Egypt-Israel Military Ties: Washington Must Pay More Attention
The Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 marked a critical test of Israel’s quiet military partnership with Egypt. For more than a decade, Egypt and Israel maintained robust security coordination focused on ISIS cells in the Sinai peninsula. That cooperation, mostly kept out of the media, now faces its most serious challenge. Since the conflict in […]
Gideon’s Chariots - Israel’s Renewed Offensive in Gaza
On May 4, Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved a comprehensive plan to dismantle Hamas’s remaining capabilities, both military and governmental, while offering Hamas a pause in exchange for a hostage release. The plan involves a large-scale call-up of reserves, a “clear and hold” strategy in parts of Gaza, and civilian evacuation as part of a […]
Israel Needs a New Lebanon Strategy
Anti-tank missiles in garages and artillery stashed in children’s bedrooms. Weapons stockpiled in nearly every house. This was the scene one of us encountered, in village after village in southern Lebanon, during the October 2024 ground operation of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against Hizbullah. The IDF found Hizbullah’s battle plans for a massive invasion […]
Israel Applying Lessons Learned from October 7
Israel’s defense and security establishment has completed a series of internal investigations into the intelligence, strategic, and tactical failures of October 7, 2023. The findings are beginning to reshape the Israel Defense Force (IDF) approach to dealing with the terrorist armies on its borders. Among the findings: the concept of deterrence (originating in Cold War […]
Israel’s New Chief of Staff Faces First Test
In the early hours of March 18, the Israel Defense Forces began a round of airstrikes in Gaza targeting Hamas, the largest since a ceasefire that began on January 19 and ended on March 1. The six-week ceasefire enabled the release of 33 Israeli hostages. Israel sought to extend it in exchange for the release […]
Trump’s Gaza Plan: Change of Narrative
Washington’s Middle East experts were gathered for dinner in the ballroom of the Ritz Carlton Georgetown, hosted by a prominent think tank. It was May 19, 2019, and they had come to hear Jared Kushner talk about the forthcoming Trump peace plan. Mr. Kushner described both an economic vision for the Middle East and a […]
Avigdor Lieberman: Vindication of the Outsider
One afternoon this winter, at a cafe in central Tel Aviv, I happened to overhear a discussion of politics at a nearby table of older men, convened in their own “parliament.” After cursing both the government’s politicians and the inept opposition, several spoke in praise of Avigdor Lieberman, the former political outsider who speaks Hebrew […]
Beware Trump’s Wrath Over a Failed Ceasefire Agreement in Gaza
This week’s release of three Israeli female hostages and 900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, primarily women and children, is the first step in what is expected to be a long process of bringing home Israel’s hostages and ending the war with Hamas. The agreement provides for three phases, the first two of which involve more […]
After the Gaza Ceasefire, Watch the West Bank
Hamas has plans for the West Bank. Now that there is a ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas wants to use the war it launched against Israel to bring itself more power and influence in the West Bank. It seeks to gain popularity through the prisoner releases secured in exchange for Israeli hostages – between thirty and fifty Palestinian […]
Update on the War in Gaza -
Israel Re-engages Northern Gaza After Eight–Month Absence
Israel Re-engages Northern Gaza After Eight–Month Absence
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), after 15 months of war in Gaza, are fighting in areas of northern Gaza that didn’t see IDF soldiers for eight months, between March – October 2024. The November 27 ceasefire in Lebanon, if it continues to hold, will free up further forces to re-engage in Gaza. But Hamas also […]
Lawfare Against Israeli Soldiers
Israeli tourist Yuval Vagdani had to escape for the second time. On October 7, 2023, he survived the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival near Gaza. Then in the first week of January 2025, he escaped Brazil ahead of a court-ordered investigation into his service as a military reservist in Gaza. He was vacationing […]
Israel's Strategic Options regarding Iran
Israel’s strategic options regarding Iran are at a critical juncture. The diminishing threat from proxies and the impairment of Iran’s air defense capabilities have shifted the focus squarely onto Iran’s nuclear program in the immediate time frame. Iran’s threatening public declarations and technical advancements are a red warning light. For over a year, Israel has […]
