For today, links to seven reports: from National Public Radio, Reuters, the Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor, and the Associated Press, and to two articles of commentary from Middle East Eye (with video) and Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (LEBANON, SYRIA, WEST BANK and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  GAZA 2-19-25 entry including a map is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Hamas releases the bodies of four Israeli hostages, including mother and young sons. Reported by Kat Lonsdorf and Daniel Estrin | NPR  TEL AVIV — Hamas has handed over what it said are the bodies of four Israeli hostages, including a mother and her two young sons who had become a symbol in Israel of the plight of hostages held in Gaza. The bodies will undergo forensic testing in Israel to confirm their identity. Click HERE to listen and read, and HERE, HERE and HERE (scroll down in this last link) for reports from Reuters, Anadolu Agency and Middle East Eye.

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FROM FEB. 19  Israel killed the Bibas children, but is using the tragedy to derail Gaza ceasefire, say observers. From Middle East Monitor. The deaths of the Bibas children, killed by Israeli bombing in Gaza over a year ago, are being exploited in an attempt to derail the current ceasefire agreement, say observers. Israel and its allies are pushing a false narrative . . . READ MORE . . .

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Timeline: Trump’s remarks on plan to take over Gaza and displace Palestinians. From Reuters. WASHINGTON — On Jan. 25, President Donald Trump first proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza while also suggesting a permanent displacement of Palestinians from the enclave. The plan has been condemned globally. Following is a timeline showing how Trump’s comments have evolved. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 19  Netanyahu appoints an adviser with Trump ties to lead ceasefire talks. From AP. An Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a close confidant, U.S.-born Cabinet minister Ron Dermer, to lead negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire with Hamas. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 19  Opposing Trump’s Nakba plan for Gaza is the only way for Jordan and Egypt to survive, by Raja Abdulhaq | Middle East Eye  Within 24 hours of U.S. President Donald Trump meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the White House released a recorded video of Trump praising the king after a humiliating exchange in front of the media. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 18  Trump’s vision for Gaza, by As`ad AbuKhalil | Special to Consortium News  The idea of ethnic cleansing has been at the heart of the Zionist project since its inception. You won’t find one Zionist leader who did not refer in his or her published writings or diaries to the expulsion of Palestinians. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to seven reports: from the Associated Press, Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and MintPress News, and to commentary from ScheerPost and Consortium News; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (LEBANON, SYRIA, WEST BANK and GAZA entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up. UKRAINE 2-19-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM   

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NEWER  A news conference between Zelenskyy and Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy is canceled at U.S. request. From AP. KYIV — A planned news conference after talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, was canceled today as political tensions deepened between the two countries over . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and HERE for reports from Kyiv Post and the Kyiv Independent. 

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Trump official tells Ukraine to ‘tone down’ criticism. From AFP. Ukraine’s criticism of the United States is “unacceptable,” Donald Trump’s top security advisor said Thursday, urging Kyiv to cool its rhetoric and quickly sign a minerals deal pushed by the White House.”We’re getting all this pushback,” said U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz they need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal,” told Fox News shortly before . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.S. envoy meets Zelenskiy after Trump slams Ukraine, by Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth | Reuters  KYIV — U.S President Donald Trump’s envoy met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv today but there was no immediate word on whether their talks had helped smooth over an unprecedented wartime rift between the once firm allies. READ MORE . . .

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Ceasefire likely in 2025, Ukraine’s spy chief says, by Kateryna Denisova | The Kyiv Independent  Ukrainian military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov believes that Ukraine and Russia will reach a ceasefire this year, he said in an interview published on Tuesday. He described the situation as “paradoxical” since . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 18  USAID’s giant network of ‘independent’ media, by Alan MacLeod | MintPress News / Consortium News  The Trump administration’s decision to pause U.S. Agency for International Development funding has plunged hundreds of so-called “independent media” outlets into crisis — critically in Ukraine, where Oksana Romanyuk, the director of Ukraine’s Institute for Mass Information, revealed . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 19  Trump 2.0 crosses the Atlantic, by Patrick Lawrence | Original to ScheerPost  Trump began his second term not quite a month ago, having promised throughout his political campaign to end Biden’s proxy war in Ukraine within a day of assuming office. And it is already . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 19  End in sight for Ukraine war after Riyadh meeting, by Joe Lauria | Special to Consortium News  The Ukrainian war, which began in 2014 as a civil conflict and led to Russia’s intervention in February 2022, appeared headed to a resolution after top U.S. and Russian officials met in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, incensing . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, a link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (IRAN, LEBANON, GAZA, WEST BANK and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down. SYRIA 2-18-25 entry including a map is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Satellite imagery reveals seven new Israeli army outposts in Syria. From the Cradle. The Israeli army has set up at least seven new military outposts in southern Syria, satellite imagery published by Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday shows — in Mount Hermon, Hader, Jubata al-Khashab, Al-Hamidiyah, Quneitra, Al-Qahtaniyah, and Tel Kudna. READ MORE . . .

