Crisis Chronology

ISRAEL

03/02/2026

Hezbollah said to have fired two projectiles targeting an Israeli military base near Haifa. Israel responds with attacks in Beirut and across many villages in Lebanon. Mohammad Raad, the head of Hezbollah's political wing Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, is reportedly killed in an airstrike.

03/02/2026

Three US fighter jets are mistakenly shot down by Kuwait defense forces. No one is killed.

03/02/2026

Iran fires missiles and drones on the Saudi Aramco oil refinery, causing several large fires at the facility, and forcing its closure by Saudi authorities.

03/02/2026

Iran thought to be targeting airports throughout the Arabian Peninsula to disrupt economics of the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Thew closure of the Strait of Hormuz will significantly affect economies around the world, including China, India, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Stock markets around the world fall.

03/02/2026

In continued heavy Israel bombing throughout Iran, Iran’s Natanz nuclear power plant said to be damaged and leaking radiation.

03/02/2026

France says it will support Arabian Peninsula countries militarily.

03/02/2026

Greece deploying warships to the Mediterranean.

03/02/2026

With Iran destabilized, Saudi Arabia will seek to expand its role in the Middle East, Israel will seek to dominate security in Syria, Lebanon and perhaps parts of western Iraq, and Turkey will seek to expand into northern Syria and northern Iraq. China and Russia both need Iran to remain an ally.

03/02/2026

Germany declines to participate in the US-Israel attack on Iran.

03/01/2026

British Royal Air Force base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus is hit by a Iranian drone. No casualties are reported.

03/01/2026

Three US military are confirmed killed and others wounded by an Iranian attack.

03/01/2026

The Israeli Air Force launches a new wave of airstrikes across Tehran, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij facilities with multiple explosions reported.

03/01/2026

Iran appoints Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to an interim leadership council that assumed authority following the assassination of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with the body set to govern alongside president Masoud Pezeshkian and chief justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i until the Assembly of Experts selects a new supreme leader. Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is reportedly killed along with his bodyguards in an Israeli airstrike. The interim Leadership Council, constitutionally tasked with filling the transitional gap, is composed of three figures with markedly different orientations: a sitting president widely viewed as relatively moderate; a head of the judiciary known for his ultra-conservative positions; and a clerical scholar recently appointed by the Expediency Council. Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), has taken over much of the running of the government, particularly in security and strategic affairs.

03/01/2026

Trump offers varying estimates on how long US participation in the war will continue, from a few days to a month.

02/28/2026

US and Israel attack Iran

Israel launches an attack on Iran, calling it a preemptive strike, killing several Iranian high-ranking officials including supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The United States takes part in the attack on Iran with Trump announcing a "major U.S. combat operation" targeting Iranian missile facilities and naval assets, and calls on the Iranian military to overthrow Khamenei. Explosions are reported in Tehran, Iran, as U.S.-launched Tomahawk missiles strike Iranian targets, including the supreme leader's office. Satellite imagery confirms the destruction of Khamenei's compound. Iran launches ballistic missiles at a United States Navy facility in Bahrain, targeting the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, and Iranian drones strikeresidential areas of Manama. The Cabinet of Israel declares a state of emergency related to the strikes on Iran. Israel closes all border crossings with the Gaza Strip, citing security measures, and suspends the rotation of humanitarian personnel. Iran launches missiles at Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE state that they have intercepted Iranian missiles. The U.S. embassies in Bahrain and Qatar instruct their personnel to shelter in place. At least two people are killed and five more are injured when an unidentified airstrike targets the Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in Iraq. Iranian Shahed drones strike Kuwait International Airport resulting in minor injuries to several airport workers as well as damage to the main terminal. The Dubai airport in the UAE is also targeted. Iran says it has launched a ballistic missile attack on Dubai with reports of multiple missiles striking the city. Iranian defense minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Pakpour, and Expediency Discernment Council member Ali Shamkhani are killed by Israeli strikes. The Iranian IRGC Navy announces the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all vessels.

02/28/2026

Houthis announce the resumption of attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and on Israel in support of Iran.

02/27/2026

Israel Supreme Court suspends Israel government interdiction of NGO services in Gaza.

02/09/2026

Israel government makes it easier for Jewish settlers to buy land and undercuts the Palestinian Authority in parts of the West Bank that it administers. These measures appear to flout important agreements that Israel signed under the Oslo peace process decades ago.

02/09/2026

Israel reported to have used thermal and thermalbaric weapons in Gaza, which incinerate their victims. 3000 Palestinians are said to have disappeared as a result.

02/02/2026

Israel reopens Rafah crossing into Gaza. A Palestinian source said that on the first day 50 Palestinians were expected to enter Gaza, where they will face stringent Israeli security checks, and a similar number would be permitted to leave.

01/31/2026

Israel air attacks kill more than thirty Gazans.

01/27/2026

Aid trucks allowed to pass through the Rafah gate to Gaza.

01/26/2026

Israel recovers the body of the last hostage, allowing the next of the process to begin.

01/25/2026

Egyptian President El-Sisi rejects Israeli suggestion of moving Palestinians out of Gaza.

01/14/2026

“Phase Two” of the Gaza ceasefire officially begins, the “demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction” of Gaza. Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed a Palestinian Administration titled the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) will be established to oversee the rebuilding efforts. Hamas is said to be ready to disarm. One more hostage body needs to be repatriated. Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, the mediators of the cease-fire deal, in a joint statement shared after Witkoff’s update, announced that the committee will be headed by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority. The countries expressed hope that this next phase of the deal will bring “security, stability, and a dignified life” for the Palestinian people.

12/31/2025

Israel suspends allowance for 37 aid groups to continue providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Multiple protests around the world.

12/08/2025

A small number of Palestinian militias say they are trying to form an alternative force inside the enclave, says one of their leaders, Shawqi Abu Nasira.

11/30/2025

Netanyahu formally asks President Isaac Herzog for a pardon in his corruption trial. He does not admit guilt.

11/28/2025

IDF opens fire in a village in southern Syria, killing 13. Six IDF soldiers were wounded.

11/28/2025

Video shows IDF soldiers killing two Palestinians who appear to have surrendered.

11/26/2025

Israeli forces begin operation in the occupied West Bank, displacing tens of thousands from refugee camps and demolishing structures in an ongoing campaign.

11/23/2025

Israel and Hamas blame each other for violation of the ceasefire Gazan authorities say Israeli airstrikes on multiple locations on 11/22 killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 80 others. Israel said it had attacked what it called an "armed terrorist” who it claims had crossed the Yellow Line beyond which its forces have withdrawn and fired at soldiers. In addition, the military said that during a 24-hour military operation in the southern city of Rafah, it had killed or captured 17 militants attempting to flee underground facilities.

11/23/2025

Israel's military kills Haitham Ali al-Tabtabai, Hezbollah's chief of staff, in an air strike on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, despite a ceasefire.

11/17/2025

UN approves US-led plan for international stability force in Gaza.

11/13/2025

Israeli settlers torch a West Bank mosque and spray it with graffiti.

11/10/2025

The UN says October saw the highest number of Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in nearly 20 years of tracking that violence. More than half the attacks targeted olive harvesters.

11/03/2025

Court orders former military advocate general Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi and former IDF chief prosecutor Col. Matan Solomosh to remain in custody after the two were arrested in connection with the Sde Teiman video leak scandal. The leak involved video of soldiers abusing a Palestinian prisoner at the detention cap.

10/30/2025

IDF enters southern Lebanese city and attacks city hall in retaliation for Hezbollah rearming. President Aoun orders Lebanese military to confront all Israeli attack.

10/29/2025

Ceasefire restored after about 100 Palestinians are killed.

10/28/2025

Israel carries out new attacks on Gaza after announcing that Hamas is staging the recovery of Israeli remains and mounting attacks on IDF. Hamas says that some groups are not under its control.

10/19/2025

Ceasefire said to be holding despite attacks by IDF, which are said to be provoked by a renegade militia.

10/18/2025

Iran says it is no longer bound by the restrictions of the JPCOA, which formally expires on this date.

10/16/2025

Slow process of releasing the remains of dead hostages causing tension. Netanyahu and Trump both criticize Hamas, which has said that the rubble throughout Gaza has made it difficult to recover the remains. Israel does not open Rafah border crossing and allow more aid to enter.

10/13/2025

Hamas releases all living hostages. Israel releases Palestinian prisoners, but more than a hundred fifty are exiled from Palestine. Israel keeps tight control of those who enter Palestine, so the exiles may never see their families again.

10/13/2025

So-called Peace Summit led by US President Donald Trump held in Egypt. Among those who are attending are the UN secretary general António Guterres, Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

10/12/2025

Hamas takes control of parts of Gaza not occupied by Israel and is said to be executing those it believes sided with Israel.

10/10/2025

Israel says ceasefire has begun, although there were attacks until the eleventh hour. IDF said to withdraw the initial boundary line.

10/09/2025

Ceasefire announced

First phase of ceasefire plan is agreed to. All hostages and hostage remains will be returned, and Israeli troops will withdraw somewhat. In confirming the announcement, Hamas said it would "end the war in Gaza," "ensure the complete withdrawal" of Israeli forces, allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and implement an exchange of the hostages for Palestinians in Israeli jails. The Israeli cabinet must approve the deal. Hamas says that no hostages will be released until the IDF withdraws. Subsequently, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi writes on his X account that disagreements over what prisoners Israel will release as part of a deal to free hostages in Gaza are threatening to derail the deal.

10/09/2025

Trump says the US will send 200 soldiers to Israel to assist in monitoring the ceasefire. Reports suggest that he demanded that Israel not break the ceasefire.

10/06/2025

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and negotiators for Israel and Hamas meet in Egypt.

10/04/2025

Hamas accepts many points of the peace plan, agreeing to release all the hostages and hostages remains if the IDF agrees to withdrawal plan.

10/04/2025

Trump calls on Netanyahu to stop bombing Gaza, but some attacks continue. Trump also says Hamas faces complete obliteration if it does not accept peace offer by 10/6.

09/29/2025

Trump meets with Netanyahu, offering a 21-point peace plan that provides for an interim administration that would include Fatah as well as international and regional experts and Palestinian technocrats, including from the Palestinian Authority.

09/25/2025

Gaza aid flotilla attacked by drones. Italy and Spain send ships to support the flotilla.

09/25/2025

Israel continues bombing Houthi sites in Yemen.

09/25/2025

Trump says he will not allow Netanyahu to annex the West Bank.

09/24/2025

Israel continues evicting Gazans from Gaza City as deaths continue to mount both from the attacks and from starvation.

09/22/2025

Netanyahu vows there will never be a Palestinian state. Allies urge him to annex the West Bank.

09/22/2025

Israel continues bombing all buildings of any height in Gaza City, saying that they protect Hamas.

09/12/2025

UN General Assembly votes 142-10 to support a two-state solution for Palestine and urges Israel to consider statehood for Palestine.

09/09/2025

Israel orders complete evacuation of Gaza City so that it can be occupied by the IDF.

09/08/2025

Spain imposes permanent ban on the sale of weapons and ammunition to Israel.

09/07/2025

US sends new proposal to Hamas for a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal through an Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin.

09/01/2025

Leading scholars of genocide say Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Netanyahu scoffs at the judgement.

08/29/2025

IDF declares famine-hit Gaza City a combat zone, ending ‘tactical pauses’ that allowed limited food delivery.

08/28/2025

Yemen Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi is killed by an Israeli airstrike.

08/22/2025

UN group, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, officially declares famine in Gaza City and surrounding territory.

08/18/2025

Hamas accepts new ceasefire proposal that calls for a 60-day truce and release of hostages. Hamas calls for release of half the hostages; israel wants all released.

08/17/2025

Widespread protests against the government.

08/16/2025

Israel continues to attack Gaza City and prepares to move Palestinians to the south of the country.

08/14/2025

Killing of Palestinians trying to get aid continues. Increasing starvation in Gaza.

08/14/2025

Israeli government approves new settlements that will link Jerusalem and an existing West Bank settlement. In approving the housing, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says it “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”

08/14/2025

NGOs denounce new Israeli registration rules requiring them to provide confidential information about donors and staff, further hindering the delivery of aid to Gaza.

08/12/2025

Arab states reject Netanyahu’s idea of administering Gaza.

08/11/2025

Israeli cabinet approves plans for the takeover of Gaza City, a narrower project than Netanyahu’s previously announced plan of completely occupying all of Gaza until Arab states can take over administration of the territory and completely suppress Hamas.

08/09/2025

One of the largest anti-government protests, in downtown Tel Aviv.

08/08/2025

Israel government proposes taking over Gaza City.

07/31/2025

Hezbollah rejects Israeli call to surrender arms.

07/27/2025

Israel says it will pause attacks on Gaza to allow more aid to Gaza after accusing the UN of delaying aid, a charge the UN categorically denies. Netanyahu then says there is no famine in Gaza.

07/25/2025

Syria and Israel agree to a ceasefire.

07/25/2025

Ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism (UTJ) resigns from the government. The Knesset begins a three-month recess beginning 7/27.

07/25/2025

Hamas says that it has responded to Gaza peace proposal.

