Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

September 11, 2026

Tel Aviv 3:50 pm

31°C

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge on Aug. 14, 2026.

Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in Ali al-Taher ridge: What to know

The ridge has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon due to its extensive tunnel network Israel says is utilized by the Iran-backed group.

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

Skeptical about the effectiveness of the American economic blockade on Tehran to weaken the regime, Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran could decide to strike the Jewish state during the upcoming high holidays.

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

West Bank settlements

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

The decision comes against the backdrop of an escalation in settler violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Latest News

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

Analysis

LORA missile test reveals limits of Germany’s Gaza criticism of Israel

A woman walks past a model of a Lora missile, Israel's long range artillery missile at the Israel defence stall at the international DefExpo 2008 defence fair, in New Delhi on February 16, 2008. India kicked off South Asia's largest defence fair, with hundreds of global weapons firms offering their latest hardware to the country's technology-hungry military. About 450 weapons companies from 30 countries are present at the four-day "DefExpo" in New Delhi, with several big-ticket announcements expected. AFP P

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

How Jewish politician joining Arab party could reshape Israeli politics

Raam

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

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

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Rina Bassist

Associate Editor (Israel)

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Germany, France, Egypt and Jordan issue statement against West Bank annexation

The countries wrote that they oppose Israel's planned incorporation of parts of the Palestinian territory. The plans have hit roadblocks in Israel this month.

A man wearing a protective mask amid the Covid-19 pandemic stands in a shop with a sign on the window reading in Hebrew: please wear a mask in the centre of Jerusalem on July 7, 2020. - As of today, Israel had recorded more than 31,000 coronavirus cases, including 338 deaths. In recent weeks, the country of about nine million people has regularly registered between 500 to 1,000 new cases each day. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Second wave of virus pummels Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's popularity is falling amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

Iranian security and rescue staff work at the site of an explosion at the Sina At'har health centre in the upmarket northern neighbourhood of Tajrish in the capital Tehran on July 1, 2020. - Iranian police questioned four people as part of investigations into a powerful explosion that killed 19 people at a Tehran clinic the night before, state media reported. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Mysterious explosions escalate Israel, Iran tensions

Ahead of the US presidential elections, and on the backdrop of mysterious explosions, Israel prepares for various escalation scenarios on Iran’s part.

This picture taken on May 14, 2020 shows a view of the empty check-in counters of Israel's national flag carrier El-Al, at a terminal at Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. - El Al's CEO Gonen Ussishkin had written Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a personal letter asking for assistance. The airline company had rejected an aid package drafted by the Finance Ministry, and is seeking government backing for a $400 million loan from Israel Discount Bank and

Israeli airline reaches bailout deal with government

Israel’s flag carrier El Al and the government reached a bailout plan, which would mean huge layoffs and sizing down flights.

Israel launches new spy satellite

The move follows a series of mysterious happenings in Iran, including at a nuclear facility.

Israel approves exploration, bidding on disputed offshore field

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz announced June 23 the opening of bidding for drilling in Block 72, off Israel’s northern shores, which Lebanon says is adjacent to its own fields.

Medical staff work in the COVID-19 isolation ward of Sheba Medical Center, Israel's largest hospital, in Ramat Gan near the coastal city of Tel Aviv on June 30, 2020. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Has Israel lost control over coronavirus pandemic?

Faced with a continued spike in coronavirus cases, Israel’s government is set to reimpose crowding restrictions.

An employee walks on the Expedient regasification ship, anchored off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea on February 26, 2015, as natural gas began flowing from the vessel, hired by the Israel Electric Corporation, to its power stations. The ship, anchored about ten kilometres from the Hadera coast, was connected the previous week to the marine buoy and as of February 25, natural gas has begun flowing from the LNG (liquid natural gas) ship through an underwater pipeline directly to the company's po

Israel, Egypt energy ties so far unaffected by coronavirus crisis, annexation plan

Despite the coronavirus crisis and the annexation plan, agreements to export Israeli natural gas to Egypt remain intact.

Palestinian Authority to pay civil servants half their monthly wages amid cash crunch

Faced with a worsening financial crisis, the Palestinian Authority has slashed the salaries of its public sector employees.

Palestinian girls walk past a mural of Pope Francis in the Jabal al-Baba Bedouin encampment, near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the occupied West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem, on November 23, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Vatican summons Israel, US ambassadors over West Bank annexation

The Vatican's secretary of state met with US Ambassador Callista Gingrich and Israeli Ambassador Oren David on Tuesday.

TOPSHOT - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting of the new government at Chagall State Hall in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem on May 24, 2020. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Crickets as Netanyahu's annexation date comes and goes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to admit his annexation plan did not move forward July 1 amid tepid US support and a populace distracted by more pressing issues.

British PM Johnson writes op-ed in opposition to West Bank annexation

Boris Johnson wrote the article in Israel's Ynet news outlet as a "friend" of Israel, saying annexation of the Palestinian territory is not in Israel's best interests.