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

Lebanon

Lebanon

July 5, 2026

Beirut 7:11 am

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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.

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)

Culture

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

The man seen violently beating a woman at a restaurant has been arrested, but the incident has reignited debate over domestic violence amid warnings that such abuse can increase during periods of war.

Latest News

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via Getty Images)

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 activist and Hezbollah critic Lukman Slim shot dead

Slim was shot while visiting southern Lebanon. The government has vowed an investigation amid speculation on Hezbollah's alleged involvement.

Timur Goksel, former Al-Monitor editor and UN diplomat, dies

Timur Goksel, a former UN diplomat and editor of Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse, was best known for his unique contributions to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

An Israeli soldier watches an Elbit Systems Skylark I unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) taking off near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on August 21, 2020, as part of monitoring operations in the area. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Hezbollah says it took out Israeli drone near border

Hezbollah claims to have downed an Israeli drone, but the Israeli military claimed that it crashed.

People inspect a burnt room at municipality building, in the impoverished northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, after anti-government protesters hurled improvised incendiary devices amid clashes with security forces the previous night, on January 29, 2021. (Photo by Fathi AL-MASRI / AFP) (Photo by FATHI AL-MASRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon's PM Diab condemns Tripoli protest violence

Protesters demanding an end to the lockdown set fire on Thursday night to several buildings in the impoverished city of Tripoli.

Syrian businessman denies ties to Beirut explosives

Businessman George Haswani told Reuters the accusations against him are a fabrication.

TOPSHOT - Lebanese anti-government protesters clash with security forces near the Serail (headquarters of the Governorate), in the northern port city of Tripoli, during a demonstration to protest against the economic situation, on January 28, 2021. - Tripoli was already one of Lebanon's poorest areas before the coronavirus pandemic piled new misery onto a chronic economic crisis. Many of its residents have been left without an income since Lebanon imposed a full lockdown earlier this month in a bid to stem

Angry Lebanese protest ongoing lockdown amid looming poverty

Many Lebanese are growing more concerned about how to make ends meet as the country edges more toward economic collapse, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic and a complete lockdown.

Protests in northern Lebanon against virus-related lockdowns turn deadly

Lebanon's 24/7 lockdown has angered people in Tripoli amid a crippling economic crisis, and clashes have left hundreds injured and at least one dead.

Popular Lebanese music streaming platform Anghami moving to Abu Dhabi

The Beirut-based company said they failed to attract investment in Lebanon amid the financial crisis.

Lebanon: Interpol issues warrants for people involved in Beirut port explosion

Lebanese state media said the international police organization has issued Red Notices for the owner and captain of a ship that brought tons of ammonium nitrate to Beirut years before last August's tragic explosion.

Lebanon declares 24-hour curfew, state of emergency

The round-the-clock curfew will take effect at 5 am on Thursday and last until Jan. 25.

The usually crowded seaside promenade is deserted, during a lockdown imposed by the authorities in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, in the Lebanese capital Beirut, on January 7, 2021. - Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lebanon has recorded nearly 200,000 cases including 1,537 deaths, according to health ministry figures.
Health professionals have warned that the latest surge in cases risked causing catastrophe across Lebanon, which is already suffering from the aftermath of a devastati

Lebanon returns to lockdown as virus cases spike

The lockdown, which runs through Feb. 1, mandates an overnight curfew and the closure of most businesses.

A picture shows a closed shop in the city of Jounieh north ofBeirut on December 01, 2020. - Lebanon's economy is sinking into a "deliberate depression", the World Bank said on December 1 in a damning report stressing the authorities' failure to tackle the crisis. Lebanon's economy started collapsing last year as a result of years of corrupt practices and mismanagement. The crisis was made worse by a nationwide wave of anti-government protests that paralysed the country late last year and the Covid-19 pandem

Lebanon to enter new national lockdown Thursday

An overnight curfew and other restrictions will run through Feb. 1.