07/25/2025

Mass starvation becoming more likely in Gaza.

07/24/2025

Knesset passes a nonbinding resolution to annex the West Bank.

07/17/2025

Israel says that it will continue to enforce two red lines: no government forces south of Damascus and protection of the Druze.

07/17/2025

Israel apologizes for 7/15/25 bombing of a Catholic church in Gaza that killed three.

07/16/2025

Ultra-orthodox Shas party says it is leaving the government coalition over the military conscription issue, but would not support a no-confidence vote to bring down the government. Netanyahu’s coalition will have 50 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

07/15/2025

Israel bombs Syrian forces around the Druze city of Suweida “because the government "intended to use [them] against the Druze." Syria protests.

07/14/2025

Israel bombs the conflict area in Syria as well as sites in Gaza and Lebanon.

07/13/2025

Israel says it has launched airstrikes in southern Syria amid clashes there between Sunni Bedouins and Druze militias. Government forces have also entered the area as peacekeepers.

07/13/2025

Fighting between Bedouins and Druze militias, whom Israel considers an ally, in southern Syria.

07/08/2025

Trump and Netanyahu meet and suggest a ceasefire agreement is close. They also discuss removing Palestinians from Gaza.

07/02/2025

Trump says Israel has agreed to a sixty-day ceasefire. Israel does not confirm this. Hamas says it is ready for a ceasefire agreement, if it ends the war.

06/29/2025

Israel continues attacks on Gaza.

06/26/2025

Iran government arrests many and executes some believed to be Israeli informers or agents.

06/25/2025

A very preliminary US Defense Intelligence Agency report on the Iran attack is leaked. It says that Iran’s nuclear program was delayed by a few months. Trump and other administration officials dispute that conclusion.

06/23/2025

Iran fires missiles at US base in Qatar in response to the US attack. Iran alerted the US of its intent to do so, and all the missiles were intercepted. It considered a conciliatory response that would open a way to negotiation.

06/23/2025

12-day war ends

Trump announces that Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire. There are some reports that Israel was running low on defensive weaponry.

06/22/2025

US bombs Iran nuclear sites

US bombs three Iranian nuclear sites and reports significant damage to them. Trump says the Fordo site was “completely obliterated,” suggesting that Iran’s nuclear program is ended.

06/22/2025

Iranian parliament votes to close the Straits of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil flows.

06/19/2025

Trump says he will allow time for negotiation to resolve the conflict about two weeks.

06/18/2025

Israel and Iran continue to widen attacks. Trump said to be considering using US aircraft to bomb underground nuclear site Fordo. Only “bunker buster” bombs could do damage there. Trump calls for Iran to unconditionally surrender. Israel said to be focusing on regime change in Iran. Israel continues to assassinate Iranian military and political leaders.

06/17/2025

There are reports that US urged Israel not to assassinate Iranian supreme leader Khameni.

06/16/2025

Iran parliament preparing a bill on exiting the international nuclear agreement.

06/16/2025

Air strikes from both sides continue. Iran strikes an oil refinery in Israel and military targets in and around Tehran, warning some to evacuate. Israel says that its operations against Iran will continue for “weeks.” Israel says that it now controls the air over Tehran and has created an air corridor to the city.

06/15/2025

Israel widens war, striking energy infrastructure in Iran. Israel insists that it will not bomb civilian areas in Tehran. It has bombed a nearby airport. Iran continues missile strikes in Israel, a few of which are successful.

06/15/2025

Iran cancels discussions on the nuclear agreement until it completes its response to Israeli attacks.

06/15/2025

Iran says it will attack bases on any country that helps Israel protect itself in the war.

06/15/2025

Israel continues bombing Gaza, killing at least forty people.

06/14/2025

Scheduled talks between the US and Iran about a nuclear agreement unlikely to proceed as the war between Israel and Iran continues. Israel assassinated Iran’s chief diplomat in the talks. Iran continues missile attacks on Israel and Israel continues airstrikes in Iran.

06/13/2025

12-day war begins

Israel bombs nuclear facility Natanz as well as others in Iran. It also carries out assassinations of senior military leaders and nuclear scientists. Iran responds with widescale drone attack on Israel, which Israel says it has defended.

06/12/2025

Gazans attempting to secure food aid are again shot at by Israel military, killing a score. More than 100 Gazans overall are killed on this day.

06/11/2025

Opposition holds vote to dissolve Knesset, but it fails when ultra-right members back off from supporting it. The Shas party and the Degel Hatorah faction decided against the dissolution after an agreement with Likud member Yuli Edelstein about softening the bill requiring military service for the ultra-Orthodox.

06/07/2025

As Eid begins, Israel conducts heavy raid in Gaza City, wounding or killing more than 60 people.

06/06/2025

Palestinian government says it has given arms to some Palestinian groups that are opposed to Hamas.

06/06/2025

GHF once again halts aid dispensing due to chaotic situation.

05/30/2025

US offers a peace agreement that includes a 60-day ceasefire and an release of hostages, a release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and humanitarian aid through the UN and other agencies. Israel approves the framework. Observers say it is less generous than previous US-Israeli proposals. Hamas offers a release of 10 living hostages and 18 bodies and asks for an end to the war and a withdrawal of all Israeli troops and guarantee of humanitarian aid. US criticizes the response as taking the talks backwards.

05/28/2025

Israel announces an expansion in the West Bank.

05/27/2025

Israel and Syria hold direct talks focused on security.

05/27/2025

Israel bombs Yemen airport.

05/27/2025

GHF aid distribution center is overwhelmed as desperate Palestinians break through fences. Israel had blocked all food and water aid for eleven weeks.

05/25/2025

Israeli cabinet approves plan to occupy all of Gaza. It envisions moving Palestinians south. The cabinet also approves a plan to distribute humanitarian aid through private companies. Aid has been stalled because Israel has blocked aid deliveries since the ceasefire broke down. The UN and aid agencies have balked at the new Israeli-US plan because it "contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles." The food shortage in Gaza is now critical.

05/25/2025

Israel intensifies attacks in Gaza. While allowing minimal food aid into Gaza, aid workers say that it is too dangerous to continue, as the trucks are swarmed by starving Gazans. Israel says it will concentrate aid deliveries in the south so that Gazans will move there. New US aid group says it has begun distributing aid in Gaza using private security forces and bypassing UN. The group’s first executive director quits, saying its structure would not allow aid to be distributed in a way that ensured “humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence."

05/25/2025

Israel intensifies attacks in Gaza. While allowing minimal food aid into Gaza, aid workers say that it is too dangerous to continue, as the trucks are swarmed by starving Gazans. Israel says it will concentrate aid deliveries in the south so that Gazans will move there. New US aid group says it has begun distributing aid in Gaza using private security forces and bypassing UN. The group’s first executive director quits, saying its structure would not allow aid to be distributed in a way that ensured “humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence."

05/19/2025

Israel continues wide attacks on Gaza and begins a ground attack. It does promise to allow some food aid to be delivered. Widespread criticism both inside and outside of Israel.

05/12/2025

Hamas releases an American hostage, but Israel continues with its plan to occupy Gaza, another signal of the increasing distance between the US and Israel.

05/10/2025

UAE says it will not participate in the GHF.

05/09/2025

US says that a new foundation, the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) is being established to provide aid to Gaza without going through Hamas. It also avoids UN participation.

05/06/2025

US President Trump announces that the Houthis have agreed to stop targeting US shipping in the Red Sea and that the US will stop bombing in Yemen. The Houthis say the agreement does not preclude attacks on Israel or Israeli shipping. There have been no attacks in the Red Sea since 1/25. Israel is embarrassed by being excluded from the agreement.

04/22/2025

Qatari and Egyptian mediators have proposed a new formula to end the war in Gaza. It envisages a truce lasting between five and seven years, the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, a formal end to the war, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

04/18/2025

Netanyahu rejects Hamas plan and vows to continue the war until Hamas is eliminated. Opposition to the government’s plan increasing.

04/14/2025

Israel occupying large swaths of Gaza.

04/14/2025

Hamas agrees to release nine hostages as part of a ceasefire agreement that would see Egypt overseeing Gaza. Israel calls for more to be released.

04/12/2025

Israel partially destroys last remaining hospital in Gaza.

04/04/2025

IDF kills Hamas commander in Lebanon.

04/04/2025

Protests in Gaza calling for Hamas to relinquish control continue.

04/01/2025

Israel continues attacks in Gaza, aiming to divide the region in two. It also says that it may occupy Gaza indefinitely.

04/01/2025

Netanyahu withdraws nomination of Sharvit after protests by his conservative allies.

03/31/2025

Netanyahu nominates former Navy commander Eli Sharvit to head Shin Bet. Shin Bet leaders are shocked at the selection, since Sharvit has no experience with the agency or other intelligence work. Because of court case about the firing of Ronen Bar, Sharvit would not be able to take office at least until the 4/8 High Court hearing on that case, which focuses on payments to Netanyahu officials being paid by Qatar in a way that may have affected their negotiations about Gaza.

03/31/2025

Two of Netanyahu’s aides are arrested in the Qatar corruption probe.

03/31/2025

IDF expanding its ground operation in Gaza with the aim of occupying 25% of the region as a pressure tactic to force Hamas to release more hostages.

03/31/2025

Netanyahu nominates former Navy commander Eli Sharvit to head Shin Bet. Shin Bet leaders are shocked at the selection, since Sharvit has no experience with the agency or other intelligence work. Because of court case about the firing of Ronen Bar, Sharvit would not be able to take office at least until the 4/8 High Court hearing on that case, which focuses on payments to Netanyahu officials being paid by Qatar in a way that may have affected their negotiations about Gaza.

03/26/2025

Large anti-Hamas demonstration in Gaza.

03/24/2025

Reports that Shin Bet is investigating infiltration of the police by an extremist group following suspected political meddling in the force by the office of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Gvir calls for Bar to be jailed.

03/24/2025

Hamas claims it will accept Egyptian ceasefire proposal, which would end IDF strikes on Hamas and gradually withdraw from Gaza in exchange for information on hostages and talks on timetable for their release.

03/23/2025

Large protests in major cities against the government.

03/23/2025

Gaza death toll reaches 50,000. Israel threatens to institute control of Gaza.

03/23/2025

Gaza death toll reaches 50,000. Israel threatens to institute control of Gaza.

03/21/2025

Supreme Court freezes firing of Bar. The Court will hear petitions against the firing by the opposition and an NGO.

03/20/2025

Netanyahu fires intelligence chief Ronen Bar, saying Bar has lost his trust. Bar’s Shin Bet is said to be investigating payments from Qatar to Netanyahu’s office.

03/19/2025

IDF launches new ground attack in Gaza, regaining control of the Netzarim corridor that divides north and south Gaza.

03/18/2025

Israel returns to heavy bombing of Gaza, killing at least 400, to protest the lack of progress in the talks. Netanyahu says that all future negotiations will be held during attacks on Gaza.

03/15/2025

IDF attacks Gaza, killing what it calls an October 7 terrorist and others. Ceasefire talks remain stalled. Hamas says it will only release American Israeli hostage Edan Alexander and the bodies of four other captives if Israel implements the latest U.S backed proposal. Hamas said talks on the second phase of the ceasefire would have to begin the day of the hostage release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel would also have to resume the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. This as Israeli airstrikes killed nine people in northern Gaza. Local watchdog groups of the dead included three Palestinian journalists.

03/09/2025

US envoys say discussions with Hamas were very helpful as negotiations on the second phase of the peace plan continue.

03/09/2025

Israel orders complete cutoff of electricity to Gaza. Hamas says the electricity has been cut off since the beginning of the war.

03/04/2025

Arab leaders endorse an Egyptian plan for the rebuilding of Gaza that would allow its residents to remain. Egypt’s $53 billion plan foresees rebuilding Gaza by 2030 without removing its population. The first phase calls for starting the removal of unexploded ordnance and clearing more than 50 million tons of rubble left by Israel’s bombardment and military offensives. Egypt will host an international conference in cooperation with the United Nations for Gaza’s reconstruction, and a World Bank-overseen trust fund will be established to receive pledges to implement the early recovery and reconstruction plan.

02/28/2025

First phase of the negotiated ceasefire ends without a formal extension. Israel blocks aid shipments to Gaza to force Hamas to speed up the release of hostages, in an action it attributes to US envoy. Israel calls on Hamas to release half its remaining hostages in exchange for a ceasefire extension and negotiation on a permanent peace but does not offer to release more Palestinians. Hamas has accused Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement, which called for the two sides to negotiate the return of the remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire. But no substantive negotiations have been held. There are also disagreements between Hamas leaders in exile and Hamas leaders in Gaza about the degree of military action the organization should pursue and Arab leaders are reluctant to commit to the rebuilding of Gaza until that disagreement is settled in a way that leads to a stable environment. Some of the Arab leaders are unwilling to contribute anything unless Hamas completely abdicates Gaza.

02/23/2025

IDF moves tanks into occupied West Bank for the first time in twenty years.

02/22/2025

Hamas releases six more hostages and Israel releases more Palestinians.

02/18/2025

IDF remains in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire agreement.

