📌 Abdel Qader Sabbah and Sharif Abdel Kouddous | “They have taken everything from us. They have taken away the possibility for life.” | GAZA CITY—Eight-year-old Jad Suleiman was walking home from school in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Monday when the Israeli airstrike hit. A piece of shrapnel lodged in his neck, killing him instantly. Outside Shifa hospital, his body lay on a stretcher wrapped in a loose white sheet. Dressed in jeans and a blue and red checkered shirt, the smallness of his body was accentuated by his oversized backpack, still on his limp shoulders. Jad’s father, Youssef Suleiman, was beyond grief. He wept uncontrollably as he bent over his son’s lifeless body, caressing and kissing his face. [...] He had removed his son’s backpack and was clutching it to his chest. “My son is 8 years old. What was his crime? He was coming home from school. This is his bag, there is blood on it. This is the bag. This is the bag,” he repeated, unable to continue.

The spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected claims made by US President Donald Trump regarding the reaching of an agreement with Iran, stating that Tehran has not yet arrived at a final conclusion on the matter. | The spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointing to the trajectory of negotiations with the United States, stated: "Since the beginning of the talks, we have witnessed shifting positions from American officials, and this issue has recurred multiple times." ● Esmaeil Baghaei noted that Iran entered the negotiations in good faith, but the United States launched attacks against Iran twice mid-negotiation and further violated the terms during the ceasefire period. He added: "While they speak of negotiation, they simultaneously resort to force and criminal actions." ● The spokesperson noted that the Americans are trying to create a false narrative to claim that diplomatic processes have potentially succeeded due to their pressures. He stated:

■ Iran firm on red lines, says proposed deal not finalized amid US backtracking (Press TV)
■ Trump Says He Has ‘Canceled’ Plans To Bomb Iran for Third Night (Antiwar)

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited US troops at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday and issued a threat to the Cuban government. | Hegseth said that it would be “unwise” for the Cuban government to acquire weapons that could reach the US, saying that it would “be inviting the kind of confrontation not only do they not want, but they could not stand.” The Pentagon chief also said that the Department of War was ready for anything that President Trump may order, and recent reports have said that the US military has placed enough assets in the region to be ready if the president orders an attack. [...] The Trump administration has set up potential pretexts for an attack on Cuba, including the indictment of the country’s 94-year-old former president, Raul Castro, suggesting the US may launch a similar operation to the one to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which Hegseth referenced.