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May 19, 2026

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A bride and group couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. Iran said on May 18 that it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that diplomatic exchanges continue despite Iranian media reports describing Washington's demands as excessive. Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which the US and Israel launched on February 28, but they have held only a sin

Analysis

Israel pushes for full Iran blockade as it awaits Trump's next move

Israel’s preferred strategy, sources told Al-Monitor, calls for a comprehensive naval, economic, land and air blockade of Iran, alongside tighter sanctions and covert activity aimed at destabilizing the regime.

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

Men gather around the husk of a destroyed pickup truck that was driven by a local shepherd who was reportedly struck by Israeli forces and buried by locals at a grave nearby, in the Najaf desert in southwestern Iraq, on May 12, 2026.

What we know about secret Israeli bases in Iraq

Iraqi authorities have said there are no longer any hostile forces operating in its territory.

Somaliland’s first ambassador to a foreign country formally, Mohamed Hagi, presented his diplomatic credentials in Jerusalem to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, on May 18, 2026.

Israel accredits Somaliland's first ambassador: What to know

Israel was the first country to recognize the breakaway region on the Horn of Africa last year.

talks

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

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

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

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

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

02 April 2020, Israel, Bnei Brak: An Israeli policeman stops Orthodox Jews, who insist on carrying on with their prayer at the Ponevezh Yeshiva, a Jewish institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, despite the imposed lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa (Photo by Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images)

IDF latest mission: saving Bnei Brak, Israel's most overcrowded city

With rabbis and residents disobeying instructions over the coronavirus, Israeli paratroops were dispatched to the town of Bnei Brak to restrict entry and exit.

Israel’s Lapid back in race to lead Israel

Now that the Blue and White alliance has been dismantled, Yair Lapid is free to pursue his old dream of premiership.

GAZA, Feb. 24, 2020 -- Militants in the Gaza Strip fire rockets to Israeli cities on Feb. 24, 2020. Israeli war jets on Monday struck posts that belong to Palestinian militant group in Gaza Strip for the second day in a row, according to Palestinian security sources. Israeli army said in a press statement that it has began targeting Islamic Jihad posts in Gaza. (Photo by Xinhua/ via Getty Images)

Rocket fired toward Israel amid coronavirus outbreak in Gaza

Hamas weighs escalating confrontation with Israel as COVID-19 cases grow.

HEBRON, March 22, 2020 -- Palestinian workers try to enter Israel through a checkpoint between the West Bank city of Hebron and Beersheva, March 22, 2020. The Israeli authorities announced late on Saturday that all crossings to and from Israel will be closed to limit the spread of COVID-19. A total of 53 Palestinians have been infected with the virus since March 5, and 17 of them have recovered, the health ministry in the West Bank said earlier Saturday. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/xio

Palestinian workers in Israel face more restrictions amid coronavirus outbreak

The Palestinian government in the West Bank has escalated its precautionary measures on Palestinian workers returning from Israel in order to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

Palestinian artists paint protective face masks to encourage people to wear them as a precaution against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Gaza City March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC2DUF9EIP84

Israel suggests strings be attached to coronavirus aid for Gaza

Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has urged that any aid to Gaza for the COVID-19 pandemic be linked to the recovery of soldiers' remains.

Israeli health minister urges quarantine on ultra-Orthodox city

Israel's Heath Ministry has urged Netanyahu to call for a lockdown in an ultra-Orthodox city overwhelmed by COVID-19.

What can we learn from the left's disappointment in Gantz?

The left-wing camp is disappointed after perceiving Blue and White leader Benny Gantz as a 2020 model of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MARCH 31: Israeli police troops detain an Ultra Orthodox Jewish man as they enforce a partial Coronavirus lockdown in the Mea Shearim nighborhood on March 31, 2020 in Jerusalem, Israel. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to many countries across the world, claiming over 30,000 lives and infecting hundreds of thousands more. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Ultra-Orthodox in Israel hit hard by coronavirus

Ahead of Passover, and with the coronavirus spreading in Israel, the ultra-Orthodox are instructed to avoid family gatherings and praying in groups.

Negotiations stall on Israeli unity government

Talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White head Benny Gantz on an emergency government have hit an impasse over the Likud's priority of annexing the West Bank.

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - MARCH 15: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY â MANDATORY CREDIT - "PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTRY / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh (C) and Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al-Kaileh (L) hold a press conference regarding measures taken against coronavirus (COVID-19), on March 15, 2020 in Ramallah, West Bank. (Photo by Palestinian Prime Ministry / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Despite Israeli help to contain virus, Palestinian PM spreads conspiracies

Even as Israel and the Palestinian Authority are cooperating to prevent both the spread of the coronavirus and an economic crisis in the Palestinian territories, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh is promoting conspiracy theories against Israel.

East Jerusalem medical community braces for spike in coronavirus cases

East Jerusalem hospitals are preparing for the potential of overcrowding if the mitigation efforts to restrict coronavirus patients fails to lower those affected.

Palestinian government tells workers in Israel to come home

The Palestinian government has asked workers in Israel to return in light of the spread of the coronavirus in Israel and the mistreatment of Palestinian workers.