Benjamin Netanyahu

Oversaw wartime closures and subsequent reopening of holy sites

For roughly 270 years, under Ottoman, British, Jordanian, and Israeli rule, a delicate arrangement called the "status quo" has kept worship running at Jerusalem's holiest sites — even through wars and occupations. On Palm Sunday March 29, 2026, Israeli police broke that streak by physically turning away Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the senior Catholic leader in Jerusalem, from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Only four church representatives were trying to enter, walking privately without any procession.

Updated 5 days ago

Oversees intensified IDF strikes as campaign reaches halfway point

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began February 28 with Operation Epic Fury, reached a sudden conclusion on April 8 when the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, with Tehran committing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—closed for 41 days under Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps control. The conflict drove Brent crude above $112 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate above $111 in early April, with the International Energy Agency warning of 12 million barrels per day offline in history's largest oil supply shock. Key triggers included Israel's March 18 strikes on South Pars, U.S. operations in the strait, Yemen's Houthi attacks, and President Trump's expired March 22 ultimatum on Iranian power plants. Japan released reserves on March 16, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration's April 7 outlook reflected prolonged disruption before the surprise de-escalation.

Updated 6 days ago

Leading Israel's parallel operation (Operation Roaring Lion); overseeing strike killing IRGC Navy Cmdr. Tangsiri

Operation Epic Fury, launched jointly by the United States and Israel on February 28, 2026, reached day 39 with the heaviest strikes yet on Iran, confirming over 9,000 targets hit, more than 130 naval vessels destroyed, and at least 55 senior regime leaders killed—including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on March 1, IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri on March 26, and on April 6, IRGC intelligence chief Majid Khademi and Quds Force Unit 840 head Yazdan Mir in US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran. Key escalations include Iran's March 18 missile strikes on Israel and Gulf states, Qatar's expulsion of Iranian attachés after the March 19 Ras Laffan attack, the Israeli airstrike killing IRGC spokesman General Ali Mohammad Naeini on March 20, CENTCOM's March 21 update confirming 8,000 targets hit and air superiority, Iran's March 24 missile barrages on Tel Aviv, March 27 Israeli strikes on Iran's central naval arms production site and multiple ballistic missile factories in the Tehran area, Iran's April 2 launch of four missile salvos at Israel including cluster warheads, April 3's downing of a US F-15E Strike Eagle—the first American combat aircraft lost—and April 5's successful rescue of both crew members by US special operations forces after a two-day evasion and extraction operation.

Updated 7 days ago

Conducting parallel Israeli operations; publicly stated Israel will continue strikes regardless of US ceasefire

Since the United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026—killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggering what Washington calls Operation Epic Fury—Iran has fired more than 525 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory. Nearly half carried cluster warheads that scatter dozens of smaller bomblets across wide areas, a weapon type banned by over 100 nations. On April 6, two construction workers were killed in Yehud by cluster submunitions, while a separate ballistic missile collapsed a residential building in Haifa, killing four people after an 18-hour rescue effort.

Updated Apr 6

Authorized IDF ground operations in Lebanon alongside Defense Minister Katz

Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon, launched March 1, has reached a new phase with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) systematically destroying bridges over the Litani River, including strikes on April 4 targeting connections between Sohmor and Mashghara in eastern Lebanon. By late March, the IDF had struck over 500 Hezbollah targets, killed 70 operatives, and seized roughly 850 square kilometers using three armored and infantry divisions. The campaign has now severed at least seven major bridges, expanded evacuation zones north of the Litani, destroyed key infrastructure, and resulted in clashes killing six IDF soldiers.

Updated Apr 4

Directing Israeli operations under codename 'Roar of the Lion'

Iran's nuclear infrastructure has become the primary target of an intensifying US-Israeli air campaign that began February 28 and has now entered its sixth week. The Natanz uranium enrichment complex has been struck four times; on April 4, 2026, US and Israeli forces expanded the campaign to strike the Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Mahshahr petrochemical hub in southwestern Iran, killing at least one security guard and wounding five workers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that strikes on civilian nuclear power plants cross 'the reddest line' of nuclear safety, raising the risk of a radiological catastrophe. Meanwhile, Iran has demonstrated growing military capability: on April 4, Iranian air defenses downed two US warplanes, marking the first confirmed loss of American aircraft in the conflict.

Updated Apr 4

Leading wartime coalition government

Israel's parliament voted 62-55 to approve the country's largest-ever state budget — 850.6 billion shekels ($271 billion) — with two days to spare before a legal deadline that would have dissolved the government and triggered new elections. The defense ministry alone received 143 billion shekels ($45.8 billion), reflecting the cost of ongoing military operations against Iran that are running at an estimated $480-550 million per day.

