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August 26, 2026

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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Israel is rethinking its hard-line Syria policy and seeking to repair ties with US envoy and Donald Trump's confidant Tom Barrack amid a push for a security agreement with Damascus.

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

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.

Latest News

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

ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

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

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Trump orders US Central Command to include Israel amid strategic shift

The decision caps the outgoing administration's efforts to build a regional defense arrangement to counter Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands before the casket of Sheldon Adelson upon its arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, near the Israeli city of Lod, on January 14, 2021. - Adelson, a billionaire and a staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will be buried in Jerusalem totay, a paper controlled by his family said.
He died of cancer in the US on January 12 and his body arrived in Israel late last night. (Photo by Ami Shooman / ISRAEL HAYOM POOL / AF

GOP mega donor Sheldon Adelson buried in Jerusalem

A small service was held on the Mount of Olives for Adelson, who died Monday at 87.

Iranian forces in east Syria redeploy after airstrikes

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its militias in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, are trying to avoid further losses from suspected Israeli airstrikes by redeploying, hiding inside residential neighborhoods in large cities and putting their strategic weapons in underground tunnels.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Members of the National Guard and the Washington D.C. police keep a small group of demonstrators away from the Capital after thousands of Donald Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol building following a "Stop the Steal" rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. The protesters stormed the historic building, breaking windows and clashing with police. Trump supporters had gathered in the nation's capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Bide

Could Capitol Hill riots happen in Israel’s Knesset?

People who worked with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argue that what happened in Washington on Capitol Hill could also happen in Jerusalem.

Foreign Ministers of (L to R) Germany Heiko Maas, Jordan Ayman Safadi, Egypt Sameh Shoukry, and France Jean-Yves Le Drian, hold a joint press conference after a meeting to discuss the Middle East peace process, in the Egyptian capital Cairo, on January 11, 2021. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel turns its back on French-Egyptian Mideast initiative

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi rejected the invitation for meeting French, German, Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers in Cairo, citing the nationwide lockdown in Israel as an excuse.

Iran’s Quds Force denies deaths in Israeli airstrikes in Syria

The Afghan Fatemiyoun also denied members were hit, but said Syrian army personnel were killed.

Israel to start vaccinating prisoners next week

Both Israeli and Palestinian prisoners will be included in the country's national vaccination drive.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the anti-coronavirus vaccination facility in the northern Israeli Arab city of Nazareth on January 13, 2021. - A group of Arab Israelis demonstrated against Netanyahu's visit to the fascililty in their city. Since July, thousands of Israelis have rallied each week to protest against the prime minister and the economic fallout from the pandemic. (Photo by Gil ELIYAHU / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GIL ELIYAHU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Joint List frets as Netanyahu courts Arab voters

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is campaigning for Arab-Israeli votes — and some analysts say he may well find the support he needs for reelection.

Palestinian workers wearing masks against Covid-19 lineup for a security check at the entrance to Israel's Mishor Adumim industrial zone nearby the Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank east of Jerusalem, on July 1, 2020. - The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it could begin the process to annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank as well as the strategic Jordan Valley from today. The plan -- endorsed by Washington -- would see the creation of a Palestinian state, but on r

Palestinian factory workers strike in West Bank industrial zone

Palestinian workers at the Yamit factory in a West Bank industrial zone are striking for their first substantial raise in decades.

Pompeo, Israel send message to Iran with bold airstrikes in Syria

In a rare acknowledgement, a US official said Washington provided intelligence support for the strikes.

Death of 16-year-old provokes settlers' ire against police, Palestinians

Settlers angry after the death of 16-year-old Ahuvia Sandak are protesting violently across the country and also attacking Palestinian property in the West Bank.

Israel debates Sheldon Adelson’s media, political heritage

Following the death of Jewish American Sheldon Adelson, the Israeli right and left disagree about how he influenced Israel’s media, society.