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

Lebanon

Lebanon

October 19, 2026

Beirut 3:42 pm

23°C

Israeli troops stand guard on the dividing line between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syrian, near Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025.

Analysis

'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma

The Israeli leader revealed that he spoke with the Syrian president last year, but stalled talks and Israel's fortification of a security zone on Syrian land underscore his mistrust of Sharaa.

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

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

Qatar PM in Beirut as Lebanon seeks economic relief: What to know

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani’s visit to Beirut coincides with the Lebanese authorities’ ongoing efforts to curb Hezbollah’s influence in the country.

Mihrac Ural, who was also known as Ali Kayali, was arrested

Explainer

Syria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by Turkey

The Turkey-born militia chief and a longtime ally of the Assad-regime, was sought by Ankara over the deadly Reyhanli bombings and by Damascus over his alleged role in massacres on the Mediterranean coast.

Syria denies meeting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah in Turkey: What to know

Both Damascus and Ankara denied reports that Syrian officials met with Hezbollah representatives in Turkey, as relations between the two sides remain fraught with tensions mainly over the Lebanese group’s support for Assad’s forces against rebels during the Syrian civil war.

Latest News

Lebanon seeks Turkey’s help to join Syria-Saudi rail link: What to know

A picture taken on May 1, 2019 shows a railroad of Mar Mikhael neighborhood in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Lebanon PM meets Rubio as Israel talks stall: What to know

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon's PM calls for international force to replace UNIFIL: What to know

Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

Gargash

United Arab Emirates

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

Lebanese fuel truck

No end in sight for Lebanese suffering amid deteriorating economic crisis

Lebanon’s ruling elite has yet to form an urgent government to launch reforms to address the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, amid ongoing political bickering.

Lebanese pound falls to all-time low on black market as people protest

Lebanon's harrowing economic crisis worsened when the pound fell against the dollar again on the black market.

Lebanon’s vaccination campaign stumbles at launch

As politicians skip the line to receive their coronavirus vaccine, questions arise about the quantity of vaccine doses Lebanon has and will receive and if it’s enough to inoculate the local and refugee population.

A medic prepares a dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at Lebanon's American University Medical Center in the capital Beirut, on February 14, 2021, as the country kickstarts its inoculation campaign. - Lebanon gave its first COVID-19 vaccine dose to a doctor, as it started inoculation it hopes will keep the pandemic in check amid a deepening economic crisis. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

World Bank warns Lebanon after politicians, staff cut line for vaccine

Lebanese lawmakers have denied any wrongdoing, say underlying medical conditions were the reason for their early shots.

Lebanese workers use water pressure to clean-up the oil spill which polluted the Rabbit Island, offshore the Nothern Lebanese city of Tripoli, on March 31, 2009. The oil spill was caused by the explosion of fuel reservoirs stationed in the southern coastal town of Jiyyeh during the Israeli offensive on Lebanon in July 2006. At least 10,000 tons of heavy fuel oil have been spilled into the Lebanese sea, causing an environmental catastrophe with severe effects on health, biodiversity and tourism. The oil spil

Oil spill reaches shores of Israel, Lebanon

An oil spill earlier this month is threatening the eastern Mediterranean, but many details on the incident are unknown.

Autopsy of slain Lebanese intellectual Lokman Slim shows no torture

Slim's wife said an independent autopsy was necessary and is also calling for an international investigation, as opposed to leaving it up to the Lebanese government.

Lebanese activist and Hezbollah critic Lukman Slim shot dead

Slim was shot while visiting southern Lebanon. The government has vowed an investigation amid speculation on Hezbollah's alleged involvement.

Timur Goksel, former Al-Monitor editor and UN diplomat, dies

Timur Goksel, a former UN diplomat and editor of Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse, was best known for his unique contributions to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

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.