Lebanon War

A convoy carrying a UN security council delegation, tours the border with Israel close to the southern Lebanese area of Naqura on December 6, 2025. UNIFIL peacekeepers have been tasked with acting as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since March 1978, and with monitoring the November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Second Lebanon-Israel meeting sidelined France, saw US pressure on Netanyahu

Differences over the so-called economic zone and the high civilian toll from Israeli strikes capped the second meeting between Lebanese and Israeli officials on Friday.

Joyce Karam

Rina Bassist

By Joyce Karam , Rina Bassist

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto (Middle-L) meets with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) in Beirut at Baabda Palace, on Dec. 22, 2025.

Italy pledges to maintain troops in southern Lebanon after UNIFIL withdrawal

Italy plays a crucial role in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, with an Italian leading its command and the country contributing over 1,000 troops to the mission.

Rabih DAHER / AFP via Getty Images

Second Lebanon-Israel meeting agrees to strengthen Lebanese army: What to know

The second round of civilian-led talks between Israel and Lebanon focused on the economic track while also addressing the removal of Hezbollah's weapons.

This photograph taken during a press tour organised by the Lebanese army shows Lebanese soldiers standing atop a military vehicle in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel in southern Lebanon, on November 28, 2025. It was the first guided tour the army gave journalists since a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP via Getty Images)

US, France and Saudi Arabia agree to conference to bolster Lebanon’s army

France is looking for more support for a committee monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Latest News

Syria foils major arms smuggling attempt to Lebanon: What we know

The Internal Security Directorate in the Zabadani area of rural Damascus thwarted an attempt to smuggle a shipment of weapons and seized large quantities of RPG shells that were hidden in an organized manner and prepared for smuggling towards Lebanon, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Analysis

Trump's Syria envoy Barrack tests Israel's patience as Netanyahu pushes back

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with US special envoy Tom Barrack, Jerusalem, Dec. 15 2

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

Lebanon FM lashes out at Iran amid ambassador impasse: What to know

Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Youssef Rajji meets with Maj. Gen. Diodato Abagnara, UNIFIL head of mission and force commander, at the UN peacekeeping headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, Oct. 24, 2025.

Lebanon's FM snubs Iran, turns down invitation to visit Tehran: What to know

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji visits the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, on October 24, 2025, touring border villages and the Blue Line aboard a UNIFIL helicopter as part of efforts to assess the security situation along the frontier. (Photo by Courtney Bonneau / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by COURTNEY BONNEAU/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - Syrian and Lebanese people in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli celebrate on December 9, 2024, after Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by Fathi AL-MASRI / AFP) (Photo by FATHI AL-MASRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Clashes and protests in Lebanon over Syria's anniversary: What we know

As celebrations erupted in Lebanon to commemorate the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Hezbollah supporters held counter-rallies.

An Israeli military tank patrols along the border fence separating northern Israel from southern Lebanon on November 24, 2025. Hezbollah held the funeral on November 24 for its top military chief and other members of the militant group a day after Israel killed them in a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Lebanon-Israel direct talks pause operation against Hezbollah — but for how long?

The US blocked Israel from widening its strikes on Hezbollah this week, yet another flare-up in their enduring conflict seems likely despite first direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.

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

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun delivers a speech during a meeting of Pope Leo XIV with authorities, civil society and diplomatic corps at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on November 30, 2025. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon, Israel to hold second round of direct talks: What we know

While Israel and Lebanon continue talks, Israeli airstrikes have persisted, and Hezbollah shows no sign of complying with disarmament requirements.

Simon Karam

Who is Simon Karam, head of Lebanon’s delegation to talks with Israel?

Karam is a veteran diplomat and a legal scholar who served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States from 1992 to 1993.

US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza, at UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 18, 2025.

US pressure prompted Israel-Lebanon talks to avert war with Hezbollah

According to an Israeli security source, US envoy Morgan Ortagus’ visit was perceived in Israel as a warning that President Donald Trump will not accept Israel launching a large military campaign in southern Lebanon.

A view of a concrete wall built by Israel near the Blue Line in southwest Yaroun, Lebanon, on Nov. 13, 2025.

Lebanon and Israel hold first direct talks in decades: What to know

Lebanon and Israel sent civilian representatives to the latest US-led meeting of the committee overseeing the ceasefire, aiming to break the stalemate between the two countries as Israel intensifies its attacks on Lebanon over its delay in disarming Hezbollah.

Adri Salido/Getty Images

Culture

Lebanon’s first lady Nehmat Aoun takes center stage during Pope's visit

Lebanon’s first lady, Nehmat Aoun, attended nearly all gatherings and visits of Pope Leo during his three-day trip to Beirut, highlighting her active involvement in social and humanitarian issues.

Pope Leo XIV waves to a crowd of youths upon his arrival at the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke, north of the capital Beirut, on December 1, 2025. Leo prayed for peace in Lebanon and the region on December 1 on day two of his trip to the multi-confessional country, with joyful Lebanese welcoming the pontiff at two famous pilgrimage sites. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Pope Leo gets rock star's reception in Lebanon, drawing cheers, celebrations

Pope Leo began his second day in crisis-hit Lebanon with visits to notable Christian shrines in the country and an interfaith meeting in the capital, Beirut.

A giant billboard of Pope Leo XIV along the highway leading to Beirut's international airport, Nov. 20, 2025.

Lebanon celebrates Pope Leo’s visit as Israel escalates attacks

The pontiff's visit to Lebanon comes as many in the country fear a potential restart of the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of El Mahmoudiyeh on November 27, 2025. The Israeli military said it had carried out a series of strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on November 27, the latest despite the year-old ceasefire with the militant group. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon slams Iran over Hezbollah comments as one-year ceasefire wobbles

Relations between Iran and Lebanon have been strained since Hezbollah, Tehran’s main proxy in the region, emerged weakened from last year’s war with Israel.

CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon’s citizenship offer for FIFA head sparks debate over equal rights

Lebanon’s president has announced he will grant citizenship to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, sparking a wave of outrage.

Bassam Hammoud the vice president of the Jamaa Islamiya in Lebanon, brandishes a rifle as he delivers a speech during a demonstration in Sidon in southern Lebanon on July 19, 2024, a day after an Israeli strike in the Bekaa region killed Mohammed Hamed Jabara, the commander of the Hamas-allied group in Lebanon. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Lebanon's Jamaa Islamiya in spotlight as US moves to designate Muslim Brotherhood

The Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, is a major Sunni political party in the country. But its armed wing has repeatedly attacked Israel during the war with Hezbollah, putting the group under US scrutiny.

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict