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Israel

May 2, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:02 am

14°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

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 06: U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference at the Washington Convention Center March 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. With thousands of delegates and attendees, the annual AIPAC conference is the largest gathering of the pro-Israel movement in the United States. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

PA vows to sue US ambassador over support to Israeli settlements

The Palestinian Authority has threatened to sue former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman after he recognized the City of David settlement project in Jerusalem.

US Marine Corps General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), poses for a picture during his visit to a military base in al-Kharj in central Saudi Arabia on July 18, 2019. - McKenzie pledged on July 18 to work "aggressively" to ensure maritime safety in strategic Gulf waters after a spate of attacks blamed on Iran. McKenzie's visit to Saudi Arabia comes a day after the US House voted to block $8.1 billion in arms sales to the kingdom and other allies, in a move likely to be

Intel: CENTCOM chief tours Mideast in first trip under Biden administration

Gen. Kenneth McKenzie is scheduled to stop in Israel later this week as the Joe Biden administration seeks strategic dialogue to build on the Abraham Accords.

Israel bans flights amid virus surge

Israel is also experiencing violent clashes over virus restrictions as well as relative success in administering coronavirus vaccines.

Israel extradites Australian woman accused of child abuse

Australian authorities sought the extradition of former teacher Malka Leifer for several years.

David Schenker, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, (L) meets with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita during a meeting in Dakhla in Morocco-administered Western Sahara, on January 10, 2021. - Schenker is visiting the contested Western Sahara after Washington recognised Morocco's sovereignty there in exchange for Rabat normalising ties with Israel. Western Sahara is a disputed and divided former Spanish colony, mostly under Morocco's control, where tensions with the pro-independen

Israel’s Cabinet approves diplomatic relations with Morocco

The agreement calls for "diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations" between the two governments.

Israel opens embassy in Abu Dhabi

Ambassador Eytan Na’eh arrived yesterday to Abu Dhabi, officially opening Israel’s first embassy to the United Arab Emirates.

Israeli security forces arrest an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man during a protest against the enforcement of coronavirus emergency regulations, in the Ultra Orthodox jewish neighborhood of Mea Shearim, in Jerusalem, on October 5, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Ultra-Orthodox riot across Israel over lockdown

Resistance to pandemic restrictions has grown violent in ultra-Orthodox towns, where a bus driver was attacked during anti-government riots.

This picture taken on February 13, 2020 shows a view of a petrol station belonging to the Israeli Paz Oil Company, which controls 30 percent of the Israeli fuel market, in the Israeli settlement of Mishor Adumim in the occupied West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem. - Israel on February 13 rejected as "shameful" the UN's publication of a list of 112 companies that do business in its settlements, while the Palestinians cheered its long-delayed release as a "victory for international law". The list publishe

Israel's subsea gas, oil fields heat up

International consortiums are showing increasing interest in developing Israel’s offshore oil and gas fields.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MARCH 20: (ISRAEL OUT) Israeli Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, center, speaks to his media advisor Assi Shariv, left, before he gives an interview to Army Radio personality Razi Barkai at the Ministry of Trade and Industry March 20, 2006 in Jerusalem. One week before Israel's March 28 general elections, Olmert's centrist Kadima party leads its nearest rivals by a nargin of about 2:1 according to opinion polls. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Israel’s defense minister wants to close Army Radio

Like other defense ministers before him, Benny Gantz wants to rid the ministry of the IDF radio station.

Israeli airstrikes hit central Syria

Iranian forces have repositioned themselves in eastern Syria due to recent suspected Israeli strikes.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein (C) attend a ceremony for the arrival of a plane carrying a shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech anti-coronavirus vaccine, at Ben Gurion airport near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on January 10, 2021. - Netanyahu announced earlier this week that he had signed a deal for enough doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for all Israelis over 16 to be innoculated. Israel, with a population of nine million, has recorded over 3,600 deaths from th

Netanyahu bets everything on vaccination drive

As the March 23 elections approach, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wagered everything on stopping the pandemic.

An Israeli health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine, at the Clalit Health Services installed at the Pais Arena Sport Hall in Jerusalem, on January 21, 2021. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Privacy concerns mar Israeli deal with Pfizer

Some Israelis are worried that the agreement with Pfizer prioritizing Israel in its vaccine distribution involves the provision of personal information to the company.