02/18/2025

Hamas agrees to release bodies of hostages earlier than scheduled, as requested by Israel.

02/18/2025

Egypt reported to be developing a plan to rebuild Gaza, a counter to US President Trump’s idea of removing its population and rebuilding it.

02/17/2025

In a meeting with US Secretary of State Rubio, Netanyahu presses Hamas to release hostages ahead of the agreed schedule.

02/15/2025

Israel military and settlers continue attacks in the West Bank.

02/15/2025

Hamas releases hostages as called for in the ceasefire agreement and Israel releases Palestinian prisoners, maintaining ceasefire.

02/11/2025

Israel says it will end the ceasefire if Hamas does not return the scheduled hostages on 2/15.

02/10/2025

Hamas says it will delay hostage exchange due to Israel’s violations of the ceasefire agreement.

02/09/2025

Israel complains about the malnourished condition of three hostages released by Hamas. Israel kills three in military operations in Gaza and Hamas says it will release no more hostages until military operations in Gaza end. Israel leaves a corridor.

02/07/2025

Hamas transfers bodies of four hostages and Israel releases some Palestinian prisoners.

02/07/2025

With the initial phase of the ceasefire set to expire on 3/1, negotiators struggle to find agreement about the release of all living Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas disarmament exile of its leaders, and a permanent end to the war.

02/06/2025

Israeli defense minister tells military to prepare a plan for the “voluntary withdrawal” of Gazans from Gaza.

02/05/2025

Countries throughout the Middle East reject Trump’s idea.

02/04/2025

After meeting the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, US President Trump suggests that Gazans should be relocated outside of Gaza because it has become uninhabitable and the region be rebuilt.

02/03/2025

Israeli forces remain in southern Lebanon because Israel says Hezbollah forces are still there. The withdrawal has been pushed back to 2/18 at Israeli request.

02/02/2025

Prisoner exchange continues and ceasefire holding in place.

01/26/2025

Fighting breaks out in southern Lebanon as Lebanese attempt to return to their homes.

01/26/2025

Israel objects that Hamas failed to provide with information on the status of hostages set for release in the coming weeks, violating the ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza. In addition, Israel said Hamas also broke the terms of the deal by failing to free civilian female hostage Arbel Yehud before releasing female soldiers, four of whom were freed Saturday. As a result Israel said it would delay allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza — which had been scheduled to begin on 1/25/25 — until her release could be arranged. The decision also meant that the IDF would not withdraw from part of the Netzarim Corridor as scheduled on Sunday.

01/25/2025

Hamas frees four more hostages and Israel releases 200 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire continues.

01/25/2025

Israel says it will not remove troops from southern Lebanon by the agreed date, saying that the deal called for the Lebanese army to take control of the area.

01/23/2025

Israel evicts thousands and burns homes in Jenin.

01/23/2025

Hamas regaining authority in Gaza.

01/20/2025

IDF attacks settlement camp Jenin in West Bank, saying it is rooting out Hamas there.

01/20/2025

Ceasefire in Gaza holding.

01/17/2025

Ceasefire agreement approved by Israeli cabinet despite objections by Orthodox members. It is to go into effect on 1/18.

01/16/2025

Netanyahu says that Hamas has reneged on an aspect of the agreement, without being specific. The agreement will have to be approved by the security cabinet and the full cabinet and Israel's Supreme Court would have 24 hours to permit an appeal.

01/16/2025

IDF continues fighting in Gaza ahead of ceasefire approval.

01/15/2025

Israel and Hamas agree on ceasefire

Israel and Hamas agree on terms of a ceasefire. The three-stage agreement begins with a cessation of hostilities and an exchange of prisoners in Israeli jails and hostages in Hamas hands. Israeli forces would withdraw from central Gaza and allow 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid daily. The second stage would negotiate a permanent end to the fighting. The third stage is more aspirational, calling for the establishment of a government in Gaza, among other things.

01/13/2025

Reports of new advance on ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

01/10/2025

Israel continues attacks in the West Bank as well as Gaza itself.

01/06/2025

Hamas says it is ready to release 34 captives. Israel says the names are all on a list given to Hamas in July, minus some who have died, and that Hamas has given no indication of the state of the captives.

01/03/2025

Despite responses from Israel, Houthi missile attacks on Israel continue on a near-daily basis.

12/31/2024

US and Israel intensify attacks on Houthi military emplacements. With the wars in Gaza and Syria pulling back, the Houthis remain the last of the Iran-backed “axis of resistance” still fighting repeatedly in the region.

12/26/2024

In response to Houthi missile targeting Tel Aviv, Israel bombs Houthi targets, including an airport where the head of the UN World Health Organization was.

12/18/2024

Israel and Hamas said to be closer to an agreement for a ceasefire, although details about which hostages and Palestinian prisoners would be released and when, when and where Israeli troops would withdraw, when and where displaced Palestinians would be allowed to return, and what areas might be under Israeli control or monitoring, among other issues, are still in discussion.

12/16/2024

Knesset approves plan to expand settlements in the West Bank.

12/15/2024

Israel continues heavy bombing in Syria and attacks in Gaza.

12/15/2024

Palestinian authority carries out attacks against militants in the West Bank in an effort to thwart attacks.

12/11/2024

Israel continues bombing of Gaza sites, including schools and hospitals.

12/11/2024

Israel continues destroying Syrian military installations.

12/10/2024

Israel continues bombing Syrian sites and is reported to have taken some territory.

12/08/2024

As the Assad regime in Syria falls, IDF enters Syrian-controlled Golan Heights.

12/08/2024

Israel claims that Hezbollah violated ceasefire and bombs storage facility in Lebanon.

12/02/2024

Israel bombs targets in southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah attacks. Both say that the ceasefire remains in place.

12/01/2024

IDF and Hezbollah exchange fire.

11/29/2024

IDF continues attacks in Gaza.

11/27/2024

Ceasefire in Lebanon-Israel conflict

Hezbollah and Israel agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon. Significantly, it is described as a separation of Hezbollah (and implicitly Iran) from Hamas, which puts greater pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.

11/23/2024

IDF kills 120 in Gaza in the recent 48 hours.

11/23/2024

Massive air attack by IDF on apartment building in central Beirut, said to be targeting Hezbollah commander.

11/20/2024

US vetoes UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza because it does not include a provision on the return of hostages.

11/20/2024

International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya, former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, whom Israel claims to have killed in 7/24.

11/19/2024

Gangs looting aid trucks in areas in Gaza under Israeli control.

11/16/2024

IDF attacks in Syria are increasing, as the IDF attempts to reduce Hezbollah’s arms and intelligence centers. It has also recently attacked crossings on the Syria-Lebanon border.

11/14/2024

Netanyahu said to be preparing a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon as a “gift” to US president-elect Trump.

11/14/2024

UN special committee says that Israel’s methods of war in Gaza are “consistent with genocide.”

11/12/2024

Israel bombs Beirut suburbs.

11/11/2024

Israel Katz named new defense minister. It is assumed he will follow Netanyahu’s lead.

11/07/2024

Israel tells residents of Gaza City to leave in advance of more attacks.

11/05/2024

Netanyahu dismisses his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, after months of conflict between them.

11/04/2024

Police arrest aide to Netanyahu, Eliezer Feldstein, on charges of leaking classified information in an effort to thwart a hostage agreement.

11/02/2024

Missiles fired from Lebanon injure eleven in Israel as Iran orders response to 10/27 attack by Israel.

10/27/2024

Israel strikes military targets in Iran in retaliation for 10/1 attack.

10/27/2024

Egypt proposes a two-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which might allow for a hostage release.

10/27/2024

Knesset bans UNWRA, the UN agency providing aid to Palestinians, which Israel believes aided in the 10/7 attack.

10/24/2024

Hezbollah reported to be fighting strongly on the ground in southern Lebanon. A Hezbollah drone damaged Netanyahu’s home on 10/18 or 10/19. However, its stronghold in southern Beirut has been largely destroyed.

10/22/2024

IDF says that the likely successor to Nasrallah was killed in an air strike some weeks ago. Hezbollah subsequently confirms this.

10/20/2024

IDF continues attacks both in Gaza and in Lebanon.

10/17/2024

Yahya Sinwar, commander of the 10/7/23 attack on Israel, is killed. Netanyahu promises to continue fighting in Gaza until the hostages are released.

10/14/2024

UN peacekeepers on the Israel-Lebanon border will remain in place throughout Israeli attacks, UN says.

10/14/2024

IDF attacks a hospital in Gaza, killing 20.

10/14/2024

Hezbollah drone attack on IDF army base in northern Israel kills four soldiers and injures many more.

10/07/2024

On the anniversary of their attack on Israel, Hamas fires rockets into southern Israel. IDF launches new attacks in Gaza.

10/07/2024

Hezbollah missiles hit Israeli port of Haifa.

10/06/2024

Israel increases bombing in southern Lebanon, apparently hunting Hashim Safi a-Din, Nasrallah’s heir apparent. Israel seems to infiltrated Hezbollah, able to pinpoint leaders’ location with some degree of precision. However, Hezbollah troops seem to be holding off IDF forces invading the south. Tens of thousands of Lebanese have evacuated their homes.

10/03/2024

Houthis increasingly targeting ships with little or no connection to the US or Israel, beginning to warn Greek shippers in 5/2024. Iraq-based Kataib Hezbollah, another proxy that forms part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” has warned that an “energy war” could have severe consequences globally, suggesting that Iran and its allies see the conflict as a full-scale war against the west and Israel and/or attempting to forestall an Israeli attack on the Iranian oil industry in retaliation for Iran’s attack on Israel. Tehran, meanwhile, has conveyed a message to the United States through Qatar, stating that the “phase of unilateral self-restraint has ended,” warning that any Israeli attack will be met with an “unconventional response” targeting Israeli infrastructure.

10/03/2024

Israel continues bombing Lebanon, attacks a refugee camp in West Bank, and bombs Gaza. World leaders are worried that Israel may retaliate against Iran by bombing nuclear sites, though it seems unlikely. Attacks on the oil industry are more likely.

09/30/2024

Hezbollah deputy leader Sheik Naim Qassem asserts that Hezbollah is prepared for an Israeli ground offensive.

09/30/2024

IDF invades southern Lebanon.

09/27/2024

Israel conducts massive air strikes in Lebanon, saying it has struck Hezbollah’s headquarters. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and another high-ranking official are killed in the attack. There are later reports that Nasrallah had agreed to a ceasefire with Israel and Netanyahu had accepted the proposal, but went about the assassination of Nasrallah anyway. Over the course of the past year, Israeli special operations forces have conducted dozens of raids across the Lebanese border, claiming to have attacked nearly 1,000 Hezbollah sites where they collected intelligence and sought to dismantle the militant group’s infrastructure and weapons depots.

09/25/2024

Hezbollah missile is destroyed over Tel Aviv.

09/25/2024

At UN General Assembly meeting, US, France, and other nations call for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Netanyahu rejects the plan.

09/24/2024

UN human rights chief says that weaponizing personal non-combat devices, which Israel did with its pager attack, is a violation of international law.

09/24/2024

Bombardment of Lebanon continues. Among other negotiation demands, Israel insists that Hezbollah decouple its military activity from the war in Gaza and Hezbollah insists that it will not do so until there is a ceasefire in Gaza. Tens of thousands of Lebanese have been displaced. Israel says it will continue attacks until the Israelis who have evacuated northern Israel can return.

09/23/2024

IDF bombards 1300 sites in Lebanon, saying they are Hezbollah ammunition or otherwise military.

09/20/2024

IDF attack in an area of Beirut kills Hezbollah commander, Israel says. Also that the military has destroyed thousands of Hezbollah’s rocket launchers.

09/19/2024

More devices blow up. Hezbollah calls the attacks an act of war.

09/18/2024

Pagers blow up in Lebanon, killing some and injuring hundreds. Later, it becomes clear that Israel was able to insert bombs into the pagers as they were being assembled. Hezbollah had recently ordered their members to stop using cell phones, because they could be identified by Israel, and switch to pagers.

09/15/2024

Houthi missile strikes in central Israel, the deepest penetration so far. Netanyahu says the Houthis will “pay a heavy price” for the attack.

09/09/2024

Israel strikes targets in Syria, a larger attack than usual. Sixteen or more are said to have been killed.

09/08/2024

Intense protests demanding a hostage agreement continue in Israel.

09/05/2024

Israel has launched a military operation in the West Bank, saying that Hamas commanders are hiding there.

08/31/2024

Very large protests that the government did not reach an agreement about the hostages before they were killed, by Hamas just before they were found, according to an IDF spokesman.

08/30/2024

The bodies of six dead hostages are recovered in Gaza.

08/28/2024

Israel launches a significant offensive in the West Bank to attack Hamas commanders. It is a “Gaza-style” attack, according to the Israeli foreign minister.

08/27/2024

After an exchange of missile attacks, Hezbollah and Israel express satisfaction, an indication that both are ready to deescalate. However, Iran has still not launched any reprisal for the assassination in Teheran on 7/31/24.

08/15/2024

Talks on a ceasefire and hostage release restart, although there is little optimism about an agreement.

