The Cradle ✔

VIDEO | Israeli drones drop explosive devices on a house in the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Jabal.

❗️Gaza Civil Defense: • "More than 2,000 buildings across the Gaza Strip are at risk of collapse unless the necessary equipment is allowed into the territory to address the danger." • "We call on the countries guaranteeing the ceasefire and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to intervene and save residents." • "Three buildings across the Gaza Strip have partially collapsed due to rainfall, posing a threat to civilians' lives." • "The Gaza Strip is facing a humanitarian catastrophe as dozens of displacement camps and shelters have been flooded by rainwater."

BREAKING | Failing at sea, US launches 'Task Force Iron Gate' to strangle Iran's overland corridors US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the creation of a specialized staff initiative aimed at interdicting ground transit and maritime trade routes across Iran’s land borders and the Caspian Sea. Led by Adm. Brad Cooper, the newly established unit, dubbed Task Force Iron Gate, operates from CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, with a roster of approximately 20 military and civilian personnel. The interagency task force is tasked with tracking and blocking the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials, and commercial revenue streams traversing Iran's overland borders and northern sea corridors. In comments released by the military command, Cooper claimed that the creation of the task force extends Washington’s unilateral maritime blockade onto land, stating that the initiative aims to constrain Tehran's defense logistics. Despite Washington's boasts regarding petroleum export restrictions, Iran continues to leverage overland transport corridors and non-western trade networks to sustain its domestic manufacturing and defense independence, bypassing US extraterritorial sanctions entirely.

Syria sends military advisers, trainers to Saudi Arabia to support war on Yemen: Report Syrian sources say their mandate 'could be broader' than only training and advising, suggesting a direct combat role for extremist Syrian soldiers in Yemen

US thwarted Netanyahu, Mossad plan to attack Iran ahead of Israeli elections: Report Netanyahu sought to renew his assault on Iran for political advantage in the Knesset elections, which saw his political bloc suffer defeat and may lead to his being ousted as prime minister

❗️Gaza Media Office reports 70,000 tents submerged and $3 million in losses within 12 hours as winter storm hits Gaza Strip: "As a catastrophic winter hits the Gaza Strip, as we have repeatedly warned, and within just 12 hours of the first low-pressure winter storm setting in, we announce that 70,000 tents housing tens of thousands of displaced people have been flooded. Additionally, dozens of walls have collapsed, resulting in various injuries, including severe ones, across all governorates of the Strip. We also warn of the potential collapse of dozens of cracked and structurally damaged buildings that are at imminent risk of falling due to damage sustained from bombardment during the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has continued for three consecutive years. Initial estimates of direct losses from the start of this winter storm have reached approximately $3 million so far. We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for these catastrophic fallout and consequences, resulting from its ongoing closure of the crossings and prohibition of shelter materials and essential reconstruction supplies urgently needed by our people. We call upon the international community and all UN and international organizations to intervene immediately and uphold their humanitarian, legal, moral, and historical responsibilities to save the lives of the displaced and to provide them with the basic means of protection and resilience."

VIDEO | Footage shows the aftermath of recent airstrikes by Saudi warplanes in the village of Al-Shariyah, located in the Bani Hushaysh district east of Yemen's Sanaa. According to local reports, at least 22 people have been killed and at least 30 injured, including women and children. Saba News Agency confirms that among the dead and injured are first responders who had rushed to the scene.

❗️Macklemore says US venues blocked his Free Palestine tour, citing nine rejections US rapper Macklemore said on Friday that several major US concert venues, including New York's Madison Square Garden, had refused to host his recently concluded Free Palestine tour, which included three performances in Europe. The "Thrift Shop" artist launched the tour after being dropped as the opening act for Ed Sheeran's concert tour in August. Macklemore said at the time that stadium operators had objected to his use of the phrase "Free Palestine" during performances. In a social media post, Macklemore said nine US venues had since rejected requests to book available dates through the end of the year. Among them were Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. "The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues," he said in a post. "In over 20 years of touring, I've never experienced anything like this." A spokesperson for MSG Entertainment, which operates Madison Square Garden and other venues, said its properties are among "the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability" and that Macklemore is "not an arena-level act."

BREAKING | Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense announces that warning sirens have been activated for the southern city of Najran.

CENTCOM offers $20m bounty for ‘any information’ on Iran's nuclear program The bounty was posted despite repeated US claims that Iran’s nuclear program had been ‘obliterated’

❗️Yemen's Ministry of Health reports 52 casualties (killed and injured) after Saudi warplanes targeted civilian homes in the Bani Hushaysh district earlier today.

❗️Gaza Civil Defense reports that at least three residential homes have collapsed in various areas of the Gaza Strip since this morning. No injuries have been reported thus far.

