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Israel

August 6, 2026

Tel Aviv 10:16 am

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Israeli battle tanks deploy in the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah (Eastern Zawtar) in southern Lebanon as pictured from the nearby village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah (Western Zawtar) on August 2, 2026. Under a US-sponsored agreement signed in June, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from "pilot zones" where Lebanese forces will subsequently deploy. The deal came more than three months after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East with rocket fire at Israel in suppo

Israel-Lebanon talks suspended amid escalation, set to resume Thursday

The Israeli delegation asked the American representatives to suspend the direct talks with Lebanon for a few hours over alleged leaks by Beirut.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

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

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)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

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

Pedestrians cross a street in front of a Likud party campaign billboard depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv March 16, 2015. Netanyahu, in a final bid to shore up right-wing support ahead of a knife-edge vote on Tuesday, said he would not permit a Palestinian state to be created under his watch if he is re-elected. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4TKW3

Netanyahu narrows gap with Herzog

Just hours before the polls open in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises that if he is elected, there will be no Palestinian state, and manages to obliterate the Zionist Camp’s lead in the polls almost entirely.

Israeli activists stand near tents on a main boulevard in the coastal city of Tel Aviv March 1, 2015. Dozens of Israeli social activists pitched tents in Tel Aviv on Sunday protesting about a housing shortage which is a key issue in campaigning for a March 17 election. The protest was reminiscent of a similar demonstration against a housing shortage in 2011 that ignited social protests of unprecedented size in Israel. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4RNTC

Netanyahu ignored socio-economic issues

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoyed a reputation of a strong-willed finance minister who can change the system, but has failed in harnessing these capabilities into confronting the dire socio-economic situation.

Fliers depicting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seen on the ground during a right-wing rally in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square March 15, 2015. Israel's centre-left opposition is poised for an upset victory in the upcoming parliamentary election, with the last opinion polls before Tuesday's vote giving it a solid lead over Netanyahu's party. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4TGF7

Israel's election focuses on politics of fear

With right-wing politicians calling Arab Israelis a fifth column, and a Joint List candidate comparing Zionism to the Islamic State, it seems that the common denominator in the Israeli elections is hatred of the other.

A picture taken on February 8, 2014 near Ein Gedi, in Israel shows the Dead Sea shoreline shaped by the decline in water levels as a result of the drying up. The Dead Sea, 400 meters below sea level, is the lowest point on earth and its mineral-rich waters and shores have been celebrated for their cleansing, healing and therapeutic properties. In the background is the Jordanian coast. AFP PHOTO THOMAS COEX (Photo credit should read THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

Canal project from Dead Sea to Red Sea makes waves

The Bahrain canal project to link the Dead Sea to the Red Sea seems to be of great benefit to Israel, while Palestinians will mostly be affected negatively, politically and environmentally.

Israel's Agricultural Minister Ariel Sharon (3rd R) shakes hands with Egypt's President Anwar Sadat in the northern city of Haifa in this handout file picture taken September 4, 1979 and released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO).
REUTERS/Yaacov Saar/GPO/Handout/Files (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. ISRAE

Mazal Mualem on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Mazal Mualem shares her thoughts on journalism.

Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters and foreign fighters (R) who joined the YPG, man their weapons during what the YPG said was an offensive against them by Islamic State fighters, in the western countryside of Ras al-Ain March 10, 2015. Picture taken March 10, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTR4SVQX

US 'working through' extent of support for Syrian rebels

The resolution being considered by Congress does not address protection of vetted Syrian rebels against Syrian government forces; nuclear talks with Iran enter decisive phase amid challenges by Republicans in Congress; Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani determines fate of reconciliation in Iraq; Israeli election is verdict on Benjamin Netanyahu.

Workers hold freshly printed campaign banners in Arabic that depict Isaac Herzog (L), who heads the centre-left Zionist Union alliance with former cabinet minister Tzipi Livni, and Zehava Galon (R), chair of the left-wing Meretz party, at a printing factory in the Arab village of Baqa al-Gharbiya in northern Israel March 2, 2015. Opinions polls show a tight race ahead of the March 17 election, campaigning for which has been dominated by economic issues like high living costs and workers wages. REUTERS/Ammar

Meretz chairwoman: Herzog will need us to form coalition

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Meretz Party Chairwoman Zehava Gal-On calls upon leftist voters not to fall for the Zionist Camp's machinations, which threaten her party and the chances for a left-wing coalition.

HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 27: Ronit Elkabetz attends the 2014 Variety Screening Series - "Gett: The Trial Of Viviane Amsalem" Screening at ArcLight Hollywood on October 27, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Israel's female filmmakers move to center stage

The year 2014 reflected the changes that the Israeli film industry has been undergoing for the last few years, with many more female filmmakers, complex leading women's roles and an unprecedented number of awards.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Isaac Herzog, Co-leader of the centre-left Zionist Union, are pictured together as campaign billboards rotate in Tel Aviv, March 9, 2015. Israelis will vote in a parliamentary election on March 17, choosing among party lists of candidates to serve in the 120-seat Knesset. Currently, polls show Netanyahu's Likud party and the centre-left Zionist Union opposition running neck-and-neck, with each predicted to win around 24 seats in the Knesset.
REUTERS/Baz Ra

Is Netanyahu on his way out?

Less than a week before the elections, all options are still open, be they a government headed by Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog, by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or by both.

A general view of the "Whiskey A Go-Go" night club in Tel Aviv March 16, 2007. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL) - RTR1NJBL

Tel Aviv campaigns against harassment

Tel Aviv nightclub owners have joined clubgoers in an initiative to stop sexual harassment with a social network campaign to raise public awareness of the problem.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (5th R) gestures as he gives a speech during a rally ahead of the 27th anniversary of Hamas founding, in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip December 12, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4HR3K

Israel should be wary of Hamas' truce proposal

The dire situation in Gaza has apparently prompted Hamas' political leaders to offer Israel a long-term cease-fire, but the dominance of the movement's military wing casts doubt on such a truce holding.

A Palestinian woman loads her suitcases onto a luggage cart before crossing into Gaza through Israel's Erez crossing August 6, 2014. A Gaza truce was holding on Wednesday as Egyptian mediators pursued talks with Israeli and Palestinian representatives on an enduring end to a war that has devastated the Hamas Islamist- dominated enclave. Israel withdrew ground forces from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning and started a 72-hour Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Hamas as a first step towards a long-term deal.

Israel tightens control on Erez crossing

The Israeli authorities have arrested at the Erez crossing Palestinian and Israeli merchants who were accused of smuggling prohibited goods to the resistance in Gaza, which is said to be using these materials to rebuild the tunnels destroyed during the war in summer 2014.