08/15/2024

Amid new efforts at peace talks, and intransigence on both sides, Israel attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon on suspicion of planning a new attack. Hezbollah responds with hundreds of rockets.

07/31/2024

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh is killed in Teheran, Iran, by an assassin. Iran accuses Israel of the killing and vows to revenge it. Israel does not respond.

07/29/2024

US and others urge Israel not to attack Beirut in response to 7/27 attack.

07/27/2024

Rocket attack kills 12, including some children, in the Israeli-occupied Golan. Israel accuses Hezbollah of the attack.

07/22/2024

IDF orders evacuation from humanitarian zone in southern Gaza after Hamas rocket attacks, as it continues attacks throughout Gaza.

07/21/2024

Israel bombs Houthi sites in Yemen after Houthi drone attack hits Tel Aviv.

07/19/2024

International Court of Justice rules that Israel’s settlement policies in Palestinian territory violate international law.

07/19/2024

Israel bombs Houthi sites in Yemen after Houthi drone attack hits Tel Aviv.

07/10/2024

Israel continues constant airstrikes on areas previously said to be safe zones. An attack on a children’s hospital causes more international condemnation.

07/07/2024

Hamas is said to have softened its positions on ceasefire and hostage negotiations.

07/07/2024

Substantial protests in Israel calling for a ceasefire and hostage negotiations.

07/03/2024

IDF returns to attack Khan Yunis, telling residents to evacuate once again. Most Gazans are on the verge of starvation.

06/25/2024

Supreme Court rules that ultra-Orthodox should be drafted into the military.

06/24/2024

Netanyahu says the most intense phase of the assault against Hamas in Gaza is coming to an end, freeing up forces to move to the Lebanese border. However, he also says that while he is open to a ceasefire agreement, he will not agree to any agreement that requires the end of the campaign.

06/20/2024

IDF spokesman says that Hamas cannot be destroyed. Increasing friction between military and Netanyahu and, to some extent, citizens.

06/19/2024

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the north of Israel intensifying, and there are diplomatic efforts to reduce the tension.

06/18/2024

Israel suggests that its efforts to destroy Hamas may be nearing an end.

06/17/2024

Netanyahu disbands special war cabinet after two members, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot quit in protest over the continued Gaza war.

06/11/2024

Hamas responds about US-backed ceasefire plan in a positive tone, although it continues to call for all IDF troops to leave Gaza as a first step, among other demands.

06/10/2024

UN Security Council approves US-backed plan for a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel says that it will continue until Hamas has been eliminated. Israel increasingly isolated for its unyielding position.

06/03/2024

US advocates for Gaza ceasefire plan in UN. The US is working hard diplomatically to force Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire.

06/01/2024

Israel says US is misrepresenting the ceasefire plan. The US affirms its description of the plan.

05/31/2024

US announces support for a ceasefire plan in Gaza.

05/29/2024

IDF says it has control of border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

05/26/2024

Brutal attack on refuge tent camp by IDF kills scores and raises outrage around the world. Netanyahu calls it a “tragic mistake’ and says there will be an investigation. IDF says it killed two high Hamas commanders in the attack.

05/24/2024

International Court of Justice orders Israel to immediately halt its attack on Rafah in Gaza.

05/19/2024

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz says he will quit the government if Netanyahu does not announce a plan to end the war by 6/8. He offers a plan.

05/19/2024

International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders for investigation into alleged war crimes. US and Israel denounce the move.

05/16/2024

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant saying the country should not be involved in ruling Gaza once the fighting ends. Unusual criticism of Netanyahu’s intransigent stance on keeping Gaza under Israeli rule.

05/13/2024

Fighting in both the north and the south.

05/12/2024

Fierce fighting in northern Gaza, where the IDF says Hamas has regrouped.

05/09/2024

Netanyahu continues to insist on an invasion of Rafah to root out Hamas terrorists. Hamas says there can be no agreement as long fighting in Rafah continues.

05/08/2024

US says it will hold heavy bombs and other offensive munitions from Israel if Rafah is invaded in a major way.

05/07/2024

Israel says it has seized the border crossing of Rafah.

05/06/2024

Hamas announces that it has accepted Israel-Egypt ceasefire proposal, but Israel disputes this.

05/06/2024

IDF conducts “targeted strikes” in eastern Rafah.

05/05/2024

IDF orders civilians in Rafah to evacuate.

05/03/2024

Turkey halts trade with Israel over war on Gaza.

04/30/2024

Netanyahu vows to invade Rafah whether there is a ceasefire agreement or not. Serious negotiations seem to be taking place in that direction as US Secretary of State Blinken urges Hamas to come to an agreement.

04/25/2024

Israel and Egypt hold discussion about invasion of Rafah in Gazar, which could displace many Gazans to Egypt.

04/25/2024

Continuous Israeli shelling of eastern section of Rafah.

04/19/2024

There is a drone attack near nuclear site Isfahan in Iran. Israel claims responsibility, but Iran plays down significance.

04/18/2024

IDF deploys ground forces to Gaza border, perhaps in preparation for an attack on Rafah, despite world pressure against it.

04/18/2024

US vetoes Palestinian Authority’s request for full UN membership in a show of support for Israel.

04/17/2024

US says it will impose more sanctions on Iran as a result of attack, but international community continues to seek a way for Israel to respond without ramping up the war.

04/15/2024

Though world leaders call on Israel not to ramp up the fighting with Iran, Israel vows to respond.

04/14/2024

Iran sends more than 300 drones to attack Israel, the largest drone attack in history. Most are destroyed without incident by Israel’s Iron Dome. The attack, announced well in advance and unlikely to have caused serious damage in Israel, may have been designed to show force without intensifying the fighting.

04/12/2024

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seizes a container ship in the Red Sea, saying that it is linked to Israel. It is not clear if this is Iran’s response to the bombing of its consulate in Syria in total or it there will be other attacks. Israel is on high alert and the US intelligence says it expects an attack on Israeli territory imminently.

04/11/2024

Hamas reportedly cannot find enough of the hostages to return to Israel.

04/10/2024

IDF attacks in Gaza somewhat reduced, but Netanyahu vows that assault on Rafah will be conducted.

04/09/2024

Three of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza.

04/06/2024

US presses Egypt and Qatar to urge Hamas to an agreement on ceasefire/hostages.

04/05/2024

Israel says it will open more routes for aid to Gaza.

04/04/2024

After increasing national and international calls for help for Gazans, US demands that Israel protect civilians in Gaza, which is now facing mass starvation.

04/03/2024

Benny Gantz calls for new elections in Israel.

04/02/2024

Food aid workers killed in IDF attack, seemingly with knowledge that they were civilian aid workers, causing outrage around the world.

04/01/2024

IDF ends renewed attack on al-Shifra hospital, leaving it in ruins.

04/01/2024

IDF ends renewed attack on al-Shifra hospital, leaving it in ruins.

04/01/2024

Iran says Israeli bombed Iranian embassy in Syria and killed several military commanders, including an Iranian Quds Force commander.

03/31/2024

Largest Israeli protest yet against the war in Gaza.

03/29/2024

Netanyahu resumes negotiations with Hamas through Qataris.

03/25/2024

UN passes a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and hostage exchange. The US does not veto the resolution, abstaining, infuriating Netanyahu, who cancels a diplomatic visit to the US in reprisal. However, afterwards, the US says the resolution is not binding.

03/22/2024

UN fails to pass US draft resolution supporting an immediate ceasefire in Gaza tied to talks on hostage release. Russia, China, and Algeria voted against it and some criticized it for ambiguous language on the call for a ceasefire.

03/18/2024

Negotiations on a ceasefire coupled with hostage exchange resume after multiple failed attempts.

03/03/2024

Defense Minister Benny Gantz visits Washington in defiance of Netanyahu and holds talks with Vice-President Kamala Harris.

02/28/2024

More than 100 Gazans are killed by the IDF when they mass by aid trucks. The IDF said some seemed threatening. Some were simply run over.

02/28/2024

Colombia suspends arms purchases from Israel. President Petro denounces Gaza war as genocide.

02/23/2024

Netanyahu outlines plan for Gaza after Hamas is removed. It posits open-ended control of civilian affairs and security. Palestinian leaders reject the plan. Israel continues widespread bombing in the center and south of Gaza. Death toll of Gazans now more than 28,000.

02/21/2024

World Food Program halts deliveries in Gaza after IDF fires on one of its convoys.

02/20/2024

US vetoes UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza because it fails to impose demands on Hamas. Highly criticized, given the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. US proposes a temporary halt to fighting.

02/16/2024

Satellite photos show Egypt building a wall on its border with Gaza near the city of Rafah in advance of Israel’s assault on that city, in order to prevent Gazans from fleeing to Egypt.

02/16/2024

Fighting between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel intensifying,

02/15/2024

IDF increasing strikes on Rafah, including on its hospital, resulting in multiple deaths. Israel continues to insist that it will attack Rafah on the ground, though there is little opportunity for citizens to leave for safety anywhere else. Worldwide criticism of the plan.

02/11/2024

Israel says it has freed two hostages during raids in Rafah. Concern around the world has grown as the attacks continue after Israel advised Gazans to take refuge in Rafah.

02/09/2024

Israel orders the military to move civilians out of Rafah in order to pursue Hamas militants. There are more than a million people in the area, most of the refugees from elsewhere in Gaza.

02/03/2024

Israel continues widespread bombing in southern Gaza.

02/02/2024

Revolutionary Guards advisor killed in Israeli airstrike in Syria. Some report that this is Israeli help in a response to the killing of three Americans on 1/28.

02/01/2024

Rumors of Israel and Hamas closer to an agreement to end the fighting and release hostages, but significant differences remain. Netanyahu continues insisting on the release of all hostages before a ceasefire.

01/26/2024

Israel accuses UN Relief and Works Agency employees of having taken part in the October 7 attack on Israel. The UN quickly fires several members of UNRWA.

01/21/2024

Series of attacks by Israel on Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon.

01/18/2024

US and allies continue attacks on Houthi rocket and drone installations, while the Houthis continue to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea. Combined with recent attacks by Iran on Syria, Iraq, and Pakistan, as well as the continued Israeli attacks on Gaza, there is increasing fear that the war is becoming regional.

01/17/2024

IDF continues attacks in southern Gaza despite having declared that the “intensive phase” of operations had ended. IDF also continues attacking bases in southern Lebanon.

01/12/2024

Israel continues significant bombing and ground fighting in southern Gaza but restricts fighting somewhat in the north as fighting in northern Israel against Hezbollah attacks continues.

01/12/2024

UN Court of Justice begins hearing on South Africa charge that Israel has committed genocide in Palestine.

01/11/2024

US and UK bomb multiple targets in Yemen, primarily sites involving drones and missiles in retaliation for Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

01/09/2024

Israel has intensified and continues to intensify attacks on Iran-linked targets in Syria since 10/7/23.

01/08/2024

On a trip to the Mideast, US Secretary of State says that several Arab nations have expressed interest in helping plan for Gaza in the post war including: Jordran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

01/07/2024

Israel Defense Minister Gallant submits a report to the war cabinet saying that when the war ends, the “vision for phase three” is that civil administration of Gaza would pass to unnamed “Palestinian players,” while Israel would retain the ability to carry out military activities within the Strip after the war.

01/02/2024

Hamas leader Saleh Arouri killed in missile attack in Beirut. Israel is suspected.

01/01/2024

IDF says it will withdraw several thousand troops from Gaza, citing the blow to the economy from withdrawing thousands of workers. It may also be a response to US urging to restrict the fighting.

01/01/2024

Supreme Court rules that it can rule on changes to the Basic Law and also rules that the law restricting its authority is illegal. The controversial ruling may affect the stability of the current war government, especially Netanyahu’s part of it.

12/26/2023

Egypt proposes a ceasefire plan but neither Israel nor Hamas shows any interest or responds.

12/26/2023

US launches air strikes in Iraq on pro-Iran forces who have targeted US forces. The Iraqi government protests.

12/26/2023

India sends warships to the Arabian Sea a day after a drone allegedly from Iran strikes a tanker off the coast of India.

12/26/2023

Egypt proposes a ceasefire plan but neither Israel nor Hamas shows any interest or responds.

12/25/2023

Israeli airstrike kills senior Iran military commander who oversaw arms shipments to Hezbollah.

12/25/2023

Netanyahu vows to intensify war effort.

12/22/2023

Shelling by Hezbollah into northern Israel. Israel responds with air attacks.

12/22/2023

UN Security Council passes a resolution calling for an indefinite pause to allow humanitarian to be delivered. The United States abstained because the resolution did not support Israel’s right to self-defense.

12/21/2023

Israel has not yet found evidence that the al-Shifa hospital was a Hamas headquarters.

12/20/2023

US announces ten-nation coalition to counter Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The Houthi attacks have been highly popular in Yemen, helping it to recruit new adherents.

12/14/2023

US urges Israel to change their strategy and tactics to reduce civilian deaths in Gaza.

12/13/2023

Biden critical of Israel policy on Gaza, saying Israel is losing world support. Netanyahu responds that Israel will continue until Hamas is eliminated.

