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Israel

May 19, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:30 pm

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Men gather around the husk of a destroyed pickup truck that was driven by a local shepherd who was reportedly struck by Israeli forces and buried by locals at a grave nearby, in the Najaf desert in southwestern Iraq, on May 12, 2026.

What we know about secret Israeli bases in Iraq

Iraqi authorities have said there are no longer any hostile forces operating in its territory.

Somaliland’s first ambassador to a foreign country formally, Mohamed Hagi, presented his diplomatic credentials in Jerusalem to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, on May 18, 2026.

Israel accredits Somaliland's first ambassador: What to know

Israel was the first country to recognize the breakaway region on the Horn of Africa last year.

talks

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

Latest News

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

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

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

People dine at a coffee shop as an image of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed on a monitor in Tel Aviv, Israel November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2SSC5

Netanyahu struggles to control Israeli right in run-up to Trump

The Israeli right is taking matters into its own hands as uncertainty over US President-elect Donald Trump's diplomatic strategy reigns.

Palestinians hold a poster of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a Hamas rally in support of Erdogan's government against a coup attempt, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSI917

Will Israeli-Turkish relations leave Hamas in the cold?

It remains unclear how Hamas-Turkish ties will be affected by the move by Turkey and Israel toward a resumption of full diplomatic relations.

Israel's new Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, head of far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, reviews an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX2EXRI

Liberman takes seat at switchboard between US administration, Israel

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman is already busy coordinating with the new US administration on settlement expansion policies in an attempt to build a pragmatic and responsible image for himself, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu watches from a safe distance.

People walk past signs bearing the name of U.S. President-elect Republican Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, Israel November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2TLRV

Analysis

Israel, Palestinians prepare for Trump era

Israelis and Palestinians are now redrawing the lines for a new diplomatic battle in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election.

Uri Savir

Why an Israeli general is Facebook chatting with Palestinians

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Gen. Yoav Mordechai conducted a first-of-its-kind live chat session on Facebook with Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman speaks during a briefing to members of the media on the medical condition of former Israeli President Shimon Peres a day after he suffered a stroke, at a hospital near Tel Aviv, Israel September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSNPU9

How the call to prayer is uniting Israel's Arabs, ultra-Orthodox

Ultra-Orthodox Knesset members have joined forces with Joint List Knesset members in objecting to the bill preventing the muezzin call to prayer.

An entrance to a tunnel which Israel's military said it had discovered is seen just outside the southern Gaza Strip May 6, 2016. REUTERS/ Amir Cohen - RTX2D427

Were Israeli ministers the last to learn about Gaza tunnels?

According to different sources, Israeli Cabinet ministers did not receive information about the tunnels dug by Hamas in 2014, though the information was gathered by Israeli intelligence and was transferred to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A Palestinian man displays SIM cards of Palestinian Jawwal cellular company in a mobile phone shop in Gaza City November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTX2U31Z

Israeli 3G SIM cards all the rage in Gaza

SIM cards allowing 3G service on Israeli telecommunications networks are being smuggled into Gaza and snapped up quickly by young Palestinians.

Moshe Kahlon, Israel's new Finance Minister, attends a meeting at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem May 18, 2015. Boosting competition in Israel's banking system and the economy as a whole as well as bringing down property prices will be priorities for the country's new finance minister, he said on Monday. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX1DH88

Has Israel's finance minister lost his fans?

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon's supporters are disappointed, as they believed he would fight for the rule of law and the new public broadcasting corporation but now see him abandoning political battles that might mark him as a leftist, guided primarily by political survival.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - APRIL 17: In this handout image provided by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO), Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat watched by Netanyahu's personal envoy, attorney Yitzhak Molcho and the head of Palestinian Authority General Intelligence Majad Faraj during their meeting on April 17, 2012 in Jerusalem, Israel. At the end of the meeting, it was agreed to release the following statement: "Israel and the Palestinian Aut

Will submarine deal sink Netanyahu's ship?

A scandal over a submarine deal has focused the public's attention and that of Israel's attorney general on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s relations with two of his lawyers.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (L) and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney emerge after their meeting at the main clubhouse at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTSSFB6

Trump’s transition off to rough start

Donald Trump’s administration is turning out to be the year of the white male.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) attends a media conference together with Israel's new Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, following Lieberman's swearing-in ceremony at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem May 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX2EVP1

Is Netanyahu-Liberman power couple making comeback?

Of all the ministers, it was actually Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long-year foe, who defended the prime minister on the submarine affair and who stated clearly that the Amona settlement will be evacuated.