Gaza

US President Donald J. Trump, flanked by chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace Larry Culp (R) and CEO of Boeing Kelly Ortberg (L), meets with business leaders at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Doha, Qatar, May 15, 2025.

Trump floats plan for Gaza ‘freedom zone’

The US president once more suggested that the United States could take ownership of the Palestinian territory.

US President Donald Trump gestures as he walks to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, May 12, 2025.

Analysis

Netanyahu scrambles as Trump skips Israel visit, gap widens on Gaza, Iran

Despite pleas on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s part, President Donald Trump will not pass through Israel during his Gulf tour.

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

President Donald Trump boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on May 12, 2025, in Washington.

Analysis

With US-Saudi defense pact stalled, Trump eyes civilian nuclear deal

Negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program have placed the Trump administration's strategic approach to the Middle East in a holding pattern.

Jared Szuba

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

US President Donald Trump (L) bids farewell to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he leaves the White House after a meeting on April 7, 2025, in Washington.

Analysis

How Trump's Gulf tour and release of Edan Alexander expose rift with Netanyahu

The US-Hamas deal for the release of Edan Alexander is just one of a series of issues where the gaps between Washington and the Netanyahu government keep growing.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Latest News

Breaking

Last Updated: May 12, 2025, 12:56 pm

Edan Alexander, last American hostage, released from Gaza after Trump-Hamas deal

Edan Alexander

In Gulf trip, Trump to prioritize blockbuster deals amid regional turmoil

Trump

Trump-Hamas deal secures release of Edan Alexander: What to know

A sign showing the face of Israeli-US hostage Edan Alexander (C), who has been held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, is pictured among portraits of other Israelis held captive in Gaza at Hostages Square, Tel Aviv, May 12, 2025.

Analysis

As Trump heads to Gulf, Israeli security cabinet split over plan to 'conquer' Gaza

Israeli army tanks are deployed at a position near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, on May 5, 2025. Israel was issuing orders to call up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of an expanded offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported on May 3, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked truce mediator Qatar. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

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

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks das he meets with G7 Foreign Ministers during NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2024.

Blinken signals optimism that Gaza cease-fire within reach

The top US diplomat said negotiators are "inside the 10 yard line" of securing a deal to halt the nine-month war in return for the hostages' release.

Public hearings on the request for the indication or modification of provisional measures submitted by South Africa, application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), The Hague, May 16-17, 2024.

Top UN court rules Israel’s presence in Palestinian territories illegal

Israel slammed the decision by the International Court of Justice, which held the occupation of Palestinian territories illegal and said it must cease immediately, including the evacuation of Jewish settlers.

A man looks at a building damaged by a drone explosion that Houthis rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for, Tel Aviv, July 19, 2024.

Analysis

Houthi drone attack exposes Israel’s vulnerability

As the military investigates the episode, an Israeli security official warns that Hamas "has not said its final word" despite receiving the "worst blow" in its history.

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

Israeli policemen search the scene where an explosion took place in Tel Aviv, July 19, 2024.

Yemen's Houthis claim responsibility for deadly drone attack in Israel

One man was killed and ten injured when a drone exploded Friday morning in the center of Tel Aviv.

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration calling for a hostage deal with Hamas.

Israel’s Netanyahu gambles on Gaza cease-fire with new conditions

New Israeli demands in the cease-fire talks with Hamas risk prolonging the delicate negotiations and the remaining hostages' time in captivity.

White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan arrives at the U.S. Capitol on April 18, 2024, in Washington, DC.

White House envoy McGurk heads to Jordan, UAE ahead of Netanyahu’s US visit

President Joe Biden is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week as Washington doubles down on its pursuit of a cease-fire in Gaza and initial steps toward Palestinian statehood.

Netanyahu in Rafah

Israel must control Gaza border with Egypt, Netanyahu says in Rafah

On a rare visit to Rafah in the Gaza Strip, Israel's prime minister repeated his demands that Israel maintain control there in any deal.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

A woman walks past a poster during a demonstration by relatives and supporters of Israelis taken hostage by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

As Israeli delegation returns to Egypt, Mossad chief fears for female hostages

Mossad chief David Barnea told cabinet ministers that it would take a long time to reach an agreement on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand that no armed men be allowed to return to northern Gaza — time that the abductees don’t have.

Palestinians lift flags of the Hamas and Fatah groups as they demonstrate in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on November 10, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

Guarded optimism on Palestinian reconciliation ahead of Fatah-Hamas meeting in China

Officials in Ramallah say that Hamas accepting the creation of a Palestinian state within the framework of the two-state solution is crucial to progressing Palestinian reconciliation efforts.

An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the border with the Gaza Strip on July 8, 2024, in southern Israel.

Cease-fire talks continue as Israel steps up Gaza strikes

As negotiators strive for a cease-fire, the US secretary of state told Israeli officials they must do more to reduce civilian casualties in the meantime.

US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a rally in Doral, Florida, on July 9, 2024.

Republican platform a preview of Trump’s Middle East agenda

The platform calls for standing with Israel, deporting "pro-Hamas radicals" and making college campuses "patriotic" again.

A Palestinian crouches as he surveys the debris of destroyed tents and make shift housing structures near a crater, following an Israeli military strike on the al-Mawasi camp for internally displaced people (IDP), near the city of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip on July 13, 2024.

Analysis

Hamas military chief’s fate unknown as Israel, US, UAE forge Gaza control plan

Israeli security agencies have not obtained proof Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif was killed in a July 13 airstrike, but he is unlikely to have escaped the attack.

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