12/12/2023

Israel warns of wider war in Lebanon with Hezbollah, which has intensified its rocket attacks on northern Israel.

12/11/2023

Cruise missile claimed to be launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen strikes Norwegian tanker in the Red Sea.

12/09/2023

IDF increases raids on Palestinians in the West Bank.

12/08/2023

US embassy in Baghdad targeted by rockets, causing minor damage and no casualties.

12/05/2023

IDF enters Khan Younis in southern Gaza, formerly Gaza’s second-largest city. Israel has told the tens of thousands of refugees to evacuate Khan Younis, but there is now here for them to go. Israel says it is making surgical attacks in the city looking for Hamas leaders. Palestinians say IDF is shooting anything that moves. Hamas still firing missiles from northern Gaza into Israel, with little effect.

12/05/2023

IDF enters Khan Younis in southern Gaza, formerly Gaza’s second-largest city. Israel has told the tens of thousands of refugees to evacuate Khan Younis, but there is now here for them to go. Israel says it is making surgical attacks in the city looking for Hamas leaders. Palestinians say IDF is shooting anything that moves. Hamas still firing missiles from northern Gaza into Israel, with little effect.

12/04/2023

Israel continues bombing. Calls on Gazans to leave southern Gaza, though they have nowhere to go.

12/01/2023

Israel resumes bombing Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire.

11/30/2023

Pause is extended another day and hostages and prisoners are exchanged as negotiations on a longer agreement continue.

11/29/2023

Pause continued as more hostages are released by Hamas and more Palestinians prisoners released by Israel. Negotiations over a more extended ceasefire are continuing.

11/27/2023

Final day of initial pause in fighting, but Israel and Hamas agree to extend the pause for two more days.

11/26/2023

After brief interruption when Hamas says that Israel is not releasing hostages as agreed (longest in prison first) and allowing agreed amount of aid to enter Gaza, exchange continues. 117 Palestinian prisoners released and 58 Israelis. In addition some Thais who worked on Israeli kibbutz were released by Hamas.

11/26/2023

US seizes Houthis who captured Israeli ship in the Red Sea.

11/24/2023

Israel and Hamas release hostages as agreed.

11/22/2023

Israel says that pause cannot begin until 11/24.

11/21/2023

Agreement reached on pause in fighting and release of 50 hostages, women and children, and release of 150 Palestinians currently held in Israeli jails, also women and children. There is to be no fighting for five days.

11/20/2023

IDF now besieging another hospital known as the Indonesian hospital. Israel says that it has proof of a tunnel underneath the al Shifra hospital and that hostages were taken there.

11/19/2023

Yemen Houthis seize cargo ship in the Red Sea said to be owned by an Israeli.

11/16/2023

UN halts aid transport after communications break down in Gaza.

11/16/2023

Netanyahu announces that they body of a hostage was found near the hospital. Skepticism is mounting that the attack on the hospital was unjustified.

11/15/2023

Israeli military enters Al Shifra hospital. The IDF reports that they found weapons there and evidence of Hamas communication devices on site. However, the military has banned journalists from entering the hospital, so the statements cannot be verified.

11/13/2023

US again attacks Iran-backed military sites in Syria in retaliation for attacks on US personnel.

11/12/2023

Increasing criticism of Israeli attack on Gaza as the IDF continues attacking hospitals, insisting they are atop Hamas leadership headquarters. Israeli snipers have surrounded one, the Al-Shifra hospital and are firing at anyone near it, trapping hundreds inside. The hospitals have closed, having no fuel and little medicine.

11/11/2023

Saudi Arabia leads meeting of Arab nations over the Israel-Hamas war.

11/09/2023

Israel commits to daily four-hour pauses in north Gaza and to announce them three hours in advance.

11/09/2023

US forces in Iraq attacked in three places by drones and an explosive device.

11/08/2023

US bombs military facility in Syria linked to the Iran Revolutionary Guards in retaliation for multiple attacks on American forces in the region.

11/06/2023

Israeli forces sever Gaza in half. More than 10,000 Palestinians are said to been killed.

11/05/2023

Increasing calls for a humanitarian pause or ceasefire. Netanyahu asserts that there will be no pause until the hostages are all released.

11/02/2023

Bahrain recalls its ambassador to Israel as a consequence of the war with Hamas.

11/02/2023

Israeli forces encircle Gaza City. The US, among others, calls for a humanitarian pause. Increased violence in the West Bank.

11/02/2023

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nazrallah says that Hezbollah will not increase the intensity of its attacks on Israel in support of Hamas unless Israel does so against Lebanon but calls for the war to end.

11/01/2023

Some wounded are allowed to enter Egypt as well as some foreign nationals in Gaza.

10/31/2023

Yemen Houthis make a confirmed air strike at the Israeli port on the Red Sea.

10/31/2023

Bolivia breaks diplomatic ties with Israel over the invasion of Gaza.

10/31/2023

Chile and Colombia recall their ambassadors to Israel for consultation over the invasions of Gaza.

10/30/2023

Netanyahu rejects calls for a ceasefire.

10/30/2023

Fierce fighting in and bombing of Gaza City.

10/30/2023

UN General Assembly passes a resolution calling for an immediate “humanitarian truce” in Gaza to allow aid to be delivered. An amendment sponsored by Canada that would have condemned the Hamas 10/7 attack failed to pass.

10/29/2023

Gazans break into aid storage facilities, taking supplies.

10/28/2023

Netanyahu says that the “second stage” of the war has begun. Israeli settlers continue to attack Palestinians in the West Bank.

10/27/2023

Israel makes additional incursions into Gaza and carries out some of the heaviest bombing of the war.

10/27/2023

Hamas representatives and Iranian foreign minister meet for talks in Russia.

10/26/2023

Hamas says that 7000 Gazans have been killed by Israeli bombing. The internet has gone dark.

10/26/2023

Israeli troops and tanks make limited incursion into Gaza, but no firm decision has been made as to when and how to mount the main attack. Negotiations about the hostages continue.

10/25/2023

Fuel running out in Gaza. Israel says that Hamas in withholding fuel that it has stockpiled in the tunnels and elsewhere. UN aid work is also being curtailed by a lack of fuel.

10/24/2023

Shortages in Gaza now severe, and the lack of fuel is forcing hospitals to shut down all but basic services.

10/24/2023

US warns Iran against attacking US troops in the Middle East. This is in the context of the Israel-Hamas conflict. There have been multiple attacks by Iranian allies on US positions.

10/24/2023

US vetoes a UN Security Council resolution that condemned Hamas’s attack on Israel and called for humanitarian access to Palsinians, and release of the hostages. The US vetoes the resolution because it did not mention Israel’s right to self-defense.

10/23/2023

Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank attack Palestinians in the area, killing some and destroying property.

10/23/2023

There are growing calls for Netanyahu to resign. He is blamed for not acting on intelligence in advance of the Hamas attack, for undercutting Fatah in the West Bank to the advantage of Hamas, and of allowing Qatar to funnel substantial aid to Hamas.

10/23/2023

Hamas releases two more hostages, two elderly Israeli women.

10/23/2023

US and allies pressuring Israel to delay the ground attack on Gaza in order to save some Palestinians, allow more time to negotiate hostage releases, and prevent the war from expanding further.

10/22/2023

Israel relocates some citizens living near the border with Lebanon, as fears of a wider war increase. US orders some diplomatic personnel to leave Iraq.

10/22/2023

Israel bombs airports in Damascus and Aleppo to prevent them from being used to widen the war with Hamas.

10/21/2023

Leaders from multiple countries, mostly Arab but also from Europe, Russia, China and the US, meet in Cairo to discuss the Israeli-Hamas war.

10/21/2023

Hamas agrees to release two hostages, an American mother and daughter, to the Red Cross and ultimately the United States, in a deal brokered by Qatar.

10/20/2023

Rafah border is opened to allow humanitarian aid trucks to pass. No Palestinians or other people are allowed to cross in either direction.

10/20/2023

Increased attacks by Iranian proxies in the Middle East target US installations. This indicates an intention to foment a wider conflict that would be in line with Hamas’s intentions.

10/19/2023

With Israeli airstrikes continuing, nearly 4000 Gazans have been killed. Human rights experts are calling Israeli actions “crimes against humanity.”

10/18/2023

US vetoes a UN Security Council resolution condemning all violence in the Israel-Hamas war and calling for a humanitarian pause in the war, saying it is too early to craft a response and criticizing the resolution for not affirming Israel’s right to self-defense.

10/18/2023

President Biden in Israel. He announces an agreement on aid to Gaza, and a humanitarian corridor to open on the Egyptian border of Gaza.

10/18/2023

Hezbollah increases its rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon, raising fears of a wider regional war.

10/18/2023

In the aftermath of the hospital bombing, PLA’s Abbas, Jordan and Lebanon cancel scheduled meeting with US President Biden, a blow to hopes for a regional approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

10/17/2023

US President Biden announces that an agreement has been made with Egypt to allow 20 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza at the Rafah Crossing. However, the area has been bombed and will need to be repaired, which will take a few days. Fuel is not included in the aid.

10/17/2023

Bombing of hospital in Gaza kills hundreds. There is outrage and initial suspicion falls on Israel, although afterwards, evidence tends to point to Islamic Jihad missile that malfunctioned.

10/16/2023

Hamas offers to free hostages from foreign countries when the conditions are right. Not clear what this means precisely.

10/16/2023

US announces that there is an agreement to allow foreigners in Gaza to leave through the Rafah Gate to Egypt and that a humanitarian corridor will be set up into southern Gaza. It also announces that President Biden will visit Israel within the week.

10/13/2023

Israel orders civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate. They can only go to southern Gaza if they are able to travel at all. Israel has dropped more than 6000 bombs on Gaza in the last several days.

10/12/2023

Israel says that there will be no fuel, food, or electricity in Gaza until the hostages are released. Hamas has been in contact with other Arab countries about creating a humanitarian corridor from Egypt into Gaza to allow for medical and food aid.

10/11/2023

Photos of children being beheaded by Hamas during the attack engenders widespread condemnation.

10/11/2023

Netanyahu forms emergency unity government with Benny Gantz, leader of the Israel Resilience Party, which holds six seats in the Knesset. It will last only until the war with Hamas is over. Yair Lapid, who had also called for a unity government, was not included because he demanded that the far-right parties be excluded. Netanyahu’s approval has suffered due to the policy and intelligence failures preceding the Hamas war.

10/11/2023

Israel says it has mobilized 300,000 reservists. Power plants in Gaza likely to run out of fuel this day or within another day. Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant promises a ground invasion of Gaza. Hamas is said to have more than 200 hostages, Israelis and people from other countries.

10/11/2023

Israel shells southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah rocket attacks from there.

10/10/2023

Israel orders siege of Gaza while levelling parts of the territory in the stated effort to destroy Hamas strongholds, which it says are in apartment buildings that it is destroying.

10/09/2023

European Neighborhood Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi says the EU will suspend more than $700 million in development aid to Palestinians then retracts the statement after protests by member states.

10/09/2023

Israel announces interdiction of food, fuel, and electricity to Gaza. Continuing bombing of Gaza, including refugee camps, said to have killed more than 500. Israel says it hit 1000 targets in Gaza and will continue even at the cost of Israeli captives in Gaza.

10/09/2023

Israel says that battles with Hamas in southern Israeli towns have ended.

10/09/2023

Hamas continues shelling of Israel.

10/08/2023

Attempted incursion into Israel from Lebanon by Gaza-based Islamic Jihad thwarted. The group also says they are holding thirty Israeli captives.

10/08/2023

Israel formally declares war on Gaza. Bombing of Gaza continues and Netanyahu warns that all Hamas strongholds will be razed.

10/08/2023

Hezbollah in Lebanon fires rockets at Israel in support of Gaza. Israel returns the fire.

10/07/2023

Israel bombs Gaza widely, killing at least 200. Netanyahu says Israel is “at war” with Gaza.

10/07/2023

Hamas attacks Israel

Hamas attacks Israel by land, sea, and air in retaliation for past atrocities notably the attack on the Al-Aqsa mosque in 4/23. More than 5000 thousand missiles are fired at Israeli targets and there is an invasion across several border points with Israel by approximately 1500. At least 100 Israelis are killed and a substantial number are taken prisoner. There is widespread killing of civilians unrelated to any military objective. There is discussion that this attack, supported and equipped by Iran, is intended to rebalance Iran’s regional position, caused in part by the reported normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Iran may also have been behind a recent terrorist bombing in Ankara, Turkey, which caused Turkey to bomb PKK sites in Syria. The attack also took place on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. There is concern in Israeli intelligence at the failure to detect any sign of the preparation for the attack, which must have been substantial.

07/26/2023

Supreme Court agrees to hear an appeal against the new law, with the hearing to be held in September.

07/24/2023

Knesset passes first part of judicial overhaul law, which limits the Supreme Court’s power to limit government power.

07/12/2023

Protests throughout the country against the judicial reform bill.

07/05/2023

Incursion ends with eleven Palestinians killed and one Israeli soldier.

