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Israel

May 11, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:23 pm

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Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not surprised by President Donald Trump’s suspension of Project Freedom and move toward talks with Iran, but analysts say Washington may not be fully weighing Israel's concerns in negotiations with Tehran.

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs neighborhood of Haret Hreik on May 6, 2026.

Israel strikes Beirut in breach of Lebanon ceasefire

Israel has continued to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon but had not targeted Beirut since the ceasefire took effect.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

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

Culture

Lebanon's churches, mosques and archaeological sites damaged in Israeli strikes

A man sits watching as Lebanese first responders search for human remains among the rubble the day after a house was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, on May 1, 2026.

Analysis

Can Bennett, Lapid unite Israel’s opposition to unseat Netanyahu?

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid (L) speaks to outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, during a meeting at the Knesset (parliament), in Jerusalem on June 30, 2022. - Final approval of the parliament dissolution bill was initially expected by midnight but was postponed to June 30 as coalition and opposition lawmakers sparred over last-minute legislative details, several sources familiar with the parliamentary said. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

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

Saudi FM wants focus on Israeli-Palestinian talks over 'eventual normalization'

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the focus of Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts should be on bringing the two sides back to the negotiating table.

Intel: US Air Force trains with Israel’s newest F-35 squadron

Exercise Lightning III focused on offensive air operations involving simulated enemy aircraft and ground targets.

Drivers on the highway leading to Jerusalem wave Israeli national flags as they protest against the prime minister and against the second nationwide lockdown imposed by the government in a bid to stem the increase of COVID-19 infection cases, at the entrance of Jerusalem on October 14, 2020. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Submarine scandal keeps haunting Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not indicted in the submarine affair, but many Israelis are demanding that the case be further investigated.

Hezbollah rejects Lebanese delegation at maritime border talks with Israel

Lebanon's two main Shiite parties said the negotiating team in the border talks shouldn't include civilians.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, listens to Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks during their meeting at the State Department, October 14, 2020, in Washington, DC. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on October 14, 2020 encouraged Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, in what would be a massive boost for the Jewish state amid normalization by two other Gulf Arab kingdoms. (Photo by Manuel Balce CENETA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANUEL BALCE CENETA/POOL/AFP via Getty Image

Pompeo calls on Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also raised human rights concerns during a meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

A picture taken on October 14, 2020, shows new buildings in the Israeli settlement of Efrat south of the city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel approves first West Bank settlement construction since normalization deals

Israel’s West Bank Civil Administration gave its final approval for more than 1,300 housing units in the West Bank and more are expected to follow.

A picture taken on October 14, 2020 shows UNIFIL and Lebanese military vehicles guarding the area near the UNIFIL base (not seen in picture) where Israeli and Lebanese delegtaions were having their first round of talks on the demarcation of the maritime frontier between the two countries, which are technically in a state of war, in the southern Lebanese border town of Naqura on October 14, 2020. - Lebanon and Israel, still technically at war, began unprecedented talks sponsored by the United Nations and the

Israeli, Lebanese delegations meet for maritime border talks

Israel and Lebanon sent technical delegations for the talks today on establishing their maritime border.

Black kites sit on a tree with plastic bags clinged to it after a storm near the Dudaim dump in Israels Negev desert near the Bedouin city Rahat on January 20, 2019. - Israelis use approximately 2.7 billion plastic bags a year, which constitute 25 percent of the countrys trash volume. Since 2017 supermarkets charge a small price for the bags, following legislation aimed at diminishing their excessive use. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli nature lovers clean beaches, rivers

Israeli activists are rolling up their sleeves to clean nature, launching initiatives at nature reserves, parks, beaches and rivers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman give a joint press conference regarding preparations and new regulations for the coronavirus, at the Health Ministry in Jerusalem on March 4, 2020. (Photo by GALI TIBBON / AFP) (Photo by GALI TIBBON/AFP via Getty Images)

Ultra-Orthodox-Netanyahu alliance threatened by COVID-19

The alliance of the ultra-Orthodox with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to turn against them, as the public at large blames them for spreading the coronavirus.

attends the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 4, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.

Moviegoers split as Gal Gadot to play Cleopatra

The news that Israeli "Wonder Woman" actress Gal Gadot will play Cleopatra in an upcoming film has the internet in a tangle of excitement and outrage.

President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Coronavirus-stricken Israelis indifferent to Netanyahu’s diplomatic victories

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps registering diplomatic achievement with Gulf countries, but most Israelis are preoccupied only with coronavirus troubles.

Police carry away a protester during an anti-government demonstration in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem on August 29, 2020. - Protests demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resign over several corruption indictments and his handling of the coronavirus crisis have been mounting in recent weeks, and the premier has been scathing in his counter-attack. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s president warns of growing social schism, loss of moral compass

The fault line between the “only Netanyahu” tribe against the “anyone but Netanyahu tribe” appears unprecedented, and the social chasms seem unbridgeable.