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Lazar Berman

Lazar Berman

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Bassem Naim, an official in Hamas's political wing, speaks in Istanbul, Turkey, December 5, 2024. (AP/Francisco Seco)
August 16, 2026, 10:55 am
Group closely tied to Norway’s government secretly met with top Hamas officials in 2021
NOREF, founded and funded by Oslo, discussed mediating between EU and terror group in undisclosed Gaza meeting, Hamas documents show; ‘Contact does not imply endorsement,’ says organization
By Lazar Berman
Dr. Bjorn Lomborg joins host Lazar Berman for this week's Lazar Focus. (R Mathiasson)
August 14, 2026, 12:08 pm
Bjorn Lomborg: Energy, climate, and the fight for a better world
The Iran war emphasized how reliant we are on fossil fuels; a leading Danish thinker explains how we should think about energy needs, global warming, and the welfare of mankind
By Lazar Berman
President Donald Trump talks to reporters after arriving on Air Force One, August 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
August 13, 2026, 9:10 am
Trump says US to maintain blockade, as Iran vows to keep Hormuz closed until demands met
Tehran denies reports of ceasefire extension, saying there’s ‘nothing to extend’; 30 countries condemn Islamic Republic’s executions, say they’re used to ‘silence dissent’
By Agencies, Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman
A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese viallage of of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah shows Israeli troops stationed in the nearby village of Zawtar al-Charkiyah on August 11, 2026. (Ammar Ammar/AFP)
August 13, 2026, 12:02 am
Lebanese PM says Israel breaching international law as Katz boasts of ‘destroying all houses’
Drawing US rebuke, defense minister vows Israel will be in southern Lebanon for the long term; Israel denies agreeing with Beirut on which nations will verify Hezbollah disarmament
By Agencies, ToI Staff, Lazar Berman and Jacob Magid
Palestinians in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip, August 12, 2026. (Abed Rahim Khatib/FLASH90)
August 12, 2026, 7:43 pm
Board of Peace’s Gaza envoy denies financial deal with Hamas: ‘Not on the table’
$400 million will pay ‘legitimate’ contractors, severance to Hamas civil servants not hired by new technocratic government, sources tell ToI; NCAG to audit Hamas books
By Lazar Berman and Jacob Magid
From left, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pose after signing a trilateral defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, August 7, 2026. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)
August 12, 2026, 5:04 pm
Mecca defense pact isn’t meant to challenge Israel, at least not on the battlefield
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey aren’t going to go to war for each other. But they do want to show the US and Iran that they are ready to lead in a region they see as destabilized by Jerusalem
By Lazar Berman
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and US President Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office on July 28, 2026. (GPO)
August 12, 2026, 2:03 am
Israeli intel on Iranian plot said to have spurred decision to sneak Trump off Air Force One
WSJ says intelligence from Israel indicated that Iran planned to take down plane with shoulder-fired missiles; Rubio and other aides remained onboard despite threat
By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
Illustrative: A unionist wrapped in a Venezuelan national flag, signs another Venezuelan national flag during a march in Caracas on July 28, 2026. (Federico PARRA/AFP)
August 11, 2026, 11:54 pm
Israel and Venezuela renew consular relations for first time since 2009
After 17-year diplomatic break, countries say they will reestablish ties, continue ‘cooperation stemming from’ Israel’s humanitarian mission after deadly June double earthquake
By Lazar Berman and Agencies
Vehicles drive past a banner reading in English and Farsi, 'We will kill Trump,' and banners showing portraits of the late Iranian supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, and his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, August 10, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)
August 11, 2026, 10:09 pm
Iran digs in on demands over Hormuz as mediators assert progress made toward deal
Iranian official says strait won’t reopen unless US ends Gaza and Lebanon wars and releases frozen Iranian assets; Pakistan says sides ‘close to some sort of an arrangement’
By Agencies and Lazar Berman
Gazans with an earth-mover break through the Israel-Gaza border fence into southern Israel, October 7, 2023. (Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa/Reuters)
August 11, 2026, 2:35 am
Israel said to tell US it will keep targeting Oct. 7 terrorists as Gaza disarmament stalls
Trump teases a ‘good response’ to Netanyahu’s rejection of roadmap for disarming Hamas, though none appears; Board of Peace says talks ongoing and plan advancing despite the setback
By Lazar Berman, Jacob Magid, ToI Staff and Agencies
View of the first snow this winter on Mount Hermon in Syria, as seen from the northern Golan Heights near the Syrian border, on December 13, 2025. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
August 10, 2026, 10:52 pm
New Colombian government recognizes Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights
South American country is just 2nd in world after US to endorse Israeli claim over territory captured from Syria in 1967; FM Sa’ar thanks Bogota for ‘historic decision’
By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, August 10, 2026. (AP Photo/ Santiago Saldarriaga)
August 10, 2026, 10:11 pm
Huge quake hits west Colombia, killing at least 73 people and collapsing buildings
Israel offers ‘to assist Colombia with whatever is needed’ in quake that comes days after new president is inaugurated, and less than 2 months after twin quakes in Venezuela
By AP and Lazar Berman
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing. (ToI/AP)
August 10, 2026, 3:44 pm
Daily Briefing Aug. 10 – As PM rejects Gaza deal, Israel quietly begins reconstruction
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman on the Gaza peace plan, the long game of chicken being played between US and Iran and a new defense pact signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan
By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Lazar Berman
Illustrative: A Palestinian man rides his bicycle by the rubble of buildings that were destroyed during the Israel Hamas war, in southern Gaza Strip, July 31, 2026. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)
August 10, 2026, 1:28 am
Board of Peace envoy says full execution of Gaza plan only ‘guarantee’ Oct. 7 won’t recur
Nickolay Mladenov tells Channel 12 disarmament plan is ‘not built on trust,’ but complete verification of progress; White House said not worried about Netanyahu’s rejection of plan
By Stav Levaton, Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
Israeli soldiers seen on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, August 5, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
August 9, 2026, 5:53 pm
Netanyahu rejects Trump’s 15-point Gaza plan, insists he can stand up to US president
PM stresses Israel’s categorical opposition to Board of Peace’s deal that Hamas agreed to, saying IDF won’t withdraw from any part of Strip until terror group fully disarms
By Lazar Berman, Reuters and ToI Staff
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