Israel

Palestinian Territories

Germany

Military & Security

The Israeli security cabinet approved a plan to take control over Gaza City on Aug. 8, but the full cabinet will still need to approve the plan, Reuters reported the same day.

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Gaza City Takeover Plan

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Politics

Hamas has said that it is willing to deliver aid to the Israeli hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip in coordination with the Red Cross if Israel establishes permanent humanitarian corridors within Gaza and stops conducting airstrikes while aid is being distributed, Reuters reported Aug. 3.

Palestinian Territories, Israel: Hamas Conditions Disarmament on Palestinian State

Somalia

United States

Economics

Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland offered the United States access to a military base in its territory as well as critical mineral deals in exchange for recognition of its independence, Bloomberg reported on July 30. 

Somalia, U.S.: Somaliland Offers Access to Military Base, Mineral Deals in Return for U.S. Recognition

The European Union, the Arab League and 17 other countries, including Qatar, endorsed a declaration calling for Hamas to disarm and exit Gaza to support a new peace process with Israel, The National reported on July 29.

Israel, Gaza: International Pressure on Both Sides To Reach a Deal Increases

Social Issues

On July 27, Israel announced 10-hour pauses in fighting in parts of the Gaza Strip -- specifically Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City -- to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery, according to the Times of Israel on July 28. 

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Limited Humanitarian Aid, Airdrops Enter Gaza

France

French President Emmanuel Macron said France would recognize Palestine as a state at the U.N. General Assembly in September, France 24 reported on July 24. 

France, Palestinian Territories: France To Recognize Palestinian State as Israel-Hamas Talks Flounder

A joint statement by 100 aid agencies warned of imminent mass starvation in Gaza unless aid distribution rapidly expands in the strip, The New York Times reported on July 23.

Israel, Gaza: Aid Agencies Warn of Imminent Mass Starvation in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces said it would soon begin ground operations in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah town for the first time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, despite concerns about endangering potential Israeli hostages held there, The Times of Israel reported on July 20.

Israel, Gaza: IDF Pushes Into Central Gaza as Government Slow-Walks Formal Occupation

Assessments

Israeli troops are seen deployed at the border with the Gaza Strip on July 23, 2025.

Reoccupying the Strip would be expensive and stir controversy at home and abroad, making the strategy politically difficult to sustain in the likely case that a new Israeli government is elected next year. 

The Fallout From an Israeli Reoccupation of Gaza

A group of armed Israeli soldiers stands in a narrow alley of the Old City of Hebron, West Bank, on May 31, 2025. 

While it will likely curb immediate terror threats, the crackdown will also fuel Palestinian grievances, increasing the risk of a larger uprising and internal Israeli government tensions.

To Thwart Militant Attacks, Israel Cracks Down on the West Bank

Columns

On Geopolitics

An Israeli tank rolls along the fence on the border with the Gaza Strip on June 4, 2025. 

Uncertainty regarding who will govern post-war Gaza and fund its reconstruction increases the likelihood of a prolonged Israeli occupation that would empower Israel's far-right to push for annexation and more extensive population displacement.

Is Gaza Destined for Another Israeli Occupation?

Iran

Lebanon

Israel's parliament meets March 20, 2023, in Jerusalem. A caretaker government would likely make concessions in Gaza, while a new government would likely take a different approach than Netanyahu toward Hezbollah and Iran.

A caretaker government would likely make concessions in Gaza, while a new government would likely take a different approach than Netanyahu toward Hezbollah and Iran.

How a Government Collapse Could Alter Israeli Foreign Policy

Kenya

South Africa

China

Poland

Global Trade

U.S.-China Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: A U.S. Tariff Ruling, Israel's Opposition Seeks To Dissolve the Knesset

Iraq

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

U.S. President Donald Trump (right) interacts with Oman Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Asaad (second from right) as they prepare to pose for photos with leaders during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Leaders' Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, 2025.

Energy

Despite Trump's recent sharp words on his predecessor's "forever wars," U.S. trade and energy interests will keep him engaged in the region, though in ways that rely more on economic and diplomatic leverage, as opposed to military campaigns.

Is the Era of U.S. Interventionism in the Middle East Over?

Israeli soldiers conduct a raid in the West Bank on March 19, 2025. 

