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

Lebanon

Lebanon

August 18, 2026

Beirut 11:39 am

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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

An Israeli soldier watches an Elbit Systems Skylark I unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) taking off near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on August 21, 2020, as part of monitoring operations in the area. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Hezbollah says it took out Israeli drone near border

Hezbollah claims to have downed an Israeli drone, but the Israeli military claimed that it crashed.

People inspect a burnt room at municipality building, in the impoverished northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, after anti-government protesters hurled improvised incendiary devices amid clashes with security forces the previous night, on January 29, 2021. (Photo by Fathi AL-MASRI / AFP) (Photo by FATHI AL-MASRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon's PM Diab condemns Tripoli protest violence

Protesters demanding an end to the lockdown set fire on Thursday night to several buildings in the impoverished city of Tripoli.

Syrian businessman denies ties to Beirut explosives

Businessman George Haswani told Reuters the accusations against him are a fabrication.

TOPSHOT - Lebanese anti-government protesters clash with security forces near the Serail (headquarters of the Governorate), in the northern port city of Tripoli, during a demonstration to protest against the economic situation, on January 28, 2021. - Tripoli was already one of Lebanon's poorest areas before the coronavirus pandemic piled new misery onto a chronic economic crisis. Many of its residents have been left without an income since Lebanon imposed a full lockdown earlier this month in a bid to stem

Angry Lebanese protest ongoing lockdown amid looming poverty

Many Lebanese are growing more concerned about how to make ends meet as the country edges more toward economic collapse, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic and a complete lockdown.

Protests in northern Lebanon against virus-related lockdowns turn deadly

Lebanon's 24/7 lockdown has angered people in Tripoli amid a crippling economic crisis, and clashes have left hundreds injured and at least one dead.

Popular Lebanese music streaming platform Anghami moving to Abu Dhabi

The Beirut-based company said they failed to attract investment in Lebanon amid the financial crisis.

Lebanon: Interpol issues warrants for people involved in Beirut port explosion

Lebanese state media said the international police organization has issued Red Notices for the owner and captain of a ship that brought tons of ammonium nitrate to Beirut years before last August's tragic explosion.

Lebanon declares 24-hour curfew, state of emergency

The round-the-clock curfew will take effect at 5 am on Thursday and last until Jan. 25.

The usually crowded seaside promenade is deserted, during a lockdown imposed by the authorities in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, in the Lebanese capital Beirut, on January 7, 2021. - Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lebanon has recorded nearly 200,000 cases including 1,537 deaths, according to health ministry figures.
Health professionals have warned that the latest surge in cases risked causing catastrophe across Lebanon, which is already suffering from the aftermath of a devastati

Lebanon returns to lockdown as virus cases spike

The lockdown, which runs through Feb. 1, mandates an overnight curfew and the closure of most businesses.

A picture shows a closed shop in the city of Jounieh north ofBeirut on December 01, 2020. - Lebanon's economy is sinking into a "deliberate depression", the World Bank said on December 1 in a damning report stressing the authorities' failure to tackle the crisis. Lebanon's economy started collapsing last year as a result of years of corrupt practices and mismanagement. The crisis was made worse by a nationwide wave of anti-government protests that paralysed the country late last year and the Covid-19 pandem

Lebanon to enter new national lockdown Thursday

An overnight curfew and other restrictions will run through Feb. 1.

Lebanese men watch the head of the country's Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah during a televised speech, at a coffee shop in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, on August 30, 2020, on the tenth day of the month of Muharram which marks the peak of Ashura. - Ashura is a 10-day period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Ge

Nasrallah says Hezbollah would not be part of Iran nuclear talks

The Shiite party's leader also said Hezbollah has doubled its missile supplies.

Israeli military vehicles near the kibbutz Manara in northern Israel's upper Galilee patrol along the border with Lebanon overlooking the Hula Valley, on December 20, 2020. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

US offers to mediate as Israel, Lebanon remain 'far apart' on maritime border talks

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lamented the lack of progress between the two countries on their Mediterranean border.