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Politics & Security

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, speaks during a press conference

Explainer

Who will lead Congress? Democrats weigh Schumer alternatives, Jeffries bid

A number of contenders have emerged as challengers to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, including strong critics of the Iran war and US support to Israel.

Tump

Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

Manon Roca / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon files charges against 2 Hezbollah members as UNIFIL prepares to withdraw

The move comes amid growing security concerns in the south less than two months before the UNIFIL mandate expires.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

Latest News

Explainer

Arab parties' backing gives Eisenkot edge over Netanyahu for PM: What to know

Tomer Neuberg / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Massie renews Hegseth impeachment push as GOP blames Iran war for midterm losses

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, on July 21, 2026, in Washington.

Jared Szuba

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

Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift?

TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

Russia to provide Iran with 90 missile launchers as military ties grow: Reports

Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopters fly over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy, northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, Feb. 4, 2021.

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

A Jewish man and a child walk through the Hara Kebira, the main Jewish quarter in the resort island of Djerba, near the Ghriba synagogue following a shooting spree by a police officer on the southern Tunisian island on May 10, 2023. Tunisian authorities were investigating the shootings that claimed five lives and sparked mass panic during a Jewish pilgrimage at Africa's oldest synagogue today. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP) (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s Jews on edge after crowd torches synagogue amid Gaza protests

History of heated rhetoric and reaction to Israel's war against Hamas may spill over to the small local Jewish population.

Protesters, some wearing a Keffiyeh, take part in a demonstration against Israel in Istanbul on October 20, 2023, after Turkey declared a three-day national mourning in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Israelis and Palestinians have traded blame for a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital this week, with the number of deaths given ranging from dozens to nearly 500. World leaders have condemned the strike and protests have erupted in Arab countries and the wider Muslim world amid stark disagreement over th

Turkey's Gaza protests continue as Erdogan warns Israel against ground invasion

The Turkish president warned Israel against expanding Gaza operations as Israeli diplomats left Turkey amid ongoing demonstrations over the conflict in the territory.

Israel Gallant

Israel’s defense chief says Gaza ground incursion is second in 3-phase war plan

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the first phase is ongoing, and the second phase will consist of a ground invasion.

Palestinian Orthodox attend Palm Sunday mass at a church in Gaza City on April 9, 2023.

Jerusalem’s Orthodox Patriarch: Israeli strike on Gaza church a ‘war crime’

The Saint Porphyrius Church, in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, was built in 1150 by crusaders and is considered the oldest active church in the Gaza Strip.

TOPSHOT - Israel's Iron Dome air defence system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza on October 11, 2023. Israel kept up its bombardment of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on October 11, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a political rival announced an emergency government for the duration of the conflict that has killed thousands. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Hezbollah 'recalculating' Israel's deterrence after Hamas attack, US aid

Some military experts believe Hamas' attack and the scope of proposed US military assistance to Israel point to a vulnerability that is making Israel's opponents rethink their positions.

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

Biden brought a message of support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

VIDEO: Webinar with Ben Caspit & Nadia Bilbassy-Charters on Israel-Hamas war

If you missed it, watch the full live Q&A webinar now.

US President Joe Biden addresses the nation on the conflict between Israel and Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 19, 2023. President Joe Biden will deliver a rare Oval Office speech October 19, 2023 urging Americans to back military aid for Israel and Ukraine at what he calls a perilous moment for democracy around the globe. (Photo by JONATHAN ERNST / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN ERNST/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden links Hamas, Putin as he pledges ‘unprecedented’ Israel support

In a rare Oval Office address, President Joe Biden said he would request from Congress emergency funding for war-torn Israel and Ukraine.

Israeli army soldiers patrol an undisclosed area in northern Israel bordering Lebanon on Oct. 15, 2023.

Israel retaliates after 30 rockets fired from Lebanon

Both Hezbollah and the Lebanon Hamas branch took responsibility for missiles and rockets fired against Israeli localities in the north of the country.

In this handout image released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, South Korean Navy's destroyer Yulgok Yi I (C), U.S. Navy's USS Benfold (R) and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's JS Atago (L) sail in formation during a joint naval exercise in international waters on April 17, 2023 at an undisclosed location. South Korea, the United States and Japan held a trilateral missile defense exercise in the international waters on Monday, Seoul's Navy said, amid stepped-up efforts to sharpen deterrence against N

US destroyer shoots down cruise missiles by Iran-backed Houthis

Iran-backed factions appeared to break several months of detente with US forces in the Middle East this week by launching drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea, Iraq and Syria amid Israel's war in Gaza, throwing the Pentagon's deterrence efforts into question.

Lebanese security forces use water cannons as they clash with protesters outside the US Embassy in Awkar east of Beirut, during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, on October 18, 2023. Thousands rallied across the Arab and Muslim world on October 18 to protest the deaths of hundreds of people in a strike on a Gaza hospital that they blame on Israel, despite its denials. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

US issues 'worldwide' alert for citizens amid Israel-Hamas war

The US Embassy in Beirut also urged Americans wishing to depart Lebanon to make plans "as soon as possible."

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint press conference, Jerusalem, Oct. 19, 2023.

Sunak supports Israel, hails accord on Gaza humanitarian aid delivery

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed support of Israel’s right to self-defense and welcomed its agreeing to allow humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing.

KHAN YUNIS, GAZA - OCTOBER 19: A woman cries as she bids farewell to the bodies of Palestinians killed during Israeli airstrikes on October 19, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Gazans are evacuating to the south as advised by the Israeli government, ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive. Israel has sealed off Gaza, leaving the entire population without fuel, water or aid, and launched sustained retaliatory air strikes, which have killed more than 2,000 people and some 400,000 displaced, after a large-scale

Gaza in 'unprecedented catastrophe': over 3,700 deaths, 1,524 are children

Aid trucks are expected to start entering Gaza through the Rafah crossing after an agreement by the US and Egyptian presidents.