Gaza

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Analysis

Gaza realities test Trump’s 2025 Middle East ambitions

During its first year, the second Trump administration confronted wars in Gaza and Sudan, forged new ties with Syria and grappled with the growing nuclear threat from Iran.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Eyeing Turkey, Netanyahu boosts Greece, Cyprus ties ahead of US visit

Worried about the increasing empowerment of Turkey across the Middle East, Israel is making a show of neighborhood strength with Greece and Cyprus.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in a joint news conference with US President Donald Trump (not seen) in the State Dining Room at the White House on Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington.

Analysis

In 2025, Netanyahu saved his coalition but stalled on Gaza, Iran, Lebanon

With 2025 ending, Israelis are frustrated over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to fully end the Gaza war, solve the Hezbollah problem, reach a deal with Syria or find a way to constructively impact talks on the Iranian nuclear program.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

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

Latest News

Rubio hints US could accept Hamas keeping small arms

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)

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

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

Facing Israeli pushback, Turkey recalibrates public messaging on Gaza force

Saeed Jaras / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US envoy Amos Hochstein, Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 4, 2024.

Day 90 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Jan. 4

Israeli drone strike aftermath on Jan. 2, 2024, in Dahiyeh, a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.

US braces for escalation as Hezbollah weighs Israel retaliation

Israel's suspected killing of Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas member based in Lebanon, has raised fears of more spillover from the war in Gaza.

People watch the televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah to mark the anniversary of the killing of slain top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, in a Beirut's southern suburb on January 3, 2024. Twin bomb blasts killed at least 103 people in Iran, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike, state media reported. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Germany, Canada urge citizens to leave Lebanon as Hezbollah vows retaliation

Nasrallah again opted to avoid announcing a major escalation with Israel in his speech, but tensions are increasing following the likely Israeli strike that killed a Hamas leader in Beirut.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad makes a statement to the press on March 19, 2013 before a signing ceremony at EU headquarters in Brussels ahead of the opening of the annual coordination meeting of Palestinian aid donors.

Interview

Salam Fayyad says he is not part of Gaza ‘day after’ talks

The former Palestinian prime minister told Al-Monitor that any discussion of post-war rule in Gaza "must be based on national consensus."

Salam Fayyad

Salam Fayyad

Former Palestine Prime Minister

Arouri blast site

Analysis

Israel braces for retaliation by Hamas, Hezbollah for Arouri's death

After the killing of Hamas senior Saleh al-Arouri on Lebanese soil, all eyes in Israel are on Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah for his reaction.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

People watch the televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah, in southern Beirut on January 3, 2024

Day 89 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Jan. 3

SOUTHERN ISRAEL - JANUARY 02: An Israeli soldier directs a tank to be loaded on a truck on January 02, 2024 in Southern Israel, near the border to Gaza. Prior to annnouncing the withdrawal of some troops from Gaza, Israel extended its ground offensive into densely populated neighborhoods in the central part of the territory, forcing a fresh wave of displacement to south. Meanwhile, its aerial campaign continued apace across the territory as it seeks to destroy Hamas following the militant group's Oct. 7 att

What does Israeli military drawdown mean for Gaza war?

The Israeli military is preparing for what could be seen as the third phase of the war in Gaza, with less troops on the ground and more precisely targeted operations.

Right-wing Knesset members Itamar Ben-Gvir (L) and Bezalel Smotrich, attend a special session at the Knesset Israel's parliament to approve and swear in a new right-wing government in Jerusalem on Dec. 29, 2022.

US slams Israeli ministers’ ‘inflammatory’ calls for Palestinians to leave Gaza

The State Department said the rhetoric from far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir was "inflammatory and irresponsible."

An Iranian navy missile is displayed during the army day military parade, outside the mausoleum of the late founder of Islamic republic, Ayatollah Khomeini (poster) in Tehran, April 18, 2007.

Iran hails Houthi rebels, deploys warship as Red Sea simmers

As the Houthi spokesman visited Tehran, the Iranian army dispatched a leading destroyer to the Red Sea, where the United States has been mobilizing an international coalition to end disruptions by the Tehran-backed militant group.

An image of the aftermath of the explosion in southern Beirut on Jan. 2, 2023.

Breaking | Last Updated: January 3, 2024, 10:15 am

Top Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri killed in Beirut as Lebanon-Israel tension soars

Videos of the aftermath of the reported drone strike showed a large impact on cars and residential buildings as the Israel-Lebanon border heats up.

TOPSHOT - This aerial view shows demonstrators unfurling a giant banner against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a rally against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul plan near Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv on September 23, 2023. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Israeli court striking down judicial overhaul is serious blow to Netanyahu

The justices of Israel's High Court have ruled against the "reasonableness law" pushed by the current government and designed to weaken the country’s democracy.

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

Soldiers of the Lebanese Army near the damaged building that was allegedly targeted by an Israeli drone strike on Jan. 2, 2024 in Dahiyeh, a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.

Day 88 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Jan. 2