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July 8, 2026

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Explainer

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

Nobel Peace Prize laureate U.S. President Barack Obama listens to a performance during the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony at Oslo City Hall December 10, 2009. The Nobel committee is awarding the peace prize to Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" and cited his push for nuclear disarmament. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (NORWAY) - RTXRP1N

Time for Obama to justify his Nobel Peace Prize

Once November’s elections for Congress are over, the Obama administration will begin its final governing quarter, which would be the last term for the president to pressure Israel and the Palestinians back into negotiations, and earn his Nobel Prize.

An Israeli soldier from the Nahal Brigade with a Star of David tattoo is seen after returning to Israel from Gaza August 5, 2014. Israel pulled its ground forces out of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and started a 72-hour ceasefire with Hamas mediated by Egypt as a first step towards negotiations on a more enduring end to the month-old war. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR41AQ9

In their own words: IDF reservists on war, politics

Four IDF reserve soldiers speak to Al-Monitor about going to war as adults, with families to worry about and with more complex political and societal views than those of many young regular soldiers.

Palestinian Hamas militants carry a coffin containing the body of their comrade Rami Meshmish during his funeral in the central Gaza Strip April 16, 2014. Meshmish and another fellow militant were killed in an accidental explosion on Wednesday; al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas movement, said in a statement. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3LJJR

Without Hamas, Israelis and Palestinians can find peace

It was terrorist attacks by Hamas from the 1990s until today that ruined any chance of reconciliation with Israel. Thus, only when the Palestinian people come out against Hamas will it be possible to talk about peace.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, September 30, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FG0U

Obama misses the mark on Netanyahu

Barack Obama’s statement about Benjamin Netanyahu’s internal political strength shows how much Americans fail to understand Israeli politics, with Israel's prime minister at an unprecedented political low point following the Gaza war.

Former Shin Bet chief calls for regional conference

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Shin Bet head and current Science Minister Yaakov Peri calls to seize this moment after the Gaza war for a regional diplomatic move involving the Palestinians, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Israel accused of using illegal weapons in Gaza war

Doctors in the Gaza Strip say they have evidence that shows the Israeli military used internationally prohibited Dense Inert Metal Explosives against civilians during Operation Protective Edge.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer speaks to members of Congress about Israel's ongoing air campaign against Hamas for missile attacks during a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington July 11, 2014. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3Y6PL

Israel names Ron Dermer next envoy to Washington

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has named his political advisor, the American-born Ron Dermer, to replace Michael Oren as Israel's next ambassador to the US.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (L) speaks during her meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem June 20, 2013. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10UHN

Israel bristles at EU measure as Kerry arrives in Amman to push peace talks

Netanyahu has criticized the European Union's directive to curtail financial ties with Jewish settlements built outside Israel's 1967 borders.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer (R) speaks to members of Congress about Israel's ongoing air campaign against Hamas for missile attacks during a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington July 11, 2014. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3Y6P1

The Closer: Why Ron Dermer may be Bibi’s perfect peace envoy

Israel’s next envoy to the United States Ron Dermer, may use his ties to the GOP to sell peace to the American right if Netanyahu decides to get serious about negotiations.

An Israeli soldier prays by a tank at an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) staging area in the central Gaza border November 21, 2012. Israeli air strikes shook the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rockets struck across the border as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held talks in Jerusalem in the early hours of Wednesday, seeking a truce that can hold back Israel's ground troops. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (ISRAEL - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST MILITARY RELIGION) - RTR3AOGQ

An inside look at IDF's 'faith-driven' warriors

The IDF and Israeli society as a whole must cope with religious-Zionist commanders, who perceive fighting terrorism in Gaza as a divine decree, thus reshaping the military ethos.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L), Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (C) and Palestinian representative Saeb Erekat sit before a meeting of the Middle East Quartet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 27, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX142KR

Livni and Lapid should back Palestinian unity government

Against the backdrop of the Gaza war, Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni must propose that Cabinet accept the Palestinian unity government and grant it responsibility for Gaza crossing points.

Jamal Doghmosh, a 48-year-old Palestinian mechanic who was injured in an Israeli air strike, receives a visit from relatives and friends at Shifa hospital in Gaza City August 9, 2014. When Doghmosh woke up in hospital after the attack, he could not hear properly and found that three fingers from his right hand were also gone. He is one of thousands of Palestinians who have been left physically disabled by the conflict with Israel in the Gaza Strip, which began on July 8 after a surge in Palestinian rocket s

Challenges face Gazans seeking treatment in West Bank

Some of Gaza’s injured are receiving medical attention in the West Bank, but Israeli restrictions are making it difficult to get more of the wounded across.