Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

NABATIEH, LEBANON - APRIL 08: Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in the city center on April 08, 2026 in Nabatieh, Lebanon. Israel has stepped-up its attacks on Lebanon following President Donald Trump's announcement of a two-week ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, conditional on shipping being allowed to resume through the Strait of Hormuz. Israel says it will observe the ceasefire with Iran but insists Lebanon was not included in the deal, and has since launched the "largest coordinated strik

Analysis

In talks with Lebanon, Israel seeking guarantees to contain Hezbollah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would seek to disarm Hezbollah and advance normalization with Lebanon in its talks with Beirut, though both goals appear highly ambitious at present.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

A Lebanese army vehicle is parked at the departures area of Beirut's Rafik Hariri airport on April 10, 2026. Israel's military on April 9 warned residents of Beirut's southern suburbs, long a stronghold of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, of imminent strikes and called for them to evacuate. While Israel regularly issues evacuation warnings before bombing the southern suburbs, the announcement also included the outskirts of Lebanon's only international airport. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon boosts army presence in Beirut as Hezbollah slams Israel talks: What to know

The Lebanese government’s openness to talks with Israel has angered Hezbollah while its efforts to assert authority in Beirut has won praise from Gulf states.

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted an area in Beirut on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, the most violent attack on the Lebanese capital since the start of war. The strikes came as Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by attacking Israel on March 2, claimed it was close to a "historic victory". (Photo by Dylan COLLINS / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Ahead of Washington talks, Israel has little choice but to accept ceasefire in Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had little choice but to agree to direct talks with Beirut as it became clear that Hezbollah is unlikely to be quickly disarmed.

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

An undated image of Shelly Kittleson.

Exclusive

'King of Iraq': Top judge Zaidan played key role in Shelly Kittleson's release

Officials say Faiq Zaidan leveraged his influence with Iran-backed militias to help secure the US journalist’s release, underscoring his outsized power in Iraq’s fractured political landscape.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Analysis

Trump ceasefire leaves Netanyahu flustered as Iran gains politically

TOPSHOT - Iranians react after a ceasefire announcement at the Enqelab square, in Tehran, on April 8 2026. The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday barely an hour before US President Donald Trump's deadline to obliterate the rival country was set to expire, with Tehran to temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) /

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

US journalist Shelly Kittleson released by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq

An undated image of Shelly Kittleson.

One gunman killed during attack near Israel’s consulate in Istanbul

Police officials stand among traffic as they patrol near the Israeli Consulate following a shootout between gunmen and police, Istanbul, Turkey, April 7, 2026.

Iran war deepens Gaza crisis as prices soar, aid falters

Children and families gather to receive free meals shortly before Iftar during the holy month of Ramadan at a displacement camp in central Gaza City, on Feb. 27, 2026.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Commanding officers of the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State.

US, Iraq announce end of defeat-ISIS coalition, but troops may stay

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s need for a domestic political win has sent Pentagon officials back to the drawing board to find ways to keep the lid on ISIS in neighboring Syria.

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters from the Turkish-backed 1st Corps of the Samarkand Brigade take part in a military parade in the opposition-held Afrin region of northern Syria, on Nov. 23, 2022.

Interview

Syrian-Kurdish KNC leader decries abuse by Turkey-backed Sunni factions in Afrin

Kurdish National Council President Sleiman Oso told Al-Monitor that dialogue with his group's rivals, the PYD, is still possible.

Sleiman Oso

Sleiman Oso

Kurdish National Council President

Lebanese army soldiers stand guard as an ambulance rushes wounded people to a hospital in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024.

Exclusive

Exclusive: Hezbollah suspicions forced Israel to expedite Lebanon pager attack

It was not Israel’s preferred course of action to detonate the pagers ahead of a full-scale war with Hezbollah, but security officials made an 11th-hour decision after at least two Hezbollah members suspected something was amiss with the devices.

Gabrielle Debinski

Tyler Huffman

By Gabrielle Debinski , Tyler Huffman

Ambulances are surrounded by people at the entrance of the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.

Pentagon denies role in suspected Israeli pager attacks in Lebanon

Phone pagers exploded across Lebanon and in Syria, injuring thousands in a suspected Israeli attack targeting Hezbollah just a day after top Washington officials urged Israeli leaders not to escalate the conflict.

Jared Szuba

Rina Bassist

By Jared Szuba , Rina Bassist

Displaced Palestinians walk next to the border fence between Gaza and Egypt, on February 16, 2024 in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. Nearly 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are trapped in Rafah -- more than half of Gaza's populations -- seeking shelter in a sprawling makeshift encampment near the Egyptian border. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Egypt fed up with Netanyahu, but crisis with Israel deeper than Philadelphi

Bilateral relations between Israel and Egypt have been extremely tense, mostly due to disagreement over the Philadelphi Corridor, but not only that.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

HADI MIZBAN/AFP via Getty Images

US-Iraq raids puts scrutiny on Baghdad’s ability to contain ISIS

Seven US troops were injured during raids to take down senior Islamic State operatives in Iraq’s western Anbar province last week amid a spike in ISIS attacks.

A cargo ship is docked at the port of Yemen's Huthi-held city of Hodeida on July 28, 2024. Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi entity denies its ship hit as Houthis claim attack on Greek tanker

Saudi Arabia's national shipping company Bahri denied reports that its tanker Amjad came under attack by the Houthis, the Yemeni armed group that has stepped up attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea.

A group of protesters hold placards reading "Yankee go Home - No way to USA," in Istanbul, on April 14, 2021.

Turkish ultranationalists arrested after accosting US Marines in Izmir

A mob of provocateurs of the Turkish Youth Union assaulted two US Marines while they visited the port city, shouting "Yankee go home" and thrusting a bag over the head of one of the Marines.

Houthi ships

Two oil tankers come under attack in the Red Sea, sources say

Oil tankers transiting the Red Sea are facing renewed dangers while transiting one of the world's most critical chokepoints for crude.

MUNICH, GERMANY - JANUARY 24: Pavel Durov of Vkontakte speaks during the Digital Life Design conference (DLD) at HVB Forum on January 24, 2012 in Munich, Germany. ence and culture which connects business, creative and social leaders, opinion-formers and investors for crossover conversation and inspiration. (Photo by Nadine Rupp/Getty Images)

Analysis

Telegram CEO's arrest spotlights UAE’s investment-based citizenship laws

The United Arab Emirates is showing that it takes its citizenship laws seriously and has vowed to fight for Telegram founder Pavel Durov.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Aspides

Houthis allow Greek tanker ablaze in Red Sea to be towed to safety

The Iran-backed rebels said they were responding to concerns by the European Union that the tanker endangered maritime and environmental safety in the Red Sea.

A missile monument erected after the 2006 war, is seen on the roadside on August 26, 2024 Borj Kalawai, Lebanon. The recent assassination of a Hezbollah military commander in Lebanon, as well as the killing of the political leader of Hamas in Iran, has heightened concerns of a wider regional war between Israel and Iran-backed enemies like Hezbollah. Israel and Hezbollah have traded regular cross-border fire since Oct. 7, although both sides have seemed to calculate their attacks to avoid all-out war. (Photo

Pentagon shared intel with Israel to thwart Hezbollah attack

Israel's air force and navy overwhelmingly thwarted the attack without need for the US military to shoot down any of Hezbollah's projectiles, Pentagon officials said.