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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses lawmakers during a special session to vote on a new government at the Knesset, Jerusalem, June 13, 2021.

Netanyahu goes after Bennett, with IDF paying the price

In his zeal to attack Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu and associates are even ready to tarnish the IDF and its commanders.

Fatima Shbair/Getty Images

Israel asks Egypt to pressure Hamas to end border violence

In a meeting yesterday between senior Israeli and Egyptian defense officials, Israel asked Egypt to pressure Hamas to stop the ongoing nightly demonstrations by the Gaza border.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Gestures toward Palestinians leave Bennett in bind

With his rightwing base on the one side, the Biden administration and his coalition partners on the other, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place on bettering the lives of Palestinians.

Palestinians gather on Aug. 30, 2021 during a protest along the border fence with Israel, east of Gaza City in the central Gaza Strip, demanding an end to Israel's blockade and the right of Palestinians to return to lands they fled or were expelled from when the Jewish state was founded.

Will popular pressure in Gaza lead to new clashes with Israel?

Palestinian youth are carrying out non-military activities, backed by military factions in Gaza, to pressure Israel to lift the siege, among other demands.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi speaks before parliament in the capital, Tehran, on Aug. 25, 2021.

The Takeaway: Iranian foreign policy under Raisi takes shape

Also: Shapiro appointment welcomed in Israel; Gantz meeting doesn’t help Abbas’ popularity; "Saudization" of labor gets slow start; Turkey’s targeted killings in Syria; Sextortion in Egypt; More … in about 1,300 words.

Palestinians ride a horse cart carrying rubble past the ruins of buildings destroyed in the lasted round of Israeli-Hamas fighting, in Gaza City, on Aug. 25, 2021.

Israel announces 'civil steps' to alleviate conditions in Gaza

Israel says the measures are dependent on "preservation of security" and follow the announcement of $155 million to the Palestinian Authority.

This picture taken on April 26, 2021, shows a view of fishing boats moored at the fishing port of Gaza City.

Israel expands Gaza fishing zone after demonstrations

Along with several other humanitarian gestures, Israel announced it would expand the offshore fishing zone by 15 nautical miles.

Palestinians fill bottles of water for home consumption at the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, April 8, 2021.

Gazans fear worst after Hamas bans water wells

The Hamas-affiliated Water and Environmental Quality Authority to ban the digging of wells without a license, as many Gazans suffer from a lack of potable water.

Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz attends a Cabinet meeting of the new government at Chagall State Hall in the Knesset, Jerusalem, May 24, 2020.

Gantz announces $155M loan for PA following Abbas meeting

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and PA President Mahmoud Abbas held rare face-to-face talks in Ramallah on Aug. 29.

Palestinians watch the group Watar Band perform during a concert in Gaza City on Feb. 25, 2016.

Gaza creates tourism police force

The Interior Ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip is establishing a police force to protect tourist and hotel facilities after threats and attacks against some of those facilities by militants against the backdrop of holding mixed-gender concerts.

SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

Israel permits additional goods to enter Gaza

Israel's military liaison to the Palestinian sides announced that more goods and Palestinian workers will be allowed entry.

Fatima Shbair/Getty Images

Palestinian dies from Israeli fire during Gaza border clashes

Some 40 Palestinians were injured when Israeli troops fired on a crowd of protesters attempting to breach the Gaza perimeter fence.