For today, links to eight reports: from the Cradle, Anadolu Ajansi, Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, and Reuters; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (SYRIA 7-17-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  WEST BANK, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.) — MCM

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NEWER  Syrian Druze confront new attacks after Sharaa declares Suwayda ‘ceasefire.’ From the Cradle. The Syrian presidency today announced an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in the southern province of Suwayda, even as heavily armed Bedouin tribes aligned with Damascus continue their attacks on the Druze-majority governorate. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Anadolu Ajansi.

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Syrian forces deploy in Suwayda for phase 1 of ceasefire agreement, by Ikram Kouachi | Anadolu Ajansi  ANKARA — Syrian government forces began deploying in the southern province of Suwayda today as part of phase one of a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending violent clashes and restoring state authority, a source from the Information Ministry confirmed. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for earlier report from Anadolu, and HERE for one from Middle East Eye. 

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Syria’s interim president urges Bedouin tribes to commit to ceasefire ending clashes with the Druze, by Sall Abou Aljoud | AP  BEIRUT — Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa urged Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes today to “fully commit” to a ceasefire aimed at ending clashes with Druze-linked militias that left hundreds dead and threatened to unravel the country’s post-war transition. — this as government forces, initially sent to . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 18  Head of UN rights office urges accountability for killings in Syria’s Sweida, by Olivia Le Poidevin | Reuters  GENEVA  — The head of the United Nations human rights office called on Friday for Syria’s interim authorities to ensure accountability and justice for killings and rights violations this week in the southern city of Sweida. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 18  Israel agrees to allow Syrian troops limited access to Sweida. From Reuters. BEIRUT / JERUSALEM — Israel has agreed to allow limited access by Syrian forces into the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days, an Israeli official said on Friday, after days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has killed over 300 people. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to five reports: from the Cradle, Axios, the Associated Press, and Anadolu Agency; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA 7-17-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.  WEST BANK, SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.) — MCM

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Mossad chief pushes for U.S. assistance in ethnically cleansing Gaza, during Washington visit. From the Cradle. David Barnea, the director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, held meetings in Washington this week seeking help from U.S. officials to convince countries to take hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who Israel plans to ethnically cleanse from Gaza, Axios reported today. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Axios.

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Over 30 Palestinians killed trying to reach U.S. group’s food distribution sites, Gaza authorities say, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP   DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops opened fire today toward crowds of Palestinians seeking food from distribution hubs run by a U.S.-, Israeli-backed group in southern Gaza, killing at least 32 people, according to witnesses and hospital officials. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Anadolu Agency.

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FROM JULY 18  Christian patriarchs make rare visit to Gaza after deadly Israeli strike on church, by Waffa Shurafa, Julia Frankel and Fatma Khaled | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Top church leaders visited Gaza on Friday after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell the day before, an attack that killed three people and wounded 10, including . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to five reports: from Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, Reuters, and Tass, and to commentary from Kyiv Post; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE 7-18-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  WEST BANK, SYRIA and GAZA entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up.) — MCM

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Russian strikes kill three across Ukraine. From AFP. Russian strikes killed three people across Ukraine today, authorities said, while Moscow had to briefly suspend trains in its southern Rostov region after an overnight drone attack by Kyiv. Russia has escalated long-range . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia pounds Ukraine with over 300 drones, killing 1 in Odesa. From AP. Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine overnight into today with hundreds of drones, killing at least one person, part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 18  Russia steps up attacks on Ukrainian draft offices to disrupt mobilization, by Kateryna Hodunova | The Kyiv Independent  From June 30 to July 7 Russian forces struck five enlistment offices in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Poltava, Kremenchuk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia, killing five and injuring 118 others, civilian and military, and damaging infrastructure. READ MORE . . .

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How Ukraine’s capital copes with Russia’s nighttime attacks, by Yurii Kovalenko, Anastasiia Malenko and Vladyslav Smilinets | Reuters  For the past two months, Russia has unleashed nighttime drone and missile assaults on Kyiv in a summer offensive that is straining the city’s air defences, and has its 3.7 million residents exhausted and on edge. Other towns and villages have . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for May 29 report from AP.

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Russia says Ukraine lost more than 1,195 soldiers in special operation area over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Ukrainian military units lost more than 1,195 servicemen in the special operation area over the past day, according to data from the Russian Defense Ministry. READ MORE . . .

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The blitz revisited, drone and missile data, military intelligence in the Pentagon, by Stefan Korshak | Kyiv Post  The only real perspective being outside Ukraine has given me is that, yes, really, major nations and millions of people really can have a giant conventional war in progress next door or close to next door, and for them it’s . . . READ MORE . . .

