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Israel

June 30, 2025

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Jordanian fans cheer for their team during the FIBA Basketball World Cup group C match between Jordan and New Zealand at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, suburban Manila on August 28, 2023. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP) (Photo by TED ALJIBE/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan refuses to play Israel in FIBA Basketball World Cup: What to know

Amid Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, an international backlash is affecting the country’s participation in global sports competitions.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House.

Analysis

With Iran in decline, can Israel and Turkey align on Syria deconfliction?

Much has yet to be resolved in the deconfliction talks between Turkey and Israel over Syria, but analysts and former officials say Ankara holds more cards, especially amid US President Donald Trump’s push to engage with Syria’s new leadership.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Comeback kid: Will Netanyahu ride Iran war boost to new elections?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is well positioned to leverage the military operation against Iran and its US support to win back many Israeli voters.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin arrives to attend a church service for former French President Jacques Chirac at the Saint-Sulpice church in Paris on September 30, 2019. - Former French President Jacques Chirac died on September 26, 2019 at the age of 86.

Interview

Former French PM says Trump has ‘immense opportunity’ in Mideast

Dominique de Villepin, who recently announced a new political party, says in an exclusive written interview with Al-Monitor that France has a vital role to play in promoting regional cooperation.

Dominique de Villepin

Dominique de Villepin

Former French prime minister

Latest News

Analysis

How Trump’s call to end Netanyahu’s trial is linked to broader Gaza deal

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 4, 2025.

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

At least 4 Palestinians killed in West Bank as Israeli settler violence rises: What to know

Palestinian Fawzya Ishreiteh clears burnt belongings in the living and kitchen area of her family house after a reported attack overnight by Israelis from a nearby settlement, in Susya south of Hebron city in the occupied West Bank on June 25, 2025. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared since the start of the Gaza war in 2023. The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under internatio

US envoy in Saudi Arabia to coordinate Syria support amid Abraham Accords push

A billboard by the Coalition for Regional Security, with the Hebrew slogan which reads "A time for war, a time for settlement; now is the time for the 'Abrahamic Covenant,'" is displayed in Tel Aviv on June 26, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

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

Rina Bassist

Associate Editor (Israel)

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

The aircraft of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks his aircraft as he arrives at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, on June 10, 2024.

Blinken returns to Middle East in high-stakes push for Gaza cease-fire

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the region to push for a cease-fire as the UN Security Council was set to vote on a US-drafted resolution supporting the deal.

Ofir Tamir shows a placard of Noa Argamani during a press conference with other relatives of hostages said to be held in Gaza, at the Danish Parliament Christiansborg in Copenhagen, Denmark on October 30, 2023, during a meeting organized by 'The Missing Hostages Family Forum' and politician Rasmus Stoklund from the Social Democrats. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an

Israel rescues four hostages from Gaza, at least 100 Palestinians killed

Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv had been "rescued … from two separate locations in the heart of Nuseirat" in Gaza.

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' political chief in Gaza, speaks during a rally organised by the representatives of prominent families (mokhtar) in support of "the Palestinian resistence" in Gaza City, on June 20, 2021.

Analysis

Pressure builds on Netanyahu, Sinwar for Gaza cease-fire

Pressure is escalating on the Israeli premier, who wants to avoid a decision on peace deal and stay in power, yet recent statements by the Hamas leader are giving him space.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) addresses the media prior to a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at the Czernin Palace, in Prague, Czech Republic, on May 31, 2024.

Blinken to return to Middle East in diplomatic blitz to end Gaza war

Washington's top diplomat heads to Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar next week as the Biden administration pressures Hamas and Israel to agree to a last-ditch cease-fire proposal to end the war and defuse a volatile border escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

TOPSHOT - A picture shows a Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system launching to intercept rockets being fired from Lebanon, next to the northern Israel city of Kiryat Shmona, near the near the Lebanon border on May 10, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel mulls 3 options against Lebanon's Hezbollah, including full-scale war

The Biden administration is pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid war with Hezbollah and strive for an agreement.

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

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Analysis

Why Gantz's possible exit from Israeli government is not end for Netanyahu

Benny Gantz walking out of Israel's war cabinet would shake things up but not force Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into early elections.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration calling for a hostages deal with Hamas and against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government on June 1, 2024, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Cautious optimism in Gaza, Israel as US makes last-ditch cease-fire push

As the United States presses for a cease-fire, Al-Monitor spoke with two Americans — one displaced in Gaza and another whose uncle is being held hostage there — about the deal on the table.

Israeli soldiers mount a weapon atop a tank as troops gather at a position in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on November 7, 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel as fighting continues in the south with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli military 'set and ready' if attack ordered against Lebanon's Hezbollah

The Israeli military has finished preparations for the government's orders to respond to Hezbollah's drone and rocket fire with an all-out attack.

Palestinians Hamas militants wearing headbands reading in Arabic "the Lion's Den", in reference to the Nablus based Lion's Den armed group, march in support of the group in Gaza City on Dec. 10, 2022.

US sanctions Palestinian Lion's Den armed group in West Bank

The group emerged in 2022 amid an uptick of violence between Palestinians and settlers in Nablus

This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on May 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel threatens 'intense operation' near Lebanon as Qatar hosts Gaza talks

Israel’s war cabinet is set to convene Thursday evening to discuss the escalation in the north with Hezbollah.

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during a press conference at the San Carlos Palace in Bogota, on April 25, 2024.

House passes ICC sanctions bill, setting up showdown for Biden and Democrats

After passing the House with bipartisan support, the bill responding to a requested arrest warrant for Netanyahu now heads to the Senate.

fire

Israeli war cabinet calls Lebanon meeting as Hezbollah tension spikes

Israel's war cabinet is set to convene to discuss the escalation of violence on the border with Lebanon.