Skip to content
Advertisement
Author profile
Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a National Security Correspondent for The Washington Times. His reporting is regularly featured in the daily Threat Status newsletter.
Previously, he covered energy and the environment, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016, and also spent two years as a White House correspondent during the Obama administration.
Before coming to The Times in 2011, Ben worked as political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

Supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group raise their fists and cheer as Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah appears via a video link, during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah fighters who were killed in South Lebanon last few weeks while fighting against the Israeli forces, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. Nasrallah's speech had been widely anticipated throughout the region as a sign of whether the Israel-Hamas conflict would spiral into a regional war. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Border strikes fuel Hezbollah-Israel tensions as Gaza incursion deepens

The Shiite militant group Hezbollah threatened Israel on Monday with a "firm and strong" response and said the Jewish state "will pay the price" after an Israeli airstrike reportedly killed three children in Lebanon, stoking fears of a two-front war that could plunge the Middle East into chaos.

November 6, 2023
A woman holds a banner with a picture of an Israeli kidnapped during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel during a protest calling for the return of the hostages, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

U.S. drones flying over Gaza, aiding hostage recovery efforts

Unarmed U.S. drones are flying over the Gaza Strip to help recover hostages, the Pentagon said Friday, as Israel, America and other nations race to secure the release of the more than 200 prisoners believed to be held by Hamas terrorists.

November 3, 2023
Israeli soldiers move towards the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel Wednesday, Nov.1, 2023. Israeli ground forces have been operating in Gaza in recent days as Israel presses ahead with its war against Hamas militants. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

‘One fight’: White House links Russia, Hamas, China as it pushes $106 billion funding bill

The threats posed by China, Russia, Iran and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are all part of "one fight" that the U.S. and its allies must win, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers Tuesday as the Biden administration mounted a full-court press to push through Congress a comprehensive $106 billion aid package that would reach all corners of the globe.

October 31, 2023
Secretary of State Antony Blinken pauses as his testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee to aid to Israel and Ukraine is overwhelmed by shouts from protesters in the audience, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Protesters’ outbursts shake Senate hearing on Israel funding

Demonstrators repeatedly disrupted a high-profile Senate hearing Tuesday and called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, accusing the U.S. of "funding genocide" in the Palestinian enclave as Israel responds to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

October 31, 2023
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. Israeli officials were outraged Wednesday over U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' comment that the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel “did not happen in a vacuum,” calling it justification for terrorism. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Resentment brews over Israeli plans for Gaza; U.N. leader denies taking Hamas’ side

Animosity between Israel and other global players boiled over Wednesday as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "shocked" by allegations that he tried to justify Hamas' slaughter of civilians, while other prominent world leaders declared that the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group is a collection of freedom fighters, not a terrorist organization.

October 25, 2023
Palestinians look for survivors after an Israeli strike on the Zaroub family house in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct.24, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Israel faces backlash as it weighs campaign against Hamas

Israel faced a fierce backlash from its critics and public admonitions from its friends Tuesday as the strong global support for its military mission to crush Hamas splintered amid the rising civilian death toll and human suffering in the Gaza Strip.

October 24, 2023
Palestinians look for survivors of the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

‘Enough is enough’: Israel faces backlash as death toll in Gaza mounts

Israel faced fierce criticism Tuesday from the Arab world and public admonitions from European leaders about its war against the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas, as Palestinian casualties mount in the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem acknowledges that "strategic considerations" have forced a delay of its long-awaited ground invasion.

October 24, 2023
Mourners gather around the graves of Sgt. Yam Goldstein and her father, Nadav, during their funeral in Kibbutz Shefayim, Israel, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Yam and her father were killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 at their house in Kibbutz Kfar Azza near the border with the Gaza Strip. The rest of the family are believed to be held hostage in Gaza. More than 1,400 people were killed and some 200 captured in an unprecedented, multi-front attack by the militant group that rules Gaza. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel losing its window for ground attack on Gaza

Israel's window of opportunity to launch a decisive ground assault on Hamas Palestinian militants seemed to narrow Monday amid reports of growing impatience in Jerusalem over the long-awaited offensive, while the Biden administration privately advised Israel that waiting a bit longer could result in the safe return of more hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

October 23, 2023