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Politics & Security

US Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Wisconsin Air National Guard facility at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on July 8, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Vance says Israeli intelligence had ties to Epstein: What to know

Vice President JD Vance has grown more critical of Israel, possibly in an effort to capitalize on changing views among voters with an eye on the 2028 presidential election.

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 22: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) sits in between Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan (L) and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev during a signing ceremony for the “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. The US-backed “Board of Peace” is intended to administer the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after the war between Israel and Hamas. The final makeup of the board has not been confirmed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/G

Trump taps Russia-born investor to oversee $200M+ fund backing Armenia-Azerbaijan corridor

The appointment of Chicago-based investor Konstantin Sokolov to oversee a $200 million fund marks a new phase for Washington's proposed trade and transportation route linking Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cornerstone laying ceremony for the Atarot Heritage Center at an abandon airport in East Jerusalem near the separation wall with the Israeli occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on July 5, 2026.

Israeli PM Netanyahu 'will not travel' to US next week, his office says

On Wednesday, an Israeli official had told Al-Monitor that Netanyahu was planning to travel on Saturday and meet with President Donald Trump next week and attend the memorial service for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images

Syria seizes arms shipment on Iraq border destined for Hezbollah

The operation comes as part of the Syrian authorities' efforts to curb illicit arms smuggling through its territory, namely intended for Hezbollah.

Latest News

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgu Ozel

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

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

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

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

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images

Funeral held for Palestinian-American boy killed in Illinois hate crime

Hatred and violence toward Muslims and Jews is rising in the West as the Israel-Hamas war reverberates around the world.

Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images

UN says over 43% of Gaza residents now displaced as Rafah talks stall

Convoys of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip are stuck on the Egyptian border.

JACQUELYN MARTIN/AFP via Getty Images

Back in Israel, Blinken tries to reach a deal on opening Gaza's Rafah crossing

On a second visit in four days, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.

EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images

Day 10 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct.

Ten days into the fighting between Israel and Hamas, nearly 1 million are now displaced in Gaza as rocket barrages continue in the direction of Israel and the Israeli bombardment intensifies on the enclave.

IDF soldiers move through neighborhoods destroyed by Hamas militants after they attacked this kibbutz days earlier near the border of Gaza on October 15, 2023 in Kfar Aza, Israel. Israel has sealed off Gaza and launched sustained retaliatory air strikes, which have killed at least 1,400 people with more than 400,000 displaced, after a large-scale attack by Hamas. On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza by land, sea, and air, killing over 1,300 peopl

Analysis

Arab Israelis express solidarity with victims of Hamas attack

Arab Israelis, including members of the Bedouin community in the Negev, are among the victims of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

Afif Abu Much

By Afif Abu Much

In Baqa al-Gharbiyye, reporting on business and tech

SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

Rafah crossing still closed for Americans fleeing Gaza, despite US-Egypt deal

The White House national security adviser said that an attempt by American citizens to pass through the Rafah crossing into Egypt failed due to Hamas' actions.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna (C) and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (R) visit the damaged Barzilai Medical Center in the city of Ashkelon on October 15, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel on October 7 which killed at least 1300 people, sparking a retaliatory bombing campaign that has killed more than 1900 in the Gaza Strip ahead of a potential Israeli ground invasion of the territory. (Photo b

France's top diplomat discusses hostages in Israel, ahead of Lebanon visit

French Minister Catherine Colonna met today in Israel with her counterpart Eli Cohen and with families of French-Israelis missing and kidnapped by Hamas before next traveling to Lebanon.

A picture taken from the southern Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 15, 2023.

Day 9 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 15

Nine days into the fighting between Israel and Hamas, nearly 1 million are now displaced in Gaza as rocket barrages continue in the direction of Israel and the Israeli bombardment intensifies on the enclave.

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / A Palestinian woman looks up as she prays in the yard of a school, in the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern of Gaza Strip on October 14, 2023, as fighting between Israel and the Hamas movement continues for the eighth consecutive day in the Gaza Strip enclave. Palestinians sought refuge on October 14, 2023, after Israel warned them to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip before an expected ground offensive against Hamas, one week after the deadliest attack in Israel's history.

Gaza residents tell stories of pain and fear as they flee Israeli bombardment

As many residents flee south, some Gazans are remaining in their homes, fearing a repeat of 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians left but never returned.

onvoy trucks loaded with supplies are seen at Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road on Oct. 14, 2023, in Cairo.

Nearly 600 Americans stuck in Gaza amid Egypt talks over Rafah, aid

Egyptian officials said they will not allow foreigners to exit Gaza via the Rafah border crossing until an agreement on aid deliveries is reached, according to reports.

Policemen from the River Brigade (Brigade Fluviale) patrol on a boat on the Seine River, in front of the Louvres' museum in Paris on May 9, 2023.

France on high alert due to Hamas-Israel war, Louvre Museum closed

The killing on Friday of teacher Dominique Bernard was apparently related to tensions in the Middle East, said French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

Ben Caspit and Daoud Kuttab Webinar

Israeli, Palestinian journalists preview Gaza war at Al-Monitor event

Ben Caspit and Daoud Kuttab delved into the details of Israel’s security failures, the future of the Palestinian quest for statehood and the ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip at Al-Monitor's webinar.