuclear tensions. From Reuters. MOSCOW — The Kremlin said Monday that Russia was ready to do all it could to help resolve tensions between the United States and Iran around Tehran’s nuclear programme, as Washington demands Tehran do a nuclear deal with it or be bombed. READ MORE . . .

.

For today, links to reports from the Cradle, Middle East Eye, and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (IRAN and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  GAZA 4-7-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 7  Israel targets tent full of journalists in south Gaza’s Khan Yunis. From the Cradle. At least two were killed and several others injured early Monday in an Israeli airstrike which targeted a tent full of journalists near Al-Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Yunis. The tent belonged to the Palestine Today news agency. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and HERE for reports from Middle East Eye and Middle East Monitor.

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 7  Macron calls Egypt reconstruction plan for Gaza ‘crucial’ during Cairo visit. From the Cradle. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his public backing on Monday for the Egyptian-led Gaza reconstruction plan during a meeting in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 6  Video forces Israel to change story on execution of Palestinian emergency workers in Rafah. From the Cradle. The Israeli military backtracked on Sunday on its account of the killing of 15 Palestinian medics by its forces in Gaza last month, following the emergence of a cell phone video clearly contradicting its previous claims. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for video via Middle East Monitor.

.

For today, links to eleven reports: from Deutsche Welle, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and the Kyiv Independent; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (IRAN and GAZA entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up.  UKRAINE 4-7-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

–   –   –

Ukraine says Chinese men captured fighting for Russia, by Richard Connor with AFP, Reuters | DW  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today said Kyiv’s troops had captured two Chinese citizens fighting “in the Russian army” in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE for report from AFP, and HERE, HERE and HERE and for reports from Kyiv Post and the Kyiv Independent.

–   –   –  

Russia pushes Ukrainian troops from one of their last footholds in Kursk region, army says, by Andrew Osborn | Reuters  MOSCOW — Russia is close to regaining full control of its western Kursk region after pushing Ukrainian forces from one of their last footholds there, the regional governor and state media said today. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE for report from AFP.

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 7  Ukraine braces for a new Russian spring offensive, by Francis Farrell | The Kyiv Independent  Fighting since March has continued along the Russia-Ukraine border areas, but despite a costly and, at times, chaotic retreat from the salient, Ukrainian units in the area have taken up an active defense and prevented . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Zaluzhnyi reveals details of Wiesbaden HQ in Ukraine’s war effort, calls it ‘secret weapon,‘ by Tim Zadorozhnyy | The Kyiv Independent  Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the U.K., today described the joint Ukrainian-U.S. headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany, as a “secret weapon” for planning military operations during the war, following a related March 29 New York Times report. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 7  Zelenskyy confirms Ukrainian troops active in Russia’s Belgorod region, by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar | Reuters  Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed for the first time on Monday that Ukrainian troops have been active in Russia’s Belgorod region as they seek to protect Ukrainian towns near the border. READ MORE . . . 

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 6  Russia says captured village in Ukraine’s Sumy border. From AFP. Russia’s defence ministry on Sunday said a unit of its North group forces “liberated the village of Basovka” — the Russian name for Bashivka — in Ukraine’s Sumy region close to the border with Russia’s Kursk region. It was a rare cross-border advance. READ MORE . . .

.

For today, just one link: to a report from the Anadolu Agency; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll down.  (WEST BANK 4-5-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

–   –   –

FROM APRIL 6  Over 500 illegal Israeli settlers storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy police protection, by Awad Rjoob and Ikram Kouachi | Anadolu Agency  RAMALLAH, Palestine / ANKARA — More than 500 illegal Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday under heavy protection from Israeli forces, local officials said. READ MORE . . .

.

For today, just the link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (WEST BANK and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.  GAZA 4-6-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

–   –   –

Israel controls 50% of Gaza after razing land to expand its buffer zone, by Sam Mednick | AP  TEL AVIV — The largest contiguous area Israel’s army controls is around the Gaza border, where the military has razed Palestinian homes, farmland and infrastructure to the point of uninhabitability, Israeli soldiers and rights groups say. This military buffer zone has doubled in size in recent weeks. READ MORE . . .

.