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Lebanon

Lebanon

August 18, 2026

Beirut 5:11 pm

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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

A United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) armoured vehicle is parked under a portrait of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on a side road in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila near the border with Israel on January 3, 2020. - Following this morning's killing of Iranian commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for the missile strike by Israel's closest ally, to be avenged. "Meting out the appropriate punishment to these criminal assassins... wil

Israel files grievance against Hezbollah as UNSC retools UNIFIL

Israel and the United States are campaigning for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon's mandate to be revised, empowering the force to eject Hezbollah from south Lebanon.

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.