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Israel

August 5, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:10 am

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Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Netanyahu’s Gaza double game: Back Trump, reassure Israel’s right

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to both give the impression that Israel retains total freedom of action in Gaza while allowing the Board of Peace to move ahead with President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

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

Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty Images

What to know about Lebanon-Israel 7th round of talks held in Rome

The US, Israel and Lebanon have sent expanded delegations to the talks, set to continue for three days and expected to focus on security arrangements, border issues and reconstruction.

US President Donald Trump (C) is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport on Oct. 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Analysis

Lacking leverage over Trump, Israel stays quiet on US-Iran talks

Realizing it has little to no influence over President Donald Trump’s decision-making, the Israeli government has remained silent on the possibility of the United States and Iran resuming negotiations.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

An Egyptian man looks at the Qatari Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier "Duhail" as its passes through the Suez Canal near the Egyptian port city of Ismailia on April 1, 2008. The vessel has a capacity of 210,100 cu.m making it one of the largest LNG carriers constructed to date. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How strike on Damietta port exposes Egypt's energy infrastructure risks

The unclaimed attack on the port of Damietta could draw Egypt further into the US-Iran conflict as experts point to growing threats to critical infrastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Analysis

No Iran commitment, no Trump endorsement: Netanyahu leaves US empty-handed

US President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2026. President Trump is traveling to Camp David in Maryland to hold a cabinet meeting and later to Bedminster, New Jersey to spend the weekend at his golf club. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Analysis

Katz riles Iran, US as Netanyahu-Trump meeting raises questions

Win McNamee/Getty Images

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

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon gestures while addressing a gathering during a lecture themed "Israel-India Partnership in the 21st Century"?, in New Delhi February 19, 2015. Ya'alon arrived in India on Wednesday to help sell his country's arms industry to the world's largest defence importer and promote deepening military ties between the two nations. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (INDIA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR4Q7TL

Israeli defense minister says Iran deal will set off nuclear arms race in region

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon warns that the imminent agreement with Iran will strengthen it diplomatically and economically.

Palestinians watch the signing ceremony of the reconciliation agreement between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, at a coffee shop in Gaza City May 4, 2011. President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday Palestinians were turning a "black page" on division at the ceremony in Egypt to heal a four-year rift between his Fatah movement and Islamist group Hamas. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2LZ9F

Why is Israel trying to shut down this Palestinian TV station?

For years, Palestine TV has dedicated some programming to their Palestinian brethren in Israel, and it was well-received.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan gestures as he speaks during a rally honoring him following his release, near the West Bank city of Jenin July 12, 2015. Israel on Sunday released Adnan from jail following a deal last month in which he agreed to end a 56-day hunger strike, Islamic Jihad sources in the West Bank said. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini - RTX1K3PF

Israel releases Khader Adnan, for now

Palestinian Khader Adnan, released from prison after 54 days of hunger strike, tells Al-Monitor that the Israeli press ignored his latest battle, trying to silence his fight against administrative detention.

The brother and mother of Avraham Mengistu, 29, an Israeli of Ethiopian descent who is reportedly held captive in the Gaza Strip, stand during a press conference in the southern city of Ashkelon on July 9, 2015, in which they called on Hamas to release his brother and the Israeli government to work toward his safe return. Two Israelis are being held captive in the Gaza Strip, including one detained by Hamas after crossing into the territory last year, Israeli officials said, raising fears of another hostage

Israel slow to rescue captured citizen. Is it because of his race?

Israeli politicians were quick to turn the affair of Avera Mengistu's release from Gaza into an issue of government discrimination against the Ethiopian-Israeli community.

A Bedouin boy rides his bike through the 'unrecognised' village of Um Al-Hiram in southern Israel's Negev desert, October 16, 2014. For decades Arab Bedouins have eked out a meagre existence in the Negev desert, living without mains water, electricity or sanitation, and largely under the government's radar, but now Israel wants to move some 40,000 Bedouins from more than 30 'unrecognised' villages into government-built townships. Legislation underpinning the proposed mass uprooting was put on hold late last

Negev Bedouin await forced evictions

The residents of unrecognized Negev villages have for years suffered discrimination and neglect by the Israeli government, which is now threatening them with mass forced evictions and relocation under the Prawer Plan.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 39th anniversary of the Entebbe or Yonatan operation at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv July 9, 2015. Netanyahu's brother Yonatan was killed while leading the 1976 raid to rescue hijacked Israeli hostages from Entebbe, Uganda. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX1JSBJ

Bibi no Rabin

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin for his courage in launching the 1976 Operation Entebbe, though he himself has never followed him in making historic decisions.

Barbed wire is seen on Zikim beach, Israel near the border with northern Gaza (seen in background) July 9, 2015. Two Israeli citizens are being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, a situation that could lead to demands for a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Islamist militant group. Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian coastal enclave in 2007 and fought three wars with Israel since then, declined to confirm or deny it had the captives. REUTERS

Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange deal hits snag

Public acknowledgment that an Israeli man is allegedly being held in Gaza has complicated negotiations between Israel and Hamas for his return, along with the remains of two IDF soldiers, in exchange for Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails.

Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat (C) and Maen Rashid Areikat (2nd R), chief of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) delegation in Washington, arrive to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department in Washington September 3, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR44TZ1

Palestinian leadership faces foggy future

A lack of progress in the peace talks, the absence of reconciliation and an aging president have once again forced discussion on the future of Palestinian leadership.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius talks to journalists outside Palais Coburg, the venue for nuclear talks in Vienna, Austria, July 7, 2015. Iran and six major powers will keep negotiating past Tuesday's deadline for a long-term nuclear agreement as they tackle the most contentious issues, including the continuation of a U.N. arms embargo on Iran, the big powers said. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RTX1JEIQ

Why France believes Abbas is part of the peace problem

France has long understood that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects its UN initiative, but has only recently realized that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is no longer a part of the solution, but part of the problem.

Former Israeli president Shimon Peres speaks during the An Insight, An Idea with Shimon Peres event in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos January 22, 2015. More than 1,500 business leaders and 40 heads of state or government attend the Jan. 21-24 meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to network and discuss big themes, from the price of oil to the future of the Internet. This year they are meeting in the midst of upheaval, with security forces on heightened alert after attacks in Paris, the European Cent

Shimon Peres outlines his vision for Israel, the region in 2048

Former President Shimon Peres argues that despite the current dire situation, Israel's future is not bleak.

An Israeli gas platform, controlled by a U.S.-Israeli energy group, is seen in the Mediterranean sea, some 15 miles (24 km) west of Israel's port city of Ashdod, in this file picture taken February 25, 2013. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won more time to overcome a political hurdle after parliament postponed a vote on authorising the government to secure a deal on developing Israel's natural gas fields. Picture taken February 25, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/Files - RTX1IDQI

Netanyahu, Cabel battle over natural gas outline

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Zionist Camp Knesset member Eitan Cabel said he will fight to ensure that any deal to exploit Israel's offshore natural gas will be in the public's best interest.

An Israeli special forces member looks on during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (not pictured) to a military K-9 unit training site at an army base near Tel Aviv April 23, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Watson/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXYWQZ

Is IDF gearing up to fight the Islamic State?

Israeli military personnel disagree on whether a decision to unite commando units into a single brigade is driven by the Islamic State threat or the need to adapt to the changing reality of the battlefield.