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Israel

May 19, 2026

Tel Aviv 6:28 pm

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A bride and group couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. Iran said on May 18 that it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that diplomatic exchanges continue despite Iranian media reports describing Washington's demands as excessive. Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which the US and Israel launched on February 28, but they have held only a sin

Analysis

Israel pushes for full Iran blockade as it awaits Trump's next move

Israel’s preferred strategy, sources told Al-Monitor, calls for a comprehensive naval, economic, land and air blockade of Iran, alongside tighter sanctions and covert activity aimed at destabilizing the regime.

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

Men gather around the husk of a destroyed pickup truck that was driven by a local shepherd who was reportedly struck by Israeli forces and buried by locals at a grave nearby, in the Najaf desert in southwestern Iraq, on May 12, 2026.

What we know about secret Israeli bases in Iraq

Iraqi authorities have said there are no longer any hostile forces operating in its territory.

Somaliland’s first ambassador to a foreign country formally, Mohamed Hagi, presented his diplomatic credentials in Jerusalem to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, on May 18, 2026.

Israel accredits Somaliland's first ambassador: What to know

Israel was the first country to recognize the breakaway region on the Horn of Africa last year.

talks

Lebanon-Israel ceasefire extended 45 days as US opens security talks

The Pentagon will host Israeli and Lebanese military delegations for a round of separate security talks later this month.

Latest News

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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

Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

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

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

A Palestinian sifts through garbage for salvageable items at a local dump site, in the east of Gaza City September 2, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY) - GM1E9921JCZ01

Can Gaza get a handle on its waste problem?

With Gaza's waste disposal crisis now affecting Israeli communities across the border, Israel has approved the construction of a UN-funded waste recycling plant in Gaza.

Why Abbas risks an economic collapse of the PA

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to soon implement the law on deducting terrorists’ salaries, yet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas knows that on the day he stops payments, the Palestinians themselves will bring him down.

Revolution at 40: Have Iranian regional policies come full circle?

Forty years after the Islamic Revolution, the shah’s view of Iran and its role in the region is paradoxically echoed in the foreign policy debate by those with a more revolutionary perspective.

Why residents of Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah face eviction

Eleven families are about to be thrown out of their home in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to make room for settlers.

Children no longer need to leave Gaza for cancer treatment

Cancer patients welcome a new cancer ward in Gaza and hope it will ease the travel pains of hundreds of Palestinian child patients and their families.

Israeli left-wing parties to unite or to sink

By running on one ticket, the Labor and Meretz parties could guarantee their political survival and even constitute a significant political force.

Benny Gantz, a former Israeli armed forces chief and head of Israel Resilience party, delivers his first political speech at the party campaign launch in Tel Aviv, Israel January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1F37BEDD60

Can a centrist party win Israel's elections?

Head of the newly founded Israel Resilience Benny Gantz claims that he is neither left nor right, but he'll have to divulge more of his diplomatic agenda to win the voters he needs.

Netanyahu’s new anti-indictment weapon: his own TV channel

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has apparently decided to convict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in two cases and must now decide about a third — all while facing an orchestrated campaign by Netanyahu against him.

In Jerusalem, Israelis celebrate nostalgia for Egyptian film music

Israelis, who have remained enthralled with the outpouring of emotion in Egyptian films for decades, rediscover their passion through a series of concerts at Jerusalem’s Museum for Islamic Art.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey attend a news conference following their meeting in Tehran, Iran September 7, 2018. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERS - RC14766DD6C0

Israel factor complicates but won’t break Iran-Russia partnership in Syria

There is speculation in the Persian-language media that Russia and Israel are collaborating against Iran and that Tehran is reconsidering its partnership with Moscow in Syria.

A Palestinian government employee receives a portion her his overdue salary at a post office in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 8, 2018, after the Hamas-run finance ministry had announced that the money would be distributed over the two days, with employees receiving 50 percent of their salaries. - Employees of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip began collecting their salaries for a second month on December 7, after Qatar pumped more money into the territory with Israel's blessings. The

As PA tightens financial noose on Hamas, citizens will suffer

Upcoming sanctions on money transfer firms in the Gaza Strip — designed by the Palestinian Authority to weaken Hamas — will ultimately harm cash-strapped families and individuals.

Netanyahu whitewashing far-right activists

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all means to guarantee his electoral victory are legitimate, including embracing radical right-wing activists.