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May 18, 2026

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President Donald Trump speaks in front of the American flag to the press as he departs the White House on May 12, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Trump’s Gaza plan stalls as Hamas resists disarmament

The militant group appears to be stalling as the mediators push it to accept a US-backed disarmament proposal.

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's accusations of systematic sexual abuse and rape of Palestinian prisoners, calling the claims a "blood libel."

Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

European foreign ministers have agreed to sanction extremist West Bank settlers, but are still discussing the list of names.

Latest News

Feature

Gazans show cautious hope ahead of first local elections in 20 years

An elections employee tapes a poster with instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Rasha Abou Jalal

By Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Analysis

On eve of Palestinian local elections, competition in short supply

Women read instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Olmert

Ehud Olmert

Ehud Olmert

Former Israeli prime minister

Meloni suspends Italy's military cooperation agreement with Israel

Meloni

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

US President Joe Biden holds a press conference following a solidarity visit to Israel, on October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of people, both Israeli and Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip, entered southern Israel in a surprise attack leading Israel to declare war on Hamas in Gaza on October 8. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BREN

Al-Monitor/Premise poll: 82% of Americans wary of US intervention in Israel-Hamas war

As the Israel-Hamas war rages on and threatens to spill into a wider regional conflict, Americans are either unsure of or reject a US military intervention in the region, according to a new Al-Monitor/Premise poll.

Jordan queen rues West's 'glaring double standard' on Gaza

Agence France-Presse

A Palestinian man uses a fire extinguisher to douse a fire following an Israeli strike, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 14, 2023, as fighting between Israel and the Hamas movement continues for the eighth consecutive day.

In a first, Blinken backs possible ‘humanitarian pause’ in Gaza

Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comments come as the US is increasingly concerned that Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip could fuel a broader regional conflict.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and UAE's President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed meet on Oct. 24, 2023.

Turkey's Fidan travels to UAE, Qatar, seeks mediation on Israel-Hamas war

The top Turkish diplomat, who met with the Emirati leaders in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, is set to travel to Qatar, where Hamas' political bureau is based.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Day 18 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 24

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Day 17 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 23

Palestinian emergency services and local citizens search for victims in buildings destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on October 22, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Gazans are evacuating to the south as advised by the Israeli government, ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive. Israel has sealed off Gaza, leaving the entire population without fuel, water or aid, and launched sustained retaliatory air strikes, which have killed more than 2,000 people and some 400,000 displaced, afte

Day 16 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 22

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Hamas political leader Ismael Hanniyeh in Istanbul in February 1, 2023

Analysis

Eying Gaza mediator role, Turkey cools Hamas ties, Erdogan restrains rhetoric

Ankara has politely shown the door to Hamas leaders staying in Turkey, according to two sources, as it walks a diplomatic tightrope, careful not to jeopardize its recent thaw with Israel while maintaining support for the Palestinian cause.

Fehim Tastekin

By Fehim Tastekin

In Paris, reporting on Turkish politics

SOUTHERN ISRAEL - OCTOBER 21: An IDF soldier jumps off the front of a tank on October 21, 2023 in Southern Israel. Today marks two weeks since the kibbutzim and communities around the Gaza border, as well as the Super Nova party a were attacked by Hamas militants. As Israel prepares to invade the Gaza Strip in its campaign to vanquish Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that launched a deadly attack in southern Israel on October 7th, worries are growing of a wider war with multiple fronts, including at th

Day 15 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 21

A woman draped in a Palestinian flag prepares to hurl stones toward Israeli forces during clashes with them at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah near the Israeli settlement of Beit El on October 20, 2023, as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

West Bank on verge of explosion as Israel-Hamas war rages into week 3

The West Bank was tense even before the Hamas-Israel war amid the emergence of armed groups and almost daily Israeli raids in Palestinian cities and towns.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gathers his notes after speaking during a press conference in Tel Aviv, on October 17, 2023, after an overnight meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. US President Joe Biden will pay a solidarity visit to Israel on October 18, 2023 following the Hamas attacks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced October 17, 2023. US President Joe Biden will travel from Israel to Amman on October 18, 2023 for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, Egyptian Pr

Exclusive

Amid Israel-Gaza tensions, Blinken holds 'listening' meetings with Muslim and Jewish staffers

The meetings follow the departure of a State Department official who quit in protest over the administration's support for Israel's deadly airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Protesters, some wearing a Keffiyeh, take part in a demonstration against Israel in Istanbul on October 20, 2023, after Turkey declared a three-day national mourning in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Israelis and Palestinians have traded blame for a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital this week, with the number of deaths given ranging from dozens to nearly 500. World leaders have condemned the strike and protests have erupted in Arab countries and the wider Muslim world amid stark disagreement over th

Turkey's Gaza protests continue as Erdogan warns Israel against ground invasion

The Turkish president warned Israel against expanding Gaza operations as Israeli diplomats left Turkey amid ongoing demonstrations over the conflict in the territory.