TOPIC

/ location

Israel

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Israel. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Jerusalem

Head of State

President Isaac Herzog

Head of Government

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Police officers inspect a charity for Palestinian civilians in Milan on Saturday. Photo: LaPresse/AP

Italy

Italy arrests 9 suspected of funding Hamas via charities

Among those arrested was the president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, who reportedly funnelled funds to Hamas’ military wing.

3 hours ago

Middle East

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland enrages Somalia, African Union

27 Dec 2025 - 10:14AM

Defence

Israel’s rising air defence sales become its ‘most potent’ foreign policy weapon

26 Dec 2025 - 2:34PM

Israel-Gaza war

Bethlehem celebrates first festive Christmas since Gaza war

After two years of cancelled festivities, the ‘City of the Nativity’ revives its iconic parades and tree lighting as a fragile truce holds in Gaza.

25 Dec 2025 - 10:59AM

People celebrate in Manger Square in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on December 24. Photo: AFP

US-China trade war

Explainer | Will US-led ‘Pax Silica’ be a new dawn for the international AI supply chain?

Trump administration aims for deeper technology cooperation on new AI infrastructure with allies.

25 Dec 2025 - 1:05AMvideocam

Banking & finance

HKIC ends year on high note but Hong Kong cost of living a drawback for talent

Government-backed fund strengthens VC ecosystem and fosters collaboration, but the city’s high cost of living remains a challenge.

23 Dec 2025 - 10:30AM

Middle East

Iran and Gaza plan to top agenda for Netanyahu-Trump meeting

The Israeli prime minister is set to visit Washington to discuss the next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan with his key US ally.

23 Dec 2025 - 1:18PM

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in October. Photo: AFP

Israel-Gaza war

Ex-Israeli PM calls for Netanyahu’s resignation over ‘Qatargate’ affair

Naftali Bennett accuses the premier’s office of ‘treason’, alleging aides acted as paid agents for Qatar during wartime.

23 Dec 2025 - 1:46PM

India

‘Pax Silica’: America’s new AI inner circle and Asia’s chosen few

Japan, South Korea and Singapore made the cut, leaving key partners like India and Vietnam – and even New Zealand – on the sidelines.

22 Dec 2025 - 8:00AM

Australia

Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats.

22 Dec 2025 - 12:25PMvideocam

Australia

Jews worldwide urged to ‘come home’ to Israel after Bondi massacre

Gideon Saar says ‘Jews are being hunted across the world’ following the December 14 Isis-inspired shooting at a Hanukkah event in Australia.

22 Dec 2025 - 10:40AM

A person with Israel’s flag and other people attend a ceremony to mark the National Day of Reflection for victims and survivors, at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Photo: AP

India

Why India to Europe trade corridor is stalling even as talks continue

A key hurdle hampering the progress of the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor is the lingering uncertainty over Gaza.

21 Dec 2025 - 5:00PM

Australia

Bondi Beach attack sparks global misinformation crisis, and AI-driven hate

A leading counterterrorism expert warns that ‘agentic AI’ and political point-scoring are fuelling a toxic symbiosis between extremists.

21 Dec 2025 - 3:30PMvideocam

Israel-Gaza war

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices in Bethlehem as peace returns to Gaza

Palestinians are flocking again to Manger Square, bringing much-needed revenue to the city after two years of fighting.

20 Dec 2025 - 3:33PMvideocam

Women pose for a picture in Manger Square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Israel-Iran conflict

Man executed in Iran for spying for Israel tortured to confess: rights group

The 27-year-old, arrested while taking pictures of a military headquarters, was accused of executing over 200 similar assignments for Mossad.

20 Dec 2025 - 2:57PM

Israeli air defence systems intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early on June 18. Photo: AFP

Israel-Gaza war

UN declares Gaza famine over, but ‘situation remains critical’

Meanwhile, Oxfam says hunger in Gaza remains ‘appalling and preventable’, accusing Israel of blocking aid from humanitarian agencies.

19 Dec 2025 - 10:36PM

The Philippines

Philippines to get up to US$3.5 billion defence aid to counter ‘serious threats’

A US senator says the support for Manila and other allies reflects the threats posed by China and its partners in the ‘axis of aggressors’.