07/03/2023

Israel begins two-day incursion in Jenin refugee camp in an “extensive counterterrorism effort.” It involves helicopter gunships, more than 150 armored vehicles and 1000 special forces.

06/23/2023

UN criticizes Israel’s use of heavy military equipment, including helicopter gunships, in recent raid on Jenin.

06/20/2023

Palestinians kill four Israeli West Bank settlers. Subsequently, Israeli West Bank settlers riot through Palestinian towns, killing one.

06/19/2023

Israel attacks Jenin refugee camp to arrest two suspects. At least seven Palestinians are killed including children.

06/04/2023

Protests against judicial changes continue for the 22nd week.

05/11/2023

Reciprocal attacks continue.

05/09/2023

Israel attacks kill three leaders of Islamic jihad in Gaza as violence between the two countries continues. Gazan forces will no doubt respond with more attacks.

05/02/2023

Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli custody dies, sparking new conflict. A ceasefire is agreed to quickly.

04/06/2023

Israeli police raid Al-Aqsa mosque again and fire missiles at Gaza in response to Gazan missile attacks.

04/05/2023

Israeli police raid Al-Aqsa mosque, arresting hundreds of Palestinians during Ramadan. Israeli police said in a statement that its forces entered al-Aqsa after “hundreds of rioters and mosque desecrators (had) barricaded themselves” inside. “When the police entered, stones were thrown at them, and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” according to the statement.

03/27/2023

Netanyahu says he is suspending judicial vote in order “to prevent the country being torn apart.” Some are suspicious that he will have the vote once the protests die down.

03/26/2023

Netanyahu fires defense minister Yoav Gallant after he criticizes the judicial reforms.

03/22/2023

Jordan parliament votes to expel Israeli ambassador over remarks by religious conservative Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who recently denied the existence of Palestinian culture.

03/20/2023

Netanyahu delays Knesset vote on judicial changes until the Knesset reconvenes on 4/20/23.

03/19/2023

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meet to try to find a way to reduce tensions.

03/12/2023

Protests against judicial plan continue at strength.

03/08/2023

General strike in the West Bank in response to Israeli killings.

03/07/2023

Israeli raid in Jenin in the West Bank kills six Palestinians.

02/26/2023

Backed by the Israeli army, Israeli settlers in villages south of Nablus carry out about 300 attacks on Palestinians, burning homes and cars. One person is killed, hundreds injured. The attacks are in revenge for the killing of two Israelis in the area.

02/13/2023

More than 100,000 people from across Israel protest government’s plan for the judiciary. Even some of the religious right are opposed to parts of the proposals.

02/05/2023

Large protests against judicial changes continue.

01/29/2023

Drone attack on military plant in Isfahan. Government says that there was no damage and no casualties. Israel is believed to be behind the attack.

01/28/2023

Government allows Israelis to obtain firearms more easily to arm themselves.

01/28/2023

Several IRGC top commanders killed in Israeli attack on Damascus airport.

01/27/2023

Palestinian kills seven Israelis near a synagogue in East Jerusalem.

01/26/2023

Israel launches air attacks on Gaza after a raid in Jenin to pursue suspected Islamic Jihad militants.

01/17/2023

Supreme Court rules that Aryeh Deri, a senior minister in Netanyahu cabinet and a leader of an ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party, cannot be seated because he was convicted of tax fraud.

01/15/2023

More than 80,000 protest the government’s proposed changes to the judicial system, which would make Supreme Court nominations via a review committee and enable parliament to overturn Supreme Court rulings.

01/03/2023

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visits Temple Mount, which Palestinians see as an intentional provocation. Ben Gvir had to delay the visit with Netanyahu, but went ahead despite that.

12/22/2022

Netanyahu forms new government

Netanyahu forms new governing coalition with inclusion of very conservative parties.

12/03/2022

Continuing violence in the West Bank.

11/16/2022

Attacks and reprisals continue in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian Territories, especially in the Ariel settlement.

11/16/2022

Israel deploys remote-controlled, AI-directed guns directed at Palestinian camp and a center of protest in the West Bank.

11/03/2022

Netanyahu coalition wins election

The Likud Party and its ally the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism Party, win 64 seats in the Knesset. Lapid concedes.

11/02/2022

Partial results indicate that Likud and allies are likely to win as many as 65 seats in the Knesset, a clear majority larger than recent governments.

11/01/2022

In voting for the Knesset today, exit polls suggest that Netanyahu’s coalition will have a slim majority.

10/27/2022

Israel and Turkey relaunch formal security ties after a decade.

10/26/2022

Israeli army continues crackdown in Nablus, in the Palestinian Authority, focusing on new militant group, Lion’s Gate, that has been responsible for attacks recently.

10/18/2022

Australia rescinds decision to recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel until peace negotiations are finalized.

10/13/2022

Several days of new fighting between Israeli forces and militants in Gaza.

10/11/2022

Israel and Lebanon agree to exploit the maritime gas fields by defining the maritime border between the two countries (though not the land border, which is also in dispute). Hezbollah had threatened to attack a new offshore gas facility that Israel is readying for production in what Lebanon claims are disputed waters and Israel had put its military on alert, but this deal should calm those concerns. It will also provide Lebanon with a new cash flow.

10/06/2022

Israel rejects Lebanese changes to maritime treaty, putting it in doubt.

10/04/2022

EU and Israel hold diplomatic talks for the first time in ten years.

09/23/2022

Israel to supply the UAE with air defense systems for protection against Houthi attacks.

09/01/2022

Israeli jets fire on the Aleppo International airport in Syria, claiming that Iranian missiles were housed there.

08/17/2022

Israel and Turkey resume diplomatic relations after four years.

08/07/2022

Israel and Islamic Jihad group agree to a ceasefire. At least two commanders have been killed and at least twenty other people arrested.

08/04/2022

Israeli airstrikes kill nine in Gaza, including a senior jihadist commander.

07/14/2022

US and Israel announce that they will use every means of their disposal to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, including military force.

07/01/2022

Lapid becomes interim prime minister until elections.

06/29/2022

Knesset votes to dissolve. New elections will be held 11/1/22.

06/28/2022

Bennet says he will not run for prime minister in the next election.

06/20/2022

New elections called

Bennet and Lapid announce that they will dissolve parliament and call new elections, probably in October.

06/13/2022

Member of Bennet’s Yamina Party says he will stop voting with the governing coalition. Bennet says the government has a week or two to solve its internal problems or lost control, causing new elections.

06/06/2022

Government fails to pass a bill extending legal status of settlers in the West Bank, a setback that could presage new elections. The vote was largely on political grounds, with strong supporters of the settlers voting against the bill in order to weaken the government. The government can submit a modified version of the bill, but if that fails, new elections would probably be called.

06/05/2022

Lebanon warns Israel against any “aggressive action” in sea region where both countries hope to develop natural gas resources.

05/31/2022

Israel and UAE agree to a free trade pact.

05/19/2022

Arab parliamentarian Rinawie Zoabi of the Meretz Party quits the governing coalition. Netanyahu is attempting to have a no-confidence vote.

05/09/2022

Knesset begins new term. Bennet’s government remains a minority, although it seems doubtful it will fall in the near term.

04/29/2022

Israeli police clash with Muslim worshipers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

04/26/2022

Palestinian killed during Israeli raid in the West Bank.

04/26/2022

Israel bombs military positions in Syria linked to Iran, killing five Syrian soldiers and four soldiers of an Iranian militia.

04/25/2022

Leaders of Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE meet to discuss tension in Jerusalem and call on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to stop measures that undermine the two-state solution and return to serious negotiations.

04/25/2022

Israel fires missile into suspected Hezbollah positions in Lebanon in retaliation for rocket attacks.

04/18/2022

Israel launches air attack on Hamas munitions site. No one is killed and Hamas retaliates, but it is an increase in the level of violence between Hamas and Israel that has grown over recent weeks.

04/14/2022

A series of attacks in Israel by Palestinians and responses in Palestinian territories roil the area.

04/06/2022

In a surprise, parliamentarian Idit Silman quits the ruling coalition and joins the Netanyahu bloc, leaving the coalition without a majority. Knesset does not sit again until 5/8.

03/27/2022

Israel hosts meeting with representatives of Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, the UAE, and the US.

03/23/2022

Leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel meet for the first time.

02/03/2022

Turkish President Erdogan says Israeli President Isaac Herzog will visit Turkey in 3/22.

02/02/2022

For the first time, Israel joins in 60-nation US-led naval exercise, which includes Saudi Arabia and Oman. It is likely meant as a show of force to Iran.

12/26/2021

Israel says it will increase settlements in the Golan Heights.

12/13/2021

Israeli prime minister Bennet meets with UAE crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the first official visit of an Israeli prime minister to the UAE.

11/04/2021

Knesset passes budget for the first time in three years.

09/07/2021

Israel announces that it has accelerated military planning to counter Iran’s development of nuclear capability.

09/02/2021

The Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank is becoming increasingly violent and dangerous. Occupants are frustrated with the Israeli presence and the failure of West Bank leadership to ameliorate problems. Jenin was one of the topics discussed by Gantz and Abbas.

08/29/2021

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz meets with Mahmoud Abbas to discuss security issues. There have been recent exchanges between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.

08/05/2021

Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon in retaliation for Hezbollah missile attacks.

08/01/2021

US and UK blame Iran for drone attack on Israeli ship.

07/08/2021

Israel and Jordan reach an agreement in which Israel will sell water to Jordan and Jordan will increase exports to the West Bank of the Palestinian Authority.

06/24/2021

Government reimposes mask wearing indoors as delta variant of COVID-19 cases rise.

06/16/2021

Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza after Palestinians send incendiary balloons into southern Israel.

06/13/2021

New coalition government takes office

Knesset formally approves new government with Bennett as prime minister. Lapid will take over as prime minister after two years, according to the agreement among the parties.

06/01/2021

A coalition including Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid (There is a Future) Naftali Bennett’s Yamina, the Arab delegates, and allies say they have enough votes to form a “unity government.” Yesh Atid holds 17 seats and its allies hold 34. Yamina holds 6 seats and the United Arab List 4 seats, to form a one-vote majority of 61. Netanyahu’s Likud holds 50 seats. It would be a very fragile coalition, given the diversity of aims of the various members.

05/22/2021

Ceasefire holding.

05/20/2021

Israel and Gaza agree to a ceasefire, brokered by Egypt.

05/19/2021

US Pres Biden tells Netanyahu to significantly de-escalate the in Gaza today.

05/19/2021

US Pres Biden tells Netanyahu to significantly de-escalate the in Gaza today.

05/17/2021

Despite increasing calls for a ceasefire, Israel vows to continue to attack Gaza by air until its military capabilities are handicapped.

05/13/2021

Naftali Bennet of the Yamina party says he will no longer negotiate to form a unity government with the centrist bloc, effectively ending efforts at forming a new government, which will lead to new elections.

05/13/2021

Israel masses ground forces on the Gaza border.

05/12/2021

Yair Lapid’s negotiations with the Arab bloc on forming a new government are halted.

05/12/2021

Israeli attacks on Gaza continue, bombing both Palestinian military and civilian targets. Gaza rocket attacks on Israel continue.

05/11/2021

Hamas fires rockets at Jerusalem, most of which are intercepted, in response to the attacks at the al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli fighter jets bomb areas of Gaza.

05/10/2021

Israeli security forces again attack Palestinians at the al-Aqsa mosque, wounding more than 300. Twenty Israelis were injured.

05/07/2021

Israeli police attack Muslims at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. They were celebrating the final night of Ramadan, and also protesting the eviction of Palestinians from the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem as Israelis take over more of the East Bank. Tensions between Palestinians and Israelis have been increasing for months.

05/05/2021

Yair Lapid is given the opportunity to form a government. He has 28 days to do so, but there is no clear path to a majority.

05/03/2021

Netanyahu offers to share prime minister’s office with Naftali Bennet for one year. Bennet seems to reject the proposal. Netanyahu has until 5/4 to form a new government. Bennet’s seven legislators would not be enough alone to give Netanyahu a majority, but he might bring others along. Netanyahu is trying to push through a law allowing for the direct election of prime ministers.

04/30/2021

Fatah postpones elections, citing Israel’s failure to decide whether to allow Palestinians to vote in East Jerusalem in May election. Fatah protests, and most observers believe that Fatah believed it would lose at the polls.

04/11/2021

Explosion at Natanz nuclear facility in Iran. Israel is widely suspected to have set off the explosion, which may end uranium enrichment for as much as nine months. The action complicates discussions about reviving the JPCOA.

04/06/2021

Rivlin asks Netanyahu to form a government, although he also said no leader has enough support to do so.

04/02/2021

Saudi foreign minister says that normalizing relations with Israel would be good for the region, but that it would depend on peace negotiations establishing a Palestinian state.

03/25/2021

Although Netanyahu and allies will win the most seats, it is not clear how he will form a majority coalition. Nafatli Bennet’s Yamina party could join with Netanyahu, but the coalition would still be one seat short of a majority.

03/24/2021

Netanyahu’s coalition seems likely to win a plurality but not a majority of seats in the Knesset. However, the Arab coalition Joint List has gained seats and may be able to dictate which coalition becomes the governing one.

