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May 16, 2026

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Breaking | Last Updated: May 15, 2026, 2:49 pm

Lebanon-Israel ceasefire extended 45 days as US opens security talks

The Pentagon will host Israeli and Lebanese military delegations for a round of separate security talks later this month.

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

Just as UAE-Israeli relations were deepening through cooperation against Iran, the Israeli prime minister publicly embarrassed Abu Dhabi by revealing his March visit.

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

Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's accusations of systematic sexual abuse and rape of Palestinian prisoners, calling the claims a "blood libel."

Latest News

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

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

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / 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

Israeli children take part in activities at a kindergarten in the central city of Shoham, on October 18, 2020. - Israel started cautiously emerging from a second coronavirus lockdown after a month of tight restrictions, with the re-opening of preschools, kindergartens, beaches and national parks, as numbers of new infections recede. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Coronavirus crisis propels Israeli mayors to front stage

With the government in a perpetual state of crisis, the coronavirus pandemic propelled Israeli mayors to a position of unprecedented prominence.

Israel tightens lockdown measures

Israel added more restrictions on top of its lockdown as coronavirus cases continue to spread rapidly. On the other hand, Israel is successfully rolling out the vaccine.

Israel, UAE top Middle East vaccination rates

Other countries in the region have only just recently imported vaccines, and the status of vaccination in Iran and Syria in particular is unclear.

Israeli sailors stand on board the first of four new German-built Saar 6 naval vessels purchased by the navy, in the northern Haifa city naval base, on December 2, 2020. - Israel received the first of its new missile boats, with a top naval officer telling AFP the fleet upgrade "dramatically" improves the country's ability to counter regional rivals, including Iran. (Photo by Heidi levine / POOL / AFP) (Photo by HEIDI LEVINE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

For Israel, Houthi threat a whole new ballgame

Israel fears that Iran would encourage the Houthis in Yemen to attack the southern city of Eilat.

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (L) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem on May 23, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu's rivals liken him to Trump as world reels from Capitol riots

Candidates to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warn that like his close ally the outgoing US president, he's capable of the kind of incitement that led to riots in the US capital.

Young Israeli singer wins over fans with Moroccan Arabic voice

Israeli artist Ron Peretz embraces the Moroccan Arabic she learned at home in hip hop music that is conquering hearts in Israel and the Arab world.

Demonstrators chant slogans as they march with a giant Palestinian flag on May 31, 2018 at Istiklal avenue in Istanbul, to mark the 8th anniversary of a deadly raid on Turkish-registered Mavi Marmara - part of a flotilla of six vessels seeking to break Israel's blockade and enter Gaza. - The crowd has gathered in iconic Istiklal avenue under the banner of the pro-Islamic Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), one of the organisers of the flotilla that tried to break an Israeli sea blockade of the Hamas-contr

Israel side-eyes Turkish offers of friendship as Ankara shelters Hamas

Turkey’s overtures to Israel have been greeted with bemusement and contempt while hundreds of Hamas operatives remain in Istanbul.

An Arab Israeli woman casts her vote during Israel's parliamentary elections on April 9, 2019 at a polling station in the northern Israeli town of Taiyiba. - Israelis voted today in a high-stakes election that will decide whether to extend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long right-wing tenure despite corruption allegations or to replace him with an ex-military chief new to politics. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli center-left reaches out to Arab voters

Seeking support from the Arab electorate at the upcoming March elections, the parties of the Israeli left and center are suddenly adding Arab candidates to their Knesset lists.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry after giving a joint statement prior to their meeting at his Jerusalem office on July 10, 2016.
Shoukry met Netanyahu in Jerusalem for talks on reviving peace efforts with the Palestinians, in the first such visit in nearly a decade and the latest sign of warming ties.

/ AFP / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel quiet as Egypt advances talks with Palestinians

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi has not commented publicly about speaking with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, nor on the French-Egyptian initiative for a mini international peace conference.

A Sudanese man waves his national flag as he takes part in a demonstration called for by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) to denounce the July 29 Al-Obeid killings, in the capital Khartoum on August 1, 2019. - Thousands of Sudanese demonstrators rallied on August 1 against the killing of four students, as protest leaders and ruling generals were set to resume talks to thrash out remaining issues on transitioning to civilian rule. Tragedy struck Al-Obeid on July 29 when four high school students

Sudan joins Abraham Accords to recognize Israel

The United States will help cover Sudan's more than $1 billion in arrears to the World Bank in exchange.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in Jerusalem on December 22, 2020. (Photo by Yonathan SINDEL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by YONATHAN SINDEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s Netanyahu seeks another delay in corruption trial

Lawyers for the prime minister say the latest coronavirus lockdown in Israel has left them unable to prepare for next week's hearing.

Ahead of March elections, Netanyahu (surprisingly) courts Arab voters

Experts offer several explanations for the surprising shift of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Arab public and Arab voters, three months before the upcoming elections.