18 Dec 2025 - 10:12PM

Australia

Isis-inspired Bondi gunmen visited Philippines before shooting: police

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Sajid Akram and his son Naveed had been radicalised by an ‘ideology of hate’.

16 Dec 2025 - 2:30PMvideocam

Mourners place flowers at a makeshift memorial at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Iran

No contact with Iran Nobel winner laureate arrest, supporters say

Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Peace Prize laureate, was detained on Friday alongside dozens of activists and may face national security charges.

15 Dec 2025 - 10:06AM

Australia

World leaders express horror at Bondi Beach attack as vigils held for victims

Israel’s Herzog condemned the ‘cruel attack on Jews’ by ‘terrorists’; Trump branded the shooting that killed 15 people ‘purely antisemitic’.

15 Dec 2025 - 6:28AM

Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu accuses Australia’s PM of inaction in tackling antisemitism

After the Bondi Beach shooting, the Israeli PM said he warned Albanese months ago that Australia’s policy was ‘encouraging antisemitism’.

15 Dec 2025 - 2:41AM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Reuters

My Take

My Take | The emerging axis of lawlessness – the European Union, United States and Israel

From Ukraine to the Caribbean and Middle East, we are witnessing the application of the law of the jungle by the West and its ally.

14 Dec 2025 - 10:15PM

Ukrainians hold placards during a protest demanding the use of frozen Russian assets, on the sidelines of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting in Brussels, Belgium, December 12, 2025. Photo: EPA

Israel-Gaza war

Israel says it killed Hamas weapons chief in Gaza

PM Netanyahu said arms production head Raad Saad was ‘one of the architects’ of the October 7 attack that sparked the war.

14 Dec 2025 - 11:03AM

Donald Trump

Syria’s year of ‘epic’ transformation earns it Trump’s protection

Washington is lifting sanctions and has rebuked Israel for its attacks, as the US throws its weight behind Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration.

13 Dec 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

Taiwan

Beijing lodges protest after Taiwanese official’s reported secret Israel trip

Chinese embassy urges Israel to ‘correct its erroneous actions’ in response to reported visit by the island’s deputy foreign minister.

13 Dec 2025 - 5:46PMvideocam

Francois Wu, Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister, delivers a speech at the Berlin Security Conference in Germany on November 19. Photo: CNA

Israel-Gaza war

‘My future is paralysed’: Gaza amputees desperate to walk again

The World Health Organization estimates there are some 5,000 to 6,000 amputees from the Israel-Gaza war, 25 per cent of them children.

13 Dec 2025 - 3:08PMvideocam

Haneen al-Mabhouh, who lost her leg in an Israeli strike on her home, sits in a wheelchair in her family home in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, on November 6. Photo: AP

War and conflict

As I see it | Would the world be safer if the military were in charge of the US?

Capricious political leaders like Donald Trump and his defence chief may be more dangerous than responsible and battle-tested generals.

12 Dec 2025 - 8:30PM

Thailand

‘May he rest in peace’: remains of last Thai hostage in Gaza repatriated

Sudthisak Rinthalak’s remains returned to Thailand after being held in Gaza since 2023, allowing his family to perform funeral rites.

10 Dec 2025 - 6:57PM

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW

Israel

Italy arrests 9 suspected of funding Hamas via charities

Among those arrested was the president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, who reportedly funnelled funds to Hamas’ military wing.

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland enrages Somalia, African Union

Israel’s rising air defence sales become its ‘most potent’ foreign policy weapon

Bethlehem celebrates first festive Christmas since Gaza war

After two years of cancelled festivities, the ‘City of the Nativity’ revives its iconic parades and tree lighting as a fragile truce holds in Gaza.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Explainer | Will US-led ‘Pax Silica’ be a new dawn for the international AI supply chain?

Trump administration aims for deeper technology cooperation on new AI infrastructure with allies.

HKIC ends year on high note but Hong Kong cost of living a drawback for talent

Government-backed fund strengthens VC ecosystem and fosters collaboration, but the city’s high cost of living remains a challenge.

