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

Lebanon

Lebanon

August 23, 2025

Beirut 5:46 pm

31°C

Lebanese army soldiers are stationed at the Burj al-Barajneh camp for Palestinian refugees in Beirut's southern suburbs on Aug. 21, 2025, as armed Palestinian groups in the refugee camps start handing over their weapons.

Lebanon begins disarming Palestinian factions after refugee camp hands over weapons

Lebanese and Palestinian officials confirmed that the first phase of the disarmament process of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon has begun.

Jordanian King Abdullah II receives Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Amman on Aug. 19, 2025.

Lebanon PM in Jordan as Beirut pushes Hezbollah disarmament, Iran’s influence wanes

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam headed to Jordan following a similar visit by President Joseph Aoun two months ago, as the two countries seek deeper ties.

RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon's PM slams Hezbollah chief for making 'threat of civil war'

Tensions are rising as Lebanon’s government, under pressure from the US, moves forward with a plan to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, in Baabda, east of Beirut, July 7, 2025.

Analysis

Lebanon key to Trump plan for turnaround in Middle East

The final "This Week" column reflects on US policy toward Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Gaza.

Andrew Parasiliti

By Andrew Parasiliti

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

Latest News

Iran’s Larijani in Lebanon as Beirut, Tehran spar over Hezbollah disarmament

Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani (C) speaks to reporters after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker in Beirut on Aug. 13, 2025.

Iran security chief visits Iraq, Lebanon as Baghdad weighs pro-Iran militia law

Sudani and Larijani

Lebanon cabinet backs Hezbollah disarmament as US urges year-end deadline

Hezbollah supporters wave the yellow flag of the Lebanese militant group during a parade on motorbikes while people returned to the area to check their homes in Beirut's southern suburbs on Nov. 27, 2024, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.

Lebanon tasks army with plan to control weapons as Hezbollah rejects disarmament

Lebanese demonstrators march during a gathering to honour the victims of the catastrophic port explosion in 2020 and to call for accountability for the blast, in Beirut on August 4, 2025. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on August 4, vowed justice and accountability five years after a catastrophic explosion at Beirut's port, as the investigating judge finished questioning defendants, a judicial official said. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/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

Senior News Editor

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional geopolitics, China in the Middle East

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

Israeli security forces leave in a helicopter near a site where a reported strike from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-annexed Golan area on July 27, 2024. Israel's emergency medical service Magen David Adom said at least nine people were killed and 34 wounded including 17 in critical condition, after a rocket fired from Lebanon had hit the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon braces for Israeli response to Hezbollah as US urges restraint

A state of panic has spread across Lebanon, fearing a harsh blow from Israel after the Majdal Shams attack. Saudi Arabia, France, Norway and Sweden have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible and Hezbollah, bracing for an imminent attack by Israel, has already evacuated some key sites.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

In Ashura speech, Hezbollah chief warns Israel against invading Lebanon

This year, the Shiite holiday comes as the region is boiling amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Jibbain, July 11, 2024.

Israel fires at Lebanese army in south, strikes southern Syria

An escalation in northern Israel and southern Lebanon has raised fears of an all-out war amid warnings that such a conflict could expand to the rest of the region.

BERLIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 15: Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib speaks to the media following talks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on December 15, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The two diplomats discussed mutual measures to prevent the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict from expanding to other regions, among other issues. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Interview

Lebanon FM warns of 'devastating’ regional war if Israel escalates campaign against Hezbollah

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Lebanon's top diplomat, Abdallah Bou Habib, adds that security in the south ultimately depends on a strong Lebanese army and an agreement on the border – not war.

Abdallah Bou Habib

Abdallah Bou Habib

Lebanon Foreign Minister

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Hezbollah drones critically wound one in Israel

The risk of war is growing by the day as Israel and Hezbollah escalate their attacks.

A flag bearing portraits of (L-R) slain Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Hezbollah military leader Imad Moghniyeh, and Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, flutters after a raising ceremony by Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters and members on a hill facing the Israeli northern town of Metula by the border with Lebanon, on January 3, 2021, to mark the first anniversary of the killing of Soleimani and al-Muhandis in a US drone strike. (Photo by Ali DIA / AFP) (Photo by ALI DIA/AFP via Get

Hezbollah airs drone footage of Israeli military sites in Golan Heights

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated in recent weeks, including with the Israeli killing of one of the Iran-backed group’s commanders.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah meets with Hamas deputy leader Khalil al-Hayya in Lebanon, July 5, 2024.

Hezbollah, Hamas delegations meet in Beirut as Gaza cease-fire talks resume

Hezbollah hosted a Hamas delegation in Beirut as Gaza cease-fire talks reconvened in Qatar.

Smoke rises after a strike near a military base in northern Israel by a rocket fired by Hezbollah, July 4, 2024.

More than 200 rockets from Lebanon's Hezbollah rain down on Israel

The escalation comes as Iranian proxies express readiness to join the fighting if war breaks out in Lebanon.

A portrait of Musa al-Sadr sits amid the rubble of a destroyed building in the heavily damaged, Hezbollah stronghold town of Aita al Chaab on June 29, 2024 in Aita al Chaab, Lebanon. Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been trading cross-border fire since the October 7 attacks, with the conflict escalating in May when the group launched a missile-carrying drone against Israel for the first time. The conflict intensified in June when Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israeli m

US, Iran guarantors of shaky deterrence between Israel and Hezbollah

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is not ready to go to the mattresses over the killing of another senior commander on Wednesday, and Iran doesn't want a war while it favors the threat of confrontation as a deterrent.

US Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein (R) arrives at the government palace for his meeting with Lebanon's caretaker prime minister in Beirut on August 30 2023. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

US scrambles to avert Israel-Hezbollah war, with or without Gaza cease-fire

The Biden administration is searching for a diplomatic deal to prevent a disastrous war between the longtime foes.

RMAICH, LEBANON - JUNE 30: Smoke rises behind buildings from an Israeli strike against a Hezbollah target on the town of Aita al Chaab on June 30, 2024 in Rmaich, Lebanon. Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been trading cross-border fire since the October 7 attacks, with the conflict escalating in May when the group launched a missile-carrying drone against Israel for the first time. The conflict intensified in June when Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israeli military sit

Israel kills senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon amid fears of all-out war

Hezbollah’s news outlet Al-Manar reports that commander Mohammad Nehmeh Nasser has been killed.

Saudis organize medical aid to be loaded into a plane as Saudi Arabia begins sending field hospitals and medical aid to Lebanon.

After Qatar's $20M aid to army, Saudi relief agency grants $10M to Lebanon

Saudi Arabia is opening up to Lebanon following years of tensions over Hezbollah’s growing influence in the country.