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Israel

June 13, 2026

Tel Aviv 3:42 am

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Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon close to the Beaufort Castle as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee, in northern Israel on June 4, 2026.

'Pilot zones' offer litmus test for Lebanon to clear Israel border of Hezbollah

As the Trump administration focuses reaching a peace deal with Iran, US officials have been hosting backroom talks between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats aimed at finally resolving the question of Hezbollah’s entrenchment along Israel’s northern border.

US President Donald Trump talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, Jerusalem, Oct. 13, 2025.

Analysis

'A complete disaster': Israel scrambles for clarity as Trump touts emerging Iran deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu relayed Israel’s red lines to Trump, but given the current rift between the two leaders, the demands may be little more than a wish list.

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

US President Donald Trump (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 29, 2025.

As Trump casts doubt on Netanyahu's future, Likud rushes to reaffirm support

By questioning whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will run in the next Knesset elections, President Donald Trump may have dented one of the Israeli leader's key political assets ahead of the vote.

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey-Israel tensions flare over Syria, Lebanon, East Med: What to know

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan buttons up his jacket during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025.

Analysis

'We are already hearing the bus': Israeli insiders fear Netanyahu is losing Trump’s backing on Iran

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025. US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on December 29 for crucial talks on moving to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan.The two leaders also discussed Iran, with Trump saying that if Tehran rebuilt its nuclear facilities the United States wo

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

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

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

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

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

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Rina Bassist

Associate Editor (Israel)

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

How Netanyahu is turning Israel into a banana republic

Once the coronavirus crisis is over, Israelis will discover what Arab Knesset members warned a long time ago: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "stole" their democracy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at his Jerusalem office, regarding the new measures that will be taken to fight the coronavirus, March 14, 2020. Gali Tibbon/Pool via REUTERS - RC2WJF9YZ20U

Coronavirus, not Iran, Netanyahu’s biggest test

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has focused his political career on battling the Iranian nuke program as the biggest threat to Israel, but his legacy ultimately hinges on the way he confronts the current coronavirus outbreak.

Netanyahu’s coronavirus strategy erodes Israel’s democracy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exploits the coronavirus panic to erode Israel’s democracy, limit the Knesset, introduce emergency-mode regulations, and prevent Blue and White from implementing the majority garnered by the opposition bloc.

Israeli border policemen wearing protective gear as a precaution against the coronavirus, guard at an Israeli checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2MHF9K85OW

On near-national lockdown, Israelis ordered indoors unless ‘absolutely necessary’

Israel's new steps, which are aimed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, include further restrictions on Palestinian day laborers entering Israel.

Jerusalem alliance fills gap in coronavirus awareness

A group of Jerusalem-based activists launched an alliance to raise awareness and provide emergency needs to the Palestinian population in East Jerusalem amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Banksy's hotel offers dark humor as Bethlehem becomes ghost town

Bethlehem's Walled Off Hotel painted its facade black in protest of US President Donald Trump's peace plan, but the situation is even darker with the coronavirus alert in the city.

Israel tightens grip on Palestinian workers to limit COVID-19

The Israeli authorities have decided to prevent Palestinian construction workers who are crucial for the Israeli construction sector from commuting from and to the West Bank for fear that this could help spread the coronavirus in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks as he chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, March 8, 2020. Oded Balilty/Pool via Reuters - RC2MFF9PND0I

Netanyahu’s habit of spying on his own citizens

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no qualms about exploiting the coronavirus crisis as a pretext to track phones, violate privacy, refuse to replace the speaker of the Knesset and postpone his own trial.

US Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, vice chair of the 98-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, holds a news conference during Web Summit, in Lisbon, Portugal, November 6, 2019. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes - RC2Q5D9AG2PF

Intel: House Democrats ask whether Israel violating US aid restrictions

More than 60 Democratic lawmakers are pushing the Donald Trump administration to clarify whether Israel uses American military equipment to demolish Palestinian homes in the West Bank, hinting that doing so could trigger military aid restrictions under US law.

Netanyahu’s chief rival promises 'broad' government 'within a few days'

Israel’s president has tapped Blue and White leader Benny Gantz with forming a new government after the third election in less than a year produced no clear winner.

A Palestinian worker wearing a mask sanitizes the hands of a customer amid coronavirus precautions, in a supermarket in Gaza City March 8, 2020. Picture taken March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC2EGF9PKI3K

Can blockade shield Gaza Strip from epidemic?

The Israeli security system is trying to head off a nightmare as the coronavirus menaces the uniquely vulnerable Gaza Strip.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men pray in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City as a note advice not to kiss the stones of the Western Wall display March 16, 2020 REUTERS/ Ilan Rosenberg - RC21LF90G2FL

Ultra-Orthodox leaders ignore coronavirus threat, endanger Israelis

Ultra-Orthodox educational institutions continued to operate despite orders by the government to close all schools to try to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.