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Lebanon

July 3, 2026

Beirut 1:59 pm

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The court stands at the start of the first hearing at the International Court of Justice in which Myanmar is accused of committing genocide against the country's Muslim minority, the Rohingya, in the Hague on January 12, 2026. The Gambia filed the genocide case in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2019. Myanmar's military deliberately targeted the Rohingya minority in a bid to destroy the community, Gambia's Justice Minister Dawda Jallow told the International Court of Justice Mond

Explainer

Does provision 13 of Lebanon-Israel deal bar Beirut from pursuing war crimes claims?

Part of the Israeli-Lebanese agreement has led to calls for Beirut to grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction in Lebanon or sign the Rome Treaty to allow prosecutions.

Nawaf Salam and Asaad al-Shibani shake hands in Beirut on July 2, 2026.

Syria, Lebanon stress noninterference as Damascus mulls Hezbollah talks

When asked whether Damascus would be willing to meet with Hezbollah in the future, Syria’s foreign minister indicated that it would not rule out such a meeting.

An activist takes part in a demonstration against sexual harassment, rape and domestic violence in the Lebanese capital Beirut on December 7, 2019. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Lebanon arrests man after video of public assault on wife goes viral

The man seen violently beating a woman at a restaurant has been arrested, but the incident has reignited debate over domestic violence amid warnings that such abuse can increase during periods of war.

Latest News

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

CENTCOM chief in Lebanon as Israel prepares partial withdrawal steps

CENTCOM

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Rodayna Raydan

In Boqaata, reporting on culture

The mother (C) of Lebanese soldier Abbas Medlej, who was beheaded by Islamic State militants in Arsal, mourns during his funeral in his hometown in Ansar, south Baalbak September 7, 2014. Islamic State militants have beheaded the captive Lebanese soldier, images published on social media showed on Saturday, the second Lebanese soldier to be killed in captivity by the group since it raided a Lebanese border town last month. REUTERS/Ahmad Shalha (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST OBITUARY) - RTR458II

IS beheading of Shiite soldier threatens Lebanon's stability

The latest killing by the Islamic State raises worries that Shiite families and clans might retaliate against the Syrian refugee camps in the Bekaa, where many IS supporters are suspected to be present.

A father of a Lebanese soldier captured by hardline Syrian Islamists, reacts next to a hearse carrying the coffin of another soldier Ali al-Sayyed, who was beheaded by Islamic State militants in Arsal, during his funeral in Qalamoun, in Akkar September 3, 2014. Islamic State militants beheaded al-Sayyed, one of 19 Lebanese soldiers captured by hardline Syrian Islamists when they seized the Lebanese border town for a few days last month, a video posted on social media showed on Saturday. REUTERS/Omar Ibrah

Hezbollah prepares to fight IS in Lebanon

The Islamic State and other extremists groups are proliferating along Lebanon's border with Syria.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C) heads a meeting of his new cabinet in Damascus August 31, 2014 in this picture released by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTE

What's different in Damascus?

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has made changes in the economic and services ministries of the new government in a bid to overcome economic challenges and gather support by addressing charges of corruption.

Former prime minister Saad al-Hariri (R) speaks during a meeting with the members of the "14 March Alliance" as former President Amin Gemayel (2nd R) and Samir Geagea (2nd L), leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces listen in Beirut August 8, 2014. Al-Hariri returned to Lebanon on Friday for the first time in three years, on a visit seen as reasserting a moderate influence over the Sunni community following a deadly incursion by Islamist militants. REUTERS/Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters (LEBANON - Tags: P

Hariri’s visit sign of Iranian-Saudi rapprochement

Saad Hariri's return to Lebanon coincided with a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and appears to be part of Riyadh's plan to invest in fighting terrorism and promoting moderate Islam.

