Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, on June 4, 2025.

Syria’s top Islamic body issues decree against honor killings: What to know

US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack referred to the decision as “great first steps,” though concerns persist about the new Islamist-led government.

Israeli tanks are positioned along the border with the Gaza Strip, on June 5, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Analysis

‘A wild gamble’: Will Israel's arming of Gaza militia backfire?

In a move critics have called dangerous and risky, Israel is now supplying weapons to an independent Gaza militia in a bid to weaken Hamas.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli air strike targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut, Nov. 23, 2024.

Israel strikes Beirut, targeting underground Hezbollah drone facilities

This marks the first time Israel has struck Lebanon’s capital city since April.

Travelers from the Middle East arrive at the International Arrivals section at Los Angeles International Airport on June 29, 2017.

Trump travel ban 2.0: Assessing the impact on Mideast nations

Trump’s new decision excludes Syria and Iraq, both of which were part of his previous ban issued during his first term in 2017.

Latest News

Israeli military recovers bodies of two Israeli-American hostages held in Gaza

Protesters hold signs and photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas during a rally calling for a hostage deal, May 31, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Sudan: 14 killed in camp shelling blamed on RSF as Darfur violence grows

A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025.

Iran says 13 ISIS affiliates arrested for planning suicide attacks

Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, delivers a speech during a funeral ceremony after a terrorist attack, on Jan. 5, 2024, in Kerman, Iran.

US envoy Barrack in Israel after cross-border shelling with Syria: What to know

US special envoy for Syria, the ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a flag-raising ceremony at the US ambassador's residence in Damascus on May 29, 2025 for the first time since 2011. Barrack's visit to Syria marks a new step in the rapprochement between the two countries following the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP) (Photo by RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)

A US Navy Martin UAV drone hovers mid-air beneath a US Navy SH-60S Seahawk helicopter, while Bahraini Coast Guard ship Deraa 13 (L), US Coast Guard cutter Maui (C), and Royal Bahrain Naval Force (RBNF) Abdulrahman Al Fadhel (R) operate on Gulf waters during joint naval exercise between US 5th Fleet Command and Bahraini forces, on October 26, 2021. - The US and Bahrain navies conducted a joint exercise at sea, launching a series of drills integrating unmanned systems into regional maritime operations. (Photo

Day 54 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 29

Yahia al-Sinwar (C), the Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, addresses supporters during a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people celebrated annually on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in Gaza City, on April 14, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel-Hamas truce extension buys Netanyahu and Sinwar time

The Israeli government has pledged to resume fighting once Hamas stops liberating hostages, but the battle against the group could employ other war methods.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

Day 53 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 28

Members of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) work at a staging area near the border of Gaza as a four day cease fire between Israel and members of Hamas holds for the release of prisoners and hostages on Nov. 27, 2023 outside of the city of Sedero in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Day 52 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 27

Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City on the northern Gaza strip following weeks of Israeli bombardment, as a four-day ceasefire took effect on Nov. 24, 2023.

Day 51 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 26

Friends and relatives of Palestinian prisoners that were released from the Israeli Ofer military facility in exchange for hostages freed by Hamas in Gaza, react as they are paraded in Baytunia in the occupied West Bank on November 24, 2023. After 48 days of gunfire and bombardment that claimed thousands of lives, the first hostages to be released under a truce deal between Israel and Hamas were handed over on November 24, both sides said, nearly seven weeks after they were seized. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH

Day 50 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 25

Families wait for Hamas hostages

Analysis

First Israeli hostages return home, but Hamas war is nowhere near over

Israelis are praying that hostage release process — which kicked off with the liberation of 13 children, mothers and elderly women — means that the other 37 abductees included in the deal with Hamas will also come home.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Rafah border crossing 1

Day 49 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 24

Hostage demonstrators White House Israel

Day 48 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 23

Israeli soldiers wait in their vehicle in an area in Southern Israel near the Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023 amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Israel's hostage deal with Hamas is not a permanent cease-fire

The negotiations that led to the deal for the expected release of 50 Israeli hostages, however excruciating, do not mean that Israel has given up on toppling Hamas in Gaza.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Forlorn Israeli soldier, hostages

Day 47 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 22

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in north Gaza on November 22, 2023

Day 46 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 21