Gaza

US President Donald Trump speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2025.

Analysis

Trump has upper hand over Netanyahu, but is it enough for Gaza?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been stalling on the implementation of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, but at the end of the day, Trump has much more leverage over Netanyahu.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gestures as he speaks during an end-of-year press conference in the State Department Press Briefing Room in Washington, DC on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)

Rubio hints US could accept Hamas keeping small arms

The top US diplomat told Al-Monitor the focus of disarmament should be on the "weaponries or capabilities" that Hamas would need to threaten Israel.

A ship sails along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia, April 16, 2025.

Maersk resumes Red Sea passage after two-year halt amid easing Houthi threat

A ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas in October has prompted some shipping companies to consider resuming services, but security concerns persist.

Saeed Jaras / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Facing Israeli pushback, Turkey recalibrates public messaging on Gaza force

Turkey’s top diplomat has suggested that being part of the Gaza stabilization force is not Ankara’s priority.

Latest News

Analysis

How Netanyahu ceded to Trump, agreed to Egypt's $35B gas deal

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi clasp hands as they speak to the press before their meeting on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. President Trump is in Egypt to meet with European and Middle Eastern leaders in what’s being billed as an international peace summit, following the start of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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

Qatar’s prime minister meets US officials as Gaza plan stalls

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) shakes hands with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the State Department in Washington, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Over 600 Israeli ex-security chiefs urge Trump to disarm Hamas, back PA in Gaza

President Donald Trump speaks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Oct. 13, 2025 in Jerusalem.

Analysis

Trump's Syria envoy Barrack tests Israel's patience as Netanyahu pushes back

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with US special envoy Tom Barrack, Jerusalem, Dec. 15 2

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

Debris litters a loading dock a day after Israeli strikes on the port of Yemen's Houthi-held city of Hodeida on July 21, 2024.

Analysis

Israel’s Yemen attack against Houthis warning to nuclear Iran

While concerns grow in Israel over the continued drone and missile attacks by the Houthis in Yemen, the real threat remains that of Iran.

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

JACQUELYN MARTIN/AFP via Getty Images

Biden exit from presidential race hangs over Netanyahu's Washington trip

The Israeli prime minister’s highly anticipated address to Congress risks being overshadowed by President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential contest.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by his wife, are interviewed before the departure for Washington, Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel, July 22, 2024.

Protests, Kamala Harris rise overshadow Netanyahu's Washington visit

Leaving for Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that in his speech to Congress he will seek to reaffirm the strong bond between Israel and the United States, regardless of the political uncertainty there.

Israeli soldiers stand amid protective barriers near the border fence with the Gaza Strip in Netiv HaAsara, Israel, Nov. 17, 2023.

Canadian killed trying to stab guards at Israeli village by Gaza border

A Canadian citizen was killed after trying to stab guards at the entrance of Netiv HaAsara, a village near Israel's border with Gaza.

A handout picture obtained from Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Center show a huge column of fire erupting following reported strikes in the Yemeni rebel-held port city of Hodeida opn July 20, 2024.

Israel strikes Houthi targets in Yemen one day after Tel Aviv drone attack

The Israeli military confirmed that it had carried out airstrikes against Houthi-linked targets in Yemen, saying it was in retaliation for some 200 drone and cruise missile attacks towards Israel from Yemen since Oct. 7.

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