Gaza

Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

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

FIFA signed a deal on Thursday that marks the global soccer association's most significant postwar intervention in the Middle East yet.

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.

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

The Board of Peace is touting new aid and military commitments, but will they make a difference if Hamas still holds the guns in Gaza?

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.

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

As the board meets for the first time, questions hang over Gaza’s ceasefire, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

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.

Interview

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

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Al-Monitor in an interview that the 2025 strike on Iranian nuclear sites was only a preview of what the US military is capable of.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel concerned Iran trying to buy time but sees US strikes as still possible

Robin MILLARD / AFP via Getty Images

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

Saudi-UAE rift complicates Israel's counter-Iran efforts, normalization

This photograph taken on Jan. 20, 2026, organized by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, shows Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in the city of Mukalla in Yemen's coastal southern Hadhramaut province.

Analysis

Why Trump is betting on military leaders for Iran negotiations

Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, (C) Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), (L) and Jared Kushner listen as US Vice President JD Vance speaks.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Analysis

Fearing Iran deal, Netanyahu races to US to sway Trump, sidestep Witkoff

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 29: U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump (R) as U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (2L) and Kathryn Burgum (2R) look on in the Oval Office at the White House on January 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to coordinate a federal government response to drug addiction. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

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

Defense Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh (L) called on Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz (R).

With new pact, Israel and India boost defense ties, eye $905M aircraft deal: What to know

The new defense pact and potential defense deal come as Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visits Delhi this week.

Members of the Red Cross stand amid the rubble of destroyed buildings as heavy machinery operates in the al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City on Oct. 27, 2025.

Interview

International Red Cross chief says Gaza conflict goes beyond anything he has ever seen

Speaking to a select group of reporters in Manama, the ICRC chief detailed the dire conditions in Gaza and the enclave's urgent humanitarian needs.

Pierre Krahenbuhl

Pierre Krahenbuhl

Director-General of the International Committee

pose for a family photo during a meeting of foreign ministers from Muslim countries to discuss the Gaza peace plan, in Istanbul, on Nov. 3, 2025.

Turkey's Fidan says Hamas 'ready' to cede Gaza control amid Trump’s ceasefire push

The message was conveyed to the Turkish side during talks between Ankara and the militant group, a source told Al-Monitor.

(Front L-R) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, US President Donald Trump, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and other leaders pose for a family picture at the Gaza summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on Oct. 13, 2025.

Analysis

Wary of Gaza instability, Arab states balk at troop deployment, financing

As Gaza’s ceasefire enters its next phase, Washington’s postwar plan faces growing regional skepticism.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on Oct. 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.

US energy secretary scraps visit after Israel puts $35B Egypt gas deal on hold

Despite US pressure, Energy Minister Eli Cohen refuses to approve a $35 billion gas deal with Egypt until "a fair price for the Israeli market" is secured.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by his Chief-of-Staff, Tzachi Braverman, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, ISA Director David Zini, his Military Secretary Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman, the Head of IDF Coordination Command, Maj.-Gen. Yaki Dolf, and senior IDF officials.

Analysis

As CENTCOM sets up in southern Israel, fears grow of expanding US influence

CENTCOM's establishment of the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel has given Washington unprecedented control over Israeli actions in Gaza.

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

A boy reacts sitting amid the rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Oct. 29, 2025.

Israel renews Gaza ceasefire after airstrikes kill over 100 Palestinians

After a night of aerial strikes in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the killing of an Israeli soldier in Rafah, the Israeli military announced the resumption of the Gaza ceasefire.

Hamas militants carry a body retrieved from a tunnel in an area north of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 28, 2025.

Live Updates

Netanyahu orders 'powerful' strike in Gaza after Hamas attack in Rafah

Earlier in the day, Hamas militants fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military force that was conducting engineering work in the Rafah area, which remains under Israeli control.

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Despite uptick in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, both sides reluctant for war

Even as Israel's strikes on Hezbollah fuel speculation about a return to war, Israeli officials say the ceasefire in Lebanon will hold.

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

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JULY 18: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine attends a meeting between Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz at the Pentagon on July 18, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. This is Katz's first official visit to the United States and the counterparts will discuss shared defense priorities, including Iran’s threat posture and the ongoing war in Gaza. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Pentagon’s top general to visit Gaza monitoring center in Israel

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine is expected to head to Israel with plans to meet top US and allied military officials involved in postwar efforts to stabilize Gaza.

Alaà Al-Shawa’s “Fragile Masks,” a double portrait of restitched faces, highlights the young artist's quest for survival. (Photo: Nazlan Ertan)

Culture

Gaza artists' unorthodox biennial finds a home in Istanbul

The Gaza Biennale — Istanbul Pavillion, themed “A Cloud in My Hand,” reflects Gaza artists’ quest for survival as well as their hopes for a postconflict homeland.

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus on June 4, 2025.

Feature

Inside Congress' battle to repeal Syria's Caesar sanctions

Five months after President Trump pledged to lift sanctions on Syria, the harshest penalties remain on the books.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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