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Israel

July 13, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:44 am

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Analysis

As US-Iran fighting resumes, Israel weighs 3 options with restraint winning, for now

Despite Israel's military readiness to resume strikes on Iran, officials say looming elections make Netanyahu more likely to stay out unless Tehran forces his hand.

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

Former Israeli army chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot speaks during the launch of the Yashar party's election campaign in Hod Aharon, in central Israel, on June 30, 2026.

New Israeli election poll puts Eisenkot ahead of Netanyahu: What to know

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party has now bypassed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud in the polls, cementing his status as Netanyahu’s main opponent.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not shown) for bilateral talks at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit on July 08, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump declares MoU with Iran 'over' as Hegseth cancels trip to Israel

Trump said diplomacy with Tehran was “a waste of time” after renewed attacks around Hormuz, as US defense chief reportedly cancels Israel visit.

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Lebanon's latest damage estimate outlines reconstruction challenge

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Analysis

Trump's F-35 push for Turkey runs into CAATSA — and Israel

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)

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

Israel, Greece conduct military drills ahead of NATO summit in Turkey

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via 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

Palestinians stand on a stage with a poster depicting late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during a rally marking the 48th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah movement, in Gaza City January 4, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians joined a rare rally staged by President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group in Gaza on Friday, as tensions ease with rival Hamas Islamists ruling the enclave since 2007. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR3C3I8

Palestinians want to know who killed Arafat

Palestinians are not surprised by the findings of the Swiss forensic report that the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat's body contained high levels of polonium.

A police officer watches Israeli protesters take part in a rally against the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails outside Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah, October 29, 2013. Israel is to release 26 Palestinian prisoners in a second stage of a deal brokered by the United States in July that brought a resumption of peace talks. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (ISRAEL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS RELIGION) - RTX14SWY

Israeli police warn of rise in organized crime

Israeli criminal organizations are stepping up their ruthlessness, adapting their operational methods to the modern era and penetrating government circles.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 24, 2013.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13Y4X

Obama goes big in the Middle East

The US-Russia agreement on Syria’s chemical weapons, a possible nuclear deal with Iran, and Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are all signs that the Obama administration may be charting a new course in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks with Israel's President Shimon Peres (L) in Jerusalem, November 6, 2013. Kerry urged Israel on Wednesday to limit settlement building in occupied territories to help push peace talks with the Palestinians back on track. REUTERS/Jason Reed (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX152FC

Palestine-Israel talks are a road without a map

A freeze on settlements and recognition that the West Bank is occupied territory is necessary to turn the talks into true negotiations.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (2nd L) waits to hear the verdict in the corruption charges against him at the Magistrate Court in Jerusalem November 6, 2013. Lieberman will return to the cabinet after his acquittal in a corruption trial on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. REUTERS/Emil Salman/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX15212

Liberman slams South Africa as 'anti-Israel'

The harsh remarks emanating from Turkey and South Africa indicate that it's OK to criticize Israel while strengthening ties with Iran.

A wounded Syrian girl sits on a hospital bed at Ziv Medical Center in the northern Israeli town of Safed September 9, 2013. What started this year as a trickle is now a steady flow of Syrians, scores of civilians and fighters wounded in the civil war and being discreetly brought across the Golan frontline into Israel - a country with which Syria is formally still at war. Picture taken September 9, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH) - RTX13JW4

Wounded Syrians treated in Israel

Safed's Ziv hospital welcomes Syrians wounded in the war.

Naftali Bennett, head of the far-right Bayit Yehudi party, is silhouetted as he talks to students at a pre-army training course as he campaigns in the Shapira Center near the southern city of Ashkelon January 20, 2013. Israel will hold a parliamentary election on January 22. Bennett has emerged as the surprise success story of the country's election campaign, with polls predicting his party will win some 13 seats, and that a cabinet post for Bennett is likely. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELE

Prominent Likud member warns of massive layoffs

The chairman of the Knesset's Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, Haim Katz, warns of a massive layoff wave in the Israeli job market, accusing Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennet for not fighting it.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (3rd R) is surrounded by members of the media as he leaves the Magistrate Court in Jerusalem, after he was acquitted in a corruption trial November 6, 2013. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Lieberman back to government on Wednesday after the ultra-nationalist politician was acquitted of corruption charges. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX1523M

Liberman’s acquittal shakes Israeli politics

Having been acquitted, Foreign Minister-to-be Avigdor Liberman can go to work without a legal cloud over his head, turning him into the key player in Netanyahu's coalition.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (C) wears a prayer shawl as he arrives at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in Jerusalem's Old City, following his acquittal in a corruption trial November 6, 2013. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Lieberman back to government on Wednesday after the ultra-nationalist politician was acquitted of corruption charges. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW RELIGION) - RTX1523P

Liberman: Israel's 'bad cop' returns

The return of Avigdor Liberman as foreign minister spells trouble for the peace talks.

A protester stands near a line of fire during a demonstration in Cairo October 9, 2011. Nineteen people were killed in Cairo on Sunday when Christians, some carrying crosses and pictures of Jesus, clashed with military police, medical and security sources said, in the latest sectarian flare-up in a country in political turmoil. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS RELIGION TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2SGGO

Levant Christians consider threats to their communities

During a gathering of Christian representatives from various Near East countries in Beirut, participants were divided when it came to determining their main enemy and strategies for the future.

City_of_Acre,_Israel_(aerial_view,_2005).jpg

The tragedy of Palestinian revisionism

The author responds to Linah Alsaafin, who called Acre a “city in northern Palestine.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) is joined by Israeli President Shimon Peres (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the King Hussein Convention Centre, at the Dead Sea, Jordan, May 26, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTX101SH

Kerry's Palestinian economic plan another dead end?

The details and process for US Secretary of State John Kerry's $4 billion economic plan to date are discouraging.