Featured articles

Where is this conflict headed?

What led to the Hamas terrorist attack and outbreak of war, and what could come next in Israel, Gaza, the broader region, and globally? Our experts around the world are answering the big questions on the humanitarian and diplomatic fallout, the state of information warfare, whether this conflict could spread and spiral, and much more.

More on Israel
Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Oct 4, 2024

One year after Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attacks, here’s how the region has changed

One year on, the Gaza War remains unresolved and the potential for war across the region is becoming more likely. Atlantic Council experts take on questions about the war’s impact—and its future.

Read More
Israel-Hamas war

Report Oct 22, 2024

The economic and social costs of the war in Gaza

By Perrihan Al-Riffai

After a year of war, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and neighboring countries need a permanent ceasefire. But with development gains erased, billions of dollars in infrastructure damaged, and skyrocketing unemployment, the Middle East also urgently needs a solid reconstruction plan.

Conflict Israel
Israel-Hamas war

New Atlanticist Oct 17, 2024

Experts react: Yahya Sinwar is dead. Here’s what’s next for Hamas, Gaza, Israel, and the Middle East.

By Atlantic Council experts

Israel confirmed on Thursday that it had killed the Hamas leader. Atlantic Council experts share their insights on what this means for the immediate conflict and beyond.
Conflict Israel

Follow the Middle East Programs on social media
and support our work

support our work

Featured from across the Council

MENASource

Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Oct 30, 2024

Inside Israeli politics and public opinion with a pollster

By Stefanie Hausheer Ali

A Tel Aviv-based public opinion researcher and political advisor was interviewed to discuss how Israelis view Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ongoing conflict, and the future.
Conflict Elections
Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Oct 29, 2024

Gaza is a war without end. American interests must be reassessed.

By Frederic C. Hof

Israel’s appraisal of what it faces and its actions concerning civilians make it difficult for Washington to uphold a key strategic partnership without suffering severe diplomatic reversals in the region and around the world.
Conflict Israel
Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Oct 24, 2024

Tragic death of aid worker underscores Gaza’s postwar challenge

By Alicia Nieves

The international community has long been criticized for its inaction as Hamas gradually tightened its control over NGOs and civil institutions.
Conflict Israel
see more

New Atlanticist

Israel-Hamas war

New Atlanticist Nov 1, 2024

How to reform UNRWA to improve Palestinian lives and Israeli security

By Michal Hatuel-Radoshitzky and Jonathan Panikoff

A three-step plan offers a pathway to reforming the United Nations agency to truly service Palestinians and to no longer pose a threat to Israel and an obstacle to Palestinian statehood negotiations.
Conflict Israel
Israel-Hamas war

Experts react Oct 26, 2024

Experts react: Israel has hit back at Iran with airstrikes. Is this the road to war or an off-ramp?

By Atlantic Council experts

Our experts share their insights on what Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Iran could mean for the prospect of further Israeli-Iranian escalation.
Conflict Crisis Management
Israel-Hamas war

New Atlanticist Oct 25, 2024

Israel’s attack in Iran means full-scale war is closer than ever. Here’s what Iran is thinking now.

By Danny Citrinowicz  

Iran’s leaders fear a full-scale war with Israel, but can they absorb this attack without retaliating and thus be exposed to future attacks?
Conflict Iran
See more

The Big Story

By Rich Outzen February 2, 2024

Where Erdoğan loses balance

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to be the world’s leading geopolitical balancer. So why is Turkey’s president so off-balance in the Gaza conflict?
By Emerson T. Brooking, Layla Mashkoor, and Jacqueline Malaret December 21, 2023

Distortion by design: How social media platforms shaped our initial understanding of the Israel-Hamas conflict

Almost as soon as the Israel-Hamas war began, it collided with the engineering and policy decisions of social media companies. On Telegram, terrorist content spread mostly uncontested; on X, false claims proliferated. Accusations of anti-Palestinian bias at Meta and pro-Palestinian bias at TikTok added to the confusion. Can the platforms thread this needle?
The Big Story | Oct 24, 2023

The global consequences of the Israel-Hamas war are just beginning

It’s hard to predict what decisions the players will make tomorrow, but here are the early warning signs that could indicate what will come next in the Middle East and beyond.
See more

