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Lebanon

Lebanon

October 23, 2026

Beirut 4:45 pm

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tunnel

Lebanon uncovers new tunnel amid tensions with Hezbollah: What to know

A tunnel was discovered near Beirut as tensions between Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah have been running high over the seizure of weapons shipments destined for the Iran-backed group.

Israeli troops stand guard on the dividing line between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syrian, near Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025.

Analysis

'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma

The Israeli leader revealed that he spoke with the Syrian president last year, but stalled talks and Israel's fortification of a security zone on Syrian land underscore his mistrust of Sharaa.

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

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

Qatar PM in Beirut as Lebanon seeks economic relief: What to know

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani’s visit to Beirut coincides with the Lebanese authorities’ ongoing efforts to curb Hezbollah’s influence in the country.

Mihrac Ural, who was also known as Ali Kayali, was arrested

Explainer

Syria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by Turkey

The Turkey-born militia chief and a longtime ally of the Assad-regime, was sought by Ankara over the deadly Reyhanli bombings and by Damascus over his alleged role in massacres on the Mediterranean coast.

Latest News

Syria denies meeting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah in Turkey: What to know

Lebanon seeks Turkey’s help to join Syria-Saudi rail link: What to know

A picture taken on May 1, 2019 shows a railroad of Mar Mikhael neighborhood in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Lebanon PM meets Rubio as Israel talks stall: What to know

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon's PM calls for international force to replace UNIFIL: What to know

Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

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

Palestinian Fatah members march during a parade at Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp, southern Lebanon, to mark the 46th anniversary of founding the Fateh movement, December 31, 2010. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: ANNIVERSARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTXW41O

Palestinian factions maintain fragile stability in Sidon camp

Although Salafist fugitives have found refuge in Ain al-Hilweh, competing Palestinian factions appear intent on maintaining stability in the refugee camp.

Palestinian women walk in an alley in Shatila refugee camp near Beirut May 23, 2007. The Lebanese army is trying to crush Fatah al-Islam, a militant group led by a Palestinian but with little or no support among Lebanon's Palestinian refugee population of 400,000. Dozens of people have died in three days of fighting. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON) - RTR1Q072

Florence Massena on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Florence Massena shares her thoughts on journalism.

A woman looks on as she sits amongst displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, who fled violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, who are sleeping on the ground at Bajed Kadal refugee camp, southwest of Dohuk province August 23, 2014. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR43FCQ

Maya Gebeily on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Maya Gebeily shares her thoughts on journalism.

Arab artists depict violence in their paintings

Many Arab artists — Lebanese, Syrian and Iraqi — have been inserting terrorism and violence into their paintings, to show the world the suffering of the Arab peoples.

Lebanese news photographers work during a protest against the forced closure of media institutions on Friday by Hezbollah gunmen and its allies in Beirut May 10, 2008. The Shi'ite movement Hezbollah tightened its control of the Lebanese capital on Saturday in a show of force after it routed gunmen loyal to the western-backed government. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON) - RTX5JNR

Mona Alami on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Mona Alami shares her thoughts on journalism.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry listens during the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism at the State Department in Washington February 19, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW RELIGION CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4QA6N

Why Lebanon skipped anti-terror meeting in Washington

Lebanon decided not to attend the international summit on counterterrorism in Washington when certain Lebanese parties, such as Hezbollah, balked at cooperating with Israel, among other issues.

Rebel fighters gather near the front line in Ratain village, north of Aleppo February 17, 2015. The Syrian army backed by allied militia have captured several villages near Aleppo in battles aimed at encircling the northern city and cutting off insurgent supply lines, a monitoring group said on Tuesday. The army also took villages including Bashkuwi and Sifat, while fighting raged in Hardatain and Ratain, said the Observatory, which tracks the Syrian conflict using sources on the ground. It added that at le

Syrian regime, allies lose decisive battles in Aleppo

The regime and its allies have suffered heavy losses in an offensive against the opposition’s largest stronghold in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

A man works in a field of cannabis at Hermel, Bekaa July 31, 2013. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ranked Lebanon in 2011 as one of the world's top five sources of cannabis resin. In recent years, security forces have sent tractors, bulldozers and armoured vehicles to plough up, flatten or burn the cannabis crops, leading to clashes with farmers armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. Dramatic as they were, those shows of force by authorities achieved only partial success in a

Drug use creeps up in Lebanese schools

Despite warnings circulating online about a new drug quickly spreading in Lebanese schools, experts say that while the issue deserves attention, drug abuse among students is not as widespread as the rumors suggest.

A general view shows Roumieh prison, in Roumieh January 12, 2015. Lebanese forces stormed the country's largest prison on Monday where Islamist militants are detained, security sources said, as authorities searched for those behind a double suicide attack at the weekend. Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk headed to Roumieh prison east of Beirut early on Monday and told Reuters the crackdown came after intelligence showed some of the inmates were connected to the bombings, which killed eight. REUTERS/Mohamed A

Lebanon holds IS at bay, for now

The failure of the Islamic State’s plan to control territory and create an emirate in Lebanon bodes well, says a Lebanese security official who claims that Lebanon has clamped down on the major three terrorist hotbeds in the country.

Men take down a picture of former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in the mainly Sunni Beirut neighbourhood of Tariq al-Jadideh February 5, 2015. Lebanon has begun removing political posters and party banners from neighbourhoods of the capital in a move to unify a country still divided from a civil war, following an agreement between the militant and political Hezbollah party and its rivals. Picture taken February 5, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR4OHK4

Hezbollah, Future Movement find 'delicate stability' for now

The dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement continues despite the limited results it has yielded so far.

A man holds a mock Qassam rocket during a rally organised by Lebanese and Palestinian supporters of the Islamist movement Hamas and the Islamic Group, Jamaa Islamiya in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza strip where Hamas is engaged in a major confrontation with the Israeli army on July 11, 2014 in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon. Two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike, raising the toll in four days of violence to 100, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. AFP PHOTO / MAH

Is Hamas planning a strike from Lebanon's refugee camps?

A senior Hamas leader's call to open new fronts against Israel from Lebanon was neither confirmed nor denied by the movement, raising questions about the possibility of forming cells on the ground.

The head of the northern Israeli command, Gadi Eisenkot, delivers a briefing to the press on August 3, 2010 in Kiryat Shmona along the tense border between Israel and Lebanon, following clashes between troops on both sides that left 3 Lebanese soldiers, a journalist and a a senior Israeli officer killed. AFP PHOTO/JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Bennett, Liberman battle for defense portfolio

The next Israeli defense minister, be it Moshe Ya'alon, Avigdor Liberman or Naftali Bennett, will have to cope, together with new IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, with a new reality in which Hezbollah targets Israel from the Syrian border.