Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

June 26, 2026

Tel Aviv 2:29 pm

30°C

Responders arrive to a demolished building at San Bernardino after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 24, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Israel, Turkey, Iran offer aid as Venezuela’s 2 quakes kill at least 188

Iran, Turkey and Israel were among the first countries to offer assistance to earthquake-hit Venezuela despite their varying diplomatic relationships with Caracas.

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City.

Explainer

Pro-Palestine Democrats win in NYC elections: What it means

According to a recent survey, 80% of Democrats expressed an unfavorable view of Israel, yet party leadership in the House and Senate has remained largely aligned with longstanding US support for Israel.

Lebanese army forces deploy in the village of Bir al-Salasel in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. Iran's foreign ministry on June 15 said the US must ensure that Israel commits to stopping the war in Lebanon under a deal agreed upon with the US to end the Middle East war. Lebanon was pulled into the conflict in early March when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion. (Pho

Analysis

Pilot zones at center of Israel-Lebanon talks as Trump pressures Netanyahu

With the fifth round of talks set to begin Tuesday, Israel is prepared to withdraw from at least one “pilot zone,” allowing the Lebanese army to take control of the area.

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

Latest News

Analysis

As US reshapes Lebanon strategy, Israel finds itself sidelined

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon, on June 9, 2026.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Can political novice Eisenkot defeat Netanyahu in upcoming elections?

Former Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot gives a press conference in Tel Aviv, on December 4, 2018.

Analysis

How Netanyahu used Lebanon strikes to push back on Trump’s Iran deal

US President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Palm Beach, Florida, Dec. 29, 2025.

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

Why Netanyahu’s flip-flopping endangers Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caved under light pressure from the Israeli right and canceled an agreement he'd just reached with the UN on African immigrants.

Will Jordan reclaim sovereignty over controversial land on Israeli border?

Statements by former Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel Salam al-Majali that a tiny strip of land on the Jordan-Israel border — ceded by Israel to Jordan under the 1994 peace treaty and then leased back to Israel — is owned by Jews have stirred a nationwide controversy.

Israelis pick Passover food fight

The Israeli public is less concerned than the litigants might like about a Supreme Court case over the widely observed prohibition on unleavened food in hospitals during Passover.

How Israel’s divided society can thrive

As Israel prepares to celebrate 70 years since it declared independence, it is time to come to terms with the fact that embracing diversity may be better than forcing cohesion.

Gaza fishermen face gunfire, death plying their trade

Fishermen in the Gaza Strip say Israel is shooting at them even though they are within the permissible fishing zone.

What's behind Israeli education minister's worldwide quest for Jews?

The report of a committee created by Minister of Education Naftali Bennett to increase the world’s Jewish population offers no reasonable explanation as to why this should be a strategic national objective for Israel.

Hamas, Fatah battle over Palestinian public opinion

In one deadly protest at the outset of the demonstrations planned for the coming weeks, Hamas has succeeded in positioning itself as a victim.

Israel defends decision to deploy snipers amid Gaza protests

Despite having expertise in using nonlethal means to disperse violent demonstrations, the Israeli military chose to use live fire against demonstrators across the border in Gaza.

Israel faces historic decision as new population figures emerge

With the official announcement that the number of Jews and Arabs living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea had reached parity, Israel is facing a historic decision.

Israeli defense official threatened owners of Gaza bus companies in days before protest

Hamas-backed demonstrations reflect Palestinian political crisis, despair of Gaza’s economic conditions and collapse of peace process.

The EU’s plans to save Gaza

European diplomats say that the European Union is now preparing a set of proposed moves to calm down tensions in the Gaza Strip and avoid a violent Palestinian outbreak at the end of President Mahmoud Abbas' era.

Should Palestinians keep boycotting Jerusalem elections?

Palestinian politicians continue to pressure East Jerusalem residents to boycott the municipal elections, but voting data demonstrates an opportunity to swing political influence in the city.