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For today, a link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (SYRIA, LEBANON, GAZA, WEST BANK and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE, or scroll up or down. IRAN 2-18-25 entry including a map is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Iranian president, Qatari Emir discuss regional stability, Gaza ceasefire in Tehran. From the Cradle. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian received the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Tehran today for talks to strengthen relations between the two neighboring countries, IRNA reported. READ MORE . . .

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For today, a link to a report from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (SYRIA, IRAN, GAZA, WEST BANK and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  LEBANON 2-18-25 entry with a map is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Israeli strike in southern Lebanon kills town mayor’s son. From Middle East Eye. A drone strike in the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab killed a person identified as the mayor’s son and injured another. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to reports from Al Jazeera, Middle East Monitor, Reuters, and Middle East Eye, and a map from Encyclopedia Britannica; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (SYRIA, IRAN, LEBANON, WEST BANK and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  GAZA 2-18-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Israel kills 3 in Gaza, Hamas offers all captives for permanent truce, by Alex Kozul-Wright and Virginia Pietromarchi | Al Jazeera  Despite the ceasefire, at least three Palestinians have been killed and 11 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry says. Hamas proposes exchanging . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and scroll down for report from Middle East Monitor.

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UAE tells U.S.’s Rubio it rejects displacement of Palestinians. From Reuters. DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates leader told the United States’ secretary of state today his country rejects a proposal to displace Palestinians from their land, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 18  Sisi to visit Saudi to discuss Arab plan for Gaza. From Middle East Monitor. Two Egyptian security sources have said that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is expected to travel to Riyadh on Thursday to discuss an Arab plan regarding . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and scroll down for more Feb. 19 report from Middle East Eye.

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For today, a link to a report from the Associated Press, and a map from Encyclopedia Britannica; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (SYRIA, IRAN, LEBANON, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  WEST BANK 2-17-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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Palestinian families flee West Bank homes in droves as Israel confronts militants, by Isabel Debre | AP  FAR’A REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — By car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers’ sight lines, tens of thousands of Palestinians in recent weeks have fled Israeli military operations across the northern West Bank — the largest displacement in the occupied territory since . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to 12 reports: from the Associated Press, Kyiv Post, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Kyiv Independent, National Public Radio, and the Moscow Times, and to commentary from Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, IRAN, LEBANON, GAZA and WEST BANK entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up.  UKRAINE 2-18-25 entry including map is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Trump is living in a Russian-made ‘disinformation space,’ says Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, by Justin Spike and Hanna Arhirova | AP  KYIV — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today U.S. President Donald Trump is living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” as a result of his administration’s discussions with Kremlin officials — and said he “would . . . READ MORE . . .   Click HERE for report from Kyiv Post.

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Zelenskiy on U.S. minerals deal: ‘I can’t sell Ukraine.’ From Reuters. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected US demands for billions in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid, saying America had supplied nowhere near that sum sought and offered no specific security guarantees in the agreement. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. Ukraine envoy Kellogg arrives in Kyiv ahead of talks with Zelensky. From AFP. U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine arrived in Kyiv today ahead of a planned meeting with officials and President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian media reported. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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FROM FEB. 18  Russia and U.S. agree to work toward ending Ukraine war in a remarkable diplomatic shift, by Matthew Lee and Dasha Litvinova | AP  RIYADH — Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countries’ top diplomats said after talks that . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE, HERE and HERE for second AP report, and reports from Reuters and NPR.

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Russian air defenses down Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet 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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What have U.S. sanctions on Russia achieved since the war in Ukraine began? Michel Martin of NPR talks with Edward Fishman, author of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. What have U.S. sanctions achieved? Click HERE to listen and, later, read, and HERE for analysis via the Moscow Times.

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Major risks loom as Trump upends U.S. Russia policy, by Matt Spetalnick | Reuters  WASHINGTON — When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, then-U.S. President Joe Biden took a firm stand in solidarity with Kyiv, forged a bulwark of European allies and set veteran advisers to isolating Moscow economically and . . . READ MORE . . .

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For todya, a link to a report from the Cradle, and a map from worldometers.info; others are accessible by clicking on their names as highlighted. (GAZA, LEBANON, SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down. IRAN 2-17- 25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 17  Iran ‘in contact’ with new authorities in Syria: Tehran. From the Cradle. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman reaffirmed during a press conference on Monday that Tehran is in contact with the new authorities in Syria. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to three reports: from the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (IRAN, LEBANON, SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down. GAZA 2-17-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Hamas says it will free 6 living hostages and hand over four bodies, accelerating Gaza release, by Samy Magdy and Natalie Melzer | AP   CAIRO — A top Hamas leader says the militant group will release six living Israeli hostages on Saturday and the bodies of four others on Thursday, a surprise increase that apparently comes in return for Israel allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into the devastated Gaza Strip. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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Arab Summit on Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan in Gaza postponed to Friday. From Middle East Monitor. A mini-Arab summit scheduled for Thursday to discuss the response to US President Donald Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan in Gaza has been postponed to Friday, two Arab diplomats said on Monday. A source said the summit has been extended to include . . . READ MORE . . .

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