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Lebanon

Lebanon

June 17, 2026

Beirut 5:30 pm

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Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on April 24, 2026, on the sidelines of a European summit.

Analysis

Why Trump’s push for Syria to confront Hezbollah is an unlikely bid

Trump’s proposal faces resistance from Damascus, skepticism from experts and opposition across Lebanon’s political spectrum.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

How Iran's internal divide over Lebanon could shape US negotiations

Sources familiar with the indirect discussions between Tehran and Washington told Al-Monitor that Iran had prepared a significant response to Sunday's Beirut strike.

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

President Donald Trump insisted he has a great relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but criticized the scale of Israel’s strikes in Lebanon.

Latest News

Gulf cautiously welcomes US-Iran deal as Hezbollah congratulates Tehran

Veiled women in black Chadors wave Iran and Hezbollah flags during commemoration at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 22, 2026.

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/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

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.

Farah Dakhlallah will be the first spokesperson for NATO of Arab descent.

Meet Farah Dakhlallah, NATO's first spokesperson of Arab descent

A British-Lebanese citizen, Dakhlallah will make history this Friday as NATO's first spokesperson from the region, which could boost the alliance's outreach to the Arab-speaking world.

Then head of Israeli Military Intelligence Tamir Hyman speaks at the Institute for National Security Studies think tank in Tel Aviv, Jan. 28, 2020.

Ex-Israeli military intel chief: Hamas split, Netanyahu govt derail Gaza deal

Former intelligence chief Tamir Hayman believes that a Gaza cease-fire could open opportunities for normalization with Saudi Arabia.

AFP via Getty Images

Israel strikes deeper, hits Lebanon's Baalbek in first since 2006 war

The strikes were the deepest inside Lebanese territory since border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah began nearly five months ago.