Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

Khartoum

Sudan army closes in on Khartoum's presidential palace in blow to RSF

A key battle is unfolding between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s capital Khartoum.

Men check the damages in an area struck by a US airstrike in Huthi-controlled Sanaa on March 20, 2025. Israel said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on March 20, as the Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed to have targeted Ben Gurion international airport. The United States, Israel's main backer, has pledged to hit Yemen with lethal and overwhelming force until the Huthis stop their harassment campaign. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can US halt Houthi attacks without getting embroiled in Gaza, Yemen wars?

The White House greenlit renewed air offensives in Yemen and in Gaza this week as the Pentagon insists it's not getting dragged into Middle East wars. What is President Donald Trump’s endgame?

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Israeli army Merkava main battle tanks move at a position in southern Israel along the border fence with the northern Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025.

Israel launches ground operation in Gaza as ceasefire collapses: What we know

After heavy aerial bombardments, Israeli troops launched their first ground incursion into central Gaza since January's ceasefire was reached.

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, on Sept. 23, 2023.

Somalia sacks defense minister, close friend of Turkey: What to know

Somalia’s prime minister announced a major overhaul of a slew of cabinet positions, including that of the country’s defense minister who has spearheaded closer ties with Turkey.

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Analysis

Netanyahu’s Gaza war goal: Pressuring Hamas or political survival?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Analysis

US airstrikes against Yemen's Houthis: Game-changer or more of the same?

Yemenis brandish rifles and chant during a demonstration called for by the rebel Huthi movement in Sanaa on March 17, 2025. Huge crowds joined protests in rebel-controlled Yemen on March 17 after deadly US strikes killed dozens and sparked fears of a new cycle of violence in the conflict-torn country. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Interview

In break with Netanyahu, Olmert urges Israel to recognize Syria’s Sharaa, open dialogue

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks during a briefing on US President Donald Trump's Mideast peace plan on February 11, 2020 in New York. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told the UN Security Council that the world should reject President Donald Trump's Middle East plan, which he said would limit Palestinian sovereignty in a "Swiss cheese" deal. "We reject the Israeli-American plan," which "throws into question the legitimate rights of the Palestinians," Abbas said, brandishing a large map of

Analysis

Hezbollah’s shadow looms over Israel-Lebanon border talks: What to know

Lebanese army soldiers stand behind barbed wire fence demarcating the Blue Line, near the village of Kfar Shuba, southern Lebanon, June 11, 2023.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Israeli army forces patrol in the village of Kfarshuba, southern Lebanon, Feb. 17, 2025.

Analysis

Israel’s two-pronged Lebanon strategy: Pursue border deal, strike Hezbollah

Israel is trying to negotiate a border demarcation with the Lebanese government while continuing to keep Hezbollah in check.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

TOPSHOT - A Palestinian boy picks flowers close to the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP) (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)

US, Israel looking to resettle Gaza's Palestinians in Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan: Report

Israeli and American officials have been in contact with Sudan, Somalia and Somaliland for the possible resettling of Gazans there, the Associated Press reported.

A picture shows a military drone on display at an exhibition held by Yemen's Huthi group in the capital Sanaa on Nov. 19, 2024.

Houthis using Chinese-made hydrogen fuel cells to build stealthier drones: Report

A new report reveals that the Houthis are incorporating Chinese-made hydrogen fuel cells into their drones, potentially improving their range and reducing detection by air defenses.

A member of the Syrian security forces stands guard at the site of an Israeli air strike on a building in Damascus in an area where Palestinian leaders are known to reside, on March 13, 2025.

Israel confirms strikes in Syria's capital, says targeted Islamic Jihad: What we know

The aerial attack came after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that Syria does not pose a threat to its neighbors and amid ongoing Israeli strikes.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoan (3-R) greets Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (2-L) next to Bolivia's President Luis Arce (L) and Argentina's President Javier Milei (R) before the group photo at the end of the first session of the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Iran’s role recedes, Israel alarmed by Turkey-Syria-Egypt alignment

Could a new triple axis replace the yearslong threat against Israel of Iran and its proxies?

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Two giant election banners showing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shaking hands with US President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin and a caption reading "Netanyahu, in another league," Tel Aviv, July 28, 2019.

Analysis

Wary of Turkey and Iran, Israel tightens ties with Russia: What to know

Regional shifts, especially involving Iran, Syria and Turkey, are forcing Israel to reevaluate its complicated relations with Russia.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to hold a press conference in the East Room of the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 4, 2025.

Analysis

Secret US-Hamas talks shock Israel but will Netanyahu dare challenge Trump?

Israeli officials would have gladly done without the "help," but are staying out of Trump's way, seeing "no stability, no certainty, no way to predict anything."

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

People gather to celebrate an iftar meal organized by a humanitarian organization, as they break their fast on March 4, 2025, amid the ruins of the Qaboun neighborhood of Damascus, Syria.

Feature

Syria’s post-Assad economy falters as US stalls on sanctions relief

Three months after Syria's rebel takeover, all eyes are on Ahmed al-Sharaa and whether he can stabilize the economy as promised.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

AFP via Getty Images

Sudan brings genocide case against UAE at International Court of Justice

Sudan accuses the United Arab Emirates of complicity in genocide over its alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, which has been found to have committed atrocities against the Masalit ethnic group in Sudan's West Darfur state.

A monument with the emblem of the Syrian government stands in front of a government building in Damascus.

New Iran-backed group wants to fight plans to 'divide' Syria: What to know

A newly formed armed Syrian group called the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, pledged to counter efforts by the United States, Israel and Turkey to divide the country following the fall of Assad.

A Palestinian family (C-L) eat an iftar meal, the breaking of the fast, in their destroyed house amid the rubble of buildings in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 4, 2025, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. UN chief Antonio Guterres said he strongly endorsed an Egyptian plan put to Arab leaders at a summit in Cairo on March 4 for Gaza's reconstruction without displacement of its Palestinian inhabitants. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

White House rejects Arab plan for postwar Gaza, insists on Trump's

The Trump administration has rejected a joint Arab proposal for postwar Gaza out of hand, insisting on its plan to treat Gaza as a real estate development that observers have likened to ethnic cleansing.

Ultraorthodox Jewish men speak to soldiers standing on an armored personnel carrier in the buffer zone that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, Feb. 27, 2025.

Analysis

As it courts Syria's Druze, will Israel counter Turkey or get cold shoulder?

Concerned over the growing influence of Turkey in Syria, Israel seeks ways to increase its own influence there, including renewing its partnership with the Druze.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense