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

Lebanon

Lebanon

September 6, 2025

Beirut 12:09 pm

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) heads a cabinet session to discuss an army plan to disarm the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, on Sept. 5, 2025.

Lebanon to move on Hezbollah disarmament after testy cabinet meeting: What to know

The Lebanese government is under mounting pressure to disarm Hezbollah, but the group’s allies in the government are not on board.

Lebanese soldiers stand guard outside an army base in the southern city of Tyre, on Aug. 28, 2025.

Analysis

Lebanon army mum on Hezbollah disarmament plan ahead of split cabinet meeting

As the Lebanese army scrambles to finalize a crucial plan for disarming Hezbollah, officials have been engaged in intense diplomacy to avoid internal confrontations and move ahead with the disarmament process.

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

The Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun (left), receives Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Baabda Presidential Palace, on Sept. 1, 2025.

Lebanon faces tough test as army pushes plan to seize Hezbollah weapons

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed preparations for a cabinet session due this week that will tackle an army plan to take control of weapons outside of the state’s authority.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Israel cautious on Lebanon withdrawal despite Netanyahu overtures, US push

The Trump administration is pressuring Netanyahu to make concessions to the Lebanese government in exchange for its efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

Latest News

Analysis

Attack, concede, stall: Hezbollah’s options as Lebanon advances disarmament plan

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem delivers a statement during a ceremony to honor the Shiite cleric Abbas Ali Al-Moussawi, who passed away the week prior, Beirut, Aug. 25, 2025.

Dario Sabaghi

By Dario Sabaghi

UN Security Council renews Lebanon peacekeeping mission for one year

unifil

Lebanon's army receives 8 truckloads of weapons from Palestinian camps

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanese PM meets Egypt’s Sisi amid Hezbollah disarmament push: What to know

Lebanon's new Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam delivers a statement at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on Jan. 14, 2025.

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

Surge in coronavirus cases continues in Lebanon following explosion

COVID-19 cases have increased dramatically following the blast in Beirut's port on Aug. 4, when hospitals filled and people took to the streets.

Intel: FBI to join investigation into Beirut blast

The FBI will lend its expertise to the investigators probing the explosion that killed at least 172 people in Beirut last week, US Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale said today in the Lebanese capital.

Lebanese security forces hold their position during clashes with protesters in downtown Beirut on August 8, 2020, following a demonstration against a political leadership they blame for a monster explosion that killed more than 150 people and disfigured the capital Beirut. - As security forces focused their attention on a tense demonstration a few hundred metres down the road, a group led by retired Lebanese army officers stormed the foreign ministry and declared it the "headquarters of the revolution". (Ph

Lebanon's parliament approves army's broad state of emergency powers

Under the state of emergency, civilians can be tried in military court for "breach of security."

Egypt takes action against 'dangerous' materials after Beirut explosion

Egyptian authorities have begun measures to transfer dangerous materials stored at airports near populous areas to prevent a catastrophe similar to the devastating Beirut port explosion.

Can Erdogan reciprocate Macron’s Beirut stunt?

Macron’s call for a “new order” in Lebanon conflicts with Erdogan’s regional ambitions, but the climate in Lebanon is no longer as welcoming to Turkey’s president as it was a decade ago.

Lebanon registers record COVID-19 cases in blast aftermath

With social distancing relaxed and hospitals under strain, Lebanon reported a record 309 new cases and seven deaths from the virus Tuesday.

Dubai welcomes Lebanese residents with flowers, message of hope

Following last week’s deadly explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, Dubai greeted its Lebanese residents at the airport with white roses.

United Arab Emirates

Netanyahu leverages international support against Hezbollah after Beirut blast

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called French President Emmanuel Macron to praise him for his leadership after the Beirut blast and to campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel-Lebanon Border, ISRAEL: Israeli tanks roll towards Israel-Lebanon border, 11 August 2006. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered the army today to prepare for launching its expanded ground offensive in Lebanon after diplomatic efforts stumbled, a senior government official said. AFP PHOTO/DENIS SINYAKOV (Photo credit should read DENIS SINYAKOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli tanks deploy to Lebanese border

Conflicting reports have emerged on whether Israeli tanks entered Lebanese territory amid high tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

This picture taken on August 9, 2020 shows a view of destroyed freight containers before the cranes at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut, while in the background are seen the damaged grain silos opposite the blast site of a colossal explosion due to a huge pile of ammonium nitrate that had languished for years at a port warehouse. - The huge chemical explosion that hit Beirut's port, devastating large parts of the Lebanese capital and claiming over 150 lives, left a 43-metre (141 foot) deep crater, a sec

International donors pledge nearly $300M in Beirut relief

The virtual conference on Sunday was co-hosted by France and the United Nations.

Shiite Muslims Hezbollah militants stand to attention as hundreds of people gather in a huge hall waiting to watch a televised speech by Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shiite Muslim Lebanese Hezbollah militant group on February 22, 2008, in Beirut's southern suburb, ten days after the assassination of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughnieh in a bomb attack in Damascus. Nasrallah's televised speech marked the killing of Mughnieh and the 1992 assassination of its former leader Abbas Mussawi in an Israeli heli

Gantz calls Hezbollah chief Nasrallah 'Lebanon’s biggest problem'

On the backdrop of the explosion in Beirut, Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned that Hezbollah has the habit of stocking ammunition in homes of civilians.

TOPSHOT - A Lebanese protester beats a drum amid clashes with security forces near an access street to the parliament in central Beirut on August 9, 2020, following a deadly explosion that turned the city into a disaster zone. - The huge chemical explosion that hit Beirut's port, devastating large parts of the Lebanese capital and claiming over 150 lives, left a 43-metre (141 foot) deep crater, a security official said. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanese government resigns amid fallout from Beirut explosion

Prime Minister Hassan Diab said he and his cabinet were stepping down in response to popular demands, saying "the system of corruption is bigger than the state."