03/23/2021

Elections for the Knesset. Netanyahu hopes that his highly effective vaccination program against COVID-19 will propel his party to a majority.

02/08/2021

Netanyahu appears briefly at his trial for corruption to plead guilty and then leaves.

12/22/2020

New elections called

Parliament is dissolved after the coalition breaks up over the budget and fails to pass a new one for 2021. New elections must be called if there is no state budget.

12/12/2020

Bhutan and Israel to establish diplomatic relations.

12/11/2020

Israel and Morocco agree to establish diplomatic relations. As part of the agreement, US recognizes western Morocco as part of the larger country.

12/02/2020

Knesset takes first step toward new elections by dissolving itself. The government has been hampered by constant infighting between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz. They are still attempting to negotiate an agreement.

11/27/2020

Top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is assassinated. No group takes responsibility, but Iran accuses Israel and the United States. He was seen as a vital moving force behind the revival of the nuclear program and difficult to replace. The killing may also complicate any further negotiations on the nuclear arms agreement by the incoming Biden administration.

11/22/2020

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu travels to Saudi Arabia for talks with Mohammed bin Salman and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It is the first meeting ever between an Israeli leader and a Saudi leader. Saudi Arabia official denies that such a meeting took place.

11/17/2020

The Palestinian Authority resumes diplomatic relations with Israel after Israel provides affirmation that it will abide by previous agreements.

10/23/2020

Sudan and Israel agree to discuss normalizing diplomatic relations. Sudan’s legislative assembly will have to approve the agreement. The Popular Congress Party, the second most prominent component of the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) political coalition, denounces the agreement. Former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, the last elected leader of Sudan, also decries the agreement.

10/01/2020

Lebanon and Israel agree to negotiate a settlement on disputed border.

09/30/2020

Knesset passes a law the prohibits protests during the COVID-19 pandemic.

09/24/2020

Bahrain's King Hamad says the agreement with Israel should encourage resolution of the Palestinian problem and a two-state solution.

09/20/2020

Honduras will move Israeli embassy to Jerusalem by the end of 2020.

09/13/2020

Israel again goes into nationwide stay-at-home regulations beginning 9/18. It now has more than 150,000 cases and 1100 deaths after a new surge in cases.

09/11/2020

Bahrain agrees to recognize Israel diplomatically.

09/04/2020

Serbia and Kosovo normalize economic ties in a ceremony in the US. Israel and Kosovo also mutually recognize each other as part of the agreement and Serbia will move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.

08/25/2020

The UAE cancels talk with the US and Israel after Netanyahu criticizes US weapons sale to the UAE.

08/14/2020

UAE and Israel agree on normalization of diplomatic ties. Israwel agrees to refrain from further annexation in the West Bank until after the US election in November.

07/21/2020

Ongoing protests against the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

07/20/2020

Another in a series of attacks on Iranian positions in Syria, assumed to be carried out by Israel.

07/05/2020

Large explosion at Natanz. Israel is suspected to have engineered the blast.

07/01/2020

Original target date for Israel to take over parts of the West Bank passes without any action by Israel.

06/15/2020

Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil calls for Palestinian unity to oppose annexation of parts of the West Bank.

06/02/2020

Israeli settlers object to Netanyahu’s plan to annex parts of the west Bank, saying it will create isolated islands of settlements that are more vulnerable to attack by Palestinians.

05/20/2020

Palestinian Authority ends all agreements with Israel and the US due to Israeli expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

05/16/2020

Local elections to be held on 5/16. Opposition parties call for a boycott of the vote due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 5/15/20. Abdullah II says the government is considering all possibilities to respond to Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank. EU to launch diplomatic mission to stop West Bank annexations.

05/07/2020

Knesset passes a law allowing “emergency” coalition government to proceed, but also requires the prime ministership (called a “designated prime minister”) to rotate from Netanyahu to Gantz after eighteen months. Each coalition bloc will have an equal number of ministries. It allows someone to serve as prime minister while under indictment. President Rivlin is expected to nominate Netanyahu to form a government, which will take office by 5/13.

05/06/2020

Court allows Netanyahu to form government while under indictment and allows current coalition structure to remain.

05/03/2020

Court resumes hearing testimony on the legitimacy of the Nethanyahu-Gantz government (since, for instance, it changes the prime minister in the middle of the term) and whether someone charged with serious crimes can be allowed to form a government.

04/20/2020

Agreement on unity government

Netanyahu and Gantz agree to a unity government in which Netanyahu will remain prime minister for eighteen more months and then Gantz will be prime minister for eighteen months. During Netanyahu’s office, Gantz will be deputy prime minister and minister of defense, while Foreign Minister will be a Gantz ally.

04/18/2020

Government eases some COVID-19 restrictions, allowing a higher percentage of workers to return to work and allowing some shops to open. There are more than 13,000 cases and 164 have died.

04/16/2020

With mandate to form a government ending, Rivlin orders the Knesset to form a government. Gantz and Netanyahu continue to negotiate, but the country may be moving toward a fourth election.

04/12/2020

Pres Rivlin denies Gantz’s request for an extension of his time to form a government, which ends on 4/13.

04/08/2020

Government imposes curfew during Passover due to rising COVID-19 outbreak.

03/26/2020

Gantz elected parliament speaker

Gantz is elected speaker of parliament with support from former Netanyahu supporters. He suggests he will pursue an emergency unity government due to the COVID-19 pandemic, contradicting many election promises that he would never work with an indicted prime minister. The Blue and White coalition, a diverse group united mainly by anti-Netanyahu sentiment, breaks apart. Many see it as confirmation of Netanyahu's political skills.

03/25/2020

Parliament speaker Yuli Edelstein abruptly resigns as speaker of the Knesset, allowing the opposition to take control. However, his resignation also prevents a vote on a new speaker as ordered by the Supreme Court.

03/23/2020

Supreme Court rules that Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein must hold a vote on electing a speaker.

03/21/2020

Netanyahu says that Gantz has agreed to a three-year shared power government, in which Netanyahu would step down as prime minister after 18 months and Gantz would take over. However, it is not clear that Gantz has agreed to the arrangement. A suit has been filed by the Blue and White party among others, to reopen the judicial system and allow parliament to meet.

03/16/2020

Gantz is given the opportunity to create a government, having gathered a one-seat majority coalition.

03/15/2020

Government closes all courts due to COVID-19 for two months. This delays Netanyahu’s corruption case. Government has also prevented parliament from meeting, which delays Gantz’s ability to form a new government.

03/05/2020

A proposed law banning an indicted person from being prime minister gains the support of a slim majority of the Knesset. There is also increasing support for a minority government led by Gantz.

03/05/2020

A proposed law banning an indicted person from being prime minister gains the support of a slim majority of the Knesset. There is also increasing support for a minority government led by Gantz.

03/04/2020

Syrian reports fighting “hostile objects” in central and southern Syria and suggests that they are Israeli aircraft striking at what they consider Iranian forces.

03/03/2020

Netanyahu’s coalition wins 58 seats in parliament and will likely from a government, despite opposition efforts to bar an indicted person from being prime minister. The Arab parties united as the Joint List, win their largest number of seats and become the third-largest single party in the Knesset.

03/02/2020

Parliamentary election. Netanyahu showing strength in exit polls.

02/24/2020

Netanyahu threatens Gaza leadership with war if attacks continue. Leaders call for a cease-fire.

02/11/2020

Saudi prince condemns US-Israel peace plan.

02/04/2020

EU criticizes US-Israel peace plan.

02/03/2020

Netanyahu meets with Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the head of the transitional government, about normalizing diplomatic relations. The meeting was announced only after it was over.

02/01/2020

Palestinian government cuts diplomatic relations with the US and Israel, including security agreement.

01/31/2020

Arab League rejects US-Israeli peace plan.

01/31/2020

Arab League rejects US-Israeli peace plan.

01/30/2020

Quiet response to US-Israeli plan leaves Palestinians with little leverage for future discussions. They say they will go to the UN to block the plan and may withdraw from the Oslo agreement, including its requirement for security coordination.

01/28/2020

US presents peace plan for Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Written without consultation of the Palestinians, it largely favors Israel and recognizes some aspects that are considered violation of international law. Netanyahu, meeting with Pres Trump, says he will accept and institute the plan if it is accepted. Benny Gantz, speaking separately, says the same. The Palestinians quickly condemn it.

01/28/2020

US presents peace plan for Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Written without consultation of the Palestinians, it largely favors Israel and recognizes some aspects that are considered violation of international law. Netanyahu, meeting with Pres Trump, says he will accept and institute the plan if it is accepted. Benny Gantz, speaking separately, says the same. The Palestinians quickly condemn it.

01/28/2020

US presents peace plan for Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Written without consultation of the Palestinians, it largely favors Israel and recognizes some aspects that are considered violation of international law. Netanyahu, meeting with Pres Trump, says he will accept and institute the plan if it is accepted. Benny Gantz, speaking separately, says the same. The Palestinians quickly condemn it.

01/27/2020

Netanyahu withdraws a request for immunity, opening the way for prosecution. He is indicted for corruption.

01/15/2020

Syria says Israel has bombed Homs airbase.

01/02/2020

Supreme Court refuses to decide whether a candidate for prime minister charged with serious crimes can be barred from being asked to form a government. The court indicated it might revisit the petition if Netanyahu is asked to form a government after the next election.

01/01/2020

Netanyau asks parliament to grant him immunity from prosecution.

12/26/2019

Netanyahu easily re-elected as head of Likud.

12/12/2019

With no party able to form a government by the deadline today, new elections are required by 3/20.

11/21/2019

Netanyahu to be indicted on bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges. Despite pressure to resign, Netanyahu refuses to do so.

11/20/2019

Israel fires rockets on Quds Force targets near Damascus and surrounding towns in Syria, killing Iranians and Syrians. Observers suggest that Israel has also fired on Iranian targets in Iraq, fearing that they may be preparing an attack like the one on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco.

11/19/2019

Gantz says that he will be unable to form a government, likely leading to another election.

11/19/2019

Four rockets are launched into the Golan Heights, but intercepted. Israel says they were fired by “an Iranian force.” The Israelis take this as evidence that Iran is increasing its threat to Israel by bolstering its forces in southern Syria and giving them precision-guided missiles.

11/18/2019

US reverses its stance Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying that they do not violate international law. Sec of State Mike Pompeo explains that the previous policy did not advance the cause of peace.

11/18/2019

US reverses its stance Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying that they do not violate international law. Sec of State Mike Pompeo explains that the previous policy did not advance the cause of peace.

11/14/2019

After Islamic Jihad announces a cease-fire, Israel says it has halted military action.

11/14/2019

Truce breaks down.

11/11/2019

New flare-up of violence between Gaza and Israel. Rockets from Gaza hit Israel and Israel conducts airstrikes on Gaza.

11/10/2019

Jordan reclaims two parcels of land that it had allowed Israel to use, continuing tense relations between the two countries. Jordan had recalled its ambassador in October about the detention of two Jordanians without charges, whom Israel later released.

10/21/2019

Netanyahu is unable to form a government. Pres Rivlin will charge Benny Gantz with doing so.

09/25/2019

Netanyahu is asked to try to form a government.

09/22/2019

Arab parties announce support for the Blue and White coalition.

09/19/2019

Gantz rejects unity government led by Likud and suggest one led by himself. The Blue and White party final total is 33 seats, Likud 31. Lieberman has said that in addition to demanding a unity party, he rejects any government with the ultra-conservative religious parties, which Netanyahu has always depended on.

09/18/2019

Netanyahu says that Gantz should join him in a national unity government. Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beineinu (Israel Our Home), the party that could determine who has a majority, has said that a unity government is the only one he would join.

09/17/2019

Election produces no majority party

In election on 9/15, The Blue and White Party of Benny Gantz appears to win one more seat than Likud, but neither have a majority or a clear path to a majority.

09/12/2019

Israel intensifying its war on Hezbollah, fearing that the group will gain missile technology that could overwhelm Israel’s defenses.

09/09/2019

Netanyahu says he will annex a large part of the West Bank oand the Jordan Valley if reelected. The Arab reaction is relatively muted because this is considered a campaign ploy, and because the Palestinian cause has faded in priority recently.

08/27/2019

Lebanon calls Israeli drone crash in Beirut an act of war.

08/26/2019

Some Iraq parliamentarians call for US troops to withdrawal after Israeli air raids of Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces camps in Iraq.

08/25/2019

Drones believe to be Israeli crash in a Beirut suburb, and other locations in Syria and Iraq are hit by drone strikes.

08/15/2019

US, Israel, and UAE in secret talks on confronting Iran.

07/26/2019

Abbas says that the Palestinian Authority will halt executing agreements with Israel. Israel recently destroyed dozens of Palestinian homes in the West Bank. Israel and the Authority are negotiating about payment of taxes. Israel deducts money from the taxes it collects from Palestinians, justifying it by saying that it pays for housing of Palestinian prisoners. As a result, the PA refused to take any of the tax money Israel offered.

06/02/2019

Israel strikes targets in Syria after rocket attacks from there.

