Lebanon - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Lebanon

Lebanon

July 4, 2026

Beirut 5:08 am

23°C

Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Israeli officials believe the US failure to attain the kind of agreement with Iran that it originally sought stems from the strategic mistakes made during and after the recent war.

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

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

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

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal speaks during a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (not pictured) in Riyadh November 4, 2013. Kerry on Monday played down any rift with Saudi Arabia, saying relations between the two countries were strategic and enduring and that both agreed negotiations were the only way to stop Syria's civil war. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14ZTC

Israel's silent partner?

There may be common interests shared by Jerusalem and Riyadh, but there is no "alliance" on the horizon.

Islamist fighters demonstrate with their weapons during their graduation ceremony at a camp in eastern al-Ghouta, near Damascus November 28, 2013. The newly graduated fighters, who went through military training, will operate under the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham brigade. Picture taken November 28. REUTERS/Diaa Al-Din (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTX15XCO

Syrian events continue to develop in Geneva, Ghouta

Though the battles taking place in both places take different forms, the events going on in Ghouta and Geneva will bear significantly on the near future of the conflict.

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman (L) and Defence Minister Fayez Ghosn arrive to attend a military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Lebanon's independence in downtown Beirut November 22, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX15OFG

Suleiman: Parliament should not boycott presidential election

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman criticized Hezbollah for going to fight in Syria and called for fixing some of the constitution’s flaws.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Beirut's suburbs November 14, 2013. Ashura, which falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammad, who was killed in the 7th century battle of Kerbala. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan
(LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTX15CVK

Hezbollah escalates rhetoric against Riyadh

While Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia have been at odds for months over their opposing positions in the Syrian war, Hezbollah has recently escalated its rhetoric, directly accusing Riyadh of waging open warfare against the party.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a joint news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, December 5, 2013. Kerry said on Thursday that some progress had been made in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and that he had presented Israel with ideas for improving its security under any future accord. REUTERS/Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX164LE

Netanyahu worries about US reset in region

If Iran is no longer a diplomatic taboo, could Hamas and Hezbollah be next for Washington?

U.S. President Barack Obama listens during his meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman (not pictured) at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 24, 2013.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13XUK

Is US letting down allies in Lebanon with Iran deal?

There is a growing belief among traditional US allies in Lebanon that the recent Iranian nuclear deal will be at their expense.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela (R) and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (L) take leave of one another after holding a meeting on the crisis in the Middle East May 3, 2001. Arafat is in south Africa to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting on Palestine, and also to inform President Thabo Mbeki about developments on the Middle East.

JN/WS - RTRHQJQ

Mandela's legacy shines on

Late South African leader Nelson Mandela will always remain a powerful symbol of liberation and triumph for the countries of the Arab Spring and others.

People clean the streets as the Lebanese army deploys on the streets of the Sunni Muslim Bab al-Tebbaneh neighbourhood in Tripoli, northern Lebanon December 4, 2013. The Lebanese government has told the army to take over security in the restive coastal city of Tripoli for six months, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday. Ten people were killed in weekend clashes between Tripoli's Alawite minority, which supports Syria's Alawite President Bashar al-Assad, and majority Sunni Muslims who back h

Regional violence threatens Lebanon's fragile stability

As suicide attacks and explosions increase in Beirut, Lebanon is being inexorably drawn deeper into the Syrian conflict.

Torn posters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi are seen on a wall at Tahrir Square in Cairo September 26, 2013. On Thursday, the groundwork for the construction of a garden was begun at the square. The poster reads, "To be on trial... No reconciliation without justice, no justice without retribution, no punishment without trial". REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX140EG

National reconciliation in Egypt still in doubt

As the political conflict escalates in Egypt, some are calling for a national reconciliation, yet many obstacles stand in the way.

Lebanon's Hezbollah members and relatives carry the coffin of commander Hassan al-Laqqis during his funeral in Baalbeck, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley December 4, 2013. Al-Laqqis, a Hezbollah commander who fought in Syria's civil war was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday in an attack which the militant Shi'ite group blamed on Israel. Israel denied any role in the killing of Hassan al-Laqqis, who was shot from close range by a silenced gun as he arrived home at around midnight in the Hadath dist

Laqis assassination reveals crack in Hezbollah’s ‘security fortress’

The Dec. 4 assassination of a leading Hezbollah figure in Beirut occurred when the organization was in a state of heightened vigilance.

Lebanon's Hezbollah boy scouts carry a picture of Hezbollah commander Hassan al-Laqqis during his funeral in Baalbeck, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley December 4, 2013. Al-Laqqis, a Hezbollah commander who fought in Syria's civil war was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday in an attack which the militant Shi'ite group blamed on Israel. Israel denied any role in the killing of Hassan al-Laqqis, who was shot from close range by a silenced gun as he arrived home at around midnight in the Hadath distri

Assassinated Hezbollah leader key to technology, drone operations

A source said Hassan al-Laqis was one of Imad Mughniyeh’s “smart students.”

Members of the Somali parliament vote by a show of hands in Mogadishu December 2, 2013. Somalia's parliament voted on Monday to sack Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, the speaker of parliament said, after a row with the president that has paralysed the state and threatened a shaky recovery from war. The prime minister, who was appointed last year, fell out with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud over what legislators said was a dispute over the composition of a new cabinet, prompting Monday's no confidence v

Somalia's democracy a pleasant surprise

The Arab League and the African Union should support the nascent democratic transition in Somalia.