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

Barghouti's wife in her office

Hamas leader says Marwan Barghouti a priority for next prisoner swap with Israel

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh promises the wife of prominent Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti that her husband will be a priority for the next swap deal with Israel.

Gaza antiquities

Gaza antiquities among casualties of Israel-Hamas war

Once again, the recent Israeli airstrikes on Gaza heavily damaged Palestinian antiquities and cultural heritage sites in violation of international law.

A Palestinian reads the "Filastin" (Palestine) daily newspaper while sitting along a street in Gaza City on Jan. 28, 2020.

Fact-checkers face obstacles to bring news to Gazans during wartime

During the recent Israeli military attack on Gaza, misleading and fake news quickly spread, leading fact-checking platforms to work on debunking rumors and ensure fair access to information.

An Israeli border guard stands by a closed checkpoint entrance leading to the Palestinian village of Nilin west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on May 29, 2021.

Palestinians trapped in Gaza as Israel suspends postal services

Passport paperwork is piling up in post offices, as Israel has prevented mail from entering or leaving the Gaza Strip since May 11, thus preventing many students, patients and those with foreign residencies from traveling.

Gaza incendiary balloons filled

Israel again bombs Hamas targets in Gaza as fire balloons continue

The flare-up could threaten last month's cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

Masked Palestinian supporters of the Al-Nasir Salah Al-Din Brigades prepare incendiary balloons to launch across the border fence east of Gaza city towards Israel, on June 16, 2021 east of Gaza City in Gaza.

Hamas tests new Israeli government by resuming incendiary balloons

The so-called “night confusion units” in Gaza continue to fire incendiary balloons toward Israel.

Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Sanad Loza (background) meets with his Turkish counterpart Sedat Onal (foreground) in the Foreign Ministry headquarters in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on May 5, 2021.

Turkey seeks cooperation with Egypt in Gaza

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu suggested cooperation between Ankara and Cairo on the Palestinian issue, a move seen unlikely as Cairo looks with suspicion at the Turkish role in the Palestinian territories, particularly the Gaza Strip.

A worker with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority extinguishes a fire in a field near Kibutz Alumim that was reportedly caused by an incendiary balloon launched from the Gaza Strip, Aug. 24, 2020.

For Israel’s new government, Egypt key to calm on border with Gaza

An Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Cairo in the very near future, to continue discussing with the Egyptians a framework for an arrangement with Hamas.

Women walk past a giant banner depicting Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi amidst preparations to receive a visiting Egyptian intelligence delegation in Gaza City on May 31, 2021.

Egypt struggles to reconcile Hamas, Palestinian Authority

Egypt postponed a highly anticipated meeting between Palestinian factions to avoid failure, as Cairo recently came out as a major regional player after brokering the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli bombs ignite pesticide stores, spew dangerous chemicals in Gaza

Israeli warplanes bombed the largest warehouse of agricultural material in the Gaza Strip, burning tons of dangerous pesticides and setting off an unfolding environmental disaster.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas give a joint statement, on May 25, 2021, at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Did Gaza war end or rejuvenate Abbas’ presidency?

With the United States and other states unwilling to work with Hamas, aid money is flowing into the Palestinian government coffers.

This file photo taken on Dec. 26, 2019 shows a general view of the Blue Nile river as it passes through the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia.

The Takeaway: US looks to Gulf to help break deadlock in Nile Dam dispute

Egypt, Ethiopia reshape security alignments in Horn of Africa; Erdogan readies for make-or-break summit with Biden; Lapid emerges as arbiter of Israeli politics; Israeli Arab community split on coalition government; update on Gaza.