Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

June 21, 2026

Tel Aviv 11:46 pm

24°C

Former Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot gives a press conference in Tel Aviv, on December 4, 2018.

Can political novice Eisenkot defeat Netanyahu in upcoming elections?

The former military chief of staff is emerging as the prime minister's strongest rival in upcoming elections, overtaking former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in recent polls.

US President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Palm Beach, Florida, Dec. 29, 2025.

Analysis

How Netanyahu used Lebanon strikes to push back on Trump’s Iran deal

The latest ceasefire in Lebanon leaves Netanyahu squeezed between Washington and domestic pressure.

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

Latest News

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

Explainer

Ben-Gvir's move to run separately in Israel elections revives debate over party alliances

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir takes part in the Jerusalem Day celebrations on May 14, 2026, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

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

A Thai labourer works in a watermelon field near the southern Israeli town of Sderot March 3, 2011. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: AGRICULTURE) - RTR2JEIS

Migrant workers forced to remain in Israeli fields as rockets fall

Thai field workers in the south of Israel are left in the open as farmers fail to provide portable shelters.

A Palestinian boy walks past the remains of a house which witnesses said was destoyed by an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City July 23, 2014. Israeli forces pounded the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, sending thousands of residents fleeing, and said it was meeting stiff resistance from Hamas Islamists, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Tel Aviv to push ceasefire talks. Israel launched its offensive on July 8 to halt missile salvoes by Hamas Islamists, who were struggling under the weight of an Israeli-Eg

Iran’s Reformist papers accused of lackluster Gaza coverage

Conservative media outlets in Iran have attacked Reformist news organizations for failing to report on the conflict in Gaza, prompting the editors to defend their coverage.

An Israeli Apache helicopter fires a missile towards the Gaza Strip July 22, 2014. Israel pounded targets across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, saying no ceasefire was near as top U.S. and United Nations diplomats pursued talks on halting the fighting that has claimed more than 600 lives. With the conflict entering its third week, the Palestinian death toll rose to 616, including nearly 100 children and many other civilians, Gaza health officials said. Israel's casualties also mounted, with the military announc

Israel's legal framework for Gaza strikes

Declaring Gaza a "belligerent, entity sui generis" has informed Israel’s strategy in the conflict.

A woman runs for shelter in a nearby office building as an air raid siren, warning of incoming rockets, sounds in a main street in Tel Aviv July 11, 2014. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday Israel has attacked more than 1,000 targets during a four-day-old offensive against Gaza militants and that "there are still more to go". REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3Y7ZM

Israel strives to face Hamas terror tactics

Unlike Israel, which has warned Palestinian civilians to leave fighting zones, Hamas spent enormous resources building terror tunnels but neglected to build any shelters to defend the Gaza population.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo July 22, 2014. Israel pounded targets across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, saying no ceasefire was near as top U.S. and U.N. diplomats pursued talks on halting fighting that has claimed more than 500 lives. Dispatched by U.S. President Barack Obama to the Middle East to seek a ceasefire, Kerry held talks on Tuesday in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri. REUTERS/Charles Dharapak/Pool (EGYPT - Tags

Egypt's Sisi holds Hamas' fate in his hands

Hamas has made a desperate bid for Qatar's support, but even Qatar's money won't save it if Egypt doesn't open the crossings into Gaza.

A general view of the venue during an extraordinary session of the Arab League at the league's headquarters in Cairo July 14, 2014. Egypt launched an initiative on Monday to halt fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants, proposing a ceasefire to be followed by talks in Cairo on settling the conflict in which Gaza authorities say more than 170 people have died. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3YNOV

Cease-fire initiatives pit Turkey against Egypt

Is Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan more concerned with undermining Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi than to broker a cease-fire in Gaza?

A Palestinian medic gestures at Al-Aqsa hospital, which witnesses said was damaged in an Israeli shelling on Monday, in Deir El-Balah in the central Gaza Strip July 22, 2014. Israel pounded targets across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, dashing hopes of a pause in the fighting, as the military said one of its soldiers was missing, presumed dead, following clashes with Hamas Islamists. Israel launched its offensive on July 8 to halt missile fire out of Gaza by Hamas, which was angered by a crackdown on its suppor

Electricity cuts push Gaza's hospitals to brink

As part of its offensive, Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip’s electrical infrastructure, resulting in power outages up to 21 hours a day.

Palestinian Hamas militants carry a coffin containing the body of their comrade Rami Meshmish during his funeral in the central Gaza Strip April 16, 2014. Meshmish and another fellow militant were killed in an accidental explosion on Wednesday; al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas movement, said in a statement. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3LJJR

Hamas' ambush tactics revealed in training booklet

A guide circulated among al-Qassam fighters outlines how to make the best use of their limited, tactical options in confronting the Israeli ground operation.

Fleeing civilians become targets in Shajaiya

Chaos and fear reign in Gaza's Shajaiya neighborhood, where civilians hurried back to search for their families during a cease-fire that was cut short.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint news conference with Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (not pictured) in Tel Aviv July 15, 2014. Israel sees in the Egyptian-proposed Gaza truce an opportunity to strip the Palestinian enclave of rockets but is prepared to redouble military action there if the cross-border launches persist, Netanyahu said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Dan Balilty/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3YPXL

Netanyahu's renewed legitimacy

The international legitimacy enjoyed now by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will last for a short while only, unless he renews the diplomatic negotiations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

An Israeli soldier launches a Skylark unmanned aerial vehicle near the border with Gaza July 21, 2014. Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinian militants who slipped across the border from Gaza through hidden tunnels on Monday, the military said, as the death toll from the two-week conflict passed 500 amid growing international calls for an end. Non-stop attacks lifted the Palestinian death toll to 496, including almost 100 children, since fighting started on July 8, Gaza health officials said. Israel says 18 o

Operation Protective Edge continues cycle of violence

The high price paid by Gaza residents over the IDF operation will not erode their support of Hamas and only a diplomatic solution will dissuade them from pinning their hopes on violent resistance.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara July 15, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3YQ61

Relations with Turkey sink lower after Erdogan's Israel comments

The surge of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli demonstrations in Turkey, inspired by critical remarks from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, forces Israel to set aside attempts at reconciliation.