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Israel

June 22, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:06 am

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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

The entrance to a tunnel exposed by the Israeli military is seen on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border March 27, 2014. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) announced that they exposed the tunnel on March 21, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3IVTV

Gaza tunnels take IDF by surprise

For years, Hamas has constructed an ''underground Gaza'' designed to fire rockets at Israel, send infiltrators and protect Hamas' leadership, while investing nothing in the welfare of "upper Gaza."

Egypt scrambles to stop missiles launched at Israel from Sinai

Reports of rockets fired at Israel by militants in the Sinai Peninsula are an embarrassment for the Egyptian government as they struggle to contain insurgent groups in the region.

Smoke trails are seen as rockets are launched towards Israel from the northern Gaza Strip July 13, 2014. Thousands fled their homes in a Gaza town on Sunday after Israel warned them to leave ahead of threatened attacks on rocket-launching sites, on the sixth day of an offensive that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 160 people. Militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip kept up rockets salvoes deep into the Jewish state and the worst bout of Israel-Palestinian bloodshed in two years showed no sign

Iran boosts Hamas rocket capacity

Congress is skeptical of extending of Iran talks; Iran has a hand in Gaza; acrimony between Egypt and Hamas is hindering a cease-fire agreement; and the Islamic State using the Turkish Consulate in Mosul as its headquarters.

Hamas supporters wave Hamas flags on the now Egyptian and Palestinian border during an Israeli pullout celebration ceremony in Rafah south of Gaza Strip September 22, 2005. Israel on Thursday dismantled its last military base in a pocket of the northern West Bank where it had evacuated four small settlements, completing the final stage of a "disengagement" plan. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - RTRP2HW

Knesset debates whether Gaza disengagement helped Hamas

During the Knesset debate marking the ninth anniversary of Israel's disengagement from Gaza, conservative politicians claimed that the current Hamas attacks would not have taken place had Ariel Sharon not pulled out of the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian man stands next to a house which police said was targeted in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City July 17, 2014. Israeli shelling killed four Palestinian boys on a Gaza beach on Wednesday, an incident the military called tragic, and Israel and Hamas said they would cease attacks for five hours on Thursday for a humanitarian truce requested by the United Nations. Palestinian militants fired more than 130 rockets into Israel on the ninth day of a war in which Israeli attacks have killed 216 Palest

Gaza on alert for Israeli spies

Two suspected spies for Israel have been murdered in Gaza since the outbreak of war as locals are on the lookout for suspicious behavior.

Israeli tanks manoeuvre outside the northern Gaza Strip July 18, 2014. Israel intensified its land offensive in Gaza with artillery, tanks and gunboats on Friday and warned it could "significantly widen" an operation Palestinian officials said was killing ever greater numbers of civilians. The Israeli land advance followed 10 days of barrages against Gaza from air and sea, hundreds of rockets fired by Hamas into Israel and failed attempts by Egypt, a broker of ceasefires in previous Israeli-Palestinian flar

Israeli Cabinet members blame US for failed cease-fire

Backed by Qatar and Turkey and facing American hesitance, Hamas refused the Egyptian-brokered cease-fire, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to begin a ground operation in Gaza to destroy the tunnel networks.

Israeli women stand near a building damaged after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza landed in the southern town of Sderot July 15, 2014. Israel will intensify its week-old offensive against Hamas in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, after the Islamist group continued firing rockets at Israel instead of accepting an Egyptian-proposed ceasefire. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3YSAZ

Elderly Israelis: 'I survived Hitler, Hamas doesn't scare me'

Many elderly residents of the rocket-afflicted areas around Gaza react with calm and resilience to the sound of the sirens and even refuse to hurry into shelters.

Inside Egypt's cease-fire efforts

Egypt's attempts to broker a cease-fire in Gaza show its commitment to regaining its regional role.

No escape for civilians in Gaza

Al-Monitor reports from the scene of several bombings as Israel's bombardment of Gaza's civilian areas continues.

A smoke trail is seen as a rocket is launched from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel July 15, 2014. Israel resumed air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after agreeing to an Egyptian-proposed ceasefire deal that failed to get Hamas militants to halt rocket attacks. The week-old conflict seemed to be at a turning point, with Hamas defying Arab and Western calls to cease fire and Israel threatening to step up an offensive that could include an invasion of the densely populated enclave of 1.8 million.

What is Hezbollah learning from Hamas?

Any action taken by Hamas against Israel is likely being carefully studied by Hezbollah for future conflict purposes.

Palestinian protesters argue with Israeli soldiers during a protest against the Israeli air strikes in Gaza strip, at Hawara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, July 14, 2014. Palestinian militants resumed rocket attacks on Tel Aviv on Monday after a 24-hour lull in strikes on the Israeli commercial capital, and Israel kept up its air and naval bombardments of the Gaza Strip despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire. Around half a dozen Israelis have been wounded since the start of th

Gazans in West Bank fear for their loved ones

Roughly 15,000 Gazans live in Ramallah and are gripped with fear each time Israel strikes civilian targets in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian member of the Al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, gives a speech during a rally marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas, in Gaza City December 8, 2012. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, in an uncompromising speech during his first ever visit to Gaza after decades of exile, told a mass rally on Saturday he would never recognise Israel and pledged to "free the land of Palestine inch by inch". REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY CIVIL UNREST) -

The delusion of Hamas' military wing

Unlike Hamas’ political wing, its military wing is convinced that a group of suicide bombers can "overpower Israel."