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May 18, 2026

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Lebanon-Israel ceasefire extended 45 days as US opens security talks

The Pentagon will host Israeli and Lebanese military delegations for a round of separate security talks later this month.

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

Just as UAE-Israeli relations were deepening through cooperation against Iran, the Israeli prime minister publicly embarrassed Abu Dhabi by revealing his March visit.

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

Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's accusations of systematic sexual abuse and rape of Palestinian prisoners, calling the claims a "blood libel."

Latest News

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

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

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

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

Hamas Gaza Chief Yehya Al-Sinwar (C) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (L) take part in the funeral of senior militant Mazen Fuqaha in Gaza City March 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX32NQR

Will Hamas respond to leader's assassination?

Hamas is still considering its options on how to respond to the assassination of its military leader, Mazen Faqha, which was blamed on Israel.

Lebanon's Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Beirut's suburbs, Lebanon August 3, 2016. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RTSKVYY

Interview

Hezbollah’s No. 2: US strike on Syria mere ‘muscle flexing'

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Sheikh Naim Qassem, the deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah in Lebanon, spoke about the US military strikes on a Syrian air base and Israel and its potential moves in the region among other things.

Naim Qassem

Naim Qassem

Deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah

Battle damage assessment image of Shayrat Airfield, Syria, is seen in this DigitalGlobe satellite image, released by the Pentagon following U.S. Tomahawk Land Attack Missile strikes from Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the USS Ross and USS Porter on April 7, 2017. DigitalGlobe/Courtesy U.S. Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MANDATORY CREDIT. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX34MOP

After US missile strikes, can Tillerson find common ground with Russia in Syria?

US strategy to defeat Islamic State in play as secretary of state heads to Moscow and UN secretary-general calls for restraint.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes part in a ceremony in which Israel declared its "David's Sling" intermediate-range air defence shield fully operational, at Hatzor air base in southern Israel April 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX33QI6

Eyes roll in Tel Aviv at Netanyahu's one-man band

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is quick to appropriate the achievements of his ministers, and the habit has become a running joke in political circles.

Yehuda Glick, an activist of the "temple mount faithful" group, poses for a photo in Jerusalem June 30, 2011. Glick was shot and severely wounded in Jerusalem on October 29, 2014 as he left a conference promoting a Jewish campaign to permit praying at a compound in the Old City that that has become a flashpoint as both Jews and Muslims regard it as a holy site, Israeli officials said. Israeli police shot dead a Palestinian on Thursday after he fired at them resisting arrest in East Jerusalem hours after the

Why this Likud MK presents unique challenge to Netanyahu

Knesset member Yehuda Glick advocates for the right of Jews to pray at the Temple Mount, but at the same time he champions liberal values such as freedom of the press.

The political scenarios to defeat Netanyahu in early elections

With the prospect for early elections in Israel, the Zionist Camp must decide whether to join forces with left-wing Meretz and its liberal-humanist ideology or tag along with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man dips cooking utensils in boiling water to remove remains of leaven in preparation for the Jewish holiday of Passover in the city of Ashdod April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX3497Q

Israeli chefs get creative during Passover

Israeli chefs recount to Al-Monitor how Passover restrictions force them to become more innovative than ever before in their cooking and baking.

Israeli soldiers of the Caracal battalion rest after finishing a 20-kilometre march in Israel's Negev desert, near Kibbutz Sde Boker, marking the end of their training, May 29, 2014. The "Caracal" battalion, two-thirds of whose members are women, was established in 2004 with the purpose of incorporating female soldiers in combat units. The main mission of Caracal is routine patrols on Israel's border with Egypt to intercept infiltrators and smuggling from the Sinai desert. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags:

How religious female soldiers are transforming the IDF

Female commanders of combat units in the Israel Defense Forces, especially religious women, are provoking apprehension among religious Zionist leaders in Israel.

Could an offshore seaport be Gaza's salvation?

Israeli Transportation and Intelligence Minister Israel Katz continues to promote his idea of an artificial island and port off the Gaza coast and recently pitched it to President Donald Trump’s envoy.

U.S. President Donald Trump waits to welcome Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX33FJG

Trump's envoy pushing two-state solution as Abbas' US visit nears

US President Donald Trump's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been vague so far, but initial signs indicate that an attempt at an Israeli-Palestinian deal is not out of the question.

Orthodox Christian worshippers hold crosses before a procession along the Via Dolorosa on Good Friday during Holy Week in Jerusalem's Old City April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX2C6DI

Jerusalem's Old City braces for massive Easter crowds

The Old City of Jerusalem is expected to be extremely crowded this year as all the churches will celebrate Easter on the same schedule, renovations have attracted a higher pilgrim turnout and Passover visitors will add to the throngs.

How Palestinians plan to overcome electricty shortages

The Palestinian government is establishing a "new electricity market" that will draw power from various sources but will be supervised by a government-owned company.