All Middle East
First LookA terrorist attack in Turkey drew global condemnation. Then, Turkey struck back.The strike came days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested parole for the PKK’s imprisoned leader and hours after a terrorist attack in Ankara. Turkey regularly conducts airstrikes against the PKK, who have power bases in Iraq and Syria.
Is an Israel-Hamas cease-fire possible? Pressures mount on Netanyahu.Benjamin Netanyahu initially described Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death as “the beginning of the end” to the war in Gaza. But are there any indications that pressures for a cease-fire will bear fruit?
As Israel pounds Lebanon, Gazans empathize, yet feel forgottenGazans know what Lebanon is going through, as Israel attacks Hezbollah and as civilians are killed or forced from their homes. But they worry the world’s attention has been diverted.
First LookDrone targeted house of Israeli prime minister, as IDF bombards GazaHezbollah didn't claim responsibility for the drone attack, which inflicted no casualties, but said it carried out several rocket attacks on Israel. Israel carried out at least 10 airstrikes on southern Beirut suburbs that are home to Hezbollah’s offices.
Hamas leader’s death revives hopes for a Gaza peace plan. Is that enough?After a year of war in Gaza and the Middle East, the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar rekindled hopes for a grand U.S.-led peace plan. But many obstacles, Israeli and Palestinian, remain.
Hamas leader, Israel’s ‘most wanted,’ is dead. What happens to war in Gaza?The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is the heaviest blow the Islamic militant group has endured in a year of war in Gaza. Will it break the stalemate over a cease-fire with Israel?
Slow and small, drones find cracks in Israel’s high-tech air defensesWarfare requires constant adaptation, both offensive and defensive, in tactics and technology. Trends in innovation often point to modern sophistication, but sometimes older and simpler methods work best.
First LookIsrael steps up attacks in Gaza as UN peacekeepers come under fire in LebanonPalestinians in northern Gaza are describing heavy Israeli bombardment in the hours after airstrikes killed at least 22 people. A member of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon was in stable condition after being struck by gunfire in Naqoura.
Where Hezbollah stands, and what’s at stake, after battering by IsraelIsrael’s assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon represents a dramatic broadening of the yearlong war in the Middle East. How Iran’s most important regional ally responds will determine the postwar balance of power.
‘Enough is enough’: In Israel, rationale for war trumps distrust of leadersTo endure war, a society usually needs both unity and trusted leadership. Yet as Israel takes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, the public consensus seems to be based mostly on a blend of confidence and caution – without faith in a government plan.
Biden and Netanyahu – and the diminished US standing in Middle EastOver the past year of war, many critics of the Biden administration say its inability to restrain Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has damaged U.S. stature and credibility in the Mideast.
After year of war in Gaza, Hamas is mostly unseen. But it’s surviving.Hamas’ attack on Israel a year ago sparked a war that has brought immense destruction and loss of life to Gaza, seriously degraded the militant movement, and sown the seeds for regional conflict. But it portrays its mere survival as a victory.
Cover Story‘This is what the war has done’: How October 7 forever changed Israel and GazaOne year after Oct. 7, on-the-ground reporting in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel finds lives of Palestinians and Israelis forever altered.
First LookOn eve of Oct. 7 anniversary, pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian crowds rallyMemorial events paying tribute to victims of Oct. 7 attacks took place in Paris and London. People took to the streets from Pakistan to Morocco in massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
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 universesThe 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 brinkAs 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.
