War in the Middle East

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Israeli troops patrolling in the southern Lebanon's Naqoura region near the border.

Just inside Lebanon, Israeli soldiers debate how far to go

They are 2km inside the country, but prepared to go farther

Illustration of a blue American Eagle wearing a red keffiyeh.

Will the next president follow Israel into war with Iran?

Kamala Harris is likely to maintain Joe Biden’s awkward policy, while Donald Trump’s belligerent words mask a record of caution


An Israeli F-15 Eagle fighter aircraft

Israel has these four options for attacking Iran

Its politicians, and some generals, are gung-ho that the moment has come


The threat of an Israeli attack is reviving Iranian nationalism

Iranians fear their country is being dragged into war

Iran’s leader must choose how to fight his war with Israel

Hardliners may force the supreme leader to escalate the conflict with Israel

Israel’s invasion of Lebanon may bolster support for Hizbullah

The group is deeply embedded in Lebanese politics and society

Can Israel’s mighty tech industry withstand a wider war?



Regional conflict

Lebanon needs a new army in the south, says Yair Lapid

Israel’s opposition leader sees a way to turn war into a much-needed reset for the country

The year that shattered the Middle East

Kill or be killed is the region’s new logic. Deterrence and diplomacy would be better


Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets fired by Iran

The bloodshed in the Middle East is fast expanding

Israel seems certain to retaliate to Iran’s missile attack


What Hamas misunderstood about the Middle East

A war meant to draw in the militant group’s allies has instead left them battered




Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hizbullah

Israel has killed the head of the militant group

Israel

Israeli soldiers stand next to a group of Orthodox men

A year on, Israeli society is divided about the lessons of October 7th

Hawks and doves, religious and secular, right and left—all the old cleavages are resurfacing

An Israeli police officer stands on guard next to a protest sign showing Israeli minister of Justice Yariv Levin.

Israel’s government is again trying to hobble its Supreme Court

While at war, Israel is facing a constitutional crisis


Israelis stage a protest in front of Netanyahu's house in West Jerusalem

The one thing Israelis agree on: rescuing the hostages

Bibi’s failure to do so has prompted huge protests


Israel’s settlers are winning unprecedented power from the war in Gaza

They are gaining land—and sway over the army, police and politics

Have Israel’s far-right religious nationalists peaked?

They wield great power but schisms within the movement are deepening

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox still won’t fight, invoking scripture

An age-old argument is making Binyamin Netanhayu face an enduring dilemma



Hamas and Gaza

Demonstrators wave flags and placards at a pro-Palestinian protest

Has the war in Gaza radicalised young Palestinians?

After Gaza, how will the Palestinians try to build their state?

Yahya Sinwar, leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip

Hamas’s pick of Yahya Sinwar as leader makes a ceasefire less likely

The appointment of the architect of October 7th ties the group closer to Iran


A Palestinian boy sits amidst the rubble of buildings destroyed after an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, Gaza

Optimistic plans for post-war Gaza have little basis in reality

Aid, policing, reconstruction—everything is even harder than it sounds


To see the future of urban warfare, look at Gaza

Western armies are studying the horrifying conflict for tactical lessons

Why food is piling up on the edge of Gaza

Thousands of tonnes of food and medicine are still waiting to get in



War and diplomacy

The framework that ended Lebanon’s war in 2006 could help end this one too, says Tarek Mitri

Lebanon’s former foreign minister says any Israeli plan to reshape the country is a recipe for more chaos

Why Israel has not yet lost Europe

Europeans are angry about Gaza, but they aren’t voting like it


Crowds gathered at Hagia Sophia Square in honour of Ismail Haniyeh, Istanbul, Turkey

The relationship between Israel and Turkey is at breaking point

But the Turkish president is desperate to avoid a regional war


Britain’s ban on arms sales to Israel mixes politics and legalism

The government has outlined grounds for concern but not a coherent rationale  

Iran’s frightening new playbook for war

It is abandoning the restraint that has prevented open conflict with Israel

The Middle East must step back from the brink

That still means starting with a ceasefire in Gaza



The military campaign

The Israel-Iran standoff in maps

A visual guide to the escalating conflict

ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT

A narrow corridor in Gaza has become an obstacle to a ceasefire

Binyamin Netanyahu says the presence of Israeli troops is crucial. His generals disagree


Israel bombs the Hamas military mastermind behind the October 7th attack

If he is dead it could hasten the end of the Gaza war


Hamas and Israel are still far apart over a ceasefire deal

For all America’s optimism, the two sides look fundamentally irreconcilable


Israel prepares for a long war in Gaza

But it is unclear how it will end


Explaining the war

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks at a press conference.

Who is Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court?

He has applied for an arrest warrant for Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister

A protester hold a Palestinian flag during a Pro-Palestine demonstration held in Berlin, Germany.

What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood? 

Ireland, Norway and Spain will be the latest to do so


Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, looks deep in thought during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

Could the International Criminal Court indict Binyamin Netanyahu?

Rumours abound that an arrest warrant is imminent for Israel’s prime minister


What are the obligations of Israel and Hamas to protect civilians?

International Humanitarian Law creates obligations—but contains numerous caveats


Latest coverage

China

Does China welcome—or dread—an Iran-Israel war?

It wants American interests to suffer, but not at any price

Middle East & Africa

America boosts Israel’s missile shield. What did it get in return?

The THAAD battery could indicate Israeli restraint on Iran

Middle East & Africa

Just inside Lebanon, Israeli soldiers debate how far to go

They are 2km inside the country, but prepared to go farther

Middle East & Africa

Israel has these four options for attacking Iran

Its politicians, and some generals, are gung-ho that the moment has come

Middle East & Africa

Iran’s leader must choose how to fight his war with Israel

Hardliners may force the supreme leader to escalate the conflict with Israel

Middle East & Africa

The threat of an Israeli attack is reviving Iranian nationalism

Iranians fear their country is being dragged into war

By Invitation

The framework that ended Lebanon’s war in 2006 could help end this one too, says Tarek Mitri

Lebanon’s former foreign minister says any Israeli plan to reshape the country is a recipe for more chaos

Leaders

How high could the oil price go?

Geopolitical risk is rising. But so is the supply of oil

United States

Will the next president follow Israel into war with Iran?

Kamala Harris is likely to maintain Joe Biden’s awkward policy, while Donald Trump’s belligerent words mask a record of caution

Business

Can Israel’s mighty tech industry withstand a wider war?

Its resilience is being tested

By Invitation

Lebanon needs a new army in the south, says Yair Lapid

Israel’s opposition leader sees a way to turn war into a much-needed reset for the country

Finance & economics

Could war in the Gulf push oil to $100 a barrel?

Missiles are flying over a region that supplies a third of the world’s crude

Middle East & Africa

Israel’s invasion of Lebanon may bolster support for Hizbullah

The group is deeply embedded in Lebanese politics and society

Middle East & Africa

Wrath and sorrow rule in Israel on the anniversary of October 7th 

A divided country is at war with multiple enemies, and fighting itself  

Briefing

Has the war in Gaza radicalised young Palestinians?

After Gaza, how will the Palestinians try to build their state?

Briefing

A year on, Israeli society is divided about the lessons of October 7th

Hawks and doves, religious and secular, right and left—all the old cleavages are resurfacing

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