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Lebanon

Lebanon

August 24, 2025

Beirut 8:30 am

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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

Supporters of the Lebanese Forces (LF) attend the funeral of Pascal Sleiman, a coordinator in the Byblos (Jbeil) area north of Beirut for the LF, in the northern city of Byblos on April 12, 2024. Sleiman was killed on April 8 in what the Lebanese army said was a carjacking by Syrian gang members, who took his body to Syria. (Photo by Ibrahim CHALHOUB / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM CHALHOUB/AFP via Getty Images)

Sectarian tension, anti-Syria sentiment haunts Lebanon as it buries Sleiman

Members of a Syrian gang have been accused of kidnapping and killing a Lebanese Forces official, prompting attacks against Syrians and raising concerns of sectarian escalation.

Pascal Sleiman, a Lebanese Forces official, kidnapped in Lebanon on April 7, 2024.

After kidnapping, senior Lebanese Forces official found dead in Syria

The abduction of a local official of the Christian Lebanese Forces party risked causing sectarian strife in Lebanon, which is already reeling under the consequences of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in the south.

Thurayya, 28, inspects her avocado trees in a village south of Beirut, on November 22, 2021.

Growing demand for Lebanon's avocados offers promising prospects for farmers

Lebanon's export of avocados has grown remarkably, achieving significant expansion through heightened exportation efforts that have embraced safety regulations like international standards and certification in farming, fertilizing and marketing.

RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images

Fresh Hezbollah-Israel escalation kills 8, raising fears of Lebanon open front

Wednesday’s escalation renewed fears that Lebanon could be dragged into a wider war with Israel as Gaza negotiations collapse.

Lebanon's Central Bank governor Riad Salameh gives an interview with AFP at his office in the capital, Beirut, on Dec. 20, 2021.

Switzerland reports violation by Lebanon’s Audi bank in Riad Salameh probe

The action by FINMA concerns connections around disgraced former Lebanese Central Bank governor Riad Salameh.

Lebanese protesters burn tyres during a demonstration called for by the banks depositors committee against monetary policies, on May 9, 2023.

Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt rank least happy countries in Middle East

The Middle East and North Africa are the two regions where “happiness has fallen at every age.”

Freed Lebanese prisoner Samir Kantar (L), wearing Hezbollah military fatigues, arrives with his freed comrades (back) and Wafiq Safa (R), Hezbollah coordinator for the prisoner swap with Israel, to the airport in Beirut on July 16, 2008. Five Lebanese prisoners freed by the Israeli authorities arrived in Lebanon today, hours after Hezbollah handed over the bodies of two Israeli soldiers seized by its guerrillas two years ago. Among those freed in a prisoner swap greeted with triumph in Lebanon but anguish i

What’s behind Hezbollah's Wafiq Safa rare UAE visit?

Wafiq Safa's visit is the first public trip by a Hezbollah official to the United Arab Emirates.

Firefighters douse a burning car after it was hit in an Israeli strike in Lebanon's southern area of Tyre on March 13, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli strike kills Hamas official in south Lebanon

As the border escalation between Hezbollah and Israel flares, another Hamas figure has been killed in an Israeli drone strike in south Lebanon.

AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon on edge: Hezbollah fires 100 rockets as Israel hits Baalbek

Israeli airstrikes pounded Lebanon’s northeast city of Baalbek after Hezbollah fired 100 rockets in Israel in the heaviest exchange of fire since October.

A picture taken from northern Israel, along the border with southern Lebanon on March 4, 2024, shows smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment on the Lebanese village of Markaba. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Lebanon, not Gaza, could trigger regional war as Israel-Hezbollah tension soars

Mediators believe a deal can't be reached on Hezbollah's withdrawal from the Lebanese border until an Israel-Hamas cease-fire.

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

US special envoy Amos Hochstein (C) arrives to a meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati, amid continuing tenions on the Lebanese-Israeli border, one month after the start of the war between Hamas and Israel, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 7, 2023.

Amos Hochstein arrives in Lebanon as Hezbollah-Israel escalation threatens war

Hochstein’s visit comes as the US seeks an end to the fighting along the Lebanese-Israeli border in parallel with a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) man their armored vehicle in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura, near the border with Israel, Oct. 15, 2023.

Lebanon: Suspected Hezbollah-UNIFIL clashes amid Israel border escalation

The incident, which is not uncommon, comes at a time of heightened Israeli-Hezbollah tensions and growing fears of an all-out war.