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Israel

May 7, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:08 am

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People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs neighborhood of Haret Hreik on May 6, 2026.

Israel strikes Beirut in breach of Lebanon ceasefire

Israel has continued to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon but had not targeted Beirut since the ceasefire took effect.

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

While President Donald Trump keeps pressuring Iran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Israel fears the American leader will decide to cut his losses and sideline the nuclear threat.

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

A man sits watching as Lebanese first responders search for human remains among the rubble the day after a house was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, on May 1, 2026.

Culture

Lebanon's churches, mosques and archaeological sites damaged in Israeli strikes

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have damaged a growing number of cultural and religious sites, as sites in Israel have also sustained damage from Hezbollah and Iranian attacks.

Latest News

Analysis

Can Bennett, Lapid unite Israel’s opposition to unseat Netanyahu?

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid (L) speaks to outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, during a meeting at the Knesset (parliament), in Jerusalem on June 30, 2022. - Final approval of the parliament dissolution bill was initially expected by midnight but was postponed to June 30 as coalition and opposition lawmakers sparred over last-minute legislative details, several sources familiar with the parliamentary said. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

Iron Dome in Gulf: How Iran war turned UAE-Israel defense ties operational

AFP via Getty Images

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Analysis

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

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

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

Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know

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.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Naftali Bennett visit an Israeli army base in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, November 24, 2019. Atef Safadi/Pool via REUTERS - RC2THD9OHSNJ

Israeli right-wing once again putty in Netanyahu's hands

Instead of heading a secular-religious list and attracting moderate right-wing voters, New Right leader Naftali Bennett finds himself at the head of a party that includes right-wing extremists.

Polish President Andrzej Duda and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin are seen in front of the "Arbeit macht frei" (Work sets you free) gate as they take part in the annual "March of the Living" to commemorate the Holocaust at the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz, in Oswiecim, Poland, April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel - RC1EB00DCD80

Who is Israel commemorating at Holocaust remembrance event?

Israeli and Jewish politicians and wheeler-dealers are turning Holocaust remembrance events into a political mingling arena.

Israel's Minister of Education Naftali Bennett (R) and Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (L) announce the formation of new political party HaYemin HeHadash or The New Right, during a press conference in the Israeli Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on December 29, 2018. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu’s paranoia on national-religious politicians

Now that the national-religious parties are united, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can move to the second phase of his plan, namely trying to steal their votes in favor of his own Likud.

Former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked attends the launch of the political party "Yemina", which she formed with Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich (C) and Education Minister Rafi Peretz (R), on August 12, 2019 in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

The national-religious Knesset list: a strange mix

The top 10 spots of the Yamina list include Ministers Rafi Peretz and Bezalel Smotrich, whose public statements show that they are not the example of enlightenment, as well as liberal religious women and the secular Ayelet Shaked.

Members of a Palestinian family sit around a fire to warm themselves at the site of their destroyed house, on a rainy day in the southern Gaza Strip January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC24DE9KGKN8

Islamic Jihad undermines shaky Gaza cease-fire with rocket barrage

Israel, Egypt holding Hamas accountable for all attacks from Gaza; the wisdom of Sultan Qaboos.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 25 : President Donald J. Trump welcomes Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday, March 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Why Trump's peace plan won't rescue Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might prefer that President Donald Trump’s peace plan be published ahead of the elections, but Blue and White seniors say this won’t become a game changer.

Will political merger mania save or topple Netanyahu?

In Israel, the goal of toppling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has driven center and left-wing parties to unite through"technical linkages," but with no guarantee their alliance will survive the day after March 2 elections.

This picture taken on July 28, 2019 shows two giant Israeli Likud Party election banners hanging from a building showing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with a caption above reading in Hebrew "Netanyahu, in another league", in the coastal Mediterranean city of Tel Aviv. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Why some Israelis criticize Putin’s imminent visit

The upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, his participation in the ceremony commemorating 75 years to the liberation of Auschwitz and his inauguration of the monument commemorating the Leningrad blockade stir up mixed emotions.

Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, walks inside a tunnel while touring "The City of David", a Jewish heritage site in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, East Jerusalem January 14, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2RFE9XDZ2W

Who gains if Trump publishes peace plan before Israeli election?

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be pushing for the Trump administration to publish its "deal of the century" ahead of the March elections, the candidate who might gain the most from such a situation is Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.

Members of the 22nd Knesset, the Israeli parliament, stand during their swearing-in ceremony, in Jerusalem October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1172B0B270

Mergers, divisions change little in Israel’s political map

Even after the parties submitted their Knesset lists for the March elections, there is no significant change in the breakdown of power between the two blocs.

Rocket fire from Gaza threatens Israel-Hamas arrangement

Although the party behind recent missile attacks remains unclear, Israel held Hamas at least partially responsible and directed its military retaliation at the Islamist group.

Israel’s paring of Palestinian tax funds hampers PA budget preparation

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the 2020 budget will go back to being a regular one; the PA operated on an emergency budget last year after Israel cut the PA's tax funds.