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May 29, 2026

Tel Aviv 2:02 am

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Israel strikes Lebanon's capital Beirut for first time in 3 weeks: What to know

According to Israeli media, Ali al-Husseini, the commander of the missile unit in the Imam Hussein Division, a brigade affiliated with Iran’s Quds Force that operates alongside Hezbollah, was the target of the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Hungary’s parliament voted to remain in the International Criminal Court, reversing a planned withdrawal and marking a shift in Budapest’s approach to Israel and the EU.

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Who was Mohammed Odeh, Hamas military commander killed by Israel in Gaza?

Odeh was killed in a Tuesday strike in the Palestinian enclave just days after he assumed his leadership position.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Analysis

'Very bad news’: Israel alarmed as Trump pushes ahead toward Iran deal

Israel fears that Iran could emerge from the war strengthened by access to its frozen financial assets and regional acceptance of its dominance over the Strait of Hormuz and potentially resume its nuclear program.

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

Latest News

Israel strikes near Lebanon’s Qaraoun dam as war intensifies: What to know

A partial view shows a drainage vacuum hole on the lake of Qaraoun in Lebanon's southern Beqaa Valley on April 5, 2019.

US gave Israel 'tacit agreement' to target senior Hezbollah figures

A view shows a Lebanese flag positioned among shattered concrete and twisted rebar, remnants of a destroyed building, in Sidon, Lebanon, on May 3, 2026.

Israel’s Shin Bet chief meets Mohammed Dahlan in UAE: What to know

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

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

An ultra-Orthodox Jew shouts at a policeman during a protest against the opening of a road on the Sabbath, near a religious neighborhood in Jerusalem July 30, 2011. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2PGWG

Why Israel's ultra-Orthodox are not happy with proposed Sabbath law

This time, secular Israelis are pushing for a Sabbath-observance law while the ultra-Orthodox resist, claiming the legislation falls short of preserving the day's character.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ADEL ZAANOUN A Hamas police officer shows confiscated drugs, alcohol and medication at a police station in the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalia on November 4, 2009. Drug use was once rare in Gaza's conservative society, but addiction experts say prescription painkillers and marijuana have become more common since Israel and Egypt sealed off the territory to all but basic goods in the wake of the Islamist Hamas movement's bloody takeover in June 2007. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED ABED (Phot

Is Gaza facing an opioid epidemic?

The impossible circumstances of day-to-day life in the Gaza Strip has led to a Tramadol epidemic that Hamas is struggling to address.

Palestinian fighters from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, are seen inside an underground tunnel in Gaza August 18, 2014. A rare tour that Hamas granted to a Reuters reporter, photographer and cameraman appeared to be an attempt to dispute Israel's claim that it had demolished all of the Islamist group's border infiltration tunnels in the Gaza war. Picture taken August 18, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR42YKK

Has Hamas lost its monopoly on tunnel business in Gaza?

Islamic Jihad announced July 10 the death of one of its members after a tunnel collapsed, which signals that Hamas is no longer the only movement that makes use of tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

Why one Israeli Knesset member is calling out colleagues on racism

In an Al-Monitor interview, former Welfare Minister Meir Cohen, of Mizrahi origin, challenged the acceptance of racist practices among his Knesset colleagues.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington November 9, 2015. The two leaders meet here today for the first time since the Israeli leader lost his battle against the Iran nuclear deal, with Washington seeking his re-commitment to a two-state solution with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTS66BC

Will Obama set Mideast guidelines for next president?

US sources claim that President Barack Obama is considering a presidential speech to set guiding principles on a two-state solution for the next administration.

Former settler leader, Dani Dayan, who was announced as the consul-general in New York on Monday, participates in a conference on fighting the anti-Israel boycott in Jerusalem, March 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo - RTX2DU3T

Why did Netanyahu appoint a settler as top NY diplomat?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his commitment to the two-state solution in May, but has nevertheless appointed settler leader Dani Dayan as consul general in the United States.

The Gaza border control at Eraz in Israel May 27, 2016. REUTERS/Staff - RTX2EXFO

Why some Gazans are telecommuting with Israeli firms

The widespread use of the internet has allowed some Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to find work online with Israeli companies, although Gazans are divided over the issue.

An F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter takes off on a training sortie at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in this March 6, 2012 file photo. Canada is poised to buy 65 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets, sources familiar with the process told Reuters, marking a major renewal of Canada's fighter fleet and helping contain costs of the expensive defense program. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force photo/Randy Gon/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY BUSINESS)
ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PR

What new F-35 jets mean for Israel’s air force

Senior Israeli air force officers tell Al-Monitor that the arrival of the F-35 jets is crucial for Israel to maintain its airspace superiority.

What's really behind PA's threat to sue Britain?

The Palestinian Authority announced its intention to sue Britain for the Balfour Declaration, which allowed for the establishment of the State of Israel.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal speaks during an interview with Reuters in Doha October 16, 2014. Meshaal on Thursday called on Muslims to defend the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, saying Israel was trying to seize the site, revered in Islam and Judaism and focus of a Palestinian uprising in 2000. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR4AH1S

Saudi visit to Israel angers Hamas

The Hamas movement is worried that a Saudi general's visit to Israel signifies a rapprochement between the two countries at the expense of Gaza relief efforts.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) and Knesset member Gila Gamliel (L) tour a planned site for the construction of a hospital during a corner stone laying ceremony in the port city of Ashdod November 8, 2012. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH) - RTR3A5T8

Young Likud minister bucks party to defend press freedom

The Likud's Gila Gamliel, once a right-wing hard-liner, has now become one of the principal defenders of the freedom of the press and broadcasting within the Netanyahu government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, July 24, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSJDIX

US elections won’t stop Obama from criticizing Bibi

The Obama administration keeps condemning settlement construction even during the election campaign period, thus demonstrating that criticizing the policy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shouldn't block the road to the White House.