Iran and Gaza plan to top agenda for Netanyahu-Trump meeting

The Israeli prime minister is set to visit Washington to discuss the next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan with his key US ally.

Ex-Israeli PM calls for Netanyahu’s resignation over ‘Qatargate’ affair

Naftali Bennett accuses the premier’s office of ‘treason’, alleging aides acted as paid agents for Qatar during wartime.

‘Pax Silica’: America’s new AI inner circle and Asia’s chosen few

Japan, South Korea and Singapore made the cut, leaving key partners like India and Vietnam – and even New Zealand – on the sidelines.

Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats.

Jews worldwide urged to ‘come home’ to Israel after Bondi massacre

Gideon Saar says ‘Jews are being hunted across the world’ following the December 14 Isis-inspired shooting at a Hanukkah event in Australia.

Why India to Europe trade corridor is stalling even as talks continue

A key hurdle hampering the progress of the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor is the lingering uncertainty over Gaza.

Bondi Beach attack sparks global misinformation crisis, and AI-driven hate

A leading counterterrorism expert warns that ‘agentic AI’ and political point-scoring are fuelling a toxic symbiosis between extremists.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices in Bethlehem as peace returns to Gaza

Palestinians are flocking again to Manger Square, bringing much-needed revenue to the city after two years of fighting.

Man executed in Iran for spying for Israel tortured to confess: rights group

The 27-year-old, arrested while taking pictures of a military headquarters, was accused of executing over 200 similar assignments for Mossad.

UN declares Gaza famine over, but ‘situation remains critical’

Meanwhile, Oxfam says hunger in Gaza remains ‘appalling and preventable’, accusing Israel of blocking aid from humanitarian agencies.

Philippines to get up to US$3.5 billion defence aid to counter ‘serious threats’

A US senator says the support for Manila and other allies reflects the threats posed by China and its partners in the ‘axis of aggressors’.

Isis-inspired Bondi gunmen visited Philippines before shooting: police

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Sajid Akram and his son Naveed had been radicalised by an ‘ideology of hate’.

No contact with Iran Nobel winner laureate arrest, supporters say

Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Peace Prize laureate, was detained on Friday alongside dozens of activists and may face national security charges.

World leaders express horror at Bondi Beach attack as vigils held for victims

Israel’s Herzog condemned the ‘cruel attack on Jews’ by ‘terrorists’; Trump branded the shooting that killed 15 people ‘purely antisemitic’.

Netanyahu accuses Australia’s PM of inaction in tackling antisemitism

After the Bondi Beach shooting, the Israeli PM said he warned Albanese months ago that Australia’s policy was ‘encouraging antisemitism’.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}My Take | The emerging axis of lawlessness – the European Union, United States and Israel

From Ukraine to the Caribbean and Middle East, we are witnessing the application of the law of the jungle by the West and its ally.

Israel says it killed Hamas weapons chief in Gaza

PM Netanyahu said arms production head Raad Saad was ‘one of the architects’ of the October 7 attack that sparked the war.

Syria’s year of ‘epic’ transformation earns it Trump’s protection

Washington is lifting sanctions and has rebuked Israel for its attacks, as the US throws its weight behind Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration.

Beijing lodges protest after Taiwanese official’s reported secret Israel trip

Chinese embassy urges Israel to ‘correct its erroneous actions’ in response to reported visit by the island’s deputy foreign minister.

‘My future is paralysed’: Gaza amputees desperate to walk again

The World Health Organization estimates there are some 5,000 to 6,000 amputees from the Israel-Gaza war, 25 per cent of them children.

As I see it | Would the world be safer if the military were in charge of the US?

Capricious political leaders like Donald Trump and his defence chief may be more dangerous than responsible and battle-tested generals.

‘May he rest in peace’: remains of last Thai hostage in Gaza repatriated

Sudthisak Rinthalak’s remains returned to Thailand after being held in Gaza since 2023, allowing his family to perform funeral rites.

Explainer | Will US-led ‘Pax Silica’ be a new dawn for the international AI supply chain?

My Take | The emerging axis of lawlessness – the European Union, United States and Israel