Gaza

Israeli security forces attempt to disperse Palestinians who had gathered to protest the reported burning of land by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Idna, west of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on June 5, 2026.

Amnesty International accuses Israel of state-led ethnic cleansing in West Bank

In a new report, Amnesty International said that the escalating forced displacement and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank is part of a state-led campaign to control the Palestinian territory.

Israeli policemen surround Israeli Minister of National Security and far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir as he arrives outside the Damascus Gate of the walled Old City of Jerusalem on May 26, 2025, during a flag march for Jerusalem Day, commemorating the Israeli army's 1967 capture of the city's eastern sector during the Arab-Israeli war.

Ireland bans hard-line Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir, Smotrich: What to know

Ireland joined France and the United Kingdom in banning Israel's far-right and pro-settler ministers.

People stand in front of the Arrow 3 shield system during an event of the German Air Force to declare the Initial Operating Capability for the Arrow Weapon System for Germany at the Annaburger Heide Air Base in Schoenewalde / Holzdorf, eastern Germany, on Dec. 3, 2025.

Record Israeli arms exports highlight global rush for air defense

Rocket and air defense systems sales accounted for 29% of Israel's defense exports in 2025.

Cenk Uygur, founder and CEO of TYT, attends The Young Turks (TYT) 20th Anniversary Celebration at YouTube Space LA, May 25, 2022, Los Angeles.

Culture

UK bans US political pundits Hasan Piker, Cenk Uygur: What we know

The two men had been due to address the SXSW London festival on June 4, with Piker scheduled to meet left-wing UK lawmakers and Uygur slated to address Oxford University students.

Latest News

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

Who was Mohammed Odeh, Hamas military commander killed by Israel in Gaza?

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Israel’s Shin Bet chief meets Mohammed Dahlan in UAE: What to know

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

Ireland joins EU push to ban trade with Israeli settlements amid flotilla backlash

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Hamas fighters gather at the site of the handing over of two Israeli hostages in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Feb. 22, 2025.

Interview

Trump's back channel to Hamas says militants could cede heavy weapons in disarmament deal

Bishara Bahbah says he recently relayed messages between the Trump administration and Hamas concerning the handover of the deceased hostages.

Bishara Bahbah

Bishara Bahbah

Founder, Arab Americans for Peace

NATHAN HOWARD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Vance cautions Gaza truce 'tough task' as Knesset pushes West Bank bill

Vice President JD Vance expressed optimism about disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza, noting Arab countries are ready to help.

Smoke billows following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 19, 2025.

US military to start Gaza ceasefire monitoring as international force plans stall

Diplomatic snags and concerns that their troops could be caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Israel are raising questions about a US proposal to stabilize postwar Gaza with an international force, despite "great optimism" cited by US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday.

US Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance greet US Ambassador

Analysis

As Trump envoys seek ceasefire progress, Netanyahu pins hopes on Hamas scuttling deal

"The ceasefire is still holding, but not thanks to Israel," a senior Israeli military source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity as US envoys work to keep the deal alive.

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

US Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance disembark Air Force Two on arrival to Ben Gurion airport on Oct. 21, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Vance arrives in Israel to bolster fragile Gaza ceasefire

His visit comes a week after President Donald Trump flew to Israel to celebrate the hard-won deal.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Witkoff, Kushner in Israel to salvage Gaza ceasefire after series of flare-ups

The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to maintain the ceasefire with Hamas and begin implementing the second phase of the US president's Gaza peace plan.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT - OCTOBER 13: World leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pose for a family photo, at a world leaders' summit 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

Analysis

Netanyahu powerless as Trump advances Gaza plan with Arab, PA forces

The second phase of the agreement with Hamas will force Israel to accept an international force composed of Arab soldiers and the involvement of the Palestinian Authority in the administration of the Gaza Strip.

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

Palestinian Hamas fighters carry their guns in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip as preparations take place for the release of three Israeli hostages, as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner swap on Feb. 22, 2025.

Analysis

What will it take to disarm Hamas?

Hamas could be open to a compromise that requires it to surrender “offensive” weapons only.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

General view of the Rafah Border Crossing on Oct. 9, 2025 in Rafah, Egypt.

Rafah reopening in limbo as Israel accuses Hamas of delaying return of hostages’ remains

Delays by Hamas in returning hostage remains are complicating Israel’s reopening of the Rafah crossing and could stall the next steps of the US-mediated ceasefire.

The bodies of 45 Palestinian prisoners arrived from the Gaza Strip via the Red Cross and were transferred to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, Palestine, on Oct. 14, 2025.

As Israel accuses Hamas of deal violation, US mulls rewards for Gaza hostage recovery

The proposed rewards come as Hamas says it has returned all the hostage bodies it can access.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Gaza

Exclusive

Turkey readies Gaza rescue crews pending final dispatch decision

The dispatch of Turkish search and rescue crews remains pending coordination with other countries and final approval in Ankara.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

President Donald Trump poses with the signed agreement at a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war on Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

With ceasefire on shaky ground, Trump declares Gaza plan’s next phase

Major questions remain unanswered about Gaza’s future governance and security as negotiators turn their attention to the plan’s second phase.