A U.N. navy vessel seen through barbed wire patrols the Mediterranean Sea off the Lebanese coast.
AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari
A maritime border agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel seemed like a step toward peaceful relations. But now both countries are getting ready for what looks like an unavoidable war.
Melnikov Dmitriy/Shutterstock
War is taking a toll on Israel’s economy.
Esmail Ghaani, head of Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force, speaks at a ceremony in Tehran on April 14, 2022.
AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
Esmail Ghaani took control of the unconventional warfare wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following the killing of predecessor Qassem Soleimani.
Armed and dangerous: fighters from Iran’s Quds Force at a funeral for comrades killed in the February 2 US airstrikes in Iraq.
EPA-EFE/Ahmed Jalil
Iran funds a large network of armed groups across the Middle East as part of its ambition to replace the US as regional power.
Hadi Mizban/AP
The Shia militant groups operating in Iraq, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East share political and ideological connections, yet they also have their own nationalist goals.
Under pressure: Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers an economic briefing, January 30 2024.
ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo
Facing a parliamentary election in March, the Islamic Republic is trying to distract attention away from its economic woes with a show of strength.
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Ebrahim Raisi, right, greets the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, at the start of their meeting at his office in Tehran in June 2023.
(Iranian Presidency Office, via AP)
Iran prefers to engage Israel through its proxies, but the risk of escalation makes this a dangerous strategy.
Tragedy: a protester against the Netanyahu government at a vigil in Tel Aviv for the Israeli hostages, January 20.
EPA-EFE/Abir Sultan
A selection of analysis from our coverage of the war in Gaza over the past fortnight.
Houthi fighters demonstrate in support of Palestinians, January 2024.
Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo
The Middle East crisis has many moving parts and could easily descend into chaos.
A billboard depicts the leaders of the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
Iran has expanded its network of partners across the Middle East. But it isn’t a simple case of Tehran dictating the terms of the alliance.
P.jowdy/Shutterstock
Conflict between Lebanon and Israel looms – it would throw the Lebanese economy further into crisis.
EPA-EFE/Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office
A selection of analysis from our coverage of the war in Gaza over the past fortnight.
Hezbollah commander Wissam al-Tawil, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Hezbollah Military Media, via AP
Israel and Hezbollah are engaged in tit-for-tat attacks, but a diplomatic path still exists to avoid an escalation.
Divisions: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will find it hard to negotiate a peace deal with support from the extreme right of his cabinet.
EPA-EFE/Ronen Zvulun/pool
Facing opposition to a peace deal within his own cabinet, Israel’s prime minister will find it difficult to agree an international peace deal and hold on to power.
Hassan Ammar/Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo
It appears that, for now at least, Iran is happy to allow Gaza to be the epicentre of Middle East conflict. But all that could change quickly.
A shell that appears to be white phosphorus from Israeli artillery explodes over a house in al-Bustan, a Lebanese border village with Israel, on October 15.
Hussein Malla/AP
The use of such incendiary devices is only legal under very specific circumstances. A careful examination of the evidence is now required.
Israeli army soldiers take up positions near the border with the Gaza Strip on Dec. 11, 2023,.
Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
Conflict has escalated between Joe Biden and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu over the conduct of the Israel-Hamas war. But a national security veteran says the US has little leverage over Israel.
EPA-EFE/Wael Hamzeh
Israel is effectively fighting a war on two fronts.
Militant: Hamas is believed to have teamed up with five different groups to launch its attacks on October 7.
Mamoun Wazwa/Imago/Alamy Stock Photo
Israel is fighting a broad coalition of armed Palestinian militias in Gaza − and then there’s Hezbollah, just across the border in Lebanon.
Left: Families of the hostages during the March for the Hostages on November 18, 2023 in Jerusalem.
Right: Palestinians flee the northern part of the Gaza Strip on November 10, 2023.
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty; Belal Khaled/Anadolu via Getty Images
With the Israel-Palestine conflict continuing, we asked a range of academics to nominate works that can help explain things.