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Israel

May 2, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:58 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

An outside view of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters taken ahead of a virtual IAEA Board of Governors' meeting at the IAEA headquarters of the UN seat in Vienna, Austria, on November 18, 2020. (Photo by Christian BRUNA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTIAN BRUNA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel predicts 6-month nuclear breakout time for Iran

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Iran is close to amassing the fissile material needed to build a nuclear weapon, but it would be a year or two before it could produce a nuclear weapon.

Netanyahu’s diplomatic blitz now victim of the coronavirus

The continuing coronavirus pandemic puts a damper on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic achievements.

Four Netanyahu antagonists could join forces against him

Four main rivals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — Yair Lapid, Gideon Saar, Avigdor Liberman and Naftali Bennett — could join forces after the March elections to establish a government without him.

Report: Israel turned down US request to inspect Haifa port after deal with China

Officials warned the US Navy may not visit the Haifa area if a Chinese state-run company takes up management of the city's port.

TOPSHOT - A priest crosses a nearly deserted street during a lockdown imposed by the authorities in a bid to fight spread of the coronavirus in the centre of Jerusalem, on January 28, 2021. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel extends nationwide virus lockdown by five days

The cabinet also voted to keep the ban on international flights in place through at least Sunday.

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Israel, Kosovo establish diplomatic relations on Zoom

Israel and Kosovo ae probably the first two countries in the world to establish diplomatic relations in a virtual Zoom ceremony.

An Israeli soldier watches an Elbit Systems Skylark I unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) taking off near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on August 21, 2020, as part of monitoring operations in the area. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Hezbollah says it took out Israeli drone near border

Hezbollah claims to have downed an Israeli drone, but the Israeli military claimed that it crashed.

A health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at Clalit Health Services, in a gymnasium in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva, on February 1, 2021. - Israel's nationwide lockdown was extended to contain the coronavirus which has continued to spread rapidly as the country presses ahead with an aggressive vaccination campaign. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel provides COVID-19 vaccine doses for Palestinian health-care workers

Faced with international criticism, and also for its own interest of curbing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority a first shipment of 2,000 Pfizer vaccine doses.

Explosion hits near Israeli Embassy in India

Nobody was hurt in the blast, which took place in New Delhi on the 29th anniversary of Israel and India establishing relations.

Israel's Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, addresses the media at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv on November 12, 2019. - Israel's military killed a commander of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in a strike on his home in the Gaza Strip early in the morning, prompting retaliatory rocket fire and fears of a severe escalation in violence. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

IDF chief warns US not to rejoin Iran deal

IDF chief Aviv Kochavi apparently did not consult with his superiors before speaking out against the United States returning to the nuclear deal with Iran.

Ultra-Orthodox lockdown disobedience could cost Netanyahu

Angry over the ultra-Orthodox and their riots against the nationwide lockdown, Israeli voters are turning against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Members of the Palestinian security forces stand guard outside the Legislative Council building in the occupied-West Bank town of Ramallah, on January 16, 202. - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas announced yesterday dates for the first Palestinian elections in more than 15 years, setting legislative polls for May 22 and a July 31 presidential vote.
Abbas's Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority based in the occupied West Bank, and the Hamas Islamists, who hold power in Gaza, have for years

Hamas leaders in West Bank warn of Israeli intimidation ahead of elections

Israeli intelligence warned a prominent Hamas leader in the West Bank against running in the Palestinian elections.