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Palestine

March 20, 2026

Al Bīrah 12:27 pm

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Displaced Palestinians gather for a fast-breaking Iftar meal amid the rubble of destroyed buildings at the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, Feb. 23, 2026.

Analysis

Hamas sits out Iran war as Gaza, Gulf interests take priority

Hamas has so far stayed out of the escalating Iran war, despite its longstanding alliance with Tehran, reflecting a cautious strategic calculation.

Abeer Ayyoub

By Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a United Nations Summit on Palestinians at UN headquarters during the United Nations General Assembly, New York, Sept. 22, 2025.

Spain recalls Israel ambassador, calls Iran war 'flagrant illegality': What to know

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the US-Israel war in Iran a "flagrant illegality.”

People walk through a heavily damaged street in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 12, 2025.

'No meaningful protection': Israel’s new Gaza aid rules raise data, security risks

The guidelines expand Israeli authority to deny NGO registration in the Palestinian territories and visas for foreign aid workers as Gaza continues to reel from two years of war.

ANKARA, TURKEY - JANUARY 21: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to MPs at his party's group meeting in the Turkish parliament on January 21, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is among world leaders that have been invited by United States President Donald Trump, to join the Gaza Board of Peace, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was also included as an appointed member. (Photo by Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Turkey’s exclusion from Gaza force may be a strategic blessing

Despite being excluded from Gaza’s international stabilization force, Ankara will likely leverage its ties with Hamas to maintain influence within the Trump administration’s Board of Peace.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

How did FIFA become part of Trump’s Gaza reconstruction effort?

Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

Billions pledged, but Hamas' grip clouds Trump’s Gaza plan

US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R), joins leaders for a group photo during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 19, 2026.

Trump touts pledges of troops, billions for Gaza at Board of Peace summit

US President Donald Trump attends the inaugural meeting of the "Board of Peace" at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Feb. 19, 2026.

Interview

Huckabee confirms US-Israel alignment on Iran, says Hamas will disarm 'sooner or later'

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, March 25, 2025.

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Daoud Kuttab

Palestine Columnist

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Fatima AbdulKarim

In Ramallah, reporting on the West Bank

People rush to landing humanitarian aid packages dropped over the northern Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

US military begins construction on humanitarian aid pier off Gaza

Mortar shells rained down on a section of Gaza’s coast on Thursday, underscoring the risks inherent in the Pentagon’s plan to rely on the Israeli military to provide security for humanitarian pier as the US seeks to stave off famine.

Rubble from bombing in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israel has repeatedly threatened to send in ground troops

Israel says 'moving ahead' with Rafah operation in Gaza

Agence France-Presse

Humanitarian aid is dropped on the Gaza Strip, west of Gaza City, on March 25, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas, with the background showing Israel's Rutenberg power station near Ashkelon.

US says Israel boosted Gaza aid flow after convoy strike, but more is needed

US envoy David Satterfield said the volume of assistance reaching Gaza is "significantly greater" than it was, but issues remain with aid distribution.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan salute the lawmakers of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party at the parliament in Ankara, Jan. 3, 2012.

Analysis

As Qatar’s frustrations grow, can Turkey lead Gaza diplomacy between Hamas, Israel?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has always kept the long game in mind in his approach to Gaza and Hamas.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Akef al-Masry Commissioner-General of the Supreme Authority for Palestinian Tribes in the Gaza Strip during a press conference in Cairo in July 2017.

Gaza tribal leader: 'We will not be substitute' for Hamas or Fatah in Strip

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Akef al-Masry, head of the Supreme Authority for Palestinian Tribes in the Gaza Strip, speaks about the history of Gaza's clans and the desire for national unity.

The United Nations Security Council meets on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City on April 18, 2024. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday painted a dark picture of the situation in the Middle East, warning that spiraling tensions over the war in Gaza and Iran's attack on Israel could devolve into a "full-scale regional conflict." (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

US vetoes Palestinian membership at United Nations

The resolution to grant the Palestinians full UN membership received support from a majority of the council but failed to pass after a US veto.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 13: U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a news conference calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the U.S. Capitol building on November 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. House Democrats held the news conference alongside rabbis with the activist group Jewish Voices for Peace. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Ilhan Omar’s daughter suspended from Columbia University over Gaza protests

The suspension from the university’s sister institution was in relation to an on-campus encampment in solidarity with Gaza, Isra Hirsi said on X, and follows a House panel on antisemitism at the school.

Qatar 'reevaluating' Hamas-Israel mediation role amid mounting criticism

Qatar, alongside the US and Egypt, has mediated talks between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages taken in the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack.

Ismail Haniyeh.

Hamas' Haniyeh to visit Turkey as Erdogan hits back at Gaza criticism

The Turkish president dials up his defensive tone in response to domestic criticism over the Gaza war.

VICTORIA VALDIVIA/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Starbucks pledges $3M to World Central Kitchen for Gaza meals

The coffee giant has announced a large donation to the aid group World Central Kitchen, which lost seven of its staff members earlier this month in an Israeli airstrike.

Black smoke billows amid clashes as Israeli forces raid the al-Faraa camp for Palestinian refugees near Tubas city in the occupied West Bank on Jan. 13, 2024.

West Bank at boiling point as Palestinians take up arms against settlers

Armed attacks against settlers in the West Bank escalated as the Israeli army and settlers stepped up daily attacks against Palestinians.

Abu Ubaida (C), spokesman of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

US unveils sanctions on Hamas spokesperson Abu Ubaida

The US Treasury Department also targeted Hamas members linked to the group’s cyber and drone operations in Lebanon and Gaza.