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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 30, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:39 pm

25°C

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Jarjoua, southern Lebanon, on May 13, 2026.

Lebanon and Israel hold military talks at Pentagon despite Israeli offensive: What to know

A renewed Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon aims to extract concessions from Beirut in US-brokered diplomatic talks, but Lebanese military officials say there is no path forward until Israel halts its attacks and returns to the April ceasefire.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Alternate crop) U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. The two leaders are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting to discuss regional security in the Middle East as well as the U.S.-Israel partnership. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Exclusive

Trump 'hit the brakes': Netanyahu's circle faults US president for failed Iran regime change, looming deal

With regime in Iran still standing and a possible US-Iran agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands to pay the ultimate political price as elections near in Israel.

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

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

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.

Latest News

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

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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

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.

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

Will a two-state solution be announced in November?

The US administration is discreetly testing Israeli and Palestinian reactions to three options it is currently contemplating to advance the two-state solution.

Israel gets its own 'Making a Murderer' series

Israeli TV producers have turned a 10-year-old murder case into a TV show that has captivated Israelis, and worried them.

Former Israeli government kingmaker and ex-leader of the ultra-orthodox
Shas Party Aryeh Deri is escorted by policemen as he walks out of
prison July 15, 2002 after serving two years of a three-years sentence
for corruption. Deri, released a year early for "good behaviour", said
he would devote himself to social work and that he would seek a
retrial. REUTERS/Nir Elias

NIR/RS - RTR7NTA

Why one Israeli minister always feels persecuted

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri conveyed that he will not launch a campaign against the discrimination of Mizrahi, following the investigation against him. But can we believe him, when by saying this, he just launched the campaign?

Nowhere to run: Palestine marathoners race on short track

In Bethlehem’s fourth annual marathon, thousands of Palestinian and international runners competed on a half-marathon track in a stark illustration of the tight restrictions on Palestinian movement.

How one Palestinian with a camera rattled Israelis

Ever since he taped the incident in which an IDF soldier shot an already injured Palestinian attacker in Hebron, Imad Abu Shamsiya has been receiving death threats from extreme-right activists.

Has the individual intifada peaked?

Collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian security forces has reduced the scale of the individual intifada.

Latest scandal unlikely to rattle Netanyahu's coalition

Despite Interior Minister Aryeh Deri being investigated for corruption, most observers believe the Israeli government is stable and unlikely to fall apart.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends a meeting of the Likud party in the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, March 28, 2016. REUTERS/ Nir Elias - RTSCIM8

How Netanyahu sows fear among Israelis

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas talks with Israeli journalists and writers, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu uses rhetoric of fear, and keeps pointing an accusing finger at the Palestinians.

Will PA continue enforcement of Israeli products ban?

The Palestinian government officially and for the first time ever decided to ban the entry of five Israeli companies' products into the West Bank, which will bolster the Palestinian economy.

Why Netanyahu humiliated his defense minister

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to pay a steep price, both politically and security-wise, as long as he is not seen losing to HaBayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett in the fight over the hearts of right-wing voters.

What sours Israel-EU relations

Israeli officials mistakenly believe that the world is coming closer to Israel in policy and values in the aftermath of the Brussels terror attacks.

Is this the man who will replace Abbas?

It seems dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan is expanding his regional and international influence to become the potential successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.