Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

August 25, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:41 am

26°C

Palestinian militant group Hamas police officers stand guard as people attend the opening of the Fatah party's eighth general conference at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City on May 14, 2026.

Ex-defense minister: Israel in ‘worst possible’ Gaza situation as Hamas gains strength

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant criticized the Israeli government for allowing Hamas to retain control over half of the Gaza Strip.

A merchant ship "Jabotinsky" (former "Altalena"), chartered by Jewish military group Irgun Zvaei Leumi to carry weapons for Israeli fighters, burns near Tel Aviv beach, after being shelled by the Haganah, Israel, June 27, 1948.

Wreck of ship sunk by Israeli military in Irgun clash found after 78 years

The wreck of the Irgun underground's Altalena ship, bombed by the Israeli military in 1948 and deliberately sunk in 1949, was located off Israel's coast at a depth of 1,650 feet.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

Turkey/Syria border

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Analysis

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

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)

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

Turkey seeks Interpol Red Notices for Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

Murat Kocabas / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

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

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and wife, Sara.

Lapid concedes defeat, congratulates Netanyahu on winning Israeli election

Prime Minister Yair Lapid broke his two-day silence and called opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him for winning the elections.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Religious leaders talk climate action in Israel ahead of COP27

At the initiative of the foreign ministry, Jewish, Christian, Druze, Bahai and Muslim leaders gathered in Jerusalem, in a joint call to act against climate change.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Explainer: Kahanism, far-right ideology linked to Netanyahu’s election win

Religious Zionism politician Itamar Ben Gvir has been linked to the late American-Israeli firebrand Meir Kahane, who called for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Israeli Prime Minister and head of Yesh Atid Yair Lapid.

Lapid’s camp loses Israeli general elections

Looking back, Prime Minister Yair Lapid did not really do whatever was needed to consolidate the center-left camp and prepare it for the elections.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Will Israel's Netanyahu upend Lebanon gas deal, Iran policy?

Now that the election is over, victor Benjamin Netanyahu will find it hard to keep some of his promises.

Former Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu cast their vote in the Israeli general election on November 1, 2022 in UNSPECIFIED, Israel. Israelis return to the polls on November 1 for a fifth general election in four years to vote for a new Knesset, the 120-seat parliament. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Netanyahu set to make a comeback, Israel exit polls suggest

Initial exit polls offer opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu's camp a majority in the Knesset, with either 61 or 62 seats out of 120.

Samer Haj Yehia (screen), chairman of Israel's Bank Leumi, attends a panel on the third day of the annual Future Investment Initiative conference, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 27, 2022.

Informal ties grow between Israel, Saudi Arabia

With the current rift between Washington and Riyadh, every baby step in informal relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia counts.

Picture taken on Feb. 6, 2018, shows a person holding a visual representation of the digital crypto-currency Bitcoin,

Israeli cryptocurrency market attempts to catch up with global pace

An Israeli crypto firm becomes the first in the country to get a capital markets license.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Military assistance to Ukraine becomes Israeli electoral issue

Human rights activist and former Israeli minister Nathan Sharansky met last week in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and apologized for being the first Israeli official to come.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and children perform the "Tashlich" ritual, during which "sins are cast into the water to the fish," ahead of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), Netanya, Israel, Oct. 3, 2022.

Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties make final push ahead of election

With the young ultra-Orthodox sick of their veteran politicians and expressing support for ultranationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir, the ultra-Orthodox parties fear losing votes.

Former Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to supporters inside a modified truck with a side bulletproof glass during a campaign event, Bnei Brak, Israel, Oct. 29, 2022.

Netanyahu within reach of comeback in Israeli election

Last polls before tomorrow’s elections predict that opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu is very close to achieving the 61-seat majority he needs in the Knesset to come back to power.

A man looks at cryptocurrency prices in a window of a cryptocurrency exchange office, Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 19, 2021.

Report: Turkey has highest cryptocurrency interest in Middle East

CryptoManiaks also found a relatively high amount of crypto-related Google searches in Israel and the United Arab Emirates.