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

Lebanon

Lebanon

August 17, 2026

Beirut 2:30 am

26°C

Israeli army vehicles move to a position in southern Lebanon, March 27, 2026.

Analysis

Israel defies Trump on Lebanon as Netanyahu, Katz prioritize elections

Both Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump face fateful elections this fall, but one needs progress in Lebanon while the other wants more of the same.

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

FADEL itani / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Who benefits from Lebanon’s amnesty law and why it is controversial

The law, initially intended to ease prison overcrowding, could see the release of Islamists accused of killing soldiers and allow Lebanese exiled to Israel return to the country.

Latest News

Culture

Lebanon becomes first Arab country to abolish death penalty

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As Lebanon-Israel talks drag on, can Beirut break Iran linkage?

Manon Roca / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

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

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.