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For this date, links to 10 reports: from the Kyiv Independent, the Moscow Times, Kyiv Post, the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE 7-16-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Russian attacks kill 7, injure 25 in Ukraine over past 24 hours; trains hit twice in one day, by Anna Fratsyvir | The Kyiv Independent  Russian strikes killed at least seven people, including a train driver in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and injured 25 others in multiple regions over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian regional authorities said today. Ukraine’s Air Force said . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for July 17 report from the Moscow Times.

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Zelensky taps ex-Defense chief Umerov as Security Council secretary, by Kateryna Zakharchenko | Kyiv Post  President Volodymyr Zelensky today signed a decree that appointed Rustem Umerov, previously his Minister of Defense, as Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. READ MORE . . .

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Disruptions of cellphone internet links in Russia are spreading, by Dasha Litvinova | AP  TALLINN — In the last two months cellphone internet shutdowns, which officials say are needed to foil Ukrainian drones, have hit dozens of Russian regions — from those near the fighting to parts of Siberia and even the Far East. Wi-Fi outages also have been reported. READ MORE . . .

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Russian-controlled Crimea brings in information blackout designed to counter Ukrainian drone attacks. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Authorities in Russian-controlled Crimea said today they were introducing an information blackout designed to counter Ukrainian drone, missile and sabotage attacks. READ MORE . . .

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EU approves 18th round of sanctions against Russia. From AFP. EU countries today approved a new package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, including lowering the price cap on Russia’s global oil exports. The 18th round of sanctions since the 2022 invasion . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Kyiv Post.

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Russia not ruling out countermeasures against new EU sanctions — Foreign Ministry. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia does not exclude countermeasures after analyzing the 18th package of EU sanctions, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Tass. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 17  Russia returns 1K bodies of killed Ukrainian soldiers. From the Moscow Times. Russia returned the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in combat and received the remains of 19 Russian soldiers under a deal reached during last month’s peace talks in Istanbul, authorities in Moscow said Thursday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 17  Ukraine to boost domestic arms production to counter Russia’s invasion, says Zelenskyy, by Volodymyr Yurchuk and Emma Burrows | AP  KYIV — A new Ukrainian government approved Thursday will race to expand domestic arms production to meet half the country’s weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile . . . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

For today, links to four reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Cradle, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA 7-16-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  GAZA, YEMEN and IRAN entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Syrian forces withdraw from Sweida after ceasefire goes into effect, by Kareem Chehayeb and Ghaith Alsayed | AP  DAMASCUS — Syrian forces largely withdrew from the southern province of Sweida today following days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority. While a truce appeared to . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters and the Cradle.

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FROM JULY 16  Israeli air strikes on Syria’s capital marked a sharp escalation. Reported by Hadeel Al-Shalchi | NPR  Israel bombed the Syrian capital Damascus on Wednesday, saying it targeted the Syrian military headquarters and the area near the presidential palace to protect the Druze religious minority in Syria. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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For today, links to six reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters,  Agence France-Presse, National Public Radio, and Middle East Monitor; an interview from NPR; a guest essay from the New York Times via pan-Asian.blogspot.com; and a reply to it from a blog of the Times of Israel; other published material or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on sources’ names or initials below. (GAZA 7-16-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  SYRIA, YEMEN and IRAN entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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2 killed and several injured in Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church, by Wafaa Shurafa and Melanie Lidman | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Two people were killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church this morning, according to church officials. Several others, including the parish priest, were injured. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE and HERE for report from Reuters and earlier one from AFP.

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UN Security Council to meet today to discuss situation in the Middle East. Reported by Ruth Sherlock and Steve Inskeep | NPR  Israel hit the Syrian military headquarters and close to the presidential palace in Damascus with airstrikes Wednesday. The UN Security Council will meet to discuss the crisis between the countries. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Stampede at food distribution site in Gaza leaves about 20 dead. Reported by Daniel Estrin and Hannah Bloch of NPR A stampede in Gaza on Wednesdayleft around 20 people dead as they were rushing to collect food at a U.S.- and Israeli-backed food distribution site. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Historian Omer Bartov on why he believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Steve Inskeep of NPR  NPR’s Steve Inskeep speaks with Omer Bartov, Holocaust and genocide studies scholar at Brown University, about his essay outlining why he believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Click HERE to listen and, later, read, and HERE for Bartov’s essay in the July 15 New York Times via pan-asian.blogspot.com.

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Respectfully, Professor Bartov: This is not genocide, by Seth Eisenberg | The Times of Israel  In his New York Times opinion piece, “I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It,” Dr. Omer Bartov of Brown University expresses his anguished belief that Israel’s war in Gaza now constitutes genocide. Let’s examine his core assertions one by one. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 16  UNRWA: Israel kills the equivalent of a classroom full of children each day in Gaza. From Middle East Monitor. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees estimated that since October 2023, Israel, the occupying power, has been killing the equivalent of a classroom full of children each day, with the number of students ranging between 35 and 45. READ MORE . . .

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For today, a link to a report from Anadolu; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (YEMEN 7-11-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  SYRIA, GAZA and IRAN entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM JULY 16  Yemen’s government claims to seize Iranian arms shipment bound for Houthis, by Tarek Chouiref | Anadolu  ISTANBUL — Forces allied to the Yemeni government claimed on Wednesday to have seized 750 tons of Iranian weapons in the Red Sea bound for the Houthi group. READ MORE . . .

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For today, link to a report from Anadolu; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (IRAN 7-10-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  SYRIA, GAZA and YEMEN entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM JULY 16  Yemen’s government claims to seize Iranian arms shipment bound for Houthis, by Tarek Chouiref | Anadolu  ISTANBUL — Forces allied to the Yemeni government claimed on Wednesday to have seized 750 tons of Iranian weapons in the Red Sea bound for the Houthi group. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to eight reports: from the Cradle, Reuters, the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, and Anadolu; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA 7-15-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Israeli army prepares ‘prolonged operation’ in Syria following massive attack on Damascus. From the Cradle. Tel Aviv is preparing for a “prolonged military operation in Syria that could last for days,” according to a report aired today by Israel’s Channel 12 — this on the heels of airstrikes hitting . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israel strikes Damascus as fighting rages in southern Syria, by Khalil Ashawi, Maya Gebeily, Yamam al-Shaar, Laila Bassam, Steven Scheer and Tala Ramadan | Reuters  DAMASCUS / BEIRUT / JERUSALEM / DUBAI — Powerful airstrikes shook Damascus today, targeting the defence ministry as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze communities in southern Syria and demanded they withdraw. READ MORE . . .

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Israel strikes in Damascus as clashes between Syrian forces and minority Druze rage on, by Abdelrahman Shaheen and Kareem Chehayeb | AP  DAMASCUS — Clashes raged in the southern Syrian city of Sweida today after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed and as Israel threatened to escalate its involvement, saying it’s in support of the Druze religious minority. The Israeli army struck . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israel bombs Syrian government buildings in Damascus. From Middle East Eye. Israeli air strikes hit Damascus today, reportedly targeting the Syrian defence ministry, military headquarters and the vicinity of the presidential palace. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE, HERE  and HERE for three reports from Anadolu.

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Armed groups using Suwayda hospital to attack Syrian forces, defense ministry says, by Abdulsalam Fayez and Tarek Chouiref | Anadolu   ISTANBUL — Syria’s Defense Ministry today accused “outlaw armed groups” of occupying the main hospital in the southern Suwayda province and using it as a base to target army forces — saying the groups had stationed snipers on the hospital’s . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to three reports: from the Associated Press, the Cradle, and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA 7-15-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.  SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.) — MCM

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20 Palestinians killed at Gaza aid distribution site, says Israeli-backed aid group, by Melanie Lidman and Wafaa Shurafa | AP  TEL AVIV — Twenty Palestinians were killed today in the crush of a crowd at a food distribution site run by an Israeli-backed American organization in the Gaza Strip, the group said, the first time it has acknowledged deadly violence at its operations. The deaths came as Israeli strikes killed 41 others, including 11 children, according to hospital officials. READ MORE . . .

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Hamas steadfast on ‘humanitarian standards’ for Gaza aid as GHF death toll nears 900. From the Cradle. Hamas negotiators say they “remain firm” on upholding humanitarian standards for aid deliveries to Gaza in indirect talks with Israeli officials in Doha, as Tel Aviv insists on maintaining aid distribution under the control of the U.S.-funded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 15  Israeli army stole donkeys from Gaza; transported them to France. From Middle East Monitor. The Israeli army has reportedly stolen hundreds of donkeys from the besieged Gaza Strip, smuggled them to Israel, and transported them to France to prevent their use in reconstruction, Israeli Channel Kan reported. READ MORE . . .

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