Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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As phase 2 looms, Netanyahu insists no Turkish or Qatari troops in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Tuesday address that his country would not completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip under the next phase of the ceasefire, which the Trump administration is pushing to advance.

Truck carrying aid enters Gaza through the border crossing on Oct. 12, 2025, in Rafah, Egypt.

Israel recovers final Gaza hostage, Rafah crossing set to reopen: What to know

The Rafah crossing is expected to allow Palestinians to exit and reenter the Gaza Strip, primarily for those seeking medical treatment.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Analysis

Under fire at home over Board of Peace, Netanyahu hints Trump could OK Gaza war restart

According to diplomatic sources, Netanyahu believes that at some point Israel will receive a green light from the Trump administration to resume fighting in Gaza, though his coalition partners do not seem reassured.

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

Palestinian Hamas militants secure the area as Egyptian workers, accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.

Analysis

Trump's Board of Peace faces first test: Disarming Hamas

President Donald Trump’s plan for a Gaza Strip lined with beachfront resorts and glitzy high-rises hinges on Hamas' disarmament.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Latest News

Putin offers $1B in frozen assets for Gaza Board of Peace — will US unfreeze them?

Ramil Sitdikov / AFP via Getty Images

Middle East leaders join Trump’s Board of Peace despite mandate concerns

YOAN VALAT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Russia to host PA’s Abbas as Putin mulls joining Trump's Gaza Board of Peace

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas (R) arrive for their talks in Moscow on May 10, 2025.

Turkey, Israel, Pakistan to join Trump's Board of Peace as Italy hedges: What to know

US President Donald Trump greets Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war on Oct. 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Somalis celebrate the victory of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he won the presidential run-off election during the celebration organized by the government in Mogadishu, on May 29, 2023.

Analysis

Turkey casts Israel’s Somaliland move as overreach, but Somalia’s fragility poses risks

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland is widely dismissed in Ankara as a strategic overreach, but it is nevertheless exposing the limits of Turkey’s influence in Somalia.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

This aerial view shows residents waving Somaliland flags as they gather to celebrate Israel's announcement recognizing Somaliland's statehood in downtown Hargeisa, on Dec. 26, 2025.

Somalia’s president heads to Turkey as Israel’s Somaliland recognition rattles region

The Somali leader’s visit comes amid a heightened Turkish-Israeli rivalry, fueled by Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, in the region and beyond.

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

Saeed Jaras / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Facing Israeli pushback, Turkey recalibrates public messaging on Gaza force

Turkey’s top diplomat has suggested that being part of the Gaza stabilization force is not Ankara’s priority.

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.

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

Sheikh Mohammed's visit comes as questions mount over Hamas' disarmament and the role of international troops in post-war Gaza.

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

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

Former Israeli security and diplomatic officials, members of Commanders for Israel’s Security, sent a letter to President Trump urging him to disarm Hamas and involve the Palestinian Authority in the second phase of his Gaza peace plan.

Head of Israel's Raam, Mansour Abbas, speaks at his campaign headquarters in the northern Israeli city of Tamra before national election polls close, on Nov. 1, 2022

Analysis

Stunt or recalibration? Israel's Raam to break with Muslim Brotherhood

Raam leader Mansour Abbas took a huge political risk this week, announcing the party will sever its ties with the Islamic Movement.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Donald Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner (L), White House special envoy Steve Witkoff (C) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a meeting between President Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured) at a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh, Oct. 13, 2025.

Analysis

How the Trump administration reshaped US diplomacy toward Hamas

Unlike previous administrations, Trump’s team has engaged directly and openly with the Palestinian group — without congressional or public blowback.

By Rosaleen Carroll

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

Cyprus' Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos speaks to media at a Ministerial Council meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on December 4, 2025 in Vienna, Austria. (GEORG HOCHMUTH/AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Cyprus weighs joining Gaza force but 'not enough clarity' on mission, FM says

Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos also discussed using his country's maritime aid corridor to support Gaza's reconstruction.

Constantinos Kombos

Cypriot Foreign Minister

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

Israel, US send mixed signals on Gaza phase 2 before Trump-Netanyahu meeting

The US president is expected to press Netanyahu to advance the second phase of the Gaza plan, halt plans for a large-scale strike on Hezbollah in Lebanon and compromise on issues related to Syria.

Basem Naim, member of Hamaspolitical bureau speaks during an interview with AFP in Istanbul on February 8, 2025. Hamas has no desire to return to war with Israel, a senior official with the Palestinian group told AFP on February 8, 2025, nearly three weeks into a fragile ceasefire that halted fighting in Gaza. "Returning to war is certainly not our wish nor our decision," Basem Naim said in an interview. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Hamas official says group needs guarantees on war's end and statehood to disarm

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim stopped short of pledging that Hamas would not fire on international troops, but said the militant group has "no problem” with the stabilization force.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

The US National flag flies at half staff on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on December 4, 2025, in honor of Sarah Beckstrom, the National Guard member who was fatally shot the week before. An Afghan man accused of shooting two members of the National Guard near the White House, killing one, pleaded not guilty on December 2, 2025 to murder charges. Lakanwal is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Sarah Beckstrom, 20, a National Guard member from West Virginia, as well as ass

US strategy document names Iran 'chief' destabilizer, calls Syria 'potential problem'

The document frames US engagement as shifting away from energy and conflict and toward broader economic and defense partnerships.