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

Lebanon

Lebanon

July 7, 2026

Beirut 1:58 pm

29°C

Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Israeli officials believe the US failure to attain the kind of agreement with Iran that it originally sought stems from the strategic mistakes made during and after the recent war.

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

The court stands at the start of the first hearing at the International Court of Justice in which Myanmar is accused of committing genocide against the country's Muslim minority, the Rohingya, in the Hague on January 12, 2026. The Gambia filed the genocide case in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2019. Myanmar's military deliberately targeted the Rohingya minority in a bid to destroy the community, Gambia's Justice Minister Dawda Jallow told the International Court of Justice Mond

Explainer

Does provision 13 of Lebanon-Israel deal bar Beirut from pursuing war crimes claims?

Part of the Israeli-Lebanese agreement has led to calls for Beirut to grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction in Lebanon or sign the Rome Treaty to allow prosecutions.

Nawaf Salam and Asaad al-Shibani shake hands in Beirut on July 2, 2026.

Syria, Lebanon stress noninterference as Damascus mulls Hezbollah talks

When asked whether Damascus would be willing to meet with Hezbollah in the future, Syria’s foreign minister indicated that it would not rule out such a meeting.

Latest News

Culture

Lebanon arrests man after video of public assault on wife goes viral

An activist takes part in a demonstration against sexual harassment, rape and domestic violence in the Lebanese capital Beirut on December 7, 2019. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

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 activists fight against child marriage with videos

Lebanese nongovernmental organizations and artists use videos to create awareness of the risks of early marriage, which affects 6% of all girls in Lebanon.

A Hezbollah fighter patrols a hill on the Lebanese side of the Qalamun mountains on the border with Syria on May 20, 2015. Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign affairs adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on May 18 during a trip to Beirut, that Tehran was proud of its key ally Hezbollah for advances it has made against rebels in a Syrian region on the Lebanese border. AFP PHOTO / JOSEPH EID (Photo credit should read JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images)

Hezbollah not concerned about cease-fire deal in Syria

The cease-fire brokered by the United States, Russia and Jordan in south Syria does not seem to worry the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, which is widely involved in the Syrian war, like it worries its archenemy Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump (R) at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria -TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTSYTXW

Netanyahu puts Trump on notice over Syria

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly challenged US President Donald Trump in announcing his opposition to the cease-fire agreement for southern Syria brokered with Russia.

Lebanese entrepreneurs discover an appetite for snails

Snails, which are part of Lebanon’s culinary tradition, are juicy business for the country’s entrepreneurs.

Lebanese artist pays tribute to leaving a life behind

Lebanese artist Yazan Halwani’s mural in Mannheim, Germany, aims to display the mobility of his country’s youth.

Sewage is pictured flowing on the seaside in the coastal town of Khalde, south of the Lebanese capital Beirut, on September 22, 2016. / AFP / JOSEPH EID (Photo credit should read JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images)

Water pollution in Lebanon reaching dangerous levels

Activists and scientists are increasingly concerned about water pollution in Lebanon and request action from the government, which has not acted on the urgent situation so far.

Israeli soldiers from the Home Front Command Unit hold their weapons as they take part in an urban warfare drill inside a mock village at Tze'elim army base in Israel's Negev Desert June 11, 2017. Picture taken June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX3A2UY

Israel anticipates Raqqa’s fall

For Israel, the regional power balance after the end of the Islamic State could actually mean a Hezbollah reinforced by the Lebanese army, with Iran present on the Golan Heights front.

Lebanese singer Rami Ayach performs at the opening of Baalbek International Festival, in Baalbek, Lebanon July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX3AKCE

Lebanon’s summer music festivals range from chic to psytrance

From international concerts by the sea to gatherings at a family estate, Lebanon’s festivals offer a variety for music lovers.

Syrian music lives in the streets of Beirut

Global Week for Syria in Lebanon brings together Syrian musicians, as well as refugee children who take to the streets to sing.

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah chant slogans and gesture during a rally marking Al-Quds day in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RTS18DLL

Regional developments accelerate Hamas-Hezbollah reconciliation

Hamas and Hezbollah leaders have recently held meetings in Beirut, suggesting an end to their cold dispute over the Syrian war, as the Gulf-Qatari crisis continues.

U.N. peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol on their armored vehicles near Adaisseh village near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, January 4, 2016. Hezbollah said it set off a bomb targeting Israeli forces at the Lebanese border on Monday in an apparent response to the killing in Syria last month of a prominent commander, triggering Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RTX2101D

Tensions flare between IDF, UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

With Hezbollah turning into a real army, with strong attack capabilities, Israel starts building a defense wall on its northern border.

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad take positions in the Badia, in the southeast Syrian desert, in this handout picture provided by SANA on June 13, 2017, Syria. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. - RTS16TU2

Iran draws line in the sand in Syrian desert

Iran stakes claim in eastern Syria; Saudi move against Hamas; Qatar risks confrontation in the Gaza Strip.