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

Lebanon

Lebanon

October 14, 2025

Beirut 12:01 pm

25°C

Lebanese Presidency/AFP via Getty Images

Syria’s FM pays Lebanon first official visit since Assad’s fall: What to know

Lebanon and post-Assad Syria are seeking to rebuild their relations by addressing longstanding issues that caused tension between the two countries for decades.

The chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, meets with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha, Oct. 8, 2025.

Lebanon army chief visits Qatar amid push to disarm Hezbollah

Haykal has held meetings with the Qatari army chief, the country’s prime minister and its minister of state for defense affairs.

Newly elected Miss Lebanon Perla Harb poses on stage after winning the Miss Lebanon 2025 pageant, in Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut, on Oct. 4, 2025.

Culture

Miss Lebanon 2025 crowned in ceremony highlighting culture, heritage

Lebanon crowned Perla Harb as the country’s new beauty queen in a grand ceremony highlighting Lebanese culture.

Lebanese army soldiers and security forces deploy near a vehicle that was hit by a reported drone-strike at the entrance of the village of Barja, about 30 kilometres south of Beirut, on Sept. 9, 2025.

US approves $230M for Lebanon’s push to disarm Hezbollah

New US funds for Beirut signal rare bipartisan approval for progress by Lebanon's security forces as they dismantle Hezbollah weapons caches, but significant risks remain as the militant faction resists full disarmament.

Latest News

Culture

Lebanese play explores struggle between exile and staying in Lebanon

An image of “Tarboush Jedde Maallak”.

Lebanon seizes $1.5M in cocaine at Beirut airport: What to know

A photo taken during a tour organized by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport shows staff loading cargo onto a plane at Beirut's international airport on June 24, 2024.

Won’t shove it 'down our throats': Netanyahu blasts Palestine recognition in UN speech

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 26, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

A year after Israel's pager attack, can battered Hezbollah rebound in Lebanon?

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah group take part in a gathering in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2025.

Beatrice Farhat

Adam Lucente

By Beatrice Farhat , Adam Lucente

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

11/03/2023 Tehran, Iran. In a pro-government rally in the Islamic Republic of Iran, people gathered at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on November 3, 2023, to watch Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah's speech regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. Among the crowd, Lebanon's Hezbollah flags and Palestinian flags were proudly waved. During the speech in Beirut, Nasrallah addressed the Israeli army's attack on Gaza and issued a warning to Israel about a potential attack on Lebanon. (Photo by Hossein Beri

Analysis

Hezbollah's Nasrallah signals restraint, keeps options open in Gaza war

Israel likely to agree to US request for humanitarian pause; Blinken gets ‘clear commitment’ from Israel on West Bank violence; Gaza war casualties include over 30 journalists; Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO bid still isn't done.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

People gather in the Imam Hussein square in Tehran, during the televised speech of Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah November 3, 2023. Nasrallah told the United States on November 3, that his Iran-backed group was ready to face its warships and the way to prevent a regional war was to halt the attacks in Gaza. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Hezbollah's Nasrallah refrains from entering Israel-Hamas war, praises Iraq, Yemen proxies

In his first public speech since Hamas’ attack on Israel, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the operation was purely Palestinian, that his movement had no hand in it, and accused the US of direct involvement in the Gaza war.

A smoke plume covers the sun during a forest fire that reportedly ignited after shell fire from Israel, in the Labouneh area in southern Lebanon close to the border with northern Israel, on October 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Will Lebanon's Hezbollah change rules of engagement on Israel to aid Hamas?

Hezbollah has been careful not to escalate the situation along Israel's northern border beyond the accepted norms, but the situation could change quickly depending on events in Gaza.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah meets deputy head of Hamas’ politburo Saleh al-Arouri, and head of the Islamic Jihad Ziad al-Nakhalah.

Hezbollah hosts Palestinian factions as warnings surge over Lebanon's volatility

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since Hamas launched its surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, raising fears of a new front in south Lebanon.

NINEVEH, IRAQ - JUNE 20: Iraqi PMF fighters June 20, 2017 on the Iraq-Syria border in Nineveh, Iraq. The Popular Mobilisation Front (PMF) forces, composed of majority Shi'ite militia, part of the Iraqi forces, have pushed Islamic State militants from the north-western Iraq border strip back into Syria. The PMF now hold the border, crucial to the fall of Islamic State in Mosul, blocking the Islamic State supply route for militants from Syria to Mosul. (Martyn Aim/Getty Images).

No consensus yet among Iraqi armed groups on joining Israel-Hamas war

Interviews with faction leaders reveal anger with Hamas over starting a unilateral conflict, but also a determination to get involved if Hezbollah greenlights such a move and Israel invades Gaza.

The Tamar drilling natural gas production platform, some 25 kilometers west of Ashkelon, Israel, February 2013.

Analysis

Could Israel-Hamas war lead to another winter energy crisis for Europe?

LNG spot prices have shot up since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out, but European inventories are at all-time highs.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Lebanese security forces use water cannons as they clash with protesters outside the US Embassy in Awkar east of Beirut, during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, on October 18, 2023. Thousands rallied across the Arab and Muslim world on October 18 to protest the deaths of hundreds of people in a strike on a Gaza hospital that they blame on Israel, despite its denials. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

US issues 'worldwide' alert for citizens amid Israel-Hamas war

The US Embassy in Beirut also urged Americans wishing to depart Lebanon to make plans "as soon as possible."

a rally in front of the French embassy complex in Beirut early on October 18, 2023, in support of Palestinians after a strike on the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza that killed hundreds. Israel and Palestinians traded blame for the incident, which an "outraged and deeply saddened" US President Joe Biden denounced while en route to the Middle East. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon, Hezbollah hold 'day of rage' as US Embassy ups travel alert

Several pro-Palestinian rallies took place across the country, with demonstrators heeding Hezbollah’s call for a "day of rage."

Shiite Muslim clerics chant slogans during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people organised by supporters of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah in Lebanon's southern city of Nabatieh on October 13, 2023. Thousands of people, both Israeli and Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants entered Israel in a surprise attack leading Israel to declare war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 8. (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYA

Hezbollah calls for 'day of anger' as Biden heads to Israel, Gaza war rages

Cross-border fire has been ongoing between Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and Israel in southern Lebanon since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel last weekend.

Lebanese Broadcast Corporation International (LBCI) television show host Giselle Khoury sits at her desk 02 May 2001 during a visit to Dubai. Khoury, who runs the "Hiwaar al-Umr", or "Life Dialogue", general affairs show is noted for her engaging interviewing skills. EDITORS NOTE: Khoury's left eye is naturally lighter than the right one. (Photo by EDDY PADO / AFP) (Photo by EDDY PADO/AFP via Getty Images)

Tributes pour in for Giselle Khoury, Lebanon’s maverick journalist, after battle with cancer

Khoury, 62, was one of the Arab world’s most prominent TV anchors, with a career that started in 1986 at the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.

Issam Abdallah, CPJ

Reuters journalist killed, 6 wounded in Israeli shelling on Lebanon border

A Reuters video journalist has been killed and three others were wounded in the Israeli airstrike in the village of Alma al Shaab in southern Lebanon.

sraeli soldiers take positions near the Israeli military base of Har Dov on Mount Hermon, a strategic and fortified outpost at the crossroads between Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, on October 10, 2023. Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed three Hezbollah members on October 10 amid surging tensions after Palestinian militants tried to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon, in an escalation on Israel's northern border two days after Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on the country's southern flank from the

Explainer: As Lebanon-Israel border heats up, 3 armed groups stand out

Several Palestinian militants are active in southern Lebanon, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.