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Israel

May 2, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:54 am

16°C

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), from the British Army's 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, No. 2 Company, patrol along the buffer zone separating the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the divided capital Nicosia on Feb. 17, 2026.

Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know

A potential French deployment to Greek Cyprus comes amid Turkey’s growing concerns of strategic encirclement in the Eastern Mediterranean.

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump spoke by phone separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the situation in Iran and the possibility of extending the ceasefire.

DENIS LOVROVIC/AFP via Getty Images

Israel rejects Ukraine's claim that Russian shadow fleet vessel docked in Haifa

Ukraine alleges the vessel unloaded wheat taken from occupied territories in Haifa, while Israel says ship had not entered the port.

Latest News

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

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

Turkey’s military spending jumps to $30B, leads Mideast growth in 2025

Turkey's submarines and fast-attack craft ships participate in the live-fire phase of the Blue Homeland-2026 (Mavi Vatan) tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to journalists as he arrives for an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the margins of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, on April 17, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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 healthcare worker administers a COVID-19 vaccine at Clalit Health Services, in the ultra-Orthodox Israeli city of Bnei Brak, on January 6, 2021. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Alarming low vaccination rates among Israeli ultra-Orthodox, Bedouins

Washed with fake news and conspiracy theories, anti-corona vaccination rates among the Bedouins and ultra-Orthodox are much lower than in the Jewish sector.

Riot police stand in formation as unseen Turkish protesters demonstrate against Israel's attack on Gaza outside the Israeli embassy in Ankara on November 21, 2012. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza, saying the Jewish state's air raids could not be considered self-defence. AFP Photo/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel still cool to gestures from Turkey

In a positive, yet cautious signal, Israel has nominated senior diplomat ambassador Irit Lillian as charge d’Affairs to its embassy in Ankara.

Netanyahu manipulates parties on left, right

By encouraging a coalition of Israel's far right parties and by pushing for splits within the Arab Joint List, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has increased his chances of winning the March 23 elections.

HEBRON, WEST BANK - SEPTEMBER 04: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on the phone during an event marking the anniversary of the 1929 killing of 67 Jews by Palestinian rioters, on September 04, 2019 in Hebron, West Bank. Netanyahu is visiting Hebron ahead of Israel's elections on September 17th. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

Netanyahu still waiting for Biden’s phone call

The fact that US President Joe Biden is taking his time in calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the fact that he did not refer to Israel or to the Iranian threat in his first foreign policy speech, deeply worries Jerusalem.

US Presidential Adviser Jared Kushner (L) poses with Ambassador David Friedman (R), and his wife Tammy (C), after the unveiling of a plaque at the embassy grounds in Jerusalem on December 21, 2020. (Photo by Maya Alleruzzo / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MAYA ALLERUZZO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Congress votes to make US Embassy move to Jerusalem permanent

The measure, an amendment to the COVID-19 relief bill, passed the Senate easily on Thursday night.

French President Emmanuel Macron gestures alongside the Israeli President as they address a press conference in Jerusalem on January 22, 2020, - Israel will lobby key leaders at this week's 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on what it considers one of the gravest modern threats to the Jewish people: Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron of France and top US officials before an event at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre in J

Macron advocates Saudi, Israeli inclusion in Iran nuclear talks

The United States says it will present a "unified front" with Europe on Iran strategy once consultations with allies conclude.

Israel's Netanyahu postpones trip to UAE and Bahrain amid virus surge

The prime minister cited Israel's suspension of flights for pushing back the historic trip to the Gulf.

United Arab Emirates

A picture taken on October 18, 2018 shows the US Consulate in Jerusalem. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced today that the US office in Jerusalem dealing with Palestinians is being merged into the controversial new US embassy in the city. (Photo by THOMAS COEX / AFP) (Photo credit should read THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)

Jerusalem deputy mayor advances embassy district

Jerusalem's deputy mayor responsible for international affairs, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, is promoting a plan to develop an embassy district in the south of the city.

A worker walks with a piece of wood on his shoulder at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on December 26, 2019. - The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a 145-metre-high, 1.8-kilometre-long concrete colossus is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa.
Across Ethiopia, poor farmers and rich businessmen alike eagerly await the more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity officials say it will ultimately provide.
Yet as thousands of workers toil day and night to finish

The Takeaway: Egypt welcomes US mediation to help break high-stakes deadlock over Nile dam

Motaz Zahran, Egypt’s ambassador to the United States, says Ethiopia has "no political will" to resolve dam dispute; who’s buying Golani’s makeover?; former ambassador to United States says Israel needs "united front" against Iran nuclear deal; Egypt’s first female mixed martial arts fighter.

Initial data from Israel unclear on preventing infections

Data from Israel's vaccination campaign only shows the vaccine against COVID-19 prevents serious illness so far.

merav michaeli 1 (002).jpg

Israeli Labor picks gender warrior Michaeli as its new leader

Polls indicate that the election of gender-equality activist Merav Michaeli to head the struggling labor party was a good pick.

Israel multiplies warning on renewing nuke deal with Iran

Two senior ministers, Tzachi Hanegbi and Yuval Steinitz, are warning against the United States pushing for a JCPOA-similar agreement with Iran.