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

Lebanon

Lebanon

August 10, 2025

Beirut 5:48 pm

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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 cabinet backs Hezbollah disarmament as US urges year-end deadline

Lebanon’s cabinet approved Thursday the goals outlined in a US proposal on the complete disarmament of Hezbollah in exchange for the end of Israeli attacks on the country.

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)

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

Speaking to reporters at the conclusion of the session, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the army must draft its plan and present it before the government for review before Aug. 31.

A picture shows a metal installation set up across from the destroyed Beirut port silos 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 JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSE

5 years after Lebanon's port explosion: Can Beirut find accountability?

Not one official has been held accountable five years after the deadly port blast that killed over 220 people and destroyed much of Beirut.

TOPSHOT - A person holds a sign with the Arabic slogan "we will not relinquish arms" as Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah supporters take part in a ceremony during the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein, in Beirut's southern suburbs on July 6, 2025. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon’s cabinet to discuss Hezbollah disarmament as US ups pressure

Lebanon is under growing US pressure to issue a formal decision on the disarmament of Hezbollah as soon as possible, with US Ambassador to Lebanon nominee Michel Issa, who is of Lebanese origin, saying the issue is a "necessity.”

Latest News

In rare appearance, Fairuz mourns son Ziad Rahbani as Lebanon bids farewell

Fayruz

On first visit to Paris, Lebanon's Salam secures $88M reconstruction pledge

TOPSHOT - France's President Emmanuel Macron (2nd-R) and Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (2nd-L) pose ahead of their working lunch at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, on July 24, 2025. (Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP) (Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images)

Meet Karim Attiyeh, youngest Arab American billionaire of Lebanese origin

An image of Karim Attiyeh.

Lebanon's Druze mobilize in solidarity with Syria's Suwayda: What to know

A woman walks past a mural depicting Lebanese Druze politician Walid Jumblatt (bottom, R) and Syrian Druze nationalist leader Sultan al-Atrash, in the predominantly Druze city of Beit Jann on November 16, 2023. Around 150,000 Druze, Arab adherents of an esoteric offshoot of Shiite Islam, live in Israel. Most identify as Israelis and the men -- not women -- are conscripted into the military, many serving in combat units. The Druze community is concentrated in 16 villages in northern Israel, among them Beit J

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 soldiers walk along the buffer zone between northern Israel and southern Lebanon, Feb. 18, 2025.

Analysis

Israel facing 3 options after extending military presence in south Lebanon

Israeli forces remain at five outposts after their deadline to withdrew, and the parameters for their departure remain unclear.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Beirut

In Lebanon, Hezbollah prepares for Nasrallah's funeral: What to know

Preparations for Sunday’s funeral for Hassan Nasrallah are underway as massive crowds are expected to attend.

Fighters loyal to the interim Syrian government deploy at a position along the Anti-Lebanon mountain range near al-Qusayr.

Syria arrests Hezbollah-linked smugglers in Damascus: What to know

A crackdown on smuggling operations between Lebanon and Syria has intensified since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Teargas fumes erupt during clashes between supporters of the Lebanese Shiite Islamist movement Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army amidst a Hezbollah-organised rally to block the road to Beirut International Airport over a decision to bar two Iranian flights from landing there, in Beirut on February 15, 2025. An AFP correspondent said tear gas was fired to disperse crowds on February 15 after again blocking amidst calls by the Iran-backed group for a sit-in. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/

Lebanon extends Iran flight ban, will close airport during Nasrallah funeral

The flight suspensions come as Hezbollah supporters had been organizing daily protests around Lebanon’s only civilian airport in protest against a ban on Iranian flights to and from Beirut.

Lebanese children hold their national flag as they walk above the rubble of a destroyed building as families return with the Lebanese army to the southern village of Marwahin, near a border fence with Israel, on Jan. 28, 2025.

Trump admin appears to relax Israel's deadline to withdraw from Lebanon

A Trump administration official put the onus of Israel's withdrawal on the Lebanese Army, questioning whether its forces were up to the task of backfilling positions vacated by the Israeli military.

A commercial aircraft takes off from the runway of Beirut's international airport near the city's southern suburbs on Aug. 9, 2024.

Lebanon bars Iranian flight from landing in Beirut, sparking protests

The incident marks the latest in a series at the Beirut airport, which has been a key point of tension between Iran and people within Lebanon’s government who are cautiously distancing themselves from Iran’s influence.

Lebanon government

Meet the 5 women in Lebanon's new government

Lebanon’s prime minister on Saturday announced the formation of a new government cabinet, including five women who will serve as ministers of education, environment, social affairs, tourism and youth and sports.

People wait at the entrance of the Al Masnaa eastern Lebanese border crossing with Syria on Jan. 3, 2025, after Syria imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens.

Four killed in Syria-Lebanon border clashes between HTS and clans: What to know

An offensive launched by Syria along its border with Lebanon on Thursday escalated into intense clashes between Syrian forces and Lebanese armed groups, including those associated with multiple Lebanese clans.

US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus speaks at Baabda Palace, Beirut, Feb. 7.

US envoy visits Lebanon, says US 'grateful' to Israel for defeating Hezbollah

Morgan Ortagus reaffirmed the Trump administration position that Hezbollah cannot be part of the next Lebanese government, even as Beirut warned that this could create a parliamentarian crisis.

US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus stands at the lectern during a press conference at the US Department of State in Washington, DC on June 10, 2019.

US envoy visits Lebanon to discuss Hezbollah, cabinet formation: What we know

Morgan Ortagus is heading a delegation and set to arrive in Lebanon on Thursday night, the first such visit by Trump administration officials.

People place a picture of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah over the rubble of the shrine of Shamoun al-Safa, built within a castle in the village of Shamaa in southern Lebanon's Tyre governorate on January 31, 2025, that was heavily damaged by Israeli bombing. The hilltop castle houses the Muslim Shiite pilgrimage site over a tomb said by some to be that of Simon the Zealot, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, and by others of Simon, second son of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. (Photo by Mahmoud Z

Analysis

Why Hezbollah, Amal want to control Lebanon's Finance Ministry

The ministry's strategic role in financial decision-making and postwar reconstruction has intensified political disputes, with opposition groups and international actors resisting Hezbollah's dominance.

Dario Sabaghi

By Dario Sabaghi

Lebanese army and UNIFIL soldiers deploy to prevent residents of the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal from returning to their town on Jan. 27, 2025.

Could Trump’s aid freeze to Lebanon army threaten fragile Israel ceasefire?

US funding to Lebanon's armed forces remained in limbo despite the State Department backpedaling on its near-total halt to foreign aid abroad.