Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

US President Donald Trump speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2025.

Analysis

Trump has upper hand over Netanyahu, but is it enough for Gaza?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been stalling on the implementation of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, but at the end of the day, Trump has much more leverage over Netanyahu.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

A destroyed Syrian army battle tank lies abandoned near the ancient ruins of Palmyra in central Syria on Feb. 7, 2025.

US bombs ISIS targets in Syria in retaliation for Palmyra insider attack

The Islamic State has not claimed direct credit for the ambush by a member of Syria's domestic security forces that killed three American personnel in Palmyra last week.

Rabih DAHER / AFP via Getty Images

Second Lebanon-Israel meeting agrees to strengthen Lebanese army: What to know

The second round of civilian-led talks between Israel and Lebanon focused on the economic track while also addressing the removal of Hezbollah's weapons.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi clasp hands as they speak to the press before their meeting on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. President Trump is in Egypt to meet with European and Middle Eastern leaders in what’s being billed as an international peace summit, following the start of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu ceded to Trump, agreed to Egypt's $35B gas deal

The Israeli prime minister's frustration with Trump administration strong-arming continues, with pressure to sign Egypt gas deal and now a reported push for Sisi meeting.

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

Latest News

US, France and Saudi Arabia agree to conference to bolster Lebanon’s army

This photograph taken during a press tour organised by the Lebanese army shows Lebanese soldiers standing atop a military vehicle in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel in southern Lebanon, on November 28, 2025. It was the first guided tour the army gave journalists since a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP via Getty Images)

Qatar’s prime minister meets US officials as Gaza plan stalls

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) shakes hands with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the State Department in Washington, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Over 600 Israeli ex-security chiefs urge Trump to disarm Hamas, back PA in Gaza

President Donald Trump speaks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Oct. 13, 2025 in Jerusalem.

Syria foils major arms smuggling attempt to Lebanon: What we know

The Internal Security Directorate in the Zabadani area of rural Damascus thwarted an attempt to smuggle a shipment of weapons and seized large quantities of RPG shells that were hidden in an organized manner and prepared for smuggling towards Lebanon, on Dec. 17, 2025.

People watch the televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah to mark the anniversary of the killing of slain top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, in a Beirut's southern suburb on January 3, 2024. Twin bomb blasts killed at least 103 people in Iran, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike, state media reported. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Germany, Canada urge citizens to leave Lebanon as Hezbollah vows retaliation

Nasrallah again opted to avoid announcing a major escalation with Israel in his speech, but tensions are increasing following the likely Israeli strike that killed a Hamas leader in Beirut.

People watch the televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah, in southern Beirut on January 3, 2024

Day 89 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Jan. 3

Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, attends by video conference a meeting with deputy Hamas chief Saleh Arouri (on screen from Beirut) discussing Israel's plan to annex parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on July 2, 2020. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI / AFP) (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Who is Saleh al-Arouri, top Hamas official killed in Beirut?

Saleh al-Arouri played a large political and military role in Hamas, and his death may elicit a strong response from Hezbollah.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

An image of the aftermath of the explosion in southern Beirut on Jan. 2, 2023.

Breaking | Last Updated: January 3, 2024, 10:15 am

Top Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri killed in Beirut as Lebanon-Israel tension soars

Videos of the aftermath of the reported drone strike showed a large impact on cars and residential buildings as the Israel-Lebanon border heats up.

Soldiers of the Lebanese Army near the damaged building that was allegedly targeted by an Israeli drone strike on Jan. 2, 2024 in Dahiyeh, a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.

Day 88 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Jan. 2

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) chairs a Cabinet meeting at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defence, in Tel Aviv on December 31, 2023. Netanyahu said Israel displayed unparalleled "morality" in the Gaza war and rejected South Africa's charge that it was committing "genocidal" acts in the Palestinian territory

Day 87 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Jan. 1

Yemeni coastguard members loyal to the internationally-recognised government ride in boats in the Red Sea off of the government-held town of Mokha in the western Taiz province, close to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, on December 12, 2023. (Photo by Khaled Ziad / AFP) (Photo by KHALED ZIAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Day 86 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Dec. 31

A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on Dec. 30, 2023.

Day 85 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Dec. 30

HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images

Day 84 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 29

HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images

Day 83 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Dec. 28

Honor guards carry the coffin of Sayyed Razi Mousavi.

Funeral held for Iran's IRGC commander killed by Israel as Tehran vows revenge

Iran said Sayyed Razi Mousavi was killed in an Israeli strike in Syria. The death of the commander, who was mourned in Syria and Iraq, could ignite war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Smoke billows over the northern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment from southern Israel on December 27, 2023 amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Day 82 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Dec. 27