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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

Deputy chairman of Hamas' political bureau Moussa Abu Marzouk talks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, August 9, 2014. Palestinian negotiators will leave Cairo on Sunday unless Israel agrees to return to Egyptian-mediated negotiations to end the war in Gaza, senior delegation member Marzouk said. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR41TT5

Hamas warns Gazans have 'nothing to lose'

The deadlock remains in Cairo, as Israel refuses to budge on Hamas’ demand to lift the siege and the Palestinian group, warning it will return to the battlefield if no progress is made.

Palestinians gather around the remains of a mosque, which witnesses said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike before a 72-hour truce, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip August 11, 2014. Israeli negotiators were due in Cairo on Monday for talks on ending a month-old Gaza war with Palestinian militants, an Israeli government official said, after a new 72-hour truce brokered by Egypt appeared to be holding. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION TPX IMAGES OF THE DA

Gaza war bill estimated at $5 billion

The Gaza Strip will have to undergo a third reconstruction in fewer than seven years, which will test the ability of the Palestinian factions to cooperate and respond effectively.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) gestures during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the West Bank city of Ramallah July 19, 2013. REUTERS/Fadi Arouri/Pool (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11S3S

Signs of progress in Kerry peace bid

US Secretary of State John Kerry extended his trip to the middle east to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in an effort overcome obstacles to resuming negotiations.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers a statement on Ukraine from the State Department press briefing room in Washington April 24, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3MJGY

Kerry: agreement for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to resume

US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will come to Washington DC next week to begin peace talks.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (L) walks out with U.S. ambassador to Israel Martin S. Indyk after their meeting at Arafat's office in Gaza Strip May 31. Indyk visited Gaza to discuss the last developments in the peace process in the Mideast.

AJ/ME - RTR4UKY

Kerry may tap Indyk as peace envoy

Diplomatic officials have told Al-Monitor that US secretary of State John Kerry may tap former Clinton Near East envoy Martin Indyk as his Israel-Palestine peace envoy.

TIRA, ISRAEL - JULY 12: People of both Arab and Jewish heritage participate in a rally calling for peace in the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict on July 12, 2014 in Tira, Israel. Israeli rockets have killed over 100 people throughout Gaza, while Hamas continues to launch rockets into Israel. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Liberman calls for economic boycott of Israel's Arabs

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman's call for a boycott of the businesses of Arabs who identified with Gaza residents has added fuel to the fire that threatens the delicate relationship between Israel's Arabs and Jews.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announces further peace talks at a news conference with Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (L) and Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (R) at the State Department in Washington July 30, 2013. Israel and the Palestinians will seek to reach a peace agreement within nine months and negotiators will meet again within two weeks after holding a "positive" first round of talks, Kerry said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1250P

Kerry aims for Israel-Palestine peace accord in 9 months

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that both Israel and Palestine have agreed to put all issues necessary to achieve a final status agreement "on the table for negotiation."

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (R) looks on as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signs a guest book during the UN General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York September 24, 2013. REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13XTE

In Palestine, resistance more popular than negotiations

In the aftermath of the Gaza war, with a strengthened Hamas and little hope of change from the Israeli government, the West Bank Palestinian leadership considers either working toward a transitory agreement with Israel or taking the UN route, with the backing of the European Union.

An Israeli soldier looks at the Gaza Strip through a monocular on the Israeli border August 9, 2014. Israel launched more than 30 air attacks in Gaza on Saturday, killing five Palestinians, and militants fired rockets at Israel as the conflict entered a second month, defying international efforts to revive a ceasefire. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR41TE3

Both Israel and Hamas claim victory

Both sides, Israel and Hamas, will have to compromise as the Gaza campaign will be declared a draw.

A general view shows damage and burnt tents for Syrian refugees from the fighting between Lebanese army soldiers and Islamist militants in the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley August 7, 2014. Militant Islamists have mostly withdrawn from the Lebanese border town of Arsal, which they seized at the weekend, taking with them captive Lebanese soldiers, militant and security sources said on Thursday, as a truce to end the deadly battle appeared to hold. REUTERS/Hassan Abdallah (LEBANON

Is Lebanon next target of Islamic State?

Lebanon battles extremist armed groups; Egypt’s political isolation in Gaza; Iran’s shift on Hamas; family of Al-Monitor columnist killed by Israeli airstrike; lobbying series continues.

A Palestinian boy rides in a car driving past residential buildings in Beit Lahiya town, which witnesses said was heavily hit by Israeli shelling and air strikes during the Israeli offensive, in the northern Gaza Strip August 7, 2014. Mediators worked against the clock on Thursday to extend a Gaza truce between Israel and the Palestinians as the three-day ceasefire went into its final 24 hours. Israel has said it is ready to agree to an extension as Egyptian mediators pursued talks with Israelis and Palesti

Israeli media wakes up to Gaza destruction, criticism

With the war nearing its end, Israeli media features the destruction of Gaza, not only in numbers but in images, exposing the Israeli public to the suffering of the Palestinians and to harsh criticism voiced by European leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Martin Indyk leaves a briefing room at the State Department in Washington July 29, 2013. Kerry named former U.S. ambassador to Israel Indyk as his main envoy in Israeli-Palestinian talks starting in Washington later on Monday seeking "reasonable compromises" in the tough negotiations. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX123XL

Peace talks to get underway, Kerry names Indyk envoy

Following informal talks between Israeli, Palestinian, and US diplomats, US Secretary of State john Kerry will host Israeli and Palestinian negotiators for an iftar dinner as the peace process resumes after a three year hiatus.