Gaza

An elections employee tapes a poster with instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Feature

Gazans show cautious hope ahead of first local elections in 20 years

The city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza is set to hold municipal elections for the first time in nearly two decades.

Rasha Abou Jalal

By Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Women read instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Analysis

On eve of Palestinian local elections, competition in short supply

With many races unopposed and rivals excluded, the vote underscores a calibrated effort to contain dissent and prioritize stability.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Olmert

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Jerusalem on February 26, 2026. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Netanyahu caved to Trump on Lebanon and what it means for Israel

Israelis express anger that the prime minister's maneuvering to stay out of jail has allowed the US to once again "hijack" foreign policy and national security decision-making.

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

Latest News

With Orban’s defeat in Hungary, Israel loses European shield

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu review a military honor guard on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Hungary in defiance of the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Hungary has long-standing ties with Israel, and they been further bolstered up since the start of the war in Gaza, sparked by the Palestinian militant group Hamas's attack on Oct

Iran war deepens Gaza crisis as prices soar, aid falters

Children and families gather to receive free meals shortly before Iftar during the holy month of Ramadan at a displacement camp in central Gaza City, on Feb. 27, 2026.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Analysis

Hamas sits out Iran war as Gaza, Gulf interests take priority

Displaced Palestinians gather for a fast-breaking Iftar meal amid the rubble of destroyed buildings at the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, Feb. 23, 2026.

Abeer Ayyoub

By Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Spain recalls Israel ambassador, calls Iran war 'flagrant illegality': What to know

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a United Nations Summit on Palestinians at UN headquarters during the United Nations General Assembly, New York, Sept. 22, 2025.

US special envoy to the region Amos Hochstein (R) meets with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters, Tel Aviv, Jan. 4, 2024.

In Israel, US envoy Hochstein talks Lebanon border tensions with Gallant

US special envoy Amos Hochstein met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and is set to speak with President Isaac Herzog as the Israel-Lebanon border remains tense.

Jade Gao/Getty Images

China hosts Hamas, Fatah delegations for reconciliation talks

The meeting follows a Hamas official's statement that the movement was ready to join the PLO.

Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a tent encampment during a demonstration in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on April 22, 2024, in Berkeley, California.

Over 20 US universities join in Gaza protests: What we know

A pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University has sparked similar protests throughout the United States, as well as France, eliciting both praise and condemnation as authorities in some areas attempt to disperse the crowds.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2-R) arrives for group photo with (L-R) Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

Israel war cabinet meets as Egypt proposes three-phase Gaza cease-fire plan

Reports suggest that Egypt has taken the lead on a new round of talks with Hamas and has presented Israel with a fresh proposal for a hostage-release and truce deal.

A boy helps a vendor arrange his merchandise as he sets up before the rubble of a collapsed building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

Israeli security chiefs in Cairo to discuss possible Rafah invasion

In Egypt, IDF chief Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar reportedly discussed Israel's plan to enter Rafah as well as the possibility of restarting negotiations for a hostage deal.

Humanitarian aid is dropped on the Gaza Strip, west of Gaza City, on March 25, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas, with the background showing Israel's Rutenberg power station near Ashkelon.

US says Israel boosted Gaza aid flow after convoy strike, but more is needed

US envoy David Satterfield said the volume of assistance reaching Gaza is "significantly greater" than it was, but issues remain with aid distribution.

Retired Israeli general and Executive Director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies Amos Yadlin attends a session at the Manama Dialogue security conference, Manama, Bahrain, Dec. 5, 2020.

Interview

Israel's ex-intel chief: Biden distrusts Netanyahu, Iran escalation unlikely

Former head of IDF intelligence Amos Yadlin believes Israel should take the time to estimate whether the additional sanctions announced by the US and the EU would indeed affect Iran’s decision-making on its regional aggression and nuclear program.

Amos Yadlin

Amos Yadlin

Former Head of Israeli Military Intelligence

A customer orders food at a Chipotle restaurant on April 26, 2022, in San Francisco, California.

Chipotle opens restaurant in Kuwait, its first in Middle East

The Mexican-style food chain’s entry into the Middle East comes as Western brands in the region deal with the effects of Gaza war-related boycotts.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Israeli army intel chief first top official to resign over Oct. 7 failures

IDF intelligence chief Aharon Haliva is the first high-ranking Israeli military official to take responsibility for the intelligence failures that led to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Akef al-Masry Commissioner-General of the Supreme Authority for Palestinian Tribes in the Gaza Strip during a press conference in Cairo in July 2017.

Gaza tribal leader: 'We will not be substitute' for Hamas or Fatah in Strip

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Akef al-Masry, head of the Supreme Authority for Palestinian Tribes in the Gaza Strip, speaks about the history of Gaza's clans and the desire for national unity.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 13: U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a news conference calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the U.S. Capitol building on November 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. House Democrats held the news conference alongside rabbis with the activist group Jewish Voices for Peace. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Ilhan Omar’s daughter suspended from Columbia University over Gaza protests

The suspension from the university’s sister institution was in relation to an on-campus encampment in solidarity with Gaza, Isra Hirsi said on X, and follows a House panel on antisemitism at the school.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia ramps up regional diplomacy to avert Iran-Israel war

Saudi Arabia has reiterated calls for calm in the region amid rising tensions in the wake of the Iranian attack on Israel this week.