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January 29, 2026

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As phase 2 looms, Netanyahu insists no Turkish or Qatari troops in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Tuesday address that his country would not completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip under the next phase of the ceasefire, which the Trump administration is pushing to advance.

Truck carrying aid enters Gaza through the border crossing on Oct. 12, 2025, in Rafah, Egypt.

Israel recovers final Gaza hostage, Rafah crossing set to reopen: What to know

The Rafah crossing is expected to allow Palestinians to exit and reenter the Gaza Strip, primarily for those seeking medical treatment.

An Oscar statue at the red carpet at the 96th Annual Academy Awards, Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, March 9, 2024.

Culture

'Gesture of resistance': Gaza war and Iran repression in Oscars spotlight

This year’s Oscars nominations include Middle Eastern films whose themes of war, government violence and protest have shone a spotlight on politics at home.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Analysis

Under fire at home over Board of Peace, Netanyahu hints Trump could OK Gaza war restart

According to diplomatic sources, Netanyahu believes that at some point Israel will receive a green light from the Trump administration to resume fighting in Gaza, though his coalition partners do not seem reassured.

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

Latest News

Egypt's economy can weather more Red Sea attacks, says finance minister

Ships sail along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia on April 16, 2025.

Analysis

Trump's Board of Peace faces first test: Disarming Hamas

Palestinian Hamas militants secure the area as Egyptian workers, accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Putin offers $1B in frozen assets for Gaza Board of Peace — will US unfreeze them?

Ramil Sitdikov / AFP via Getty Images

Herzog: Saudi normalization talks could resume as Gaza ceasefire enters next phase

Israel's President Isaac Herzog gestures as he speaks during the World Economic Forum annual meeting, Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2026.

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

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 07: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on March 07, 2024 in Washington, DC. This is Biden’s last State of the Union address before the general election this coming November. Biden was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA). (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

‘Not a bargaining chip’: Biden confronts Israel on Gaza aid

In his last State of the Union address before the November elections, US President Joe Biden reiterated his administration's commitment to a two-state solution as "the only" settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with his Competition Council in the State Dining Room of the White House on March 5, 2024, in Washington.

With no cease-fire, Biden's State of the Union to tread carefully on Gaza

The annual State of the Union address will give President Joe Biden the chance to defend his handling of Gaza before the nation.

Palestinians transport bags of flour as humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza City on March 6, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group.

Biden to order military to set up Gaza port via Cyprus for humanitarian aid

The effort will take "a number of weeks to plan and execute," a senior administration official said, as health authorities in Gaza have begun reporting cases of death by starvation.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh stands next to a portrait of the Palestinian Authority's President Mahmud Abbas during a cabinet meeting in which he announced his government's resignation and called for "new political measures" in Ramallah on Feb. 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Internal Palestinian discussions heat up in wake of Moscow meeting

Internal Palestinian discussions are heating up as pressure mounts on Israel and Hamas to produce some sort of truce before the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a Palestinian journalist uses the mobile phone to broadcast live in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip, Dec. 27, 2023.

At least 103 journalists killed in Gaza war, 22 while on the job: RSF

The Israeli offensive in Gaza has left more than 100 Palestinian media workers dead since the war began five months ago.

In this handout photo provided by the Palestinian Press Office (PPO), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on January 12, 2015 in Ankara, Turkey (Photo by Thaer Ghanaim/PPO via Getty Images)

Abbas in Turkey: Gaza aid, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation on agenda with Erdogan

Analysts believe the pair also discussed post-cease-fire scenarios in Gaza.

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Edmund Pettus Bridge during an event to commemorate the 59th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Alabama

US vice president calls for 'immediate ceasefire' in Gaza

Agence France-Presse

A young boy carries the flag of Fatah as he walks past a mural painting of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, during a solidarity march with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27, 2023.

What we know about Palestinian talks in Russia seeking unity

The meeting, in which rival Palestinian factions endorsed unity under the PLO umbrella, follows the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and comes as Russia is seeking a diplomatic role in the war.

US President Joe Biden (R) and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni react to journalists shouting questions after each leader delivered prepared remarks during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House on March 1, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Breaking | Last Updated: March 2, 2024, 2:51 pm

Biden announces US airdrops of humanitarian aid to Gaza

The announcement comes as Biden faces withering criticism over the Israeli military's brutal campaign in Gaza, which has left a quarter of the population on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations.

Palestinian citizens inspect the effects of destruction caused by air strikes on their homes on Nov. 25, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

Gaza in numbers: 30,000 dead, 80% displaced, half million on brink of famine

As the war in Gaza enters its sixth month, Palestinians face violence at aid distribution points, with possibility of famine ‘almost inevitable,’ UN

Displaced Palestinians queue for food donations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Nov. 30, 2023.

US rushes for Gaza cease-fire as clock ticks toward Ramadan

Negotiators are working to secure a temporary cease-fire that would delay Israel’s planned offensive in Rafah and free some of the remaining hostages.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 29: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies during a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on February 29, 2024 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on “A Review of Defense Secretary Austin’s Unannounced Absence.” (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

US defense chief: Over 25,000 Palestinian women and children killed in Gaza

The Pentagon quickly walked back Austin’s comment. ‘We cannot independently verify these Gaza casualty figures,’ a US defense official said.