The return of Israeli hostages marked an emotional turning point—and the clearest sign of Donald Trump’s renewed influence in the Middle East. His intervention pushed Israel toward a fragile peace that trades withdrawal for relief, as Hamas reasserts control in Gaza and global leaders remain hesitant to condemn it. With Netanyahu absent from the talks, Israel’s strategy and Hamas’s future hang in the balance. Has Israel traded security for symbolism? Can Hamas be disarmed through diplomacy? What comes next for Gaza and the region?

Ashley Perry is an advisor to the Middle East Forum’s Israel office. He served as adviser to Israel's minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister in 2009-15, and has also worked with Israel's Ministers of Intelligence, Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy, Water and Infrastructure, Defense, Tourism, Internal Security, and Immigrant Absorption and as an advisor to The Negev Forum. Originally from the U.K., he moved to Israel in 2001. He holds a B.A. from University College London and an M.A. from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).

The Houthis (Ansar Allah), entrenched in Yemen’s highlands and backed by Iran, have resisted years of military campaigns and efforts to dislodge them through diplomacy. Controlling key territory, including the Yemeni capital and a large part of the coastline, and exploiting the humanitarian crisis, they wield growing power and regional influence. The Houthi campaign against shipping on the Gulf of Aden-Red Sea route has effectively shuttered a key global maritime artery. Can local resistance, regional unity, and international resolve finally defeat them, or is Yemen fated to remain an arena for endless conflict?Summer Ahmed is a researcher and analyst of the Middle East. Yemen-born, she is the Yemeni Southern Transition Council’s Foreign Affairs Representative to the United States. She holds a BBA from Northwood University.

Dearborn, Michigan, long celebrated for multicultural harmony, now faces scrutiny for suppressing dissent under claims of fighting Islamophobia. Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s public attack on Christian critic Ted Barham coupled with the city council’s silence on Hamas and Hezbollah, raises alarms about radical Islamism’s influence. Dexter Van Zile, on a recent visit to Dearborn, observed further evidence of Islamism and support for terror in other forms. What future awaits non-Muslim voices in Dearborn, and what does this mean for religious freedom in America?Dexter Van Zile, the Middle East Forum’s Violin Family Research Fellow, serves as managing editor of Focus on Western Islamism. Prior to his current position, Van Zile worked at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis for 16 years, where he played a major role in countering misinformation broadcast into Christian churches by Palestinian Christians and refuting antisemitic propaganda broadcast by white nationalists and their allies in the U.S. His articles have appeared in the Jerusalem Post, the Boston Globe, Jewish Political Studies Review, the Algemeiner and the Jewish News Syndicate. He has authored numerous academic studies and book chapters about Christian anti-Zionism.

The Druze of southern Syria, long known for their pragmatism, now face an uncertain future as the country’s landscape fractures. Caught between Islamist factions, Iranian-backed militias, and shifting Western interests, they are increasingly vulnerable to sectarian violence. On two occasions since the fall of the Assad regime, the community has faced attacks from forces associated with the new authorities in Damascus. Many lives have been lost. What path forward remains for this small but resilient community, and what do their choices mean for the balance of power in the Levant?Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Middle East affairs, specifically the Levant, Iraq, and Iranian intervention in Arab affairs, as well as U.S. foreign policy toward the region. Previously, Sharawi worked at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he focused mainly on Hezbollah. He holds a B.A. in international relations from King’s College London and an M.A. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

The dramatic fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in late 2024 promised an end to decades of tyranny. The new government of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) movement, however, appears to be in the process of reshaping Syria into a Turkish satellite. The new government is sidelining the U.S.-aligned Kurds and igniting sectarian strife in the south and west of the country, under Ankara's shadow. Turkey, meanwhile, is building a military infrastructure in Syria, while maintaining control over its own client militias. What perils await the West if Turkey's grip tightens over the Levant?Efrat Aviv is an associate professor in the department of general history at Bar-Ilan University and a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. She is an expert in Turkish religious movements, Israeli-Turkish relations, antisemitism in Turkey, and Ottoman-Turkish Jewry. She holds a B.A., an M.A., and a Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan University.

The October 7, 2023 Hamas assault on Israel shocked the world with its brutality. While many condemned the attack, others rapidly rushed to blame Israel, framing the Jewish state as an oppressor through the lens of Marxist ideology and critical race theory. In The Battle for the Jewish State, Victoria Coates examines how Hamas’s atrocities, Iran’s role, and America’s cultural drift have imperiled Israel and the U.S. Is this conflict truly about land, or is it part of a broader civilizational struggle? What is at stake for both Israel and the United States if this battle is lost?Victoria Coates is Vice President of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation. A former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Trump, she oversaw U.S. policy on the Middle East, including the Maximum Pressure Campaign on Iran and early negotiations for the Abraham Accords. She holds a B.A. from Trinity College, an M.A. from Williams College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, all in art history.

For years, the Department of Homeland Security has funneled millions in taxpayer funds to organizations tied to foreign terrorists and extremist ideologies, undermining America’s safety from within. In "Homeland Insecurity," Benjamin Baird and Anna Stanley expose this chilling betrayal, detailing how over $25 million has flowed to groups linked to Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood. How did this funding scandal persist unchecked? What must be done to stop it?Benjamin Baird is director of MEF Action, the Forum's wing for activism and advocacy. His writing can be found at National Review, New York Post, Jerusalem Post, and other prominent media outlets. Mr. Baird is a U.S. Army infantry veteran with a B.A. from American Military University.You can read the full report by Benjamin Baird and Anna Stanley here:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-reports/homeland-insecurity-unraveling-dhs-funding-of-terror-linked-and-extremist-groups

The Israeli government has made an official decision to conquer Gaza. Is this really the goal or is it just another negotiating tactic?Ashley Perry is an advisor to the Middle East Forum’s Israel office. He served as adviser to Israel's minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister in 2009-15, and has also worked with Israel's Ministers of Intelligence, Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy, Water and Infrastructure, Defense, Tourism, Internal Security, and Immigrant Absorption and as an advisor to The Negev Forum. Originally from the U.K., he moved to Israel in 2001. He holds a B.A. from University College London and an M.A. from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).

For two decades, Iran’s regime pursued a clandestine nuclear agenda, aiming to unleash apocalyptic devastation on Israel. Israel’s response, the daring Operation Rising Lion, sparked the intense 12-Day War, reshaping the Middle East’s geopolitical landscape. How did this high-stakes clash unfold, and what does it mean for the region’s future.Edwin Black is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of numerous books translated into 20 languages across 190 countries, with his latest being "Israel Strikes Iran: Operation Rising Lion." His work, spanning human rights, genocide, and the Middle East, has earned multiple Pulitzer Prize nominations and top editorial awards. Black hosts The Edwin Black Show, a weekly podcast exploring history and social justice, and serves as the first scholar-in-residence for the International March of the Living at Auschwitz.You can buy "Israel Strikes Iran: Operation Rising Lion" here:

https://www.amazon.com/Israel-Strikes-Iran-Operation-Backstory/dp/1957798289

Follow Edwin Black on X here:

https://x.com/EdwinBlackBook

Follow Ahnaf Kalam on X here:

https://x.com/AhnafKalam

Buoyed by diplomatic gains, Hamas has now walked away from negotiations. What are Israel’s options in the next period?