Edmund Heaphy

Deputy Foreign Editor in Tel Aviv

Edmund Heaphy is Deputy Foreign Editor of RTÉ News. He previously worked with RTÉ Investigates and Prime Time. He has reported extensively from the Middle East on the conflict in Gaza and the 7 October attacks.

US President Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament

Trump declares peace - but reality is not that simple

Israel's parliament erupted with roaring ovations for Donald Trump and his Gaza peace deal. RTÉ's Deputy Foreign Editor Edmund Heaphy, who is in Tel Aviv, looks at the validity of the US President's claim that peace has been achieved.

Analysis and Comment • 14 Oct

Crowds and vehicles fill a coastal road as displaced Palestinians travel north in the Gaza Strip

Can Trump focus long enough to enforce end to Gaza war?

Donald Trump has declared an end to the war in Gaza. The question is whether he can stay focused long enough to enforce it, writes our Deputy Foreign Editor in Tel Aviv.

Middle East • 13 Oct

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 03: Survivor Chauntae Davies (R) embraces survivor Anouska De Georgiou during a news conference with alleged victims of disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein outside the U.S. Capitol on September 03, 2025 in Was

Epstein survivors call for release of files and records

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have urged US lawmakers to back a bill that would force the release of records on the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.

US • 03 Sep

GAZA CITY, GAZA - JULY 03: A child watches as dense smoke billows from the Al-Shati refugee camp following an Israeli army attack, showing the aftermath of the strike in Gaza City, Gaza, on July 03, 2025. (Photo by Abdalhkem Abu Riash/Anadolu via Getty Im

EU may back national trade bans with Israeli settlements

The EU is considering giving its backing to member states that wish to block imports from illegal Israeli settlements at a national level, under measures set to be considered by the bloc next week.

Middle East • 11 Jul

Donald Trump has deployed virtually every lever of governmental power against the press

Why press freedom is crumbling in Trump's America

The First Amendment, once the US's 'best protection for journalism', appears to be cracking under the weight of Donald Trump's second term, writes Edmund Heaphy.

Analysis and Comment • 20 Apr

An 'extraordinary' post and the big initial questions

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has already described it as "one of the most extraordinary Truth posts of his Presidency".

Analysis and Comment • 10 Apr

Nothing is 'reciprocal' about Donald Trump's tariffs

With the weighted average EU tariff on US goods around 3%, Donald Trump's 20% is neither kind, nor reciprocal, writes Edmund Heaphy.

Analysis and Comment • 03 Apr

Critics believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is increasingly motivated by his own political survival

Is Netanyahu waging war in Gaza to hold onto power?

For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the evidence increasingly suggests the war in Gaza is more about political survival than military strategy, writes Deputy Foreign Editor Edmund Heaphy.

World • 22 Mar

Donald Trump pictured with Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2020

If the Gaza ceasefire lasts, it will be because of Trump

While attention is naturally focused on events in the Middle East, the key to the Gaza ceasefire's survival almost certainly still lies in Washington, writes Deputy Foreign Editor Edmund Heaphy.

Analysis and Comment • 03 Feb

Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2020

If the Gaza ceasefire lasts, it will be because of Trump

While attention is naturally focused on events in the Middle East, the key to the Gaza ceasefire's survival almost certainly still lies in Washington, writes Deputy Foreign Editor Edmund Heaphy.

World • 03 Feb