Gaza

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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.

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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

The al-Ruya Tower in Gaza City's Rimal area collapses amidst smoke after Israeli bombardment, on September 8, 2025, following Israel's announcement that it would target tall buildings identified as being used by Hamas ahead of its forces' planned conquest of the urban hub. Israel has been warning for weeks of a new assault on the territory's largest city, without issuing a timeline. It has stepped up air strikes and ground operations on the city's outskirts, sparking fears it could worsen already dire condi

Hamas faces red line in Trump's take-it-or-leave-it Gaza plan

The clock is ticking for Hamas to respond to a deal that would require its disarmament in exchange for an end to the war.

Against erasures

Culture

London photography exhibition documents daily life in wartorn Gaza

“Against Erasure - Photographs from Gaza,” currently on view in London, brings together the striking work of 11 photographers from Gaza.

A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 aircraft lands at Barcelona's 'El Prat' airport on September 28, 2018

Ryanair scraps Tel Aviv return amid airport dispute, regional instability

The Irish low-cost carrier said Tuesday it would not restart winter flights to Israel, scrapping some 22 routes to and from Tel Aviv and around 1 million seats.

Activists and human rights defenders ride aboard a vessel departing from Tunisia's northern port of Bizerte on Sept. 14, 2025.

Turkey vows to support Gaza-bound flotilla, defying Israeli warnings

The Turkish Defense Ministry said its navy vessels and rescue units in the Eastern Mediterranean were monitoring the flotilla and would provide search-and-rescue support if needed.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Analysis

Trump offers Netanyahu cover as Israel's far right recoils at Gaza peace plan

The latest peace plan for Gaza offers something previous ones lacked: a way for the Israeli prime minister to save face.

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

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Trump says Netanyahu has agreed to deal to end Gaza war

Hamas has not responded to the peace plan, which would require the group to disarm and release the remaining hostages.

ELEFTHERIOS ELIS/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey evacuates passengers as Gaza aid flotilla vessel malfunctions

Ankara has yet to publicly pledge direct support for the flotilla’s mission amid Israeli warnings despite increasing calls from Turkish activists and pro-Palestinian opposition parties.

Palestinians walk with bags of humanitarian aid they received at a distribution centre run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), at the so-called "Netzarim corridor", in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, on Sept. 26, 2025.

Israel tightens grip on Gaza City ahead of Trump-Netanyahu talks

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to meet President Donald Trump at the White House, Israeli forces are advancing slowly on the outskirts of Gaza City in an ongoing operation to seize the area.

Tents sheltering Palestinians from Gaza City displaced by the Israel-Hamas conflict are pitched by damaged buildings at the Qatari-built Hamad City residential complex, northwestern Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, Sept. 22, 2025.

Water 'more precious than gold': Palestinians fleeing Gaza City face perilous journey south

The Israeli ground invasion of Gaza City has caused massive waves of displacement and intensified struggles to survive with little or no water, shelter, food, or sanitation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (L) talks to US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025, in Washington.

Analysis

Netanyahu sidesteps Trump's Gaza plan at UN as US presses Israel to end war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet on Monday with President Donald Trump, where he will have to make decisions on whether to continue with the Gaza war or end it.

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

John Lamparski/Getty Images for Concordia Annual Summit

Interview

Qatar says 'ambitious' Gaza plan hinges on Trump applying Israel leverage

Qatari spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said security assurances are needed following the Israeli strike on Qatari soil, adding that Israel’s “unhinged” prime minister must “be put on a leash.”

Majed al-Ansari

Qatar Foreign Ministry Spokesperson

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 26, 2025 in New York City.

Won’t shove it 'down our throats': Netanyahu blasts Palestine recognition in UN speech

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the leaders of countries that recognized Palestine of playing into Hamas’ hands.