05/31/2019

Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member group, issues a statement supporting Palestine and condemning US embassy move to Jerusalem, and condemns Iran for aggression in the region.

05/29/2019

Netanyahu is unable to form a governing coalition. The ultra-Orthodox members of his former coalition and the secular nationalists would not agree on proposed changes to military service. The Knesset votes to dissolve itself and hold new elections, probably in September.

05/06/2019

Israel and Gaza agree on a cease-fire.

05/04/2019

Six hundred rockets fired from Gaza toward Israel. Israel responds with airstrikes. Israel also says it has stopped a cyber attack by Hamas and destroyed the Hamas cyberspace headquarters. This is perhaps the first time a country has retaliated in the physical world for an attack in the digital world. In 2015, the US killed an Islamic State cyberattack leader with a drone strike.

05/01/2019

Exchange of fire between Israel and Gaza.

04/09/2019

Likud appears to have a slender lead in the Knesset, probably enough to allow Netanyahu to form a government coalition.

04/06/2019

Netanyahu says he will extend Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank if re-elected, moving away from the two-state solution and breaking with the Oslo accords of 1994.

04/02/2019

Gantz slipping in polls ahead of election.

03/26/2019

Hamas announces ceasefire with Israel.

03/26/2019

Renewed fighting between Gaza and Israel.

03/25/2019

More exchanges of rocket attacks between Israel and Gaza.

03/21/2019

Pres Trump reverses longstanding US policy and condones the recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Much of the world condemns the policy change.

03/14/2019

After rockets fired at Tel Aviv from Gaza, Israel retaliates with air strikes.

03/04/2019

US combines Palestinian mission in Israel with it embassy.

02/28/2019

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announces that he intends to file charges against Netanyahu for bribery, fraud, and bread of trust.

02/24/2019

Netanyahu gains support of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), a party that has supported violence against Palestinians, eviction of Arabs from Israel, by melding it with a more mainstream group of Zionists, Jewish Home, that is part of his coalition. Major American Jewish groups are deeply concerned.

02/17/2019

Netanyahu gives up foreign minister portfolio, naming intelligence chief Israel Katz as new foreign minister.

01/22/2019

Israel again strikes targets near Damascus.

01/21/2019

Israel strikes targets near Damascus.

01/12/2019

Israel targets missile attacks on Damascus airport buildings suspected of holding Iranian weapons and materiel.

12/29/2018

Jewish Home party splits when Naftali Bennet and Ayelet Shaked leave to form a new party.

12/23/2018

Government announces that it proposes to call new elections as the coalition has destabilized in recent weeks due to the resignation of Lieberman and the investigations into Netanyahu’s campaign finances. On 12/26, there will be a vote to dissolve parliament, which is certain to pass. New elections will be held in April, and while Netanyahu’s coalition is likely to remain in charge, he may have to create a more centrist coalition.

12/17/2018

UN confirms existence of illegal Hezbollah tunnels from Lebanon to Israel.

12/14/2018

Israelis arrest dozens of Palestinians in Gaza raids.

12/14/2018

Israelis arrest dozens of Palestinians in Gaza raids.

12/13/2018

Two Israelis are killed in drive-by shootings by Palestinians.

12/12/2018

Israeli raids kill three Palestinians suspected of attacks against Israelis.

12/04/2018

Israel begins program of exposing Hezbollah tunnels from Lebanon.

12/02/2018

Israeli police recommend that Netanyahu be indicted for corruption.

12/02/2018

Israeli police recommend that Netanyahu be indicted for corruption.

11/27/2018

Israel says it will establish diplomatic relations with Chad.

11/26/2018

Israel confirms that it is in consultation with Bahrain to establish diplomatic relations.

11/19/2018

Netanyahu convinces Naftali Bennett and another cabinet minister from the Jewish Home Party to remain in the coalition, staving off early elections. The arrangement can be revisited in the spring of 2019.

11/14/2018

Ceasefire holds in Gaza. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigns in protest over the agreement with Hamas, which may force early elections.

11/13/2018

A ceasefire agreement has been reached.

11/12/2018

Palestinians launch hundreds of rockets into Israel, though there is little effect.

11/11/2018

Covert Israeli operation kills several “extremists,” including a Hamas commander, in Palestine.

10/31/2018

Bolsonaro confirms reports that he will move the Brazilian Israel embassy to Jerusalem.

10/29/2018

The Palestinian Central Council, a group within the PLO, calls for Palestine to suspend recognition of Israel until Israel accepts the 1967 borders of Palestine.

10/27/2018

Israel accuses Iran of ordering recent missile strikes on Israel from Palestinian Territories.

10/26/2018

Netanyahu visits Oman. The Sultan of Oman, Qaboos Al-Said, has been working behind the scenes to defuse tension in the Middle East, and he sees Israel as a key part of that.

10/25/2018

Israeli newspaper reports that an Egypt-brokered agreement may defuse violence between Israel and Hamas. Israel agrees to allow some materials into Gaza and to extend fishing rights.

10/22/2018

King Abdullah announces that Jordan will abrogate parts of its treaty with Israel by reclaiming two small areas of land leased to Israel in the 1994 treaty.

10/17/2018

Renewed fighting between Israel and Gaza Strip.

10/01/2018

Iran fires missiles at what it calls “terrorists” in Syria, but connects the attack to the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

10/01/2018

Iran fires missiles at what it calls “terrorists” in Syria, but connects the attack to the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

09/25/2018

Russia deploying advanced air defense system to Syria, perhaps to reassure Syria in regard to Israel, which has affirmed that it will continue to fight Iranian proxies in Syria. The US objects.

09/16/2018

Israel admits that it has carried out multiple strikes against Iranian allies in Syria and implies that it will not hesitate to continue such strikes when and where necessary.

09/05/2018

Paraguay returns its Israel embassy to Tel Aviv as Benitez moves to reset its Middle East policy.

08/16/2018

Israeli news reports that agreement with Gaza would include a one-year ceasefire. Also, Qatar would join Egypt in paying salaries for Gazan workers and for electricity in the Gaza Strip.

08/13/2018

Israel reported to be pursuing peace pact with Hamas in Gaza, in order to concentrate on the greater threat it sees from Iran.

08/10/2018

Continuing protests following the March of Return (which officially ended 5/15), and Israel continues to retaliate against attacks.

08/09/2018

Palestine says that the previous administration in Colombia recognized Palestine as an independent state on 8/3. Israel objects and the Duque administration says it will review the decision.

07/28/2018

King Salman reported to have reassured Abbas and other Arab allies that Saudi Arabia will not endorse any peace plan that does not address Jerusalem or the right of return, such as the plan being developed by Trump advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner with Israel.

07/24/2018

Israel allows some shipments of fuel, medicine, and food to Gaza.

07/19/2018

Knesset passes controversial law defining Israel as a Jewish nation-state and downgrading Arabic from an official language to a “special status.” Some fear the bill will lead to discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel.

07/17/2018

Israel suspends fuel deliveries to Gaza. However, Mohammed al-Emadi, a Qatari official administering a grant from Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani says that Israel and Hamas are quietly working together to keep fighting at a low level while Gaza projects progress.

07/15/2018

Ceasefire appears to be holding.

07/14/2018

In response to rocket fire from Gaza, Israel launches its largest attack since 2014, shelling military positions in Gaza.

07/11/2018

Israel bombs three targets in western Syria.

06/20/2018

Netanyahu’s wife Sara charged with misuse of state funds for ordering outside meals.

06/13/2018

UN General Assembly condemns Israel for violence in Gaza protests.

06/08/2018

Three Palestinians are killed by Israelis as new protests erupt.

05/30/2018

Hamas declares a ceasefire after exchange of attacks by Gazans and retaliation by Israel. Israel accepts, saying that it will only respond to further attacks.

05/14/2018

US embassy in Jerusalem opens amid some protests. At least fifty-two Palestinians protesting in Land Day demonstrations at the border are killed and many more injured by firing from Israeli military. There is much condemnation around the world.

05/10/2018

Rockets from Iranian Quds forces in Syria strike the Golan Heights in Israel. In response, Israel attacks dozens of Iranian sites in Syria, destroying much of the Iranian infrastructure there.

05/09/2018

Rockets are fired into Syria and more than a dozen Iranian soldiers are said to be killed. The rockets are believed to be from Israel, which is concerned about buildup of Iran military in Syria as the war is winding down there.

05/08/2018

US withdraws from the JPCOA and will re-impose sanctions that were ended by the agreement. Trump says he will also impose further sanctions. He objects to the expiration date on aspects of Iran’s nuclear program and Iranian actions not within the scope of the agreement, such as Iran’s continued missile development and its involvement in Syria and what he calls terrorist actions. European nations decry the move and say they will continue to abide by the agreement. Iran says it will negotiate with the partners to the treaty, but not indefinitely and will prepare to restart its nuclear program. Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab countries applaud the move.

04/25/2018

Government abandons plans to return African migrants to Africa and will allow them to stay as long as they renew permits.

04/10/2018

Protests, now called the Great Return March, continue on Israeli border. Hamas calls for peaceful protests in the tradition of Gandhi, King, and Mandela, an unusual shift of strategy, though Ismail Hamiya also says that armed resistance remains an option. Hamas is losing popularity, with the increasing deprivation in Gaza and the failure of reconciliation talks with Hamas.

04/02/2018

Israel cancels agreement with UN Human Rights Commission that would have relocated African migrants to Europe and Canada. Instead, the government is looking at plans to deport the migrants back to Africa.

04/02/2018

Mohamed bin Salman acknowledges Israel’s right to a homeland as he continues to court Israel as an ally against Iran. He also compares Ayatollah Khamenei to Hitler.

03/30/2018

Demonstrations begin on Land Day, when Palestinians demand the return of the land taken from them at Israel’s founding. Palestinians throw rocks and Molotov cocktails, according to Israeli reports, and Israeli soldiers shoot with live ammunition and rubber bullets. Fifteen Palestinians are reported killed and fourteen hundred wounded. UN calls for an investigation into the incident.

03/28/2018

Ongoing struggle in the eastern Mediterranean about oil and gas deposits under the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt and Greek Cyprus agreed on an Exclusive Economic Zone that Cyprus may exploit, but Turkey disputes that and has increased military activity in the area to prevent Greek Cypriot development in the most recent discoveries, called the Aphrodite field and the Calypso field. Greek Cypriot Pres Anastasiades has support from the EU against Turkish military moves and Turkey has condemned that response. Turkish Cypriots threaten to begin their own exploitation of the area if the Greek Cypriots do not desist. Israel and Lebanon dispute several fields off the Levant coast. Egypt has exclusive right to the Zohr field north of the country.

03/21/2018

Israel, admitting that it bombed a suspected Syrian nuclear facility in 2007, warns Iran that it could to the same in that country if it tries to develop a nuclear weapon.

03/04/2018

Guatemala announces it will move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.

03/01/2018

Israeli officials meet with Polish officials to protest new Holocaust law.

02/21/2018

According to news reports, a former minister will testify against Netanyahu in corruption investigation.

02/20/2018

Abbas calls for UN to open an international peace conference on the Israel-Palestine conflict and a subsequent UN recognition of Palestine.

02/12/2018

Police tell Attorney General there is enough evidence to indict Netanyahu for corruption. The decision to indict might take as long as a year to process.

02/10/2018

After Iranian drone enters Israeli air space, Israel strikes “command and control” center for the drone and other Iranian and Hezbollah sites. An Israeli jet is shot down returning from the mission.

02/02/2018

Reports reveal that Israel has been fighting radical Islamists in the Sinai with the assent of Egypt, whose army was unable to do so.

01/16/2018

Palestinians leaders call for the PLO to renounce its recognition of Israel, first made in 1993.

01/03/2018

Islamic State faction in Sinai declares war on Hamas due to Hamas’ crackdown on Islamist group in Gaza and its failure to prevent US embassy move to Jerusalem.

01/02/2018

Parliament passes law raising number of votes needed to cede territory in Jerusalem to another country.

12/31/2017

Likud Party passes non-binding resolution urging parliament to annex Jewish settlement territories in the West Bank. They are currently under military jurisdiction; civilian control might allow for more new settlements.

12/21/2017

UN votes 128 to 9 to oppose US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

12/18/2017

Security Council votes 14 -1 to reject Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem, with the US negative vote vetoing the resolution.

12/11/2017

EU rejects diplomatic recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

12/07/2017

Some violence at Palestinian protests against US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital during “Day of Rage” demonstration.

12/06/2017

Hamas calls for a third intifada in protest of US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

12/06/2017

US recognizes Jerusalem as capital of Israel

US recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there. There is almost universal condemnation of the announcement outside of Israel. Though symbolic to some extent, there is a general feeling that it will be a severe hindrance to peace negotiations.

12/03/2017

After protests, Netanyahu calls for changes in a bill that would make it more difficult to prosecute corruption so that the bill should not apply to the current investigations of him.

12/02/2017

Protests in Tel Aviv against corruption and Netanyahu.

11/02/2017

Syria accuses Israel of airstrikes in central Syria, around Homs, likely against Hezbollah.

10/30/2017

Israel bombs tunnel in Gaza that was directed at Israel.