Humanitarian crises

Janti Soeripto helps at a community kitchen serving hot meals to displaced families arriving from El-Fasher.

Interview

As Sudan war drags on, US-Iran conflict compounds humanitarian crisis in Darfur

Save the Children US President and CEO Janti Soeripto said delivering aid in Sudan remains extremely difficult, with supply trucks often delayed for weeks or months even after entering the country.

Janti Soeripto

President and CEO of Save the Children US

Olmert

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.

Ehud Olmert

Ehud Olmert

Former Israeli prime minister

Haneen Sayyed

Interview

Minister warns aid cuts to Lebanon risk empowering Hezbollah

Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed warns of resurgent sectarian tensions as Israeli strikes drive mass displacement into overcrowded Beirut.

Haneen Sayyed

Haneen Sayyed

Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs

Children and families gather to receive free meals shortly before Iftar during the holy month of Ramadan at a displacement camp in central Gaza City, on Feb. 27, 2026.

Iran war deepens Gaza crisis as prices soar, aid falters

Gazans fear that Israel could exploit the wider regional war to reenter Gaza, especially as buffer zones along the border continue to expand and civilians are targeted to keep them away.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Latest News

Analysis

Why Germany may struggle to meet Merz’s 80% Syria repatriation goal

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa depart after speaking to the media following talks at the Chancellery on March 30, 2026, in Berlin, Germany.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

China to send aid to Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan as Trump delays Beijing summit

Lin Jian

Iran’s communications blackout limits assessment of war’s humanitarian toll

A man walks past destroyed buildings following airstrikes in central Tehran on March 4, 2026.

'No meaningful protection': Israel’s new Gaza aid rules raise data, security risks

People walk through a heavily damaged street in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 12, 2025.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Israel calls up 60,000 reservists as Egypt floats Hamas disarmament plan

Egypt is reportedly offering to hold Hamas' arms while a deal to end the war is hammered out.

Tents housing displaced Palestinians line a street in Gaza City, Aug. 18, 2025.

Analysis

In accepting Gaza truce proposal, is Hamas setting 'trap' for boxed-in Netanyahu?

Is Hamas really hoping that Israel rejects a deal and goes ahead with the Gaza City offensive, resulting in its further international isolation?

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

An aerial view shows a tank, left behind by regime forces, on the road leading to the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhun, in the northwestern Syrian Idlib province, on Dec. 1, 2024.

Explosion kills 4 in Syria’s Idlib: What to know

Syria remains littered with the waste of a Cold War arsenal and 14 years of civil war.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel meets with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir in Juba on Aug. 13, 2025.

Israeli envoy meets South Sudan president as Juba denies Gaza resettlement report

Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel, visited South Sudan amid reports that the two countries are discussing resettling Gazans there.

Demonstrators gather during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli universities, tech firms, cities to join strike over Netanyahu’s Gaza takeover plan

An increasing number of institutions and businesses are allowing their employees to join the general strike planned for Sunday, in protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2025/08/trump-tacitly-backs-gaza-city-offensive-netanyahu-plays-time

Analysis

As Trump tacitly backs Gaza City offensive, Netanyahu-army rift widens

An exchange last week between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top general suggests that the Israeli premier himself does not believe in the plan he is touting for Israel to take full control of Gaza City.

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

Turkey earthquake

6.1 earthquake strikes northwest Turkey, killing 1 and injuring dozens

The tremor centered in Balikesir killed one and injured dozens, sparking panic in surrounding provinces including Istanbul.

People carry boxes of relief supplies from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as displaced Palestinians return from an aid distribution center in the central Gaza Strip on May 29, 2025.

After Hamas ban and deadly ambush, Gazans wary of GHF aid jobs

Hamas banned all cooperation with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) weeks after armed men executed several GHF workers in Khan Younis.

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

Interview

Israel’s former Germany envoy: Arms embargo 'warning sign' of growing isolation

Berlin’s embargo over the Gaza City offensive signals a rare fracture in one of Israel’s closest strategic partnerships, former Israeli Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff says.

Jeremy Issacharoff

Jeremy Issacharoff

Former Israeli ambassador to Germany

A young boy stands next to his bicycle as Palestinians check the devastation following an Israeli strike that hit Gaza City's southern al-Zeitoun neighbourhood on August 8, 2025. Israel's military will "take control" of Gaza City under a new plan approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, touching off a wave of criticism Friday from both inside and outside the country. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel's Vietnam: As Netanyahu pushes Gaza City takeover, military warns of endless war

The plan to extend Israeli control beyond the 75% of Gaza it now holds ignores warnings by military chief Eyal Zamir and the public's desire to end the war.

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

Gaza City

Israel's security cabinet approves takeover of Gaza City

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to launch an operation to overtake Gaza City despite objections by the Israeli military and warnings by families of hostages such a move would get their loved ones killed.

Zamir

Israel's Netanyahu, army chief face off over possible Gaza City offensive

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir opposes plans to take control of Gaza City, where some 800,000 Palestinians reside.