Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in a joint news conference with US President Donald Trump (not seen) in the State Dining Room at the White House on Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington.

Analysis

In 2025, Netanyahu saved his coalition but stalled on Gaza, Iran, Lebanon

With 2025 ending, Israelis are frustrated over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to fully end the Gaza war, solve the Hezbollah problem, reach a deal with Syria or find a way to constructively impact talks on the Iranian nuclear program.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US President Donald Trump speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2025.

Analysis

Trump has upper hand over Netanyahu, but is it enough for Gaza?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been stalling on the implementation of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, but at the end of the day, Trump has much more leverage over Netanyahu.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gestures as he speaks during an end-of-year press conference in the State Department Press Briefing Room in Washington, DC on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)

Rubio hints US could accept Hamas keeping small arms

The top US diplomat told Al-Monitor the focus of disarmament should be on the "weaponries or capabilities" that Hamas would need to threaten Israel.

A ship sails along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia, April 16, 2025.

Maersk resumes Red Sea passage after two-year halt amid easing Houthi threat

A ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas in October has prompted some shipping companies to consider resuming services, but security concerns persist.

Latest News

Facing Israeli pushback, Turkey recalibrates public messaging on Gaza force

Saeed Jaras / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

How Netanyahu ceded to Trump, agreed to Egypt's $35B gas deal

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi clasp hands as they speak to the press before their meeting on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. President Trump is in Egypt to meet with European and Middle Eastern leaders in what’s being billed as an international peace summit, following the start of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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

Qatar’s prime minister meets US officials as Gaza plan stalls

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) shakes hands with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the State Department in Washington, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Over 600 Israeli ex-security chiefs urge Trump to disarm Hamas, back PA in Gaza

President Donald Trump speaks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Oct. 13, 2025 in Jerusalem.

Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

Day 59 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 4

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) transits the Strait of Hormuz as an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Nightdippers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 lifts off from the flight deck November 19, 2019.

Day 58 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Dec. 3

Smoke rises from an explosion in Khan Yunis, Gaza, Dec. 2, 2023.

Day 57 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Dec. 2

People pass a pro-Palestinian mural on the Republican Falls Road in Belfast on October 23, 2023. Northern Ireland may be thousands of miles from the Middle East but signs of the current heightened conflict can be seen on the streets of the British province. Palestinian and Israeli flags flutter in pro-Irish and pro-UK neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland, tapping into its own history of conflict and division that still affects everyday life despite a 1998 peace deal that largely ended violence. (Photo by Paul

Analysis

Israel-Ireland relations take another dive over Gaza war, PM statements

Israel's Foreign Ministry has summoned Ireland's ambassador over Prime Minister Leo Varadkar saying that nine-year-old hostage Emily Hand was "lost and found" when she was freed from Hamas captivity.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Defense Department's budget request on Capitol Hill on June 17, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Interview

US senator calls for holding Israel accountable if it doesn’t limit civilian casualties

In an interview with Al-Monitor, US Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Democrat from Maryland, says Biden should go over Netanyahu’s head, speak directly to Israeli people about post-conflict vision.

Chris Van Hollen

Chris Van Hollen

US Senator from Maryland

TOPSHOT - A man walks past a section of Israel's separation barrier painted with a portrait of Palestinian Ahed Tamimi, on November 6, 2023 in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli army said on November 6 it had arrested the prominent 22-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi during a raid in the occupied West Bank. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Who are the main Palestinian prisoners released by Israel during Gaza truce?

A total of 71 women and 169 children were released from Israeli jails under a Hamas-Israel swap agreement that collapsed on Friday.

This picture taken from southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli tank crossing into the Palestinian enclave on December 1, 2023. A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas expired on December 1, with the Israeli army saying combat operations had resumed, accusing Hamas of violating the operational pause. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP) (Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Gaza truce collapses, what red lines did US draw to Israel on next steps?

The Israeli government and the Biden administration at odds over tactics for renewed fighting and Gaza's future

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

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

Day 56 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 1

Blinken Israel

Israel needs 'clear plan' to protect Gaza civilians, Blinken says

The top US diplomat said Israel must take steps to protect civilians in southern Gaza once the fighting resumes, including creating safe zones.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Yossi Beilin (L) after meeting in Gaza City 06 September 1999.

Yossi Beilin, Israel’s Oslo architect: Gaza war shattered Netanyahu’s hopes for Arab normalization

Former politician and architect of the Oslo Accords Yossi Beilin says that the only feasible solution for future governance of Gaza would be an international consortium led by the United Nations or the Arab League.

Newly release Israeli hostages sit among soldiers as they arrive inside a vehicle at Ofakim army base in southern Israel early on Nov. 30, 2023, after being freed from the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

American among hostages freed on 6th day of Gaza truce

Hamas released 16 hostages, including dual Israeli-American citizen Liat Beinin Atzili, as talks continued over extending the truce.

Senate Democrats

Breaking | Last Updated: November 30, 2023, 10:34 am

Democrats split on conditioning Israel aid ahead of war’s next phase

Some Senate Democrats have floated conditions on Israel's future military assistance after President Joe Biden said attaching strings was a "worthwhile thought."