Updated Mar 29

Directing Israeli participation in strikes under Operation Roaring Lion

In thirteen days of US-Israeli military strikes on Iran, up to 3.2 million people have fled their homes without leaving the country. The United Nations refugee agency reported on March 12 that between 600,000 and one million Iranian households abandoned Tehran and other major cities for northern provinces and rural areas, marking one of the fastest mass internal displacements in modern conflict.

Updated Mar 12

Co-directing strikes on Iran and Lebanon under Operation Roaring Lion

For four decades, the United States and Iran avoided direct, large-scale war. That changed on February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and leadership compounds, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The assault followed collapsed indirect nuclear talks mediated by Oman. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US bases in the Gulf, oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Embassy in Riyadh.

Updated Mar 4

Publicly welcoming outside help, privately skeptical of outcomes

A Gaza force is being designed like it's real—but the December 16 Doha conference exposed how unreal it remains. U.S. Central Command convened more than 40 countries to game out command structure, basing, and rules of engagement for a proposed U.N.-authorized International Stabilization Force, but attendees failed to agree on the force's mandate or composition. Italy is the only country to have formally committed troops. Fifteen invited nations declined to attend, and Turkey was excluded at Israel's insistence—a sign that coalition-building is entangled with regional politics before a single soldier deploys.

Updated Feb 16

Leading Israeli policy on Lebanon enforcement

Israel and Hezbollah signed a ceasefire on November 27, 2024, ending a year of cross-border war that killed nearly 4,000 Lebanese and displaced 1.4 million people. Fifteen months later, Israel has conducted over 10,500 documented violations—including 7,500 airspace violations and more than 3,000 ground and air strikes—with over 450 people killed since the truce began, including major strikes on February 21, 2026 in the Bekaa Valley near Baalbek killing at least 10 including eight Hezbollah operatives and three children, and a separate strike on Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp killing two Hamas operatives.

Updated Feb 16

Leading a coalition reliant on pro-settlement hardliners

Israel's cabinet quietly signed off on 19 additional Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, then kept it classified for days. Some are brand-new recognitions; others are outposts that were illegal even under Israeli rules, now getting a state stamp. Within weeks, the government went further: issuing construction tenders for the E1 corridor that would physically sever the northern and southern West Bank, legalizing five more outposts with official settlement codes, and advancing plans for 9,000 units in occupied East Jerusalem.

Updated Feb 16

Pressing for expanded Iran deal terms while facing corruption trial at home

Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington this week with a single message: any deal with Iran must go beyond uranium. After three hours in the Oval Office on February 11, President Trump emerged saying 'nothing definitive' was reached—but negotiations would continue. Netanyahu signed onto Trump's Board of Peace initiative and extracted a promise of continued talks, though Iran insists its ballistic missiles remain off the table.

Updated Feb 11

Leading coalition government; facing October 2026 elections

Israel recovered the remains of Ran Gvili on January 26, 2026, ending the 843-day hostage crisis that began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack. Prime Minister Netanyahu declared in the Knesset on January 27 that 'There are no more hostages in Gaza.' The Hostages and Missing Families Forum halted activities after this closure.

Updated Feb 5

Ordered retaliatory expulsion of South African diplomat

South Africa and Israel have expelled each other's top diplomats, leaving neither country with a senior representative in the other. On January 30, 2026, South Africa declared Israeli chargé d'affaires Ariel Seidman persona non grata for using embassy social media to insult President Cyril Ramaphosa. Hours later, Israel reciprocated by expelling South Africa's chargé d'affaires Shaun Byneveldt. Both were ordered to leave within 72 hours.

Updated Feb 1

Counseled Trump to delay strikes

Bazaar merchants bankrolled Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Now they're in the streets demanding its end. What began December 28 as protests over the rial's collapse to record lows escalated into the largest uprising in the Islamic Republic's 46-year history—spreading to all 31 provinces and uniting working-class laborers, students, and merchants in calls for regime change. The death toll remains highly disputed: activist groups have verified at least 6,100 killed, while leaked government documents suggest 27,500-36,500 deaths. By January 17, the regime had reestablished control through unprecedented force, killing an estimated 147 security personnel in the process.

