Gaza

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How did FIFA become part of Trump’s Gaza reconstruction effort?

FIFA signed a deal on Thursday that marks the global soccer association's most significant postwar intervention in the Middle East yet.

US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R), joins leaders for a group photo during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 19, 2026.

Billions pledged, but Hamas' grip clouds Trump’s Gaza plan

The Board of Peace is touting new aid and military commitments, but will they make a difference if Hamas still holds the guns in Gaza?

US President Donald Trump attends the inaugural meeting of the "Board of Peace" at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Feb. 19, 2026.

Trump touts pledges of troops, billions for Gaza at Board of Peace summit

As the board meets for the first time, questions hang over Gaza’s ceasefire, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, March 25, 2025.

Interview

Huckabee confirms US-Israel alignment on Iran, says Hamas will disarm 'sooner or later'

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Al-Monitor in an interview that the 2025 strike on Iranian nuclear sites was only a preview of what the US military is capable of.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel concerned Iran trying to buy time but sees US strikes as still possible

Robin MILLARD / AFP via Getty Images

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

Saudi-UAE rift complicates Israel's counter-Iran efforts, normalization

This photograph taken on Jan. 20, 2026, organized by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, shows Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in the city of Mukalla in Yemen's coastal southern Hadhramaut province.

Analysis

Why Trump is betting on military leaders for Iran negotiations

Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, (C) Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), (L) and Jared Kushner listen as US Vice President JD Vance speaks.

Jared Szuba

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

Analysis

Fearing Iran deal, Netanyahu races to US to sway Trump, sidestep Witkoff

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 29: U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump (R) as U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (2L) and Kathryn Burgum (2R) look on in the Oval Office at the White House on January 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to coordinate a federal government response to drug addiction. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

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

Palestinian sibling activists Mona (R) and Mohammed (C) al-Kurd wait at the Israeli Supreme Court in Jerusalem as it convenes to rule on Palestinian evictions in east Jerusalem, on Aug. 2, 2021.

Activist twins say Time recognition shows 'centrality of Palestinian cause'

The parents of Muna and Mohammed say the twins represent many other residents of Sheikh Jarrah who are fighting to defend their homes.

Arab-Israelis gather outside the Gilboa prison in northern Israel on Sept. 18, 2021, to express their support of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Hamas says recaptured jailbreakers must be part of swap deal

Hamas' military wing has stated that the six prisoners recaptured after a prison break must be returned in any swap deal.

Israeli soldiers patrol near a hole in a security fence in the West Bank town of Jenin, on Sept. 6, 2021, following the break out of six Palestinians from an Israeli prison.

Israel recaptures remaining escapees in prison break fiasco

Israeli security forces have redeemed their image after successfully capturing the six Palestinian prisoners who escaped last week from a high-security jail.

SEBASTIAN SCHEINER/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt’s embrace of Bennett highlights divisions in Israeli cabinet

While coalition partners from the center and left congratulated Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, figures on the right are busy criticizing him over Gaza.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Bennett, Lapid shift stance on Gaza

Despite his past support for attacking Hamas, the meeting between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid's plan to rehabilitate Gaza signal a very different policy.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli goodwill gestures fail to hook Palestinian fishermen

Fishermen in Gaza are not celebrating Israel's expansion of their fishing zones, saying the measures are largely empty and there are no guarantees they will last.

A demonstrator holds up a spoon, reportedly the digging tool used by six Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Israel's Gilboa prison, during a rally in solidarity with them in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sept. 8, 2021.

Israel, Hamas exchange fire after escaped Palestinian prisoners caught

Israel has arrested four of the six Palestinian prisoners who escaped from prison last week.

Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid (L) inspects the damage inside a house following a rocket attack by militants from the Gaza Strip on the southern town of Sderot, Israel, July 21, 2014.

Lapid unveils Israeli economic plan for Gaza

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid presented an outline for improving the lives of Gazans, offering them economic rehabilitation steps in exchange for Hamas halting its military build-up.

Gaza horse

Gaza blockade leaves horses hungry

Arabian horse owners in the Gaza Strip are struggling to keep their horses healthy amid crippling food and medicine shortages.

Supporters of Islamic Jihad distribute sweets to celebrate the escape of six Palestinians from an Israeli prison, Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sept. 6, 2021.

Gaza factions suspend popular activities to advance mediation efforts

Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip agreed to suspend popular activities until mid-September, to allow the mediators’ efforts for the reconstruction process to succeed.

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

Israel warns Gaza citizens living next door to Hamas members

Israel reportedly sent text messages to citizens in Gaza warning them that they are living in the same buildings as Hamas members and they may become targets in future fighting.

A volunteer member of Hamas directs traffic in a street in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Aug. 21, 2007.

Road accidents increasingly common in Gaza Strip

Two young women were killed and another injured in a car accident in the Gaza Strip, which sparked a wave of angry reactions among citizens toward reckless drivers and laxity in applying laws and punishing lawbreakers.