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

Lebanon

Lebanon

May 4, 2026

Beirut 12:15 pm

14°C

Members of Lebanese security forces stand guard in the perimeter of the Parliament, a day ahead of a parliamentary session to elect a president in Beirut on January 8, 2025. Lebanese political heavyweights held talks on January 8, a day ahead of a parliamentary session to elect a president of the tiny Mediterranean country, already deep in economic and political crisis, and which has been without a president for more than two years. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Under US pressure, will Lebanon repeal Israel Boycott Law?

The 1955 law criminalizes all dealings with Israel, raising questions about how far Beirut can even go with its current engagement, currently at the ambassadorial level.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

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

Latest News

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

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.

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.

In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia pursues quiet diplomacy as Trump pushes Israel normalization

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (L) disembarks from an airplane upon his arrival at the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on Jan. 23, 2025.

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

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 army soldiers, military policemen, security forces and Hezbollah members inspect the site of a car bomb that occurred on Thursday in Beirut's southern suburbs, August 16, 2013. The death toll from a car bomb which ripped through the southern Beirut stronghold of Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah rose on Friday to 24, and the government said it was investigating whether the blast was a suicide attack. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY MILITARY) - RT

Lebanese Officials Speculate On Israeli Role in Beirut Bombing

After the blast that killed more than 20 people in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Aug. 15, several Lebanese politicians have accused Israel of being involved.

Israeli police officers stand guard atop a wall overlooking Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION CRIME LAW) - RTX11ZWT

Israel, West Bank Quiet For Now Amid Region in Flames

Israel is surrounding itself with more fences and tightening security measures in anticipation of more violence on its borders as regional unrest continues.

People gather around the site of an explosion in Beirut's southern suburbs, August 15, 2013. Twenty people were killed in the explosion which struck the southern Beirut stronghold of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group on Thursday, a security source said. An army statement said the cause of the explosion was a car bomb. The blast engulfed several vehicles in flames and trapped many people in nearby buildings which were damaged in the explosion. REUTERS/ Hasan Shaaban (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) -

Blast in Beirut Sparks Fears Of 'Iraqization' of Lebanon

For the second time in just over a month, a major bomb attack has hit Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs.

A torn poster of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi is pictured as riot police clear the area of his supporters at Rabaa Adawiya square, where the protesters had been camping, in Cairo August 14, 2013. At least 95 Egyptians were killed on Wednesday after security forces moved in on protesters demanding the reinstatement of Mursi, and the government imposed a state of emergency as unrest swept the most populous Arab nation. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF

Egypt Deaths Call for Action

The resignation of Egypt’s Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei is a clear indictment of the military's actions.

An employee stamps stacks of Syrian pound notes at the Syrian central bank in Damascus April 23, 2013. Picture taken April 23, 2013. To match SYRIA-CURRENCY/ REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT BUSINESS) - RTXYYC3

Syria’s Economic Crisis Magnifies Human Tragedy

Often eclipsed by the Syrian conflict’s exorbitant human cost, the embattled country’s economy has plummeted over the past three years under stringent international sanctions.

Workers repair machine gun at Jabal Al-Turkman near the coastal city of Latakia, October 30, 2012. REUTERS/Abu Al-Hassan/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR39SAY

Syrian Opposition Condemns Jihadists Targeting Alawites

Syria's internal opposition has condemned attacks on Alawite civilians in Latakia.

Apartment blocks under construction (front) are seen in Pisgat Zeev, an urban settlement in an area Israel annexed to Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war, August 12, 2013. Israel on Monday named 26 Palestinian prisoners to be freed this week under a deal enabling U.S.-backed peace talks to resume, although Palestinians said these had been undermined by newly announced plans to expand Israeli settlements. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION) - RTX12IKF

Israeli Settlement Authorization Is Pre-Emptive Strike

Israeli is striking a blow against the peace process by authorizing further settlement expansion.

Protesters chant slogans against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as they hold a poster of deceased al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (top), during a protest in solidarity with Syria's anti-government protesters, in the port-city of Tripoli in north Lebanon October 7, 2011. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2SCOJ

Has Al-Qaeda Infiltrated Lebanon?

Amid regional chaos, some fear that al-Qaeda may have spread to Lebanon in the form of sleeper cells.

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman speaks during a ceremony marking the 67th Army Day, at a military academy in Fayadyeh, near Beirut, August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Dalati Nohra/Handout (LEBANON - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS MILITARY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR35TE4

Rouhani, Suleiman: Vanguards Of Moderation in Middle East

Like his counterpart in Beirut, Tehran’s new President Hassan Rouhani embraces just the kind of moderation the region may need at this tumultuous time.

Israeli parliament employees set up a Palestinian flag (L) next to an Israeli one as they prepare ahead of a meeting between Israeli parliament members and a delegation of Palestinian politicians and businessmen, aimed at encouraging Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem July 31, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Tuesday gave themselves about nine months to try reach an agreement on ending their conflict of more than six decades in U.S.-brokered pe

Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process Faces Enormous Challenges

As long as the US is not playing a forceful role, there will be numerous difficulties that could prevent the Palestinian-Israeli negotiation process from successfully moving forward.

A man hangs pictures of (from R to L) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, near
the site of an explosion in Beirut's southern suburbs, July 9, 2013. A car bomb exploded on Tuesday in a Beirut stronghold district of the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting in Syria's civil war, wounding at least 38 people, a hospital official told Reuters. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan (L

Iran's Ties to Hezbollah Unchanged

Although there are expectations of a more moderate approach to foreign affairs under Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iran's relations with Hezbollah will remain the same.

Lebanese Army soldiers patrol the road leading to Beirut international airport, following the kidnap of a Turkish airlines pilot and his colleague in Beirut, August 9, 2013. A Turkish Airlines pilot and his colleague were abducted in Lebanon on Friday by armed men who forced them from a bus driving from Beirut airport in the early hours of the morning. The Turkish foreign ministry and the airline said they were in close contact with the Lebanese authorities but had no immediate information on who was behind

Turkish Pilots Abducted At Gunpoint in Beirut

Two Turkish Airlines pilots were kidnapped in Beirut early Friday, Aug. 9, to put pressure on the Turkish government to help release nine Shiite Lebanese hostages in Syria since May 2012.