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July 8, 2026

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Lebanon's latest damage estimate outlines reconstruction challenge

More than 1 million Lebanese residents fled their homes after Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon intensified in March, when Hezbollah entered the conflict.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) welcomes US President Donald Trump (R) upon his arrival on Air Force One at Etimesgut Air Base near Ankara, on July 7, 2026, before attending the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Trump's F-35 push for Turkey runs into CAATSA — and Israel

Israel fears that Washington may be shifting its strategic options toward Turkey as the two rivals push for regional hegemony.

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

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Greece conduct military drills ahead of NATO summit in Turkey

Photos published by the Greek military showed fighter jets from both countries flying side by side over the Aegean Sea.

Latest News

Interview

Ayman Odeh says Arab parties could back Bennett or Eisenkot to block Netanyahu

Joint List Party leader Ayman Odeh attends a meeting on April 5, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Ayman Odeh

Head of the Knesset's Hadash-Ta'al faction

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

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

TO GO WITH STORY BY JOSEPH KRAUSS An Iraqi man leaves an indoor market as he walks towards the 14th-century brick minaret of the Dhu al-Kifl mosque at the site of the Jewish shrine of Ezekiel -- the prophet who followed the Judeans into the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC -- in the Iraqi town of Kifl, south of Baghdad. Muslims revere nearly all the central religious figures from Judaism and Christianity, including Ezekiel, referred to as Dhu al-Kifl in two Koranic verses and said to have raised the

As Iraqis cope with past injustices, so should Israelis

Iraqis are looking courageously into their past, examining the attacks against the Jewish community in the 1950s that forced it to flee the country, and Israelis should do the same by acknowledging the Palestinians' suffering.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in his office in Jerusalem January 4, 2015. REUTERS/Oded Balilty/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4JZXR

Netanyahu’s threats won’t sway Abbas

The Israeli prime minister’s angry response to the Palestinian decision to sign the Rome Statute, including withholding Palestinian tax revenue, is unlikely to deter President Mahmoud Abbas from persisting with his plan for greater recognition of Palestine.

Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem May 13, 2013. Israel's cabinet members were discussing on Monday their approval of the 2013-2014 state budget. REUTERS/Uriel Sinai/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTXZKVZ

Infighting hurts Israel's center-left bloc

Infighting between Yesh Atid Party Chairman Yair Lapid and Labor Party Chairman Isaac Herzog divide the center-left bloc instead of moving it toward new electorates, strengthening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A man places signs for Israel and Palestine at the Council table before a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at U.N. headquarters in New York, July 31, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR40SYJ

After UN failure, Palestinians reach out to ICC

Israel estimates that the failure of the Palestinians to secure a majority at the UN Security Council stems from a series of tactical mistakes, reflecting the enormous internal pressure to which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is subjected.

A Palestinian protester scuffles with an Israeli soldier during a protest against Israeli settlements in Maasara village near the West Bank city of Bethlehem December 26, 2014. REUTERS/ Mussa Qawasma (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4JAOJ

Fatah official: Israel settlement policy 'ultimate test' for peace

A senior Palestinian source emphasizes that the settlement policy will be the ultimate test of Israeli peace policies.

Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid (L) and Minister of Economics and Trade Naftali Bennett (2nd L) walk together during the swearing-in ceremony, at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem March 18, 2013. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new governing coalition took office after a parliamentary vote on Monday with powerful roles reserved for supporters of settlers in occupied territory. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F5XP

Israel's new rules for social media in politics

The social network revolution, combined with the 2011 social protest and increased transparency in politics, have pushed aside veteran politicians in favor of fresh senior politicians such as Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett and, lately, Moshe Kahlon.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman leaves after giving a statement to the media at his Jerusalem office December 2, 2014. Israel appeared to be heading on Tuesday towards an early election after right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his major centrist coalition partner failed to patch up differences. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, told a news conference, "An election is a now a fact." REUTERS/ Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) -

Bibi's rivals suffer scandals

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is surrounded by rivals trying to topple him, yet two of them, Shas Party leader Aryeh Deri and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, must concentrate on their own political survival.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY MAJEDA AL-BATSH
A bus owned by Israeli company Egged, the largest bus operating service in Israel passes old buildings in Jerusalem on December 3, 2014. Many Palestinian bus drivers no longer feel safe behind the wheel of Jerusalem's public buses as threats and attacks from Jewish extremists force many to quit their jobs in fear. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Jerusalem's Arab bus drivers speak out

Jerusalem has seemingly calmed down after several weeks of unrest, but Arab bus drivers tell Al-Monitor that they are constantly subjected to insults and attacks by extremist Jewish passengers.

Netanyahu's calls to Likud too little too late

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has personally asked Likud Party members to support more moderate candidates, he was too late to stop his party from being taken over by settlers and extreme right politicians.

Israeli singer Achinoam Nini, known as Noa perform in the framework of the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico on December 01, 2013. AFP PHOTO/Hector Guerrero (Photo credit should read HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images)

Where have Israeli intellectuals gone?

Israeli society has lost its past esteem for intellectuals and writers, with celebrities, actors, singers and media figures serving as its moral compass.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem December 21, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4IU96

'Anyone but Bibi' is not a diplomatic initiative

Tzipi Livni's past support for right-wing positions on reaching an agreement with the Palestinians requires that she and Isaac Herzog of Labor reveal a genuine plan for renewing talks.

Palestinian children play on a mattress near the ruins of houses which witnesses said were destroyed by Israeli shelling during the most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the east of Gaza City December 1, 2014. According to housing minister Mufeed al-Hasayna, Gaza needs 8,000 tonnes of cement a day to meet demand. A new system set up with the United Nations to comply with Israeli requirements lets through at most 2,000, he said. At that rate, reconstruction would take more than 30 years, said Has

Israel must address growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza

The Israeli leadership must realize that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza increases every day, and react appropriately despite the upcoming elections that might delay a solution by almost half a year.