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August 24, 2026

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Analysis

Netanyahu yields to Trump on Gaza, betting Hamas won’t disarm

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to advance the US administration's Gaza plan in a meeting with envoy Jared Kushner despite his skepticism about Hamas' commitment.

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

diamonds

Explainer

Qatar launches diamond exchange as Hormuz crisis chokes LNG exports

Qatar's new diamond exchange is an effort to diversify from the country's main exports, LNG and petroleum products, which have been severely cut as a result of the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Latest News

Interview

Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF

A ship sails off the coast of Ajman on July 10, 2026.

Jihad Azour

Jihad Azour

Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Reve Chaaban

In Doha reporting on culture

Two F-35s (L and R) and two F-18s fly overhead during the "Salute to America" Fourth of July event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, July 4, 2019. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Qatar requested to buy F-35

Qatar Airways resumes flights to three South African cities

The Doha-based airline is nearing the number of destinations it offered services to before the coronavirus crisis.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo(R) welcomes Qatars Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to launch the third annual US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue at the State Department in Washington, DC on September 14, 2020. (Photo by ERIN SCOTT / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ERIN SCOTT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

US floats idea of upgrading Qatar to 'non-NATO ally'

A senior State Department official made the suggestion amid a White House push for Arab states to recognize Israel following this year's strategic dialogue with Qatar.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: (L-R) Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump, Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan wave from the Truman Balcony of the White House after the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House on September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Witnessed by President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu si

The Takeaway: Trump scores diplomatic win with eye on November election

Iran deal coming after elections, Trump says; Qatar says normalization not the answer; Netanyahu returns home to COVID-19, political crises.

This picture taken on December 5, 2019, shows a general view of the newsroom at the headquarters of the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite news channel in the capital Doha. - Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera has travelled a long and bumpy road from the early 2000s when it was best known for airing tapes of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. It now cultivates a loyal youth audience on social media alongside the satellite channels which have won it both acclaim and scorn. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (P

DOJ orders affiliate of Qatar-backed Al Jazeera to register as foreign agent

The Department of Justice accused AJ+ of acting "at the direction and control” of Qatar.

Qatari official details mediation between Israel, Hamas

The chairman of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, Mohammed al-Emadi, says mediation "helped to deescalate the conflict and spare innocent Palestinian civilians."

An impoverished area in the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Khan Yunis is pictured on May 13, 2019. - Qatar began distributing millions of dollars in aid in the Gaza Strip today in a fresh bid to restore calm after a flareup with Israel, a Qatari official said. Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, along with an allied militant group, fired hundreds of rockets at Israel on May 4 and 5, saying they were frustrated by the slow implementation of a previous ceasefire deal. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Ph

Qatar brokers Israel-Hamas cease-fire

Hamas says it has reached understandings with Qatar and Israel to contain the escalation in Gaza, but details of the agreement are murky.

The Emirati, Israeli and US flags sway in the wind at the Abu Dhabi airport at the arrival of the first-ever commercial flight from Israel to the UAE, on August 31, 2020. - A US-Israeli delegation including White House advisor Jared Kushner took off on a historic first direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi to mark the normalisation of ties between the Jewish state and the UAE. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Qatar, Egypt react to UAE-Israel agreement

The two countries' differing reactions show that Arab states continue to have mixed feelings on the historic normalization agreement.

United Arab Emirates

Mohammed al-Emadi, chairman of Qatar's National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, speaks during a press conference in Gaza City on January 25, 2019. - Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas said on January 25 they would not accept a fresh tranche of Qatari funds, accusing Israel of imposing new conditions on the money entering the blockaded Palestinian territory. The rejection of the expected $15 million (13.2 million euros) raised fears of fresh tensions along the Gaza-Israel border, ahead of weekly Friday p

Will Qatar renew Gaza aid?

There are concerns the Qatari aid to the Gazans will stop as tension escalates on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Qatar's Minister of State for energy affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi attends the 175th OPEC Conference of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria on December 6, 2018. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Qatari investments continued in Egypt despite political tensions

The Qatari Diar Company managed to open the St. Regis Hotel on the banks of the Nile River in Cairo, but the future of Qatari investments in the Egyptian market seems to be marred by tensions between the two countries.

Intel: Pompeo thanks Qatar for facilitating Afghanistan peace talks

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for agreeing to host peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Saudi Arabia permanently cancels license of Qatar's beIN Sports

The popular Doha-based sports network had been officially blocked in Saudi Arabia since the 2017 diplomatic row between the two Gulf countries.