Gaza

Smoke rises as fire burns, in an alleged site of IRGC's missile launch targeted by Israel on the mountains of Shiraz, Iran on June 21, 2025. Israel attacked Iran in early hours of June 13, and the exchange of fire between the two countries continues ever since. (Photo by Hiroon / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by HIROON/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel likely to strike Iran in 2026, European diplomats say

Israel might opt to strike Iran again next year if it assesses that the Tehran-based government is resuming high-level uranium enrichment.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (C/L) welcomes President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at The Chigi Palace in Rome, on Feb. 24, 2025.

Meloni to attend GCC summit in Bahrain as Italy deepens Gulf ties

The summit is expected to focus on economic integration in the Gulf, but regional issues will likely loom just as large, including post-war Gaza and the conflict in Sudan.

A boy sits outside the entrance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in Gaza City, on Sept. 6, 2025.

Interview

UNRWA plans Turkey office to boost Gaza, Syria aid as pledges dip

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, UNRWA’s Tamara Alrifai said the upcoming Turkey office would help the agency to expand its operations not only in Gaza but also in Syria.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump (2R) is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) at Ben Gurion International Airport on October 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel. President Trump is visiting the country hours after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023, part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Analysis

A Trump bargain: Pardon Netanyahu in exchange for Israel-Syria security deal?

President Trump is less concerned with the outcome of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s graft trial than with pressuring him to finalize a security deal with Syria.

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

Latest News

Analysis

Trump’s Muslim Brotherhood move reignites Israel’s battle over Raam

Mansour Abbas, head of Israel's conservative Islamic Raam party, speaks to the press before casting his ballot at a polling station in the northern Israeli village of Maghar on November 1, 2022. - Israelis began voting in their fifth election in less than four years, with veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu campaigning for a comeback alongside far-right allies. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

As he stalls Gaza plan, will Netanyahu pick his far-right coalition over Trump?

JERUSALEM - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands and speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on the day of Trump's address on October 13, 2025 in Jerusalem. President Trump is visiting the country hours after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023, part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein - Pool/Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

As it prepares for Hezbollah’s retaliation, Israel anticipates limited fighting in Lebanon

Hezbollah

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

Interview

Can protests in Israel halt Netanyahu's second attempt at judicial overhaul?

Shikma Bressler, an Israeli physicist and one of the leaders of the protest against the government's judicial overhaul.

Displaced Palestinian children queue to get a portion of cooked food from a charity kitchen in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, ahead of the iftar fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 9, 2025. Israel's energy minister said on March 9 he had given instructions to stop supplying electricity to Gaza, a week after Israel blocked all aid into the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP) (Photo by OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza ceasefire in doubt as Israel tightens grip on aid

By squeezing Gaza’s civilian population, Israel hopes to pressure Hamas into extending the ceasefire on its terms.

US Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag-raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington.

Israel, US at odds over Trump envoy's 'one-off' talks with Hamas

US envoy Adam Boehler’s media blitz added to the tensions with Israel over the Trump administration’s willingness to engage with Hamas.

Haifa port

Turkey blocks Israel from NATO crisis response drill amid Gaza row: What to know

The diplomatic conflict between Turkey and Israel over the Gaza war has spilled over into NATO.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to hold a press conference in the East Room of the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 4, 2025.

Analysis

Secret US-Hamas talks shock Israel but will Netanyahu dare challenge Trump?

Israeli officials would have gladly done without the "help," but are staying out of Trump's way, seeing "no stability, no certainty, no way to predict anything."

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

Dahlan

Analysis

What’s behind Abbas’ amnesty gesture as Dahlan, others eye role in postwar Gaza?

The move relates to exiled rival Mohammed Dahlan and comes as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are pushing for reforms of the Palestinian Authority.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman walks to welcome France's President (not pictured) ahead of their meeting in Riyadh on December 2, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron touched down in Riyadh, the capital of the oil-rich Gulf kingdom, where he was due to hold talks with de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later on December 2, an AFP journalist said. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia's MBS throws support behind Arab plan, rejects displacement of Palestinians

Saudi affirmation of the Arab League plan would also see it stepping into a broader role in the development of Gaza vis-a-vis the commitment of funds, as Gulf states are seen as the primary financiers of reconstruction.

People watch on a big screen as Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, welcomes Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas ahead of an Arab League summit on Gaza on March 4, 2025.

Arab states back Egypt’s $53 billion Gaza plan, ‘technocratic’ administration

The plan, which additionally calls for the UN to consider sending peacekeepers to the Palestinian enclave, could face obstacles from Israel and Hamas.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends the extended format meeting of the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 23, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Live Updates

Arab summit adopts Egypt’s alternative plan to Trump’s Gaza takeover: What to know

Arab states adopted an Egyptian plan calling for a “technocratic" committee to administer the Gaza Strip under the umbrella of the Palestinian Authority as part of a broader two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hamas fighters gather at the site of the handing over of two Israeli hostages in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner release on February 22, 2025. Palestinian militants freed two Israeli hostages on February 22, among the last live captives eligible for release under the first phase of a fragile truce that is also expected to see Palestinian prisoners released. (Photo by Abood Abusalama / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by ABOOD ABUSALAMA/Middle

Analysis

With Trump losing interest, Israel likely to buy time, extend phase one of deal

As US envoy Steve Witkoff shifts focus to Russia and Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas deal faces mounting hurdles ahead of phase 2 this Saturday, making it more likely to extend current status-quo.

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

OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images

Gaza’s fragile calm teeters as Israel balks at full pullout

Israel and Hamas face a Saturday deadline to implement the next phase of the ceasefire, which includes the full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the release of the remaining hostages.

Truth Social. Photo collage created by Al-Monitor.

Trump’s AI Gaza video elicits mockery from Middle East social media users

The US president’s video depicting a future Gaza under American authority was widely shared on Arabic and Hebrew social media, with many Palestinian users criticizing it.

BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 24: Friedrich Merz, chancellor candidate of Germany’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU), arrives to a press conference sthe day after German parliamentary elections on February 24, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. The CDU/CSU won with 28.5% and will seek to form a government coalition. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Analysis

Pro-Israel, Turkey-friendly in Syria: How Merz's win in Germany affects Middle East

Germany’s chancellor-designate, Friedrich Merz, has called for more military support to Israel and criticized the current government over reduced arms exports to the country.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change