Videos

The Atlantic Council's Holly Dagres explains the implications of recent escalations between Israel and Iran. She explores how Israel might respond to Iran's missile attack on October 1. Dagres is a nonresident senior fellow specializing in Iranian affairs and the editor of the Middle East Programs’ IranSource and MENASource publications.
How will Israel respond to Iran's missile attack?
YouTube Video UR4eoZfb8xk
Will this latest escalation lead to all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah? What will it mean for the conflict in the Middle East? The Atlantic Council’s Jonathan Panikoff breaks down the key issues at stake after this week’s explosion of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon. For more analysis, visit our website: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/experts-react/experts-react-whats-behind-the-hezbollah-beeper-and-walkie-talkie-explosions/
Is a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah imminent?
YouTube Video phRN--aeXPI
Senator Joni Ernst says recent conversations with Mohammed bin Salman have made her optimistic that Saudia Arabia remains committed to normalizing relations with Israel. "We know that [Saudi Arabia has] been working very hard with the Israelis on what some of us will call 'normalization'. The Saudis don't call it that, but it's a peace and prosperity plan for their countries," said United States Senator Joni Ernst. "There has to be resolution in Israel," she said as a caveat. She made these remarks during an Atlantic Council event at the @AtlanticCouncilUS headquarters in Washington, DC. Watch the full event here: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/the-n7-initiatives-fireside-chat-with-senator-joni-ernst/ #shorts
Senator Joni Ernst: Saudi Arabia "still intent on moving forward with normalization" with Israel
YouTube Video UYxwUpswrmo
How will the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur impact the war in Gaza? "The ceasefire negotiations are likely to be delayed as a result of this, but they will continue," says William F. Wechsler, Senior Director at the @AtlanticCouncilUS's Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs. #shorts
Impact of key Hamas and Hezbollah leaders' deaths on Gaza war
YouTube Video gwszRhjyFE0
While the latest round of hostilities between Iran and Israel, culminating in Iran’s April 14th attack, have gone quiet, the latest escalation may point to a new status quo. Raz Zimmt, a researcher at Tel Aviv University, writes that while both countries have avoided a full-fledged military confrontation, “The first direct Iranian attack on Israel marks a new phase in the two countries’ strategic rivalry.” Read Zimmt’s full analysis, “This round of Iran-Israel escalation is over, but the next could be just around the corner”: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/israel-iran-escalation-syria-zahedi/ #shorts
Smart in 60 Seconds: Has the Iran-Israel conflict entered a new phase?
YouTube Video 0_J2KVjW9rM
Hung Tran, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Geoeconomics Center and former IMF deputy department director, emphasized the significance of Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend. "It really opened Pandora's box in the sense of, in the future, tit [for] tat retaliation will go beyond what we have seen before," he said. Watch more from the 2024 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the link below. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/imf-world-bank-week/?network_account=AtlanticCouncil&utm_campaign=2024_imf_spring_meetings
How Iran's missile attack on Israel could affect global markets
YouTube Video PAFyGsznVPA
While Hamas has been hit with sanctions from the US, EU and G7 countries, the organization continues to manage an investment portfolio worth at least $500 million dollars, partly due to the lack of a terrorism designation for the group by the UN and partners in the Arab World. Read the full analysis by Kimberly Donovan, Maia Nikoladze, Ryan Murphy, and Alessandra Magazzino with the Atlantic Council’s Economic Statecraft Initiative: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/global-sanctions-dashboard-how-hamas-raises-uses-and-moves-money/ #shorts
Smart in 60 Seconds: How Hamas funds its terror operations
YouTube Video -LXYGwZOhG8
Since the the Hamas attacks on October 7, Lebanon-based Hezbollah and the IDF have engaged in tit-for-tat missile and drone strokes, and the attacks are escalating. Hezbollah is refusing to negotiate until the War in Gaza ends, and more than 80,000 residents of northern Israel have evacuated and are refusing to return unless Hezbollah is pushed further from the Israeli border. Nicholas Blanford of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programs writes that if hostilities continue for much longer, "Pressure on the Israeli government to launch some form of offensive into south Lebanon is going to be hard to resist, even if it has little chance of achieving long-term success." Read Blanford’s analysis “A steady escalation along the Lebanon-Israel border—and no end in sight”: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/gaza-hezbollah-israel-war-ghaziyeh-escalation/ #shorts
Smart in 60 Seconds: Violence is escalating between Israel and Lebanon
YouTube Video xtKn0CDsBjA
Nonresident Senior Fellow Thomas Warrick served in the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Department of State, where he worked on counterterrorism strategies across the Middle East and former Soviet states. In Gaza, Warrick says there are four key scenarios for a post-war transition, and that planning needs to start as soon as possible “if the war is to end with something that makes a better outcome for the Israeli people, for the Palestinian people, and for the entire Middle East.” Read Warrick’s essay published in the New York Times, “I Saw What Happened to America’s Postwar Plans for Iraq. Here’s How Israel Should Plan for Gaza,” HERE: www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/opinion/israel-gaza-iraq-iran.html
Here’s what Gaza might look like after the war
YouTube Video mpo_erwJdOg
Visit ACTV

