Benny Morris

Benny Morris is an Israeli historian. His books include 1948: A History of the First Arab–Israeli War (Yale UP, 2008) and most recently Sidney Reilly: Master Spy (Yale UP, 2022).

24 Posts

Gaz-a-Largo

So far, Donald Trump is the only political leader to have publicly pinpointed the basic problem with Gaza.

Benny Morris

8 Feb 2025 · 12 min read

A young woman in a tracksuit is embraced by her mother, in jeans, on a couch.

The Ceasefire Deal

As Israel and Hamas begin to implement the ceasefire deal, both the immediate and the longer term future remain unclear.

Benny Morris

20 Jan 2025 · 12 min read

The New Middle East

The Hamas attack of 7 October 2023 set a series of events in motion that have shifted the balance of power in the region in a way the terrorists themselves never intended.

Benny Morris

1 Jan 2025 · 13 min read

A young woman in a hijab holds a candle and Hezbollah flag. She looks sad.

After the Ceasefire

The new state of play in Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas, following the US-brokered ceasefire with Lebanon, the weakening of Hezbollah, and the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Benny Morris

11 Dec 2024 · 10 min read

Benjamin Netanyahu is a man in his 60s with white hair, in a jacket and tie, speaking into a microphone.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Would-Be Authoritarian

Amid the fog of war, Netanyahu has been pushing ahead with his highly unpopular “judicial reforms,” which would concentrate power in his hands and allow him to undermine free speech and the rule of law in Israel.

Benny Morris

27 Nov 2024 · 11 min read

Jet fighters fly in a V shape through the clouds.

From Terror Tunnels to Suicide Drones

Military innovations in the current Middle East conflict are changing the nature of warfare and are likely to be widely copied around the world in the future.

Benny Morris

8 Nov 2024 · 12 min read

Women in black chadors. The figure in the centre holds a banner reading “Down with Israel.”

The Shifting Sands of War

A detailed look at the past year of war between Israel and its adversaries, as the battleground has shifted from Gaza to Lebanon and now to Iran.

Benny Morris

28 Oct 2024 · 26 min read

A destroyed building and half a missile. A man takes a photo of the wreckage on his phone.

The Sword of Damocles over Iran

The destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities may be imminent—here’s why.

Benny Morris

14 Oct 2024 · 8 min read

From Gaza to Iran: New Fronts in Israel’s Ongoing War

The war that Hamas launched on 7 October 2023 has devolved into a regional conflict with wide and possibly calamitous international repercussions.

Benny Morris

5 Oct 2024 · 13 min read

CCTV footage screenshot of a pager exploding in its owner's hands in the produce section of a supermarket.

The Grim Beeper: Hezbollah’s Exploding Tech

How Mossad and the IDF managed to turn Hezbollah’s technology against them and what happens next in the ongoing conflict.

Benny Morris

25 Sep 2024 · 12 min read

Tragedy and Half-Truths: A Gaza Diary

Atef Abu Saif’s ‘Don’t Look Left’ provides a vivid account of the horrors of daily life in the Gaza Strip, yet omits to mention Hamas’s role in the war.

Benny Morris

19 Sep 2024 · 15 min read

Two men in suits sit on a couch facing an ayatollah in robes on a chair. There is an Iranian flag next to him.

Shadow Boxing: The Conflict Between Iran and Israel

The mini-war between Israel and Iran’s proxies has gradually begun to approach open Israeli-Iranian conflict, and the threat of an all-out, full-scale war is now palpable.

Benny Morris

1 Aug 2024 · 18 min read

Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah

Updates on the military situation facing Israel, especially the possibility of all-out war with Hezbollah.

Benny Morris

20 Jun 2024 · 17 min read

Sad-looking pallbearers wearing kippahs carry the coffin of Shani Louk.

The War in Gaza: No End in Sight

After seven months of campaigning, Israel’s most pressing problem remains the continued existence, indeed resilience, of Hamas.

Benny Morris

20 May 2024 · 17 min read

Erdogan’s Hypocrisy

While routinely declaring that Israel’s behaviour toward Hamas is genocidal, Erdogan has consistently denied the real genocides carried out by Turkey.

Benny Morris

22 Apr 2024 · 9 min read