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Israel

August 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 2:05 pm

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ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

Israel tightens election safeguards as public distrust surges: What to know

Israelis have lost trust in the government and in its ability or willingness to conduct free and fair elections.

A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

Ankara views Israel’s latest strikes in Syria as part of a broader effort to curb Turkey’s military influence in Damascus and a challenge to its regional defense partnerships.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkey/Syria border

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

As Washington pushes a new deconfliction mechanism between Turkey and Israel, the Jewish state shows little incentive to accept tighter constraints on its freedom of action in Syria, experts say.

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 7: U.S. President Donald Trump (L)shakes hands with with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during the NATO summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Emrah Gurel - Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them

Israeli officials remain skeptical of Turkish and Syrian denials over Ankara’s military ambitions in Syria, warning that a deeper Turkish foothold could threaten Israel’s security and strain its ties with Washington.

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

Latest News

Turkey seeks Interpol Red Notices for Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

Murat Kocabas / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria

Burhaanettin Duran

Australia summons Israeli ambassador over World Central Kitchen strike: What to know

Zomi Frankcom

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

Eyup Kadir Inan

Official boycott, sit-ins target Starbucks in Turkey amid protests against Israel

The decision by Turkey’s state-run rail company to stop selling Starbucks products in its dining cars marked the first official boycott targeting an international brand over the Israel-Hamas war.

Smoke and fire rise from buildings as people gather amid the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Gaza City on Oct. 26, 2023, as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group.

Day 21 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Oct. 27

A smoke plume covers the sun during a forest fire that reportedly ignited after shell fire from Israel, in the Labouneh area in southern Lebanon close to the border with northern Israel, on October 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Will Lebanon's Hezbollah change rules of engagement on Israel to aid Hamas?

Hezbollah has been careful not to escalate the situation along Israel's northern border beyond the accepted norms, but the situation could change quickly depending on events in Gaza.

Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Gilad Erdan is seen on a TV monitor.

Israel considers denying visas for UN officials

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres rejects Israel's claim that he justified the Hamas attacks.

Israel says it is seeking to totally destroy Gaza's Hamas rulers after the deadly October 7 attacks which caused the worst bloodshed in Israel's history

Day 20 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Oct. 26

Gaza refugees

‘They have no answers’: Americans trapped in Gaza wait for US help

Hundreds of US citizens are stranded in the Gaza Strip despite a US-led diplomatic effort to open the border to aid deliveries.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) meets with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Oct. 25, 2023.

Qatar ‘hopeful’ about hostage talks with Hamas as Turkey warns of regional shockwaves

As Qatar expresses hope for the release of more Israeli hostages, Turkey’s top diplomat has warned Israel against a ground invasion.

Gaza journalists

At least 24 journalists, majority Palestinians, killed in Israel-Hamas war

The number of journalists killed in the Israel-Hamas war in three weeks already exceeds the number of journalists killed in Ukraine in the year and half since Russia invaded, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

TOPSHOT - A picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 25, 2023, shows smoke ascending over the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel-Hamas war poised to inflame Middle East arms race, pressure security partnerships

As the Middle East descends into a new phase of conflict and confrontation, regional states look poised to significantly boost military spending and procurement.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Erdogan

Turkey’s Erdogan hails Hamas as liberators, leaving detente with Israel in shreds

The Turkish president's speech on Wednesday aligned himself more firmly with the Sunni Muslim world, while pushing aside the benefits of closer ties with Israel and other regional economies.

Smotrich

Israel credit outlook lowered, budget to be amended amid Hamas war

Israel’s credit rating was in trouble before the war in Gaza due to the government’s controversial judicial reform plans, and the war is affecting the country's fiscal situation.

NINEVEH, IRAQ - JUNE 20: Iraqi PMF fighters June 20, 2017 on the Iraq-Syria border in Nineveh, Iraq. The Popular Mobilisation Front (PMF) forces, composed of majority Shi'ite militia, part of the Iraqi forces, have pushed Islamic State militants from the north-western Iraq border strip back into Syria. The PMF now hold the border, crucial to the fall of Islamic State in Mosul, blocking the Islamic State supply route for militants from Syria to Mosul. (Martyn Aim/Getty Images).

No consensus yet among Iraqi armed groups on joining Israel-Hamas war

Interviews with faction leaders reveal anger with Hamas over starting a unilateral conflict, but also a determination to get involved if Hezbollah greenlights such a move and Israel invades Gaza.