Karen DeYoung

Washington, D.C.

Associate editor and senior national security correspondent

Education: University of Florida, BS in journalism, 1971

Karen DeYoung is associate editor and senior national security correspondent for The Washington Post. In more than three decades at the paper, she has served as bureau chief in Latin America and London and as correspondent covering the White House, U.S. foreign policy and the intelligence community. She has been assistant managing editor for national news, national editor and foreign editor. She has won numerous awards for national and international reporting and is the author of “Soldier,” a biography of Colin Powell.
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Latest from Karen DeYoung

U.S. demands IDF change West Bank operations after American’s killing

Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments were the strongest yet from a U.S. official after the Israeli military said it was “highly likely” it “unintentionally” killed Aysenur Eygi.

September 10, 2024

Hostage killings and irreconcilable demands complicate cease-fire talks

Frustrated mediators are now putting together what they have described as a “final offer,” but significant concessions on both sides are needed for agreement, said a U.S. official.

September 4, 2024
Supporters and families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza protest in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. (Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

WHO says Gaza polio vaccine campaign to begin Sunday

Israel, health officials said, has agreed to “humanitarian pauses” to allow more than 600,000 children to be vaccinated amid an outbreak of the disease.

August 29, 2024
Abdel-Rahman Abu al-Jedian, a Palestinian boy who contracted polio, sleeps surrounded by family members in their tent in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Israel agrees to brief pause in Gaza for polio vaccinations, U.S. official says

Word of the planned campaign came as the World Food Program said it suspended movement of its staff in Gaza after a clearly marked WFP vehicle came under fire.

August 28, 2024
Abdel-Rahman Abu al-Jedian, a displaced Palestinian boy who contracted polio last month, sleeps surrounded by family members in their tent in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

U.S. debates support for Ukraine’s surprise offensive into Russia

Caught unaware by Ukraine’s military incursion into Russia, the Biden administration is debating whether to help Kyiv’s forces hold the sliver of territory they now occupy.

August 23, 2024
A Ukrainian serviceman walks Wednesday near damaged buildings in Sudzha, a city in Ukraine-controlled territory in Russia's Kursk region.

Iran signals promised strike on Israel may not be imminent

Iran said a response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh “must be carefully calibrated” to avoid hurting prospects of a Gaza cease-fire.

August 21, 2024
Iranians drive past an anti-Israeli billboard in Valiasr Square in Tehran on Monday.

Biden’s Gaza cease-fire plan teeters on brink ahead of high-stakes talks

Looming over the negotiations are threats by Iran and Hezbollah to strike back against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

August 14, 2024
A convoy of Israeli military vehicles moves along the Gaza border to deliver supplies to troops inside the enclave on July 27.

U.S. plans to sell $20 billion in weapons to Israel over several years

The Biden administration approved a deal to sell F-15s, air-to-air missiles and munitions, but much of it won’t arrive in Israel until 2026 at the earliest.

August 13, 2024
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on July 25. The Biden administration announced a $20 billion weapons sale to Israel on Tuesday.

Amid Venezuela tumult, U.S. wants Latin American countries to lead in finding a solution

The Biden administration has preferred to let leaders of Colombia, Brazil and Mexico take the lead pressuring the Maduro government, but a more active U.S. role may be inevitable.

August 10, 2024
A vigil in Caracas on Thursday called by the opposition in Venezuela demands freedom for political prisoners arrested during protests following the contested reelection of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

U.S. restarts offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia after lengthy ban

The sale to Saudi Arabia of certain U.S. weapons was frozen in 2021 to signal the Biden administration’s disapproval of the Saudi war with Yemen’s Houthis.

August 9, 2024
American and Saudi Arabian flags fly in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before a 2022 visit by President Joe Biden.