Events

Past events

Online Event Mon, January 29, 2024 • 12:00 pm ET

Qatar’s prime minister on regional de-escalation, war in Gaza, and US-Qatar relations

AN #ACFRONTPAGE EVENT – Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani presents his vision for Middle East security, integration, and peaceful coexistence.
Conflict Crisis Management Defense Policy Economy & Business
Online Event Fri, November 17, 2023 • 10:00 am ET

David Petraeus on Israel, Ukraine, and the evolution of warfare

AN #ACFRONTPAGE EVENT — A conversation with former CIA director and retired US Army General David Petraeus on Israel, Ukraine, and the evolution of warfare.
Europe & Eurasia Israel Middle East Security & Defense
Public Event Mon, October 16, 2023 • 12:00 pm ET

Israel-Hamas War: The ground, information, and multilateral environment ahead

A distinguished group of experts analyze the ground, information, and multilateral environment ahead for the Israel-Hamas war.
Disinformation Israel Middle East Security & Defense
Public Event Fri, December 8, 2023 • 9:00 am ET

Egypt’s foreign minister on his country’s leadership, the war in Gaza and related challenges

AN #ACFRONTPAGE EVENT— Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the Israel-Hamas War, Egypt’s regional leadership and other challenges.
Economy & Business Israel Middle East North Africa
Public Event Tue, October 25, 2022 • 4:30 pm ET

A conversation with President of Israel Isaac Herzog

AN #ACFRONTPAGE EVENT – President Isaac Herzog presented his vision for regional cooperation within the context of Israel-Arab normalization.
Economy & Business Israel Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

Regional analysis

A region affected: Perspectives from the periphery

Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Nov 5, 2024

Naim Qassem is finally the bride

By David Daoud

Hezbollah will not moderate or shift its primary loyalties to Lebanon under its new soft-spoken secretary-general.
Conflict Lebanon
Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Nov 1, 2024

Egypt’s new ceasefire proposal is too little, too late

By Shahira Amin

Egypt has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, but all mediation efforts have so far failed to break the impasse in talks.
Conflict Middle East
Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Oct 30, 2024

Inside Israeli politics and public opinion with a pollster

By Stefanie Hausheer Ali

A Tel Aviv-based public opinion researcher and political advisor was interviewed to discuss how Israelis view Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ongoing conflict, and the future.
Conflict Elections
Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Oct 29, 2024

Update: Israel claims it is no longer occupying the Gaza Strip. What does international law say?

By Celeste Kmiotek

On July 19, the International Court of Justice released an Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Territory, Including East Jerusalem.
Conflict Israel
Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Oct 29, 2024

Gaza is a war without end. American interests must be reassessed.

By Frederic C. Hof

Israel’s appraisal of what it faces and its actions concerning civilians make it difficult for Washington to uphold a key strategic partnership without suffering severe diplomatic reversals in the region and around the world.
Conflict Israel
Israel-Hamas war

MENASource Oct 24, 2024

Tragic death of aid worker underscores Gaza’s postwar challenge

By Alicia Nieves

The international community has long been criticized for its inaction as Hamas gradually tightened its control over NGOs and civil institutions.
Conflict Israel
see more

All articles

Scenes of destruction at the UN Blue Line, Southern Lebanon.

MENASource

Apr 29, 2025

Dispatch from the UN Blue Line: Israel’s ‘systematic destruction’ in Lebanon

By Nicholas Blanford

If Hezbollah refuses to disarm, Israel would almost certainly escalate its attacks possibly to the extent of resuming the war in Lebanon.

Iran Israel

MENASource

Apr 28, 2025

Why Israel will resist any US-Iran nuclear deal

By Danny Citrinowicz  

Negotiations between the United States and Iran have displayed a significant divide between Washington and it’s ally Israel.

Iran Israel

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2025

In a normalization agreement with Israel, Saudi Arabia should settle for nothing less than Palestinian statehood

By Amir Asmar

Saudi Arabia should make full Palestinian statehood part of the asking price for normalizing relations with Israel.

International Norms Israel

MENASource

Apr 15, 2025

Weakened by Israel, Hezbollah turns to spin games to hold support

By David Daoud

Hezbollah’s more cautious posturing on Israel in recent weeks demonstrates the militant group knows it’s in no condition to fight.

Conflict Israel
Load More

Stay engaged

Sign up for the latest from our Middle East Programs

Sign up for the latest expert insight from the New Atlanticist

Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

Learn more