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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 30, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:59 am

23°C

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Jarjoua, southern Lebanon, on May 13, 2026.

Lebanon and Israel hold military talks at Pentagon despite Israeli offensive: What to know

A renewed Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon aims to extract concessions from Beirut in US-brokered diplomatic talks, but Lebanese military officials say there is no path forward until Israel halts its attacks and returns to the April ceasefire.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Alternate crop) U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. The two leaders are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting to discuss regional security in the Middle East as well as the U.S.-Israel partnership. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Exclusive

Trump 'hit the brakes': Netanyahu's circle faults US president for failed Iran regime change, looming deal

With regime in Iran still standing and a possible US-Iran agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands to pay the ultimate political price as elections near in Israel.

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

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Israel strikes Lebanon's capital Beirut for first time in 3 weeks: What to know

According to Israeli media, Ali al-Husseini, the commander of the missile unit in the Imam Hussein Division, a brigade affiliated with Iran’s Quds Force that operates alongside Hezbollah, was the target of the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Hungary’s parliament voted to remain in the International Criminal Court, reversing a planned withdrawal and marking a shift in Budapest’s approach to Israel and the EU.

Latest News

Who was Mohammed Odeh, Hamas military commander killed by Israel in Gaza?

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

'Very bad news’: Israel alarmed as Trump pushes ahead toward Iran deal

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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

Israel strikes near Lebanon’s Qaraoun dam as war intensifies: What to know

A partial view shows a drainage vacuum hole on the lake of Qaraoun in Lebanon's southern Beqaa Valley on April 5, 2019.

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

Can Meretz Party change Israeli left?

With Labor head Avi Gabbay veering to the right, Meretz faces both handicaps and opportunities leading the center-left political bloc.

Why Israel's ultra-Orthodox mainstream worries about its image

Leaders of the mainstream ultra-Orthodox community object to anti-draft demonstrations championed by an extreme ultra-Orthodox minority.

Are Netanyahu, Liberman pushing Israel to war?

Instead of Israel’s traditional discrete approach on retaliating fire from the north, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman are multiplying their provocative declarations.

Knife fight at the Knesset

President Reuven Rivlin dispensed with tradition in lamenting the loss of tradition in Israeli politics, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opted for an unstately tone at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session.

Why Netanyahu loses no sleep over European uproar

Though Israeli leftists may welcome eight European countries' demand that Israel repay them for destroyed and confiscated aid for Palestinians, they may be playing right into the prime minister's hands.

Can animated film sensitize Israelis to suffering in Gaza?

A human rights organization has produced a short animated film about a girl in a candy factory to explain the conditions in Gaza caused by the blockade.

Israel, US coordinated on settlement construction

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to be able to walk between the raindrops by approving hundreds of new housing units in the West Bank without upsetting the Americans.

Can Netanyahu say 'no' to Trump?

Israeli right-wing ministers forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject a Palestinian reconciliation, even though the Trump administration is determined to support it.

Where is Israel's left heading?

Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On and Labor chief Avi Gabbay are well-aware that the left camp is shrinking and are each taking actions in an attempt to change this.

Egypt key to Palestinian reconciliation

The future of Palestinian reconciliation depends more on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi than it does on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas or Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Past meets future at Jerusalem's Tower of David

The Digital Innovation Lab at the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem aims to use augmented reality to create an enhanced visitor’s experience.

Is Jordan planning major change in Red Sea-Dead Sea project?

Amid rumors that Jordan is freezing out Israel and the Palestinian Authority with regard to the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project, officials remained silent.