All Middle East
- As Mideast emotions run high, is there room for restraint?
Israel and Iran may be on the brink of war, but past experiences of Mideast conflicts show that they rarely go as planned. Could that act as a brake?
- Fueling Israel-Iran escalation: Dangerous parallel universes
The need to establish deterrence has always risked cycles of escalation. As Israel and Iran trade blows, their competing views of the same events are sending tremors through the Middle East.
- Iranian missiles and Israeli invasion of Lebanon bring Mideast back to the brink
As Israel sends troops into Lebanon, what are their goals and do they have an exit strategy?
- Inside battered Hezbollah, words of defiance: ‘All red lines are gone’
Hezbollah has lost its charismatic leader, who delivered battlefield gains for decades, and absorbed a series of heavy blows from Israel. How ready are its fighters to resist Israel on the ground?
- Israel mulls Lebanon invasion. Hezbollah ‘coup de grâce’ or quagmire?
Israel has sown disarray in the ranks of the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah by killing its leaders. But how far will the Jewish state press its advantage?
- First LookIsrael kills Hezbollah’s leader. Iranian lawmakers demand ‘strong’ response.
Hassan Nasrallah led Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group for more than three decades, transforming it into an influential political force and Iranian proxy. His killing marks a major escalation in the Mideast.
- What do Jewish and Palestinian Israelis have in common? Hope.
A group uniting Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel is enjoying unexpected success with its advocacy of a shared home.
- Israel takes its conflict with Hezbollah to the brink of war
Israel’s unusually heavy bombardment of Hezbollah positions in Lebanon puts militia leader Hassan Nasrallah in an awkward spot.
- First LookIsraeli strike on Beirut apartment kills a Hezbollah leader wanted by the US
Israel's military says a senior Hezbollah leader was among those killed in an airstrike on a Beirut apartment block Friday, the deadliest strike on Lebanon's capital since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
- First LookHezbollah and Israel exchange hundreds of missiles in worst conflict since 2006 war
Israel hit a Beirut suburb with an airstrike Sept. 20, not long after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets. This follows Israel striking hundreds of Hezbollah rocket launchers on Sept. 19, and a mass bombing attack against Hezbollah this week.
- What a Tunisian exodus says about the future of global migration
In an age of global migration, Tunisia offers a window into key stressors driving migrants from their homes.
- What the pager attack in Lebanon means for Israel-Hezbollah conflict
In Lebanon, exploding pagers and booby-trapped walkie-talkies – believed to be set off by Israel – have rattled Hezbollah and captured the world’s attention. What do they portend?
- First LookHezbollah security breach: Pagers explode across Lebanon and Syria
In the largest security breach since October 2023, handheld Hezbollah pagers exploded across Lebanon and Syria, wounding more than 2,750 people on Sept. 17. Explosions lasted for about an hour after detonation.
- Moscow gets Iranian missiles: Might that actually help Kyiv?
Iran’s dispatch of missiles to Russia could backfire if the shipment provokes Washington into letting Ukraine aim U.S.-made missiles deep into Russia.
- Jewish extremists harm Israel, official warns. Are Israelis listening?
Can reason overcome emotion during a national emergency? Warnings from Israel’s security and judicial establishments that Jewish extremists are causing the country great harm are struggling to be heard amid a barrage of heartbreaking news.
- First LookIsrael strikes Gaza humanitarian area as Palestinians struggle to find true safe zone
First responders dug through sand and rubble with garden tools and bare hands early on Sept. 10. Palestinian officials say the blast killed 19 and wounded 60, while Israel disputes the toll.
- First LookIn a surprise twist, Algeria’s president-elect disputes his own election victory. Why?
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune jointly issued a statement alongside his two main opponents criticizing the country’s election chairman. His victory, totaling 94.7% of the vote, contradicted initial turnout figures and local tallies.
- First LookShould pre-teen girls be allowed to wed? Iraqi women say no.
Iraqi women and activists are protesting lawmakers who propose giving religious authorities more power over family law. The changes could allow conservative clerics to approve marriages of girls as young as 9.
- ‘If I would speak, I would start crying’: Our reporters grapple with loss in Gaza war
War correspondents are usually observers to a conflict, even when on the front lines. But in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the Monitor’s writers are inescapably involved.
- Netanyahu pushes back over Gaza and hostages: ‘No one will preach to me’
Protests over stalled cease-fire talks, amplified by U.S. President Joe Biden, call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make peace. The Israeli leader is defiant.