Melanie Swan

Latest from Melanie Swan

Israel appoints first envoy to the Christian world after dual scandals

George Deek, who made history as the country’s first Christian ambassador, has returned from a stint in Azerbaijan to fill the role

1 min read

George Deek, Israel's first envoy to the Christian World (YouTube/US-AZ Cultural Foundation)

US President Trump waves to the media after walking off Air Force One at Miami International Airport on April 11, 2026 (Getty Images)

Lebanon ceasefire extended for three weeks

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US President Trump speaks in the Oval Office after signing an Executive Order April 18, 2026 (Getty Images)

Trump extends Iran ceasefire indefinitely

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) hosts talks between Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad (R) and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter (L), at the State Department on April 14, 2026 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)

Second round of Israel-Lebanon talks set for Washington

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Israel uncovers global IRGC terror network targeting officials

Security officials linked the paramilitary to a recent series of arrests in Azerbaijan, but said its activities spanned the breadth of Europe and into the Middle East

1 min read

April 21, 2026 10:16

Crowds gather near posters displaying assassinated military leaders, including Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC Hossein Salami (C), during a state funeral in Enqelab Square, Tehran, on June 28, 2025 (Getty Images)

Two IDF soldiers killed in Lebanon despite ceasefire

The pair were fatally wounded when their bulldozer ran over an explosive device near Kafr Kila

1 min read

April 20, 2026 09:52

Family and friends attend the funeral of IDF soldier Lidor Porat, who was killed during combat in southern Lebanon, in Ashdod on April 19, 2026 (Flash90)

Israeli researchers make breast cancer breakthrough

A team at Ben-Gurion University identified a key protein that enables aggressive cancers to metastasise

1 min read

April 17, 2026 13:55

A doctor and a young woman during a mammography test (Getty Images)

Trump Middle East policy not driven by Israel, insists Hegseth

‘President Trump makes his own decisions about the interests of this country and defending our interests’

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April 17, 2026 10:16

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2026 (Getty Images)

Netanyahu named in Time 100 Most Influential list

The magazine praised the prime minister's longevity’ but suggested his controversial legacy could ‘poison international attitudes toward his country’

1 min read

April 16, 2026 10:36

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a wreath-laying ceremony marking the annual Yom HaShoah at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem on April 14, 2026 (Getty Images)

Leaders of Israel and Lebanon to hold talks for first time since 1993

Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Aoun are set to discuss the prospect of a ceasefire on the northern border in a phone call this afternoon

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April 16, 2026 09:45

(L-R) Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Lebanese Prime Minister Aoun (Getty Images)

Iran mission not complete until regime change, says outgoing Mossad chief

David Barnea told a Yom HaShoah event: ‘A regime that seeks our destruction must cease to exist’

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April 15, 2026 13:40

Head of Mossad David Barnea attends a ceremony held at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem on April 23, 2025 (Flash90)

Israel and Lebanon ‘on the same side’ after DC talks

Pakistan has also proposed a fresh round of US-Iranian negotiations as President Trump said the war between the two is ‘very close to over’

2 min read

April 15, 2026 10:09

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) speaks during a meeting with Lebanon's Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad (2R) and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter (2L) at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026 (Getty Images)

Hezbollah chief calls on Israel and Lebanon to abandon ‘pointless’ negotiations

The two nations will conduct their first direct talks in decades, with their US ambassadors set to meet in Washington

1 min read

April 14, 2026 14:24

Hezbollah’s secretary-general Naim Qassem appears on TV to address supporters on April 13, 2026, in Beirut, Lebanon (Getty Images)

Netanyahu trial delayed again after Shin Bet security warning

The service asked for the cancellation of the prime minister’s scheduled hearings due to the risk of an attack by Iranian agents

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April 14, 2026 11:05

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, on March 12, 2025 (Getty Images)

‘You will not force us into ghettos again’: Israeli ministers hit out at Europe on eve of Yom HaShoah

Prime Minister Netanyahu said the continent was ‘afflicted by profound moral weakness’, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the German chancellor to ‘bow his head and apologise a thousand times’

2 min read

April 14, 2026 09:58