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Israel

July 21, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:51 pm

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, DC, July 19, 2026.

Israel to withdraw from Lebanon’s pilot zones ahead of Aoun-Trump meeting

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sunday during the first part of his four-day visit to Washington.

Flags of Spain and Argentina

Culture

How Argentina-Spain World Cup final became debate over Israel, Palestine

Governments and fans alike have turned teams and players into symbols of political division.

Israeli police officers clash with ultra-Orthodox Jewish men during a protest against their conscription, Bnei Brak, Israel, July 16, 2024.

Analysis

How Netanyahu's bet on ultra-Orthodox exposes his vulnerability in Israel's upcoming election

The prime minister needs the support of the ultra-Orthodox, who reject mandatory conscription, if he is to have a chance at winning reelection and forming the next government.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026, before the start of the election recess ahead of the Oct. 27 general election.

Analysis

Trump's ‘180-degree reversal’ on Lebanon, Syria leaves Netanyahu with few options before elections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes an Israeli withdrawal from two pilot zones in southern Lebanon will help ease tensions with President Donald Trump.

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

Latest News

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

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.

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

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.

Ahmadinejad denies alleged Mossad plot to install him as Iran leader: What to know

BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 13: Lebanese people wave flags and hold portraits of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (not pictured) as he arrives in southern suberb of Beirut on October 13, 2010 in Lebanon. The controversial visit is seen as a boost for key ally Hezbollah. According to reports Mr Ahmadinejad may visit the border with Israel - the site of recent deadly clashes between Israeli and Lebanese forces. (Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images)

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

A picture taken on Sept. 18, 2019, shows displayed fragments of what the Saudi Defense Ministry spokesman said were Iranian cruise missiles and drones recovered from the attack site that targeted Saudi Aramco's facilities.

Israel ups the alarm on Iranian drones

Defense Minister Benny Gantz revealed this week that Iran tried transferring explosives in 2018 from Syria to terror elements in the West Bank using an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) is flanked by lawyers before testimony by star witness Nir Hefetz, a former aide, in his corruption trial at the District Court in east Jerusalem, on Nov. 22, 2021.

As Netanyahu’s trial continues, Knesset advances term limit law

Justice Minister Gideon Saar's proposed law to limit the term of the prime minister to eight years was approved at a preliminary Knesset hearing.

This picture shows the Mughrabi ramp, leading from the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound that includes the Dome of the Rock Mosque (background) in Jerusalem's Old City, on Sept. 10, 2021.

Western Wall rabbi in eye of storm

Progressive Jews believe Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz is preventing them from obtaining an egalitarian prayer space, but for the ultra-Orthodox, Rabinowitz is too much of a compromiser.

NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

Israel halts meetings as Belgium labels West Bank settlement products

The Belgian decision to label West Bank settlement products was made as Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll is visiting the country and ahead of a scheduled meeting with Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes.

Ariel Hermoni/Ministry of Defense

Israel formalizes bilateral defense ties in Rabat

In a first official visit to Rabat, Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed a landmark memorandum of understanding with his Moroccan counterpart Abdellatif Loudiyi.

Jerusalem attack

Israel calls on Ankara to close Hamas offices in Turkey

Following the killing in Jerusalem of Eliyahu Kay by a Hamas member linked to Turkey, and following the exposure of a West Bank Hamas cell led by the Hamas Turkey office, Jerusalem is calling on Ankara to shut down the group’s activities in the country.

Itmar Ben-Gvir (C), member of Israel's Knesset (parliament) and head of the one-man far-right "Jewish Power" (Otzma Yehudit) party.

Israeli ministers take stand against settler violence

Left-wing members of the government held a conference at the Knesset dedicated to what they consider a significant increase in violence by West Bank settlers.

US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, Aug. 27, 2021.

US, Israel divisions on Iran spill into open

Israel is worried that the Americans are heading for an interim agreement with Iran that will wipe away the sanctions.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

Ex-Netanyahu aide testifies former boss obsessed with public image

Nir Hefetz, a former aide and confidant to Benjamin Netanyahu, testified Monday in a long-running corruption case against the ex-Israeli prime minister.

THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli tourists return to Jericho

Israeli tourists increasingly see affordable Jericho as desirable vacation option.

Mourners carry the body of Eliyahu David Kay during his funeral, a day after he was killed by a Palestinian gunman while on his way to the Western Wall in the Old City, Jerusalem, Nov. 22, 2021.

Palestinians clash with Israeli security after terrorist attack in Jerusalem

Expressing their support of the assailant who killed an Israeli and wounded four others in the alleys of Jerusalem’s Old City, residents of the East Jerusalem Shuafat refugee camp clashed with Israeli security forces.

Israeli border guards stand guard behind a security perimeter at the scene of a shooting in the Old City of Jerusalem, Nov. 21, 2021.

After UK blacklist, Israel pushes for international Hamas, Hezbollah bans

Israeli diplomacy efforts are heating up with European Union members and other countries to see Hamas and Hezbollah blacklisted completely.