Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron take part in a joint press conference at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on July 20, 2022. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Macron’s Palestine gamble: Can recognition plan jump-start peace talks?

French President Emmanuel Macron said he may recognize a Palestinian state in June when he will cohost a peace summit with Saudi Arabia, but has not committed to such a move.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Amid differences, Trump and Netanyahu hold call, discuss Iran nuclear talks

It was their first conversation since the prime minister's visit to the White House two weeks ago, when the US president announced direct talks with Iran.

Pope Francis is welcomed at Presidential Palace on Feb. 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Middle East churches, Al-Azhar, leaders mourn Pope Francis

Pope Francis was praised by several regional leaders and churches, including Lebanon's Maronite Church and Iraqi officials, who noted his historic visit to Iraq in 2021.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at the Kremlin in Moscow, on April 17, 2025.

Qatar and Russia to up investment by $2B as emir visits Moscow

Cooperation between Qatar and Russia on energy matters is growing, as Doha seeks to mediate between the Kremlin and Ukraine over the war.

Latest News

Israel expands Gaza buffer zone to 20% as humanitarian situation deteriorates

Palestinians gather for a communal iftar.

Analysis

Postwar Gaza plans stall over challenge of disarming Hamas

Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-Hamas protest, calling for an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 26, 2025.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

What the Signal chat leak reveals about Trump’s Middle East policy

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth participates in a TV interview outside of the White House on March 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Hegseth visited the White House to join U.S. President Donald Trump in announcing the Next Generation of Air Dominance (NGDA) program, the F-47, the sixth-generation high-tech Air Force fighter to succeed the F-22 Raptor. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Rare protests against Hamas erupt in Gaza: What to know

Palestinians attend a rally calling for an end to the war, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on March 25, 2025.

View taken on Oct. 27, 2008, of the Israel Aerospace Industries booth at the world's leading trade show for naval and maritime safety, in Le Bourget, north of Paris.

France again bans Israeli firms from defense fair, deepening diplomatic rift

In another sign of deteriorating bilateral relations between Israel and France, Israeli companies will be prevented from featuring their products at the international maritime exposition Euronaval in Paris in November.

Israeli security and emergency personnel cordon off the site of an explosion in Tel Aviv, on Aug. 18, 2024.

Israel says August Tel Aviv suicide attack planned by Hamas office in Turkey

The Shin Bet and Israel Police revealed that they arrested nine people suspected of involvement in the August Tel Aviv suicide bomber attack, allegedly carried out under instructions from Hamas' office in Turkey.

SAEED JARAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

UN says 400,000 trapped in north Gaza as Israel ups strikes, limits aid

UN agencies and rights groups are sounding the alarm in the northern Gaza Strip as Israel besieges the Jabalia area.

Palestinian youths inspect a fallen projectile after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel.

Analysis

Israel lowers expectations on Iran strikes with eye on US election

Israeli leaders insist that a retaliatory strike against Iran is on its way, but reports say the attack could be a limited one and will focus on military targets.

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

In an aerial view, container ships sit docked at the Port of Oakland on May 21, 2024, in Oakland, California.

Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd to partner on Africa route avoiding Red Sea

Gemini Cooperation will use the Cape of Good Hope network, which has been the alternative transit route for hundreds of vessels since the Houthis stepped up their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in mid-November 2023.

US President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Oct. 4, 2024, in Washington.

Analysis

Gaza looms large over Biden’s foreign policy legacy as diplomacy falters

As the war continues into its second year, the Biden administration appears no closer to de-escalating in Gaza and laying a framework for a lasting Middle East peace.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Macron

Analysis

What is extent of France-Israel rift as Macron calls for arms embargo?

Israel and France are not yet in a diplomatic crisis, but the exchange of accusations between French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu does not bode well for bilateral relations.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Displaced people ride on a donkey-drawn cart through a muddy puddle in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Sept. 30, 2024.

Feature

Palestinians long for life before Oct. 7 as Gaza war upends lives, future

One year into the Israeli war on Gaza, as winter approaches, Gazans feel hopeless and trapped in an endless cycle of conflict amid tragic living conditions.

Rasha Abou Jalal

By Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

TOPSHOT - US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and former US Representative Liz Cheney (R) arrive for a campaign event at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, October 3, 2024. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Arab Americans are evenly split between Harris and Trump. Will it matter?

As the US weighs its response to escalations in the Middle East, a new poll finds Arab American support for Harris and Trump virtually tied.

Megan Mineiro

By Megan Mineiro

In Washington, DC, reporting on US Congress

Pictures of slain al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh hang on the facade of the building housing the television station's office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after Israel issued a 45-day closure order on September 22, 2024. Al Jazeera reported on September 22 that Israeli troops had raided its Ramallah bureau and informed journalists for the Doha-based network in the occupied West Bank to shutter operations. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

After Al Jazeera office closure, what's next for press freedom in Israel?

The closure of the Ramallah Al Jazeera office came after the office in Jerusalem was shut down by order of the Israeli government last May.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Smoke billows at the site of Israeli airstrikes in a south Beirut suburb, early on Oct. 2, 2024.

Analysis

Biden moves goalposts on containing war as Israel invades Lebanon

Preventing the spread of war between Israel and militant groups to fronts beyond Gaza has been the Biden administration’s top Middle East policy priority for nearly a year, but Israeli forces have now pushed into Lebanon with Washington’s green light.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Israeli army tanks are deployed in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, Sept. 29, 2024.

Analysis

Israel buoyant after killing Nasrallah, mulls risky Lebanon ground invasion

After the killing of the Hezbollah chief, Israeli security chiefs disagree on a potential ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

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