Middle East Hub

Israel-Gaza and the Wider Middle East

The Israel-Gaza conflict and its regional spillover — into Iran-US tensions, the Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea shipping, and humanitarian response across Gaza and Yemen — is the single most contested topic this site covers. Verified facts, official statements and disputed allegations are kept in clearly separated categories, never blended into one narrative.

LIVE TRACKER Last verified Sep 13, 2026 · Gaza ceasefire disputed, US-Iran war active →

Live Status

Gaza CeasefireDisputed
US-Iran WarActive
Hormuz Traffic~10/dayvs ~85/day pre-war
Brent Crude$104.76Sep 12, 2026
Next TalksSep 14Salalah, Oman

Which is the bigger story right now? US-Iran is the hotter active war — real strikes, no ceasefire, oil at multi-month highs. Israel-Gaza has a ceasefire — disputed, but formally holding. See the full comparison below.

How to Read This Cluster

Four threads, kept deliberately separate so verified facts, official statements and disputed allegations never blend into one narrative.

🕊️
Direct Conflict & Ceasefire · 4
The core record

Ceasefire history, settler violence, the Gaza-plan rejection and Jerusalem's holy sites — the direct-conflict record.

🏥
Humanitarian Toll · 4
The human cost

Medical crisis, aid response and survival details — told through public-health data and specific accounts, not aggregate counts alone.

🛢️
Iran-US Spillover · 6
The widened war

Hormuz, US-base attacks and the open 2026 war — how the direct conflict repeatedly widened into a separate US-Iran confrontation.

🌍
Wider Regional Order · 4
The structural backdrop

Shipping lanes, alliances and post-Assad Syria — the regional order this conflict sits inside.

📚 Keep reading

The Timelines

This is the living index to everything we publish on this conflict — 18 timelines across four threads. Several pieces cover overlapping ground on purpose (Hormuz alone has three angles below); use the filters to narrow to what you need.

1949–2026Direct Conflict

Israel-Gaza Ceasefires: A Neutral Timeline

Every ceasefire agreement since the 1949 Armistice through the 2026 implementation dispute.

The ceasefire is formally still in effect. Here is every prior one that broke down first.
Read the timeline
Legal recordDirect Conflict

Israeli Settler Violence in the West Bank

The historical, legal and humanitarian record, UN- and ICRC-sourced.

UN- and ICRC-sourced, not advocacy-sourced. See how the record is actually built.
Read the timeline
Aug 2026Direct Conflict

Israel Rejects Trump's Gaza Plan

Netanyahu rejected the Board of Peace's 15-point roadmap on Aug 9, 2026, tying withdrawal to full Hamas disarmament.

A 15-point roadmap, rejected in one sentence. What Netanyahu actually said.
Read the timeline
Ottoman era–2026Direct Conflict

Jerusalem's Holy Sites: History, Law and the Amman Meetings

How the sites are actually governed — Ottoman-era firmans, Jordan's treaty custodianship, UN oversight.

Custodianship traces to Ottoman firmans, not the news cycle. The actual legal chain.
Read the timeline
2023–2026Humanitarian

The Gaza Medical Crisis

A public health and healthcare-system timeline of blockades and disease spread.

Told through public-health data, not casualty counts alone. The healthcare-system record.
Read the timeline
Cultural responseHumanitarian

Children's Shoes as Memorials

The Gaza tribute movement, explained.

A tribute movement that started far from Gaza. How and why it spread.
Read the timeline
Aid responseHumanitarian

KSrelief in Gaza and Yemen

A complete humanitarian aid guide.

Saudi aid at scale, mapped end to end — Gaza and Yemen both.
Read the timeline
2026Humanitarian

Gaza Lighter Shortage: A Survival Lifeline

A disposable lighter now costs up to 100 shekels in Gaza's tent camps — what the shortage reveals about fuel and survival.

A $2 lighter now costs 100 shekels. What that price says about fuel access.
Read the timeline
1953–2026Iran-US Spillover

US-Iran Tensions and Strait of Hormuz Timeline

Conflict, oil and nuclear talks at the world's most critical chokepoint, 1953-2026.

