Gaza

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Eyeing Turkey, Netanyahu boosts Greece, Cyprus ties ahead of US visit

Worried about the increasing empowerment of Turkey across the Middle East, Israel is making a show of neighborhood strength with Greece and Cyprus.

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

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.

Latest News

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

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

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.

Yemen Houthi

Analysis

Yemen’s peace process imperiled as Houthis target Israel

Experts say the attacks are designed to increase the Houthis’ standing domestically, and to potentially increase their leverage in talks with Saudi Arabia.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Analysis

What we know about Israel-Hamas cease-fire as Mossad chief visits Qatar

The parties involved hope that the upcoming four-day cease-fire will be expanded to include more hostages and more humanitarian assistance.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Israeli soldiers wait in their vehicle in an area in Southern Israel near the Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023 amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Israel's hostage deal with Hamas is not a permanent cease-fire

The negotiations that led to the deal for the expected release of 50 Israeli hostages, however excruciating, do not mean that Israel has given up on toppling Hamas in Gaza.

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

Forlorn Israeli soldier, hostages

Day 47 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 22

A woman holds portraits of hostages Erez Kalderon, 12, and of children of the Goldstein Almog family as protesters rally outside the UNICEF offices to demand the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack Oct. 7, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian armed group, Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 20, 2023.

Breaking | Last Updated: November 22, 2023, 9:02 am

Israel and Hamas reach deal to free 50 hostages in Gaza

Under the Qatari-mediated agreement, Hamas is expected to release 50 women and children, including three Americans, during a days-long pause in the fighting.

TOPSHOT - France's President Emmanuel Macron greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he arrives at presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, on June 16, 2023. French President Emmanuel Macron hosts Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris, seeking to nudge the de-facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom into more full-throated support of Ukraine against the Russian invasion. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

What Saudi crown prince's call to stop weapons exports means for Israel

The crown prince’s comments come amid persistent opposition to Israel’s strikes against Hamas in Gaza in the Arab world.

US Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein (R) arrives at the government palace for his meeting with Lebanon's caretaker prime minister in Beirut on August 30 2023. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

What does US envoy Hochstein’s trip to Israel mean for Gaza’s offshore gas?

Gaza’s offshore gas field could provide revenue to the Palestinians, but the estimated amount of gas in the area is relatively small.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

The new US Ambassador to Turkey David M. Satterfield (L) leaves after a wreath-laying ceremony at the Mausoleum of the Turkish Republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Anitkabir), in Ankara, on Sept. 4, 2019.

US envoy says Israel to implement deconfliction mechanism for Gaza aid workers

US special envoy David Satterfield told Al-Monitor that a deconfliction mechanism would take effect shortly in Gaza, where Israel's military campaign has killed more than 100 United Nations staff.

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in north Gaza on November 22, 2023

Day 46 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 21

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with the leaders of France's Freemason organisations during the 250th anniversary of the Grand Orient of France in Paris, on November 8, 2023. (Photo by Thibault Camus / POOL / AFP) (Photo by THIBAULT CAMUS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

After angering Israel, Macron recalibrates strategy in Gaza war

French President Emmanuel Macron received former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Paris today as Elysee grows more concerned about the Lebanon front.

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 06: Flowers and candles are placed among pictures of journalists at a vigil in lower Manhattan on November 6, 2023 in New York City. The vigil is held to remember and celebrate the lives of journalists killed in recent fighting in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon. Since Hamas launched its attack against Israel on October 7 and Israel began a prolonged attack on the militant Palestinian group, at least 37 journalists and media workers are counted among an estimated 11,000 killed. (Photo by Sp

At least 48 journalists killed in Gaza war, 43 Palestinians, deadliest since 1992

Dozens of journalists and media workers have been killed in the region since the Hamas-Israel war erupted more than a month ago.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein talks to the press during a EU-Iraq Cooperation Council, at the European Council Building in Brussels on March 19, 2023.

Iraqi FM says unless US stops Israel, conflict in Gaza will 'burn all of us'

Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein worries that the conflict in Gaza will drag on and expand beyond Israel’s borders.