Updated Jan 31

Facing domestic corruption trial and ICC arrest warrant; requested presidential pardon November 2025

On December 26, 2025, Israel became the first UN member state to recognize Somaliland as independent—34 years after the region broke from Somalia during a brutal civil war. Prime Minister Netanyahu called President Abdullahi to announce full diplomatic ties, framing the move as aligned with the Abraham Accords and citing Somaliland's fight against terrorism. Within days, the diplomatic shockwave intensified: Somalia's parliament unanimously declared the recognition 'null and void,' the UN Security Council convened an emergency session, and 21 Muslim-majority nations issued a joint condemnation—though Abraham Accords signatories conspicuously abstained. By early January 2026, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar became the first Israeli cabinet minister to visit Somaliland, meeting President Abdullahi in Hargeisa on January 6 and announcing plans to 'soon' open embassies and appoint ambassadors. The African Union Peace and Security Council responded with an emergency ministerial session demanding 'immediate revocation,' declaring the recognition 'null, void, and without legal effect under international law.'

Updated Jan 30

Heads the Israeli government that accepted the ceasefire's first phase; pressing for Hamas disarmament before any further Israeli withdrawal or international deployment

After more than two years of devastating war triggered by Hamas's attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that began on October 10, 2025 has paused large-scale hostilities in Gaza but remains deeply fragile, with at least 460 Palestinians killed and over 1,200 injured since the truce took effect. On January 14, 2026, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff announced the launch of phase two of the President's 20‑point peace plan, establishing a 15‑member Palestinian technocratic committee led by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority deputy minister, to assume day-to-day governance of Gaza. Nickolay Mladenov, former UN Middle East envoy, was appointed director-general of the Board of Peace, the international transitional authority mandated by the UN Security Council to oversee Gaza's demilitarization, reconstruction and political transition. On January 21, the Board announced a concrete 3-5 month timeline for disarmament, with Hamas expected to receive an ultimatum demanding surrender of all weapons. Hamas announced on January 12 that it will dissolve its government once the new Palestinian body takes over, calling the decision 'clear and final,' but has refused to surrender its small arms, stating it will only fully disarm once a Palestinian state is established.

Updated Jan 26

Publicly rejecting Board of Peace composition, demanding full Hamas disarmament

Hamas has governed Gaza since June 2007. On January 15, 2026, a 15-member committee of Palestinian technocrats—none affiliated with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority—held its first meeting in Cairo. The next day, President Trump announced the Board of Peace's executive membership: himself as chair, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and others. By January 17, the arrangement had triggered a rare public dispute with Israel—Netanyahu's office declared the Board's composition "was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy."

Updated Jan 18

Facing ICC arrest warrant while managing ceasefire

A severe winter storm killed at least 8 Palestinians in Gaza on January 13, 2026, collapsing war-damaged walls onto tent camps and freezing children to death overnight. The dead include a 7-day-old infant, a 1-year-old boy, and a 4-year-old girl who died of hypothermia—the latest in at least 23 cold-weather deaths since winter began. Over 1.1 million people remain in urgent need of shelter assistance as 81% of Gaza's structures have been destroyed or damaged.

Updated Jan 16

Under investigation in BibiLeaks; on trial for corruption in three separate cases

Netanyahu's chief of staff was detained by Israel's national crime unit on January 11, 2026, suspected of trying to shut down an investigation into leaked military secrets. The probe centers on a September 2024 leak to German tabloid Bild—classified Hamas documents that appeared to justify Netanyahu's resistance to a hostage deal, published just days after six captives were found executed in a Rafah tunnel.

Updated Jan 13

Approved the export permit for the Leviathan-to-Egypt deal on 2025-12-17

A day after Israel approved the Leviathan-to-Egypt export permit, Egypt’s State Information Service publicly stepped in to reframe the agreement as a strictly commercial arrangement concluded by private energy companies—an attempt to firewall the gas lifeline from Gaza-war politics.

Updated Dec 20, 2025

Subject to ICC arrest warrant (issued in 2024)

The U.S. just sanctioned two sitting International Criminal Court judges—because they helped keep the Israel-related Gaza case alive. It’s a rare thing in diplomacy: Washington using the same financial weapon it uses on oligarchs and terror networks against a courtroom.

Updated Dec 18, 2025

Defending continued military action during ceasefire; insisting Hamas disarmament is required

A senior Hamas commander is killed in a targeted Israeli strike. The next day, thousands pack the streets of Gaza for his funeral, coffins hoisted shoulder-high, flags everywhere, chants loud enough to carry the message: Hamas is still here.

Updated Dec 14, 2025

Overseeing a long campaign to sideline UNRWA and reassert control in East Jerusalem

Israeli police and municipal officials rolled into a quiet UN compound in East Jerusalem before dawn. Motorbikes, trucks and forklifts smashed through UNRWA’s former headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah, seizing equipment, cutting communications and hauling down the UN flag to raise Israel’s own. UN officials say it was an unauthorized raid on inviolable UN premises; Israeli authorities insist it was just a municipal debt-collection move.

Updated Dec 11, 2025