❗️Qatar claims mediation between US & Iran continues to prevent regional escalation Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani claimed on Saturday that Doha's mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran were ongoing, aiming to prevent further escalation across the region, Al Jazeera reported. The prime minister alleged that the US administration remained open to reaching an agreement even after the upcoming midterm elections. He said that substantial progress had been supposedly achieved in the negotiations and voiced confidence that an agreement could be reached. "We cannot wait to reach a perfect agreement; ​we hope to reach a good agreement," he said.

❗️Syrian military personnel & trainers deployed to Saudi Arabia under new defense cooperation deal Syria is providing Saudi Arabia with military advice and training as the kingdom faces attacks by Yemen's Ansarallah, while also deploying a limited number of military personnel to the country, according to Reuters citing two Syrian military sources and a senior US official. The senior US official said Syrian advisers and training teams were traveling to Saudi Arabia to help prepare Saudi and Yemeni forces operating inside the kingdom. Two Syrian military sources familiar with the matter said dozens of military personnel had traveled from Syria to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. While their duties include military advising and training, their mandate could extend beyond those roles, the sources added. Asked to comment, a senior Syrian diplomat said "any suggestion of military deployments at this stage is premature", adding that Damascus remained focused on domestic security, border protection and reconstruction. The diplomat said a Syrian-Saudi defense cooperation agreement signed on Wednesday "specifically includes advisory support, training and exchange of expertise". A senior Saudi official told Reuters that ongoing cooperation with Syria was "mainly to restructure the Syrian forces ... but that doesn't mean also our Syrian partners don't help us in their combat experience regarding fighting militias". The official added that joint security and defense training exercises were already underway, with further drills planned.

❗️Washington expels Lebanese Consul General in Detroit over social media post commemorating 1983 Beirut bombing operation The US State Department declared Lebanon's Consul General in Detroit, Ibrahim Sharara, persona non grata on Friday, ordering his immediate departure from US territory by Sunday following the discovery of an old social media post praising Lebanese resistance operations. The expulsion order was issued after a 2021 post resurfaced in which the Lebanese diplomat characterized the 23 October 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut as an act of legitimate resistance against foreign occupation forces. The bombing operation of the military complex resulted in the death of 241 US servicemen and 58 French soldiers. Sharara's expulsion marks an unprecedented diplomatic move targeting Lebanese representation in Michigan, home to the largest Lebanese diaspora community in the United States.

BREAKING | Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issues an urgent danger alert for Jizan city, warning of potential danger and ordering residents to seek safe shelter immediately.

VIDEO | Hours ago, as reported by Al Manar's field correspondent Samer al-Haj Ali, Israeli occupation forces targeted a home in the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Jabal with a direct shell, followed by a second attack that ignited a fire inside the residence.

❗️US sanctions eight Canadian firms over alleged Iran-linked financial transactions The US Treasury announced on Friday that it had imposed financial sanctions on eight Canadian money services firms accused of facilitating transactions involving Iranian entities already under US sanctions. The measures effectively cut the companies off from the US dollar-based financial system, freezing any assets they hold in the US and barring US individuals and entities from conducting transactions with them. "Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime’s financial channels anywhere in the world.” The Treasury named the sanctioned businesses as Diverse Trade Inc, operating as Million Exchange; 1380079 BC Limited; Top PC Technician Inc; NIA Nations Currency Ltd; 2397639 Ontario Ltd, operating as Farah Exchange; CCC Inc; B Galaxy Inc; and Darvish Exchange. The companies are based in Ontario and British Columbia. Separately, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an order barring virtual currency exchange MEXC Global from the US financial system over transactions allegedly linked to sanctions evasion involving Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

BREAKING | Non-compliant oil tanker catches fire after striking naval mine in Strait of Hormuz An unauthorized oil tanker caught fire and was disabled in the eastern Strait of Hormuz after striking a naval mine, according to a statement released by the Public Relations Department of the Iranian Navy. The Iranian military stated that the vessel was operating in a designated restricted and unsafe zone while deliberately ignoring repeated warnings issued by naval authorities. In an effort to evade detection, the tanker had also disabled its automatic navigation and tracking systems prior to the mine collision.

❗️Trump says US is 'an occupier' in Iran, baselessly claims control over Strait of Hormuz US President Donald Trump said that Washington is "an occupier" in Iran, baselessly asserting that US forces maintain total control over the Strait of Hormuz and are extracting record quantities of oil from the strategic waterway. Speaking to reporters following an address at a NASA facility in Florida, Trump played down the scale of ongoing military aggression. Contrasting the nine-month campaign against Iran with the war between Russia and Ukraine, Trump claimed the US effort could barely be defined as a war due to a lack of recent US casualties, stating, "All we are is maybe an occupier. We could be an occupier." Trump also confirmed recent US military strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island, characterizing the bombardment of an Iranian anti-aircraft position as a "minor" action rather than an expansion of hostilities. "We do minor strikes. They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes," he claimed. Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected Washington's claims of controlling the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining that Tehran exercises full sovereign authority over the maritime passage and will not permit unhindered commercial transit until its conditions are met.