Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C), alongside US State Department Counselor Michael Needham (2L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (2R), speaks during a meeting.

US seeks to train Lebanon army units to disarm Hezbollah: What to know

Funding for such a program remains unclear, though the Pentagon has requested $36 million for fiscal year 2027 to support Lebanon’s army.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

As President Donald Trump pressures Israel to limit its strikes in Lebanon, Hezbollah is taking advantage of the situation.

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

Ali al-Zaidi

Iraq's Shiite alliance nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM candidate: What to know

Ali al-Zaidi, who leads a bank accused of money laundering, received support from previous nominee Nouri al-Maliki and incumbent Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, though it remains unclear whether the Trump administration will approve of him.

Lebanese president Joseph Aoun (L) stands next to the parliament speaker Nabih Berri as he delivers a speech at the parliament building in Beirut Jan. 9, 2025.

'Treason is war for external interests': Lebanon’s Aoun hits back at Hezbollah

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun rejects Hezbollah’s criticism of talks with Israel, insisting negotiations are aimed at ending hostilities and saying “treason” is taking the country to war for external interests.

Latest News

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to journalists as he arrives for an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026.

Syria arrests Amjad Youssef, Tadamoun massacre perpetrator: What to know

A young man stands in the entrance of tunnels that were used by the ISIS and the Assad's regime for fighting. Tadamon, Syria, February 7, 2025. (Photo by Raghed Waked / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by RAGHED WAKED/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R) holds a signed "Make America Great Again" hat while (L-R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad listen to US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with Lebanon Ambassador to the US and Israel Ambassador to the US, at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026. US President Donald Trump met Lebanese and Israeli envoys at a new round of peace talks Thursday, with Beirut seeking a one-month extension of a

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

Analysis

Israel sees chance of US-Iran deal as almost 'non-existent,' readies for war

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

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

The statue of late South African President Nelson Mandela.

Day 97 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Jan. 11

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Logistics Specialist 1st Class Ousseinou Kaba (left), from Silver Spring, Md., and Logistics Specialist Seaman Abigail Marshke, from Flint, Mich., attach cargo to an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the "Nightdippers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) May 10, 2019 in the Red Sea.

Day 96 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Jan. 10

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv on Jan. 9, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Day 95 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Jan. 9

A man inspects the destroyed building of Palestinian journalist Adel Zorob, who was killed overnight in an Israeli bombardment, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 19, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group.

Day 94 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Jan. 8

The funeral of Hamza Wael Dahdouh, a journalist with the Al Jazeera television network, who was killed in a reported Israeli air strike in Rafah in the Gaza Strip on January 7, 2024

Day 93 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Jan. 7

Wael and Hamza Al-Dahdouh and

Day 92 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Jan. 6

A picture depicting Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, hangs on a building near the site of a drone strike attributed to Israel targeting Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri in the southern suburb of Beirut on Jan. 3, 2024.

Day 91 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Jan. 5

This picture shows people and Iranian emergency personnel at the site where two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani, near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on Jan. 3, 2024.

Breaking | Last Updated: January 4, 2024, 11:32 pm

ISIS claims responsibility for twin Iran blasts that left nearly 100 dead

Two Islamic State operatives were responsible for the attacks, according to the group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US envoy Amos Hochstein, Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 4, 2024.

Day 90 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Jan. 4

People watch the televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah to mark the anniversary of the killing of slain top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, in a Beirut's southern suburb on January 3, 2024. Twin bomb blasts killed at least 103 people in Iran, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike, state media reported. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Germany, Canada urge citizens to leave Lebanon as Hezbollah vows retaliation

Nasrallah again opted to avoid announcing a major escalation with Israel in his speech, but tensions are increasing following the likely Israeli strike that killed a Hamas leader in Beirut.

People watch the televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah, in southern Beirut on January 3, 2024

Day 89 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Jan. 3

Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, attends by video conference a meeting with deputy Hamas chief Saleh Arouri (on screen from Beirut) discussing Israel's plan to annex parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on July 2, 2020. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI / AFP) (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Who is Saleh al-Arouri, top Hamas official killed in Beirut?

Saleh al-Arouri played a large political and military role in Hamas, and his death may elicit a strong response from Hezbollah.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change