Humanitarian crises

Waddani Party presidential candidate Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as Irro, (C) casts his vote at a polling station.

Opposition wins election in Somaliland, signals dialogue with Somalia: What we know

Somaliland's opposition leader, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, has won the presidential election, unseating the incumbent president who held office for seven years.

A man walks in a street covered in mud in a flooded area in Picanya, near Valencia, eastern Spain, on Oct. 30, 2024.

As floods ravage Spain, Morocco utilizes disaster diplomacy, offers help

Relations between Morocco and Spain are warming after years of tensions, and a railway linkage project is gaining momentum.

Zebulon Simantov reads his old, tattered Hebrew prayer book as he celebrates the Jewish New Year feast of Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 18, 2009, in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Three years after fleeing, Afghanistan's last Jew arrives in Israel

Having fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021, heading to Istanbul via Pakistan, Afghanistan's last Jew has now arrived in Israel.

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid delivered from Jordan cross into Gaza.

Despite missed deadline to boost Gaza aid, US says Israel arms flows to continue

The Biden administration will not follow through with threatened consequences after Israel missed a deadline to surge humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Latest News

French FM to visit Israel as Paris, Washington work on Lebanon deal

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot (C) visits the Nova festival memorial.

Paris conference for Lebanon secures $1B in humanitarian, military aid

International press conference in support of Lebanon, in Paris, on Oct. 24, 2024.

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France seeks 3 objectives at Lebanon conference in Paris, aims to raise $400M

France s President Emmanuel Macron receives Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati before their bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on Oct. 23, 2024.

Tens of thousands flee Jabalia after Israel sends more troops to northern Gaza

Displaced families fleeing Israeli army operations in Jabalia in northern Gaza take the main Salah al-Din road toward Gaza City on Oct. 23, 2024.

YASSER QUDIHE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Israel sacks 2 top IDF officials, citing 'serious failure' in strike on Gaza aid workers

After investigating the incident in which seven workers of the aid organization World Central Kitchen were killed, the Israeli military dismissed two senior officers and sanctioned two others.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Biden threatens US policy shift on Gaza war as Israel braces for Iranian reprisal

In their conversation over the phone Thursday, President Joe Biden made it clear to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must do more to protect aid workers and civilians in Gaza or risk a major shift in US policy.

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

A man hands out bags of flour during the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza City on March 17, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

Israel to reopen Erez crossing for Gaza aid after US pressure

The Israeli measure came after President Joe Biden warned that the US could revise its support if Israel did not protect civilians in Gaza.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to supporters through inside a modified truck with a side bulletproof glass during a campaign event on Oct. 29, 2022 in Bnei Brak, Israel.

Analysis

Inside Israel, Netanyahu’s poll numbers improving despite US rupture

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps using his well-used method of convincing his right-wing base that he is the only one able to stand up against American pressure.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Amid Biden-Netanyahu split over Rafah, Pentagon leans on lessons from Iraq

As the Biden administration seeks to prevent further humanitarian catastrophe in Rafah, former US commanders told Al-Monitor there are key ways the Israeli military can shape an operation to protect civilians.

Jared Szuba

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

People pass by a building covered with photos of hostages who have been released or are still being held in the Gaza Strip, on March 26, 2024 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

US rebuts Netanyahu’s ‘inaccurate’ claim UN abstention scuttled hostage talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the US of a shift in policy, saying its failure to veto a UN Security Council resolution on a Gaza cease-fire encouraged Hamas to reject a proposed hostage-release deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on Sept. 27, 2023.

Breaking | Last Updated: March 27, 2024, 1:33 pm

Netanyahu cancels Washington delegation visit after US abstains from UN cease-fire vote

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Strategic Minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi will not travel to Washington after the United States refrained from vetoing a UN resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and French President Emmanuel Macron (L) hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem on Oct. 24, 2023.

Macron warns Netanyahu forced population transfer in Gaza would be war crime

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Paris is against a military operation in Rafah and against any attempt to transfer displaced Gazans.

Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

Analysis

Israel's Gallant preps arms wish list for US as Netanyahu threatens to 'do it alone' in Rafah

Fearing diminishing global arms stockpiles, Israel’s defense minister will ask Washington for more ammunition to use in Gaza as the White House continues to spar with Prime Minister Netanyahu over a planned operation in Rafah.

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

COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images

Mossad, CIA chiefs to return to Qatar to continue Gaza talks

After a visit to Doha earlier this week, Mossad chief David Barnea is expected to return to Qatar Friday to pursue talks for a hostage release and cease-fire deal.

French Ambassador to the United Nations Nicolas de Riviere speaks during a UN Security Council vote on the Israel-Hamas war, UN Headquarters, New York City, Feb. 20, 2024.

France to submit Gaza UN resolution that can ‘actually be adopted,’ rivaling US draft

France says its proposal will not compete with or contradict a draft resolution sponsored by the US currently in circulation.

People inspect damage and recover items from their homes following Israeli air strikes on March 19, 2024, in Rafah, Gaza.

Rights groups warn US over Israel's assurances on weapons use

In a report to the Biden administration, Oxfam and Human Rights Watch challenged Israel's assertion that it's using US weapons in accordance with international law.