All Middle East
First LookIsraelis sound off on Netanyahu in biggest protest since Gaza war’s startOn March 31, Israelis staged the largest protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government since the war in Gaza began. Their grievances include Mr. Netanyahu’s corruption charges and calls for a cease-fire deal to free the remaining hostages.
Israeli reconstruction near Gaza lacks a key building block: TrustResidents and businesses from Sderot and other Gaza-adjacent communities are being urged to start picking up the pieces to get their lives back on track, safely. But do they trust government assurances, or their neighbors over the border?
Does US deterrence work against Iran’s allies? Yes and no.Since war erupted in Gaza, U.S. forces and interests in the Middle East have come under fire from allies of Iran. The challenge has been to deter these attacks and prevent the conflict from escalating, but the U.S. record is uneven.
Israelis begin to sour on Biden as US ratchets up pressure over GazaIsraelis are keenly aware that the close bond between their country and the United States is fraying over the prolonged war in Gaza. But they blame politics and the U.S. election season for the shift.
Ramadan peace prevails in Jerusalem as all sides keep extremists at bayEven without war in Gaza, Jerusalem is a flashpoint. At the center is Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the three holiest sites in Islam. Yet amid cooperation on security, as seen by our reporter, a peace during this holy month of Ramadan has been holding.
Biden talks of Gaza ‘red line’ for Israel, but his options are limitedAs the pressures grow on President Joe Biden to restrain Israel in Gaza, his administration’s rhetoric has gotten tougher. In response, Benjamin Netanyahu is talking tough as well, but is the pressure having an effect?
First LookCease-fire talks with Israel and Hamas could resume as soon as SundayStalled cease-fire talks are likely to resume in Qatar as soon as Sunday, according to Egyptian officials. In recent days, Israeli officials and Hamas leaders have both signaled a desire to get the talks back on track.
‘Hamas gambled with our lives’: Gazans are now daring to speak outFor the first time since the war began in Gaza, resentment against Hamas is boiling to the surface in public expressions of anger and in social media, as residents increasingly are losing their reluctance to speak out.
Biden wants Mideast peace more than Israelis or Palestinians. That could backfire.U.S. diplomats seeking to resolve the Israel-Arab conflict have always held to a principle: “We can’t want peace more than they do.” Does Joe Biden agree?
First LookIsrael has a new kind of wartime visitor, evangelical ‘voluntourists’Evangelicals, long Israel’s among greatest supporters in the U.S. and abroad, are traveling there as war volunteers, providing extra hands for farms struggling to harvest. Propelled by faith, the “voluntourists” say they hope to show solidarity.
As hunger grips Gaza, law and order crumblesIn Gaza, desperate citizens and organized crime mobs are collapsing law and order in their search for food, as famine looms.
My flight over Gaza in a plane dropping food aidPalestinians in Gaza now rely almost entirely on airdropped aid to fend off famine. But that falls far short of needs, and can sometimes do more harm than good.
Another Gaza battlefront burns – in West Bank refugee campsFrom the first shots of the war in Gaza, Israel was warned its military tactics in densely populated civilian areas would only sow extremism. That destructive dynamic is replaying in West Bank refugee camps.
In Gaza, is Palestinian history repeating itself?Many Palestinians in Gaza, forced by Israeli assaults to flee their homes, fear a repeat of the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) that created 700,000 refugees.
First LookiPhone Ponzi scheme sheds light on Iran’s tensions with the WestA Ponzi scheme in Iran targeted customers trying to buy banned updated versions of the Apple iPhone. Economic pressures have led Iran’s government to crack down on Western-based luxury goods, but consumer demand remains strong.
Family leaders and fighters, Israeli women rise to war’s challengesMonths after protesters marched in Tel Aviv dressed as handmaidens to thwart an attempted far-right judicial overhaul, Israeli women are shifting perceptions of gender roles, serving on the front lines of the war effort.
First LookPalestinian PM resigns. His replacement will shape post-war politics.Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced he will step down, amid signs President Mahmoud Abbas may be planning to name a more technocratic government to manage Palestinian affairs once the war in Gaza ends.
Can Biden coax Israelis out of trauma toward regional peace?The U.S. vision of a regional peace deal emerging from a Gaza cease-fire is finding little support among either Israel’s government or its people.
First LookGaza Health Ministry reports death toll rises to 29,000Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
First LookEyeing Israel-Hamas spillover, Egypt builds border, walls in GazansAs the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, Egypt is constructing a wall along its border with Gaza to dissuade fleeing Palestinians from seeking refuge. The conflict’s spread so close to home has strained Egypt’s relationship with Israel.