The full 73-year chokepoint history. Start here before the 2026 news angles.
Read the timeline
2026Iran-US Spillover

Iran's Demands to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's six conditions, the legal question, and the oil-price impact of the 2026 crisis.

Six specific conditions, not a vague demand. What Iran actually wants.
Read the timeline
1953–2026Iran-US Spillover

Trump and the Strait of Hormuz

Trump posted an AI-generated map claiming Hormuz as "new US territory"; Iran rejected it. The 1953-2026 power history.

An AI-generated map claimed it as "new US territory." Iran's reply, and the real history.
Read the timeline
1979–2026Iran-US Spillover

Iran Attacks on US Bases in the Middle East

The complete timeline, 1979-2026.

Every strike on a US base, going back to 1979. The full record.
Read the timeline
2026Iran-US Spillover

Trump Suspends Iran Strikes

The complete timeline of the 2026 US-Iran de-escalation.

The one moment this war paused. What led to it, and what came after.
Read the timeline
Feb 2026–Iran-US Spillover

Iran-U.S. War 2026

A continuously updated timeline since Feb 28, 2026 — every strike, statement, ceasefire attempt and casualty count.

No ceasefire, updated continuously. The single most active timeline on this site.
Read the timeline
1916–2026Regional Order

Middle East Geopolitical Tensions Timeline

Wars, diplomacy, energy and regional rivalries since 1916.

A century of realignment in one timeline. The structural backdrop to everything above.
Read the timeline
2026Regional Order

Is a Red Sea Defence Alliance Really Forming?

No single alliance exists — what's real: CTF-153, EUNAVFOR Aspides, Operation Prosperity Guardian.

No single alliance actually exists. Here is what's real instead.
Read the timeline
1869–2026Regional Order

Bab el-Mandeb Timeline 1869-2026

From the 1869 Suez opening to the 2026 Houthi advance on Perim Island — the two-gate shipping crisis.

Two chokepoints under pressure at once. The other shipping crisis, since 1869.
Read the timeline
2026Regional Order

Bashar al-Assad Death Sentence

The Aug 11, 2026 Damascus court sentence against Bashar and Maher al-Assad, explained.

A death sentence, in absentia. What a Damascus court actually ruled.
Read the timeline
Three of these cover the Strait of Hormuz on purpose: US-Iran Tensions and Strait of Hormuz is the full 1953-2026 chokepoint history; Iran's Demands to Reopen the Strait is the 2026 reopening-conditions explainer; Trump and the Strait of Hormuz is specifically the "new US territory" AI-map controversy. Start with the history piece, then pick whichever news angle you need.

Gaza vs Iran-US: Which Is the Bigger Story?

Two overlapping wars, both live on this site. Here's how they actually compare right now.

Ceasefire · disputed

Israel-Gaza

The 2026 ceasefire remains formally in effect. Implementation disputes and violation allegations from both sides are ongoing, but there is no active war footing.

Open the ceasefire timeline →
Active war · no ceasefire

US-Iran

Strikes continue on both sides. Hormuz transit runs at roughly 10 ships/day, down from ~85/day pre-war; Brent held near $104.76/bbl on Sep 12. A first GCC+Iraq+Iran diplomatic meeting is set for Sep 14 in Salalah, Oman.

Open the Iran-US war timeline →

What We Are Watching

Whether the Sep 14 GCC+Iraq+Iran meeting in Salalah produces a real Hormuz shipping-route deal, whether the Israel-Gaza ceasefire's implementation dispute escalates or resolves, whether the Iran-US war widens further after eight straight days of tanker strikes, and whether Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb disruption spreads the economic spillover beyond the region.

How We Track This

Data & verification

UN & UNRWA ICRC CENTCOM IMO / Kpler shipping data Reuters & AP Established news reporting
AiTimeline tracks this conflict from official statements, UN/ICRC reporting, shipping-transit data and established news reporting. Casualty figures, attribution of specific incidents and motive are the areas where sourcing is weakest across all public reporting — we flag that explicitly rather than presenting a single figure or account as final.

Last verified: Sep 13, 2026