Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

September 11, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:05 pm

28°C

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge on Aug. 14, 2026.

Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in Ali al-Taher ridge: What to know

The ridge has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon due to its extensive tunnel network Israel says is utilized by the Iran-backed group.

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

Skeptical about the effectiveness of the American economic blockade on Tehran to weaken the regime, Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran could decide to strike the Jewish state during the upcoming high holidays.

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

West Bank settlements

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

The decision comes against the backdrop of an escalation in settler violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Latest News

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

Analysis

LORA missile test reveals limits of Germany’s Gaza criticism of Israel

A woman walks past a model of a Lora missile, Israel's long range artillery missile at the Israel defence stall at the international DefExpo 2008 defence fair, in New Delhi on February 16, 2008. India kicked off South Asia's largest defence fair, with hundreds of global weapons firms offering their latest hardware to the country's technology-hungry military. About 450 weapons companies from 30 countries are present at the four-day "DefExpo" in New Delhi, with several big-ticket announcements expected. AFP P

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

How Jewish politician joining Arab party could reshape Israeli politics

Raam

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

French envoy in Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah tension, presidential void

French presidential special envoy for Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian is on his fourth visit to Beirut this year.

A US Navy Martin UAV drone hovers mid-air beneath a US Navy SH-60S Seahawk helicopter, while Bahraini Coast Guard ship Deraa 13 (L), US Coast Guard cutter Maui (C), and Royal Bahrain Naval Force (RBNF) Abdulrahman Al Fadhel (R) operate on Gulf waters during joint naval exercise between US 5th Fleet Command and Bahraini forces, on October 26, 2021. - The US and Bahrain navies conducted a joint exercise at sea, launching a series of drills integrating unmanned systems into regional maritime operations. (Photo

Day 54 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 29

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - NOVEMBER 28: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Best image available) Families of the hostages arrive, ahead of the expected arrival of hostages who were released today by Hamas, at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel. Israel and Hamas agreed to a two-day extension to their initial four-day truce, which promised the release of more Israeli hostages held in Gaza, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Hamas releases 10 Israeli, 2 Thai hostages as Gaza truce holds

Hamas has released 12 more hostages, 10 Israelis and 2 Thai nationals, Israeli authorities said on Tuesday. Among those released was a teenage girl together with her family dog.

Yahia al-Sinwar (C), the Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, addresses supporters during a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people celebrated annually on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in Gaza City, on April 14, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel-Hamas truce extension buys Netanyahu and Sinwar time

The Israeli government has pledged to resume fighting once Hamas stops liberating hostages, but the battle against the group could employ other war methods.

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

CIA Director William Burns arrives for a briefing on Ukraine at the US Capitol,Washington, Sept. 20, 2023.

CIA chief Bill Burns returns to Qatar as Israel-Hamas truce holds

The heads of the CIA and Israel's Mossad met Qatar's prime minister in Doha to discuss a possible extension of a truce between Hamas and Israel.

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

Day 53 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 28

In this handout image provided by the GPO, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) takes Elon Musk (L) on a tour of Kibbutz Kfar Aza after the Oct. 7 massacre took place there, on Nov. 27, 2023 in Kfar Aza, Israel.

What's behind Elon Musk's visit to Israel, meeting with Netanyahu?

On a visit to Israel, American billionaire Elon Musk called for a halt to the hate propaganda that he said enabled the Oct. 7 attack and also expressed willingness to help reconstruct Gaza.

A child carries a bag of humanitarian aid on his back as another uses a bicycle, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 26, 2023.

Qatar announces two-day Gaza truce extension

Hamas and Israel will pause their fighting for two additional days to allow the release of more hostages and the delivery of more aid into the Gaza Strip, Qatar announced on Monday.

Members of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) work at a staging area near the border of Gaza as a four day cease fire between Israel and members of Hamas holds for the release of prisoners and hostages on Nov. 27, 2023 outside of the city of Sedero in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Day 52 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 27

Israeli soldiers patrol in Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel on November 5, 2023, nearly a month after the October 7 attack by Palestinian militants that left more that 1400 Isaelis dead. The printing press in Beeri, an Israeli community that suffered one of Hamas's worst atrocities on October 7, has started up again in a small step towards recovery. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP

As Israel’s economy slows, investors ask how long will Hamas war go on

Despite fears, previous periods of violence in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank showed the Israeli economy emerging stronger on the other side.

Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City on the northern Gaza strip following weeks of Israeli bombardment, as a four-day ceasefire took effect on Nov. 24, 2023.

Day 51 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 26

Fallen Druze

After battling Hamas, Druze leaders ask Israel for more than special status law

In mourning for community victims killed by the militant group in Gaza, Druze patience is wearing thin toward a law discriminating against them.