Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci recently sparked controversy by expressing his desire to one day govern Jerusalem and suggesting that territories once ruled by the Ottoman Empire could again fall under Turkish sovereignty. Ciftci’s remarks are the latest indication that senior Turkish officials continue to view Jerusalem not merely as a symbol of the Palestinian cause, but as part of a broader historical mission that seeks to expand Ankara’s influence across the Middle East.

Despite multiple attempts by Israel to quell the fighting in Gaza and decapitate Hamas’s leadership, the group continues a guerilla-style resistance. The IDF now fights on three active fronts: Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza. But it’s perhaps the forgotten war in Gaza that could resume major hostilities if left unchecked. Bill Roggio speaks with FDD Research Analyst Samuel Ben-Ur about next steps in Gaza.

Iran’s military has been shattered. The Strait of Hormuz remains contested. Three months in, Bill Roggio and FDD’s Jon Schanzer examine why quick victories are rare, patience is scarce, and this war is entering its most consequential phase yet.

On May 28, Israel conducted its first strike in weeks targeting Beirut. The Israelis have yet to confirm it, but reporting indicates that the intended target was Ali al Hussaini, a commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Forces’ Imam Hossein Division. This division, whose origins were in the Syrian Civil War, has been reinforcing Hezbollah throughout the conflict with Israel that began in October 2023.

Hezbollah’s missiles may be depleted, but cheap FPV drones are changing the battlefield — slipping past defenses, targeting Israeli troops, and exposing a dangerous new vulnerability. Bill Roggio and David Daoud unpack Hezbollah’s drone evolution, the psychological warfare behind the footage, and why Israel may be drifting back toward the failed security zone dynamics of the past.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to promote a plan to move his country away from American foreign military financing, but that comes at a time when Israel’s military requirements are increasing, and it is already spending an extraordinary percentage of gross domestic product on defense.

The Israeli military attacked an apartment in Gaza City, targeting Izz al Din al Haddad, Hamas’s leader in Gaza. Al Haddad is one of the last remaining senior members of Hamas who were responsible for the October 7 attack.

Israel is expanding civilian security preparedness in communities near the Gaza border through a new training program led by Magen 48, a non-profit civilian-led initiative, in cooperation with the Israel Defense Forces. The program, created after the October 7 Hamas attack, trains local volunteer armed response teams in tactics, medical support, and community defense.

A report alleging that Israel operated a secret military base in Iraq’s Najaf desert has sparked controversy and conflicting statements among Iraqi politicians and security forces. The report emerged amid sensitive political negotiations in Baghdad and broader tensions involving Iran-backed militias, Israel, the United States, and Iran.

Open-source information and commercially available facial recognition tools have identified three suspects— Amjad Qadoum, Yasir Samir, and Mustafa Shaheen—who were involved in the October 7 Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel. Facial recognition tools and social media exploitation can yield verifiable identity data from the extensive footage recorded by the terrorists’ own devices.

During the renewed conflict with Israel, Hezbollah has increasingly relied on an arsenal of first-person view (FPV) drones that it amassed and developed over the 15 months of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. These drones, which are guided by fiber-optic cables instead of radio, are proving effective against Israeli forces because they are hard to intercept and detect, and the IDF was unprepared to deal with this threat.

On May 5, Syrian authorities said that security forces dismantled a Hezbollah-linked militant network operating across multiple governorates, arresting 11 operatives, seizing weapons, and foiling planned assassinations.

Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists continued to violate the Gaza ceasefire toward the end of April and beginning of May, according to Israeli military reports. Hamas remains adamant that it will not even begin to discuss disarmament before a complete IDF withdrawal from the territory.

The Iran-linked front group Ashab al Yamin claimed credit for a stabbing attack in London that wounded two Jewish men. The group has claimed more than a dozen attacks in Europe, most of them targeting Jewish institutions.

A Hamas operative who was killed during the recent war with Israel founded a Gaza-based charity that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars online. The charity continues to solicit donations, including through a New York-headquartered platform.

Kosovo has moved toward contributing forces for the International Stabilization Force (ISF) mission in Gaza, sending a military team to assess a future deployment area and coordinate with local and multinational officials. The security situation in Gaza remains tense despite a ceasefire, with uncertainty over Hamas’s disarmament.

Kinetic events and military actions continue in Gaza, including 14 violations of the fragile ceasefire by Palestinian terrorists, according to the Israeli military. The Israel Defense Forces has documented an uptick in planned attacks against Israeli soldiers in the enclave.

US and Israeli forces conducted an impressive campaign that significantly degraded Iran’s primary elements of military power. The operation did not, however, destroy these capabilities outright or eliminate Iran’s ability to project meaningful power outside of its borders.

FDD Senior Fellow David Daoud and Bill Roggio examine the recent and fragile ceasefire in the ongoing Iran war. Will the fighting in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah break the peace, and has the Iranian resistance movement missed a golden opportunity?

While the US-Israeli war with Iran has taken center stage, Israel’s Gaza front remained active, despite the US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10 of last year. The Israeli military has documented 22 ceasefire violations by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups since the war with Iran began on February 28.

The Houthis launched missile and drone attacks against Israel, the first direct military action since the beginning of the US and Israeli campaign against Iran that began on February 28. The Iran-backed Yemeni terrorist group threatened to continue and expand attacks until a series of conditions it issued are met.
