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

Lebanon

Lebanon

July 5, 2026

Beirut 3:48 pm

28°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

Lebanese Shi'ite politician Ahmad al-Assaad, head of the Lebanese Option group, speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Hazmiyeh, near Beirut, May 5, 2009. Picture taken May 5, 2009. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam (LEBANON POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTXES0U

Lebanese Shiites' Divisions Intensify Over Syria

The murder of a student leader of an anti-Hezbollah Shiite group has served as a reminder of historical and shifting divisions within Lebanon’s Shiite community.

Sunni Muslim Salafist leader Ahmad al-Assir (2nd L) and other Sheikhs take part in a sit-in in Sidon, southern Lebanon, against the killing on Sunday of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahid, a Sunni Muslim cleric, and Muhammed Hussein Miraib, both members of the Lebanon-based March 14 political alliance, May 21, 2012. Lebanese soldiers shot dead two members of an alliance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in northern Lebanon on Sunday, security sources said, in the latest incident to raise fears Syria's turmoil

Lebanon's Assir Gone, But Problems Remain

While the Lebanese army has successfully booted Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir from the city of Sidon, the popular divide that allowed for his movement's growth persists.

A Sunni Muslim gunman fires his weapon expressing his support with Salafist leader Ahmad al-Assir in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, June 23, 2013. At least three Lebanese soldiers were killed in the coastal city of Sidon on Sunday in clashes with followers of a Sunni Islamist cleric who is a fierce critic of Hezbollah's military intervention in neighbouring Syria, a security official said. Sources in the city said the fighting broke out when a follower of Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir was arrested at an army roadblock

No Secret Deal Behind Assir’s Escape

Although many think that a secret escape deal was struck between Ahmad al-Assir and the Lebanese army, logic suggests that this is not the case.

A Lebanese army soldier stands atop of an armoured personnel carrier (APC) as he patrols the area near the mosque complex where hardline Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir was believed to be sheltering with his supporters, in Abra near Sidon, southern Lebanon June 25, 2013. The Lebanese government will try on Tuesday to secure the country after the deadliest violence since the start of a two-year conflict in neighbouring Syria that has pushed Lebanon's myriad militia to clashes. Gunfights between the army a

Lebanon Threatened by Civil War

In the tense few days following the clashes between followers of Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir and the Lebanese army, many are wondering what the implications for the stability of the country will be.

People walk past a defaced poster of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie with Arabic text which reads "Together to down brotherhood's power" near Tahrir Square in Cairo June 23, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10Y1J

Egyptians Resist 'Brotherhoodization'

The policy of Brotherhoodization of Egypt and the resistance to it.

Lebanese army soldiers arrest supporters of hardline Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir in Abra near Sidon, southern Lebanon, June 24, 2013. Lebanese soldiers stormed a complex holding gunmen loyal to a radical Islamist cleric in the city of Sidon on Monday and arrested dozens of his supporters, security sources said, in a second day of clashes fuelled by neighbouring Syria's civil war. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10ZBT

Palestinians Refuse Assir's Call To Join Battle in Sidon

Hamas is staying out of Lebanon’s sectarian conflict.

Lebanese army soldiers point their weapons during clashes with gunmen of hardline Sunni Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir, in Abra near Sidon, southern Lebanon, June 24, 2013. Lebanese soldiers fought Sunni Muslim gunmen in the southern city of Sidon on Monday in one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence fuelled by sectarian divisions over the civil war in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTX10YUO

Sheikh Al-Assir's Militants Kill Lebanese Soldiers in Sidon

After supporters of Sunni Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir killed Lebanese soldiers in Sidon, Lebanon seemed on the edge of open conflict.

A girl holds a white flag to show that civilians are in the car, during clashes between Lebanese army soldiers and gunmen of hardline Sunni Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir, in Abra near Sidon, southern Lebanon, June 24, 2013. Lebanese soldiers fought Sunni Muslim gunmen in the southern city of Sidon on Monday in one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence fuelled by sectarian divisions over the civil war in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTX10Y

Lebanese Expert: Constitutional Council Must Be Restructured

Speaking to Al-Monitor, Mahfouz Skina, a former adviser to Lebanon’s State Council, comments on the country’s political crisis and says the Constitutional Council must be restructured.

Colonel Abdul-Jabbar al-Aqidi, commander of the rebels’ Military Council in Aleppo, launches a mortar shell at the frontline in the Al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, June 21, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10WGT

Geneva II: A Chance to End Syria’s Tragedy

There is hope that the Geneva II conference can help stem Syria's bloodshed.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during their meeting at the G8 Summit at Lough Erne in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland June 17, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (NORTHERN IRELAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10R95

Conditions for Takeoff for Geneva II

Russia and the United States must reach an understanding to set Geneva II up for success.

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman (2nd R), accompanied by Lebanese army commander General Jean Kahwaji (2nd L), inspects the site of the army checkpoint where three Lebanese soldiers were killed on Tuesday near the town of Arsal, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, May 29, 2013. Gunmen killed three Lebanese soldiers at an army checkpoint in the eastern Bekaa Valley on Tuesday before fleeing towards the Syrian border, Lebanese officials said. Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNRES

Lebanon Headed Toward Crisis, Full-Blown Sectarian Violence

Lebanon’s government crisis as well as repercussions of the war in neighboring Syria are threatening to drag the country into a crisis of major proportions.

Hezbollah Keen on Hamas Alliance Despite Criticism

Hezbollah seeks to repair ties with Hamas which have been strained over Syria.