Israel's newly approved plan to expand its offensive against Hamas will invite more Houthi attacks on its territory, worsen Gaza's humanitarian crisis, and fuel backlash both at home and abroad. 

To Break Hamas, Israel Prepares to Reoccupy Gaza

Palestinian men walk amidst the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli strike on a residential area of Gaza City on April 9, 2025. 

With the U.S.'s tacit support, Israel will likely keep expanding its military operations in Gaza in the hopes of pressuring both Hamas and local civilians there to leave, thereby making it easier to reoccupy the Strip.

To Secure Gaza, Israel Pursues a Strategy of Occupation and Displacement

Egypt

Europe

Philippe Lazzarini (C), the commissioner general for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, attends a humanitarian conference for Gaza in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 2, 2024, amid the continuing Israel-Hamas war.

Egypt's economic limitations will continue to restrain its assertiveness in foreign policy, constraining its ability to project power in the region.

Egypt's Economic Priorities Sideline Assertive Foreign Policy

Smoke billows during Israeli strikes west of Gaza City on March 18, 2025. 

In the coming days and weeks, Israel will likely carry out phased escalations and de-escalations to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages, returning Gaza to war by effectively collapsing the January ceasefire.

Large-Scale Israeli Airstrikes Plunge Gaza Back Into an Open-Ended Conflict

Canada

Mexico

Ukraine

A truck drives toward the Canada-U.S. border crossing in Blackpool, Canada, on Feb. 2, 2025.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: An EU Summit on Ukraine, U.S. Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

Algeria

Libya

Morocco

Tunisia

Egyptians protest in front of the Rafah border crossing, rejecting the proposed displacement of Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, on Jan. 31, 2025. 

Pro-Palestinian protests will persist regionwide amid allegations of Israeli ceasefire violations, but Morocco and Egypt will avoid taking action that could jeopardize their access to Israeli weapons and energy.

How Will North African Governments Respond to Ardent Pro-Palestinian Sentiment?

The Palestinian Territories comprise two sections of the former mandate of Palestine: the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The two small areas are separated from one another by Israel, which controls most of their frontiers. Jordan borders the West Bank on the east, while Egypt lies to the west of the Gaza Strip. The West Bank is a hilly, warm country that enjoys sufficient rainfall to support agriculture, but because the Gaza Strip receives little precipitation due to its location next to the dry Sinai Desert, its economy has traditionally relied on fishing and trade. The territories' only natural border is the Jordan River on the eastern edge of the West Bank.    The Palestinian Territories lack a clear demographic core, although the lands have a symbolic heart: the city of Jerusalem, which Palestinians view as their capital.    The Palestinian Territories evolved over time. After Israel gained its independence in 1948, Jordan annexed the West Bank while Egypt took control of Gaza. After the Six Day War in 1967, however, Israel occupied both territories. The occupation strengthened Palestinian identity, and members of the community eventually came to regard Gaza and the West Bank as components of a united proto-state.      But due to their size and domination by Israel, the Palestinian Territories have not succeeded in achieving state status. The territories, meanwhile, are not only divided geographically but also politically, as the Islamist party Hamas rules Gaza, while the more nationalist and secularist Fatah controls the West Bank. In addition to overcoming the lack of unity, the Palestinian Territories must convince Israel's allies to allow the entity to gain autonomy and eventually achieve independence. Ultimately, internal political divisions and the need to pursue diplomacy to become a sovereign state represent the core geographic challenges for the Palestinian Territories.  

SITUATION REPORTS

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Gaza City Takeover Plan

Palestinian Territories, Israel: Hamas Conditions Disarmament on Palestinian State

Somalia, U.S.: Somaliland Offers Access to Military Base, Mineral Deals in Return for U.S. Recognition

Israel, Gaza: International Pressure on Both Sides To Reach a Deal Increases

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Limited Humanitarian Aid, Airdrops Enter Gaza

France, Palestinian Territories: France To Recognize Palestinian State as Israel-Hamas Talks Flounder

Israel, Gaza: Aid Agencies Warn of Imminent Mass Starvation in Gaza

Israel, Gaza: IDF Pushes Into Central Gaza as Government Slow-Walks Formal Occupation

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