General view of Lebanon's Roumieh Central Prison overlooking Beirut, where riots erupted on April 7 and continue today April 8. A prison warden and three inmates were slightly wounded in the revolt by prisoners demanding better conditions at Lebanon's largest jail which holds 3,000 inmates. - RTXIFDY

Lebanon's main prison a hotbed for terrorists

Roumieh Prison holds a variety of detainees, including terrorists and radical Islamists who pose a challenge to security in the lockup and in the country.

Lebanon's senior Hezbollah official Sheikh Nabil Qawouq leads the payers around the coffin of Ibrahim al-Haj, a Hezbollah commander who died during a mission in Iraq, during his funeral in Mashghara village in the Bekaa Valley July 30, 2014. A Hezbollah commander has died during a mission in Iraq, sources familiar with the incident said on Wednesday, indicating the Lebanese group that is already fighting in Syria's civil war may be involved in a second conflict in the region. Four sources in Lebanon named t

Hezbollah calls for resistance against IS

Hezbollah sources told Al-Monitor that the Islamic State’s attack on Arsal was only the beginning of another series of attacks in parts of Lebanon.

A Christian woman carries a cross during a demonstration against militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Arbil, north of Baghdad July 24, 2014. Hundreds of Iraqi Christians marched to the United Nations office in Arbil city on Thursday calling for help for families who fled in the face of threats by Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR400H7

Erbil Christians torn between arming themselves or leaving

Kurdish officials in Erbil met with a Lebanese delegation headed by Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and discussed the possibility of establishing a Christian armed brigade to fight the Islamic State in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Nizar al-Khairallah (R) greets Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil (L) at the Baghdad airport in Baghdad, August 18, 2014. REUTERS/Ali Abbas/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR42T21

Baghdad welcomes Lebanese, but they don't see eye to eye

The Lebanese delegation to Baghdad offers diplomatic help to confront the Islamic State (IS), but it seems both parties have different priorities.

People are seen leaving Lebanon's Central Bank in Beirut July 7, 2011. Lebanese banks which worked for years to build up business in neighbouring Syria have been quietly implementing U.S. and European Union sanctions against Damascus to avoid jeopardising their international operations, bankers and economists say. Picture taken July 7, 2011. To match Feature LEBANON-SYRIA/BANKS REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2XHQQ

Lebanese banks concerned over Hezbollah sanctions bill

Lebanese banks are worried that a US bill aiming to increase sanctions on Hezbollah will weaken confidence in the banking sector.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam (L) shakes hands with former Lebanese prime minister Saad al-Hariri upon his arrival at the government's headquarters in Beirut August 8, 2014. Hariri arrived back in Lebanon on Friday for the first time in three years, a visit seen as reasserting his leadership over the Sunni community after a deadly incursion by Islamist militants in the northeast. REUTERS/Georges Farah (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR41O2O

Could Maliki's departure spur Lebanon’s presidential election?

Many Lebanese are looking for signs that the departure of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Iraq will lead to progress in Lebanon's presidential race, but diplomatic sources are quick to downplay any such hopes.

The Armenian St. Kevork Church (Saint George) is seen in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on October 30, 2012, after it was burnt during fighting between rebel fighters and Syrian government forces. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Aleppo's Christians in Syrian crossfire

Christians in Aleppo fear an uncertain fate; Iran’s decisive role in the appointment of Haider al-Abadi as Iraqi prime minister-designate; battle for Arsal may not be over yet; Netanyahu is Israel’s "weakest prime minister" ever; lobbying profiles of Gulf countries to be released.

Syrian refugees, fleeing the recent fighting in Arsal, wait with their belongings in Majdel Anjar in the Bekaa valley, near the Lebanese border with Syria August 8, 2014. The refugees, who had sought shelter in Arsal, were attempting to head back to Syria; however, they say Syrian authorities at the border rejected them until further investigation to verify their identities and statuses. REUTERS/Hassan Abdallah (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR41Q6X

Arsal battle brings Syrian refugee issue to the fore in Lebanon

Since the Arsal battle, Lebanon has been taking a new look at its Syrian refugee crisis, which it has been struggling with for years.