Israel carried out a series of airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, the Israeli military said. The strikes seen and heard by residents in the capital, Tehran, came weeks after Iran fired waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, forcing millions of Israelis to take cover in bomb shelters. Iran said its …
Read More »In Deciding Whether to Retaliate, Iran Faces a Dilemma
Iran faces a dilemma after the Israeli strikes on Saturday. If it retaliates, it risks further escalation at a time when its economy is struggling, its allies are faltering, its military vulnerability is clear and its leadership succession is in play. If it does not, it risks looking weak to …
Read More »The Other War for These Gazans Is Against Cancer
They had escaped a war zone, but in many ways, the fight for life was just beginning. Now their battle was against cancer. They had come to Jordan from Gaza for treatment. Some traveled with their families. Others formed impromptu ones. But the echoes of the war back home found …
Read More »Opinion | The Dilemma Iran’s Leader Faces
If a person is fortunate enough to live into his ninth decade, life often turns toward quiet reflection, relaxation and the comforts of family and community. Not for the 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The sunset years of Iran’s supreme leader have been defined by a series of daunting challenges: regional …
Read More »Opinion | College Officials Must Condemn On-Campus Support for Hamas Violence
Although college campuses are much quieter this fall than they were last spring, some of the anti-Israel language at some schools is frightening in its celebration of Hamas’s violence. What feels different is the repeated glorification of the Hamas massacre of more than 1,200 people last year on Oct. 7 …
Read More »Fighting Rages in Gaza and Lebanon, Despite Killing of Hamas Leader
Israeli forces pounded targets in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya on Saturday, killing at least 33 people and injuring dozens of others in the bombardment, a Palestinian emergency services group said. Israel has surrounded Jabaliya for a week as it seeks to root out Hamas fighters who it says …
Read More »Families of Israeli Hostages Call on Netanyahu to Reach Gaza Cease-Fire Deal
The families of several Israeli hostages held in Gaza issued a sharply worded televised statement on Saturday in which they called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to seize the moment after this week’s killing of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, to reach a hostage and cease-fire deal to …
Read More »Opinion | In Gaza, Sinwar’s Death Alone Won’t Secure the Peace
The question now is: Can Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel be pressured to declare victory and end the war in Gaza? Netanyahu now can take the best kind of offramp. He can savor the killing of Yahya Sinwar — a terrorist with so much Israeli and Palestinian blood on …
Read More »Despite Sinwar’s Death, Mideast Peace May Still Be Elusive
The killing of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader whose decision to attack Israel more than a year ago set off the ever-widening war tearing up the Middle East, could be the key to ending the bloodshed. Now that Israel has decapitated Hamas in Gaza, the thinking goes, it might be …
Read More »Despite Israeli Bombs and Assassinations, Hezbollah Keeps Fighting
Israeli bombs have blown up its munitions stores and killed thousands of its fighters, including many seasoned commanders. And yet, Hezbollah keeps fighting. Since Israel invaded southern Lebanon nearly three weeks ago, its forces have confronted a flexible enemy that uses the environment to launch complex and sometimes deadly operations. …
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