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Lebanon

Lebanon

September 18, 2026

Beirut 12:59 pm

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ISRAEL-ENTERTAINMENT-TELEVISION-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-MASS-MEDIA-D (L to R) Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, co-creators of the hit Israeli TV show "Fauda", attend a demonstration against the Israeli government's plans to shut-down public broadcaster KAN, in Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on January 25, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Israeli show ‘Fauda’ tops Netflix in Lebanon, hits top 10 across Arab states

The show was created by Israeli journalist Avi Issacharoff and actor Lior Raz, drawing on their experiences serving in the Israeli military’s elite Duvdevan unit.

UN peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle during a patrol in southern Lebanon, Feb. 22, 2026.

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

Showing its support for Lebanon, Paris is backing Beirut’s request at the UN for a short-term extension of UNIFIL’s mandate, although French sources acknowledge that the chances of the request being approved are slim.

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge on Aug. 14, 2026.

Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in Ali al-Taher ridge: What to know

The ridge has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon due to its extensive tunnel network Israel says is utilized by the Iran-backed group.

Kawnat HAJU / AFP via Getty Images

Israeli escalation in south Lebanon leaves 27 dead in 3 days as talks stall

The Israeli military has escalated airstrikes across south Lebanon after claiming control of a strategic ridge where Hezbollah has established an underground command center and tunnel network.

Latest News

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

Analysis

Playing for time: Despite US pressure, Israel stalls Lebanon talks until after election

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

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

Why Ali al-Taher ridge is emerging as Israel-Hezbollah flashpoint

A flare fired by the Israeli military lands over the highlands of the area of Ali al-Taher as seen from nearby Marjayoun (Marjeyoun) in southern Lebanon on June 14, 2026.

Israel to release 5 Lebanese prisoners ahead of next talks: What to know

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

A general view shows damage and burnt tents for Syrian refugees from the fighting between Lebanese army soldiers and Islamist militants in the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley August 7, 2014. Militant Islamists have mostly withdrawn from the Lebanese border town of Arsal, which they seized at the weekend, taking with them captive Lebanese soldiers, militant and security sources said on Thursday, as a truce to end the deadly battle appeared to hold. REUTERS/Hassan Abdallah (LEBANON

Is Lebanon next target of Islamic State?

Lebanon battles extremist armed groups; Egypt’s political isolation in Gaza; Iran’s shift on Hamas; family of Al-Monitor columnist killed by Israeli airstrike; lobbying series continues.

Hezbollah supporters wave Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags as they listen to their leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressing his supporters during a rally to mark "Quds (Jerusalem) Day" in Beirut's southern suburbs July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTR4056R

Gaza war brings Hamas, Hezbollah closer

The war on Gaza offers an opportunity to renegotiate the strategic relationship between Hamas and Hezbollah, whose relationship has been severed over the past three years, providing major obstacles can be overcome.

A Syrian refugee girl sits on cement blocks amid damage and burnt tents from the fighting between Lebanese army soldiers and Islamist militants in the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley August 7, 2014. Militant Islamists have mostly withdrawn from the Lebanese border town of Arsal, which they seized at the weekend, taking with them captive Lebanese soldiers, militant and security sources said on Thursday, as a truce to end the deadly battle appeared to hold. REUTERS/Hassan Abdallah (

How will the Lebanese military deal with Arsal?

The battle in Arsal posed a major challenge to the Lebanese army while the people there waited for a military settlement.

Lebanese army soldiers stand near their vehicles at the entrance leading to Arsal August 3, 2014. Following the death of eight Lebanese soldiers killed in clashes with Islamist militants in the area on Saturday, the Lebanese army deployed more troops around the town of Arsal, near the Syrian border. REUTERS/Hassan Abdallah (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR41268

Arsal clashes a threat to Lebanon's future

The outcome of the clashes in Arsal between the Lebanese army and fundamentalists supporting the Syrian opposition may hold the key to how Lebanon can resolve its political crises.

Lebanese army soldiers march during a military parade to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Lebanon's independence day in downtown Beirut November 22,2008. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON) - RTXAUIN

Officials mum on Lebanese soldier's defection to Jabhat al-Nusra

Government officials have refrained from directly commenting on news that a soldier has defected from the Lebanese army to join Jabhat al-Nusra.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai reads as he is surrounded by security personnel during his a visit to Birim, a northern Israeli village whose Maronite Christian residents were displaced 66 years ago May 28, 2014. The Lebanese church leader who defied warnings from the powerful Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah movement by accompanying the Pope on a Holy Land visit pledged on Wednesday to help dispossessed Christians in Israel. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly (ISRAEL - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR

Will patriarch's plan lead to new Lebanese president?

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai has proposed an initiative to allow a president to be elected with only an absolute majority of the vote.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks with Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil during a news conference in Beirut May 29, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3RFF8

Lebanon’s Christians react to crisis in Mosul

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry has taken up the cause of the uprooted Christians of Iraq, calling on international organizations to intervene.

Traders are seen busy working in Audi Bank's dealing room before the end of Beirut's stock exchange trading session in Beirut, Lebanon in this April 3, 2006 file photo. Picture taken April 3, 2006. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi - RTR1CEXZ

Foreign investments slip as Lebanon remains in crisis

In addition to stability and electing a president, a series of reforms is necessary to stop the regression of Lebanon’s economy.

Lebanese Army soldiers patrol as relatives of Islamists held in a Lebanese jail block a street with barbed wire to express their solidarity with those jailed, and demand their release, after Friday prayers in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, July 11, 2014. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3Y698

Security forces move on radical Islamists in Tripoli

The arrest of Hussam Abdullah al-Sabbagh, wanted for committing terrorist attacks, has triggered demonstrations by Salafists in Tripoli.

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters hold banners and wave Hezbollah (C) and Palestinian flags (L) during a demonstration against Israel's military action in Gaza, in front of the United Nations headquarters in Beirut July 18, 2014. Israel stepped up its land offensive in Gaza with artillery, tanks and gunboats on Friday and declared it could "significantly widen" an operation Palestinian officials said was killing ever greater numbers of civilians. Israeli gunboats lit up the sky with their fire before dawn whil

Hezbollah, Hamas repair political ties during breakup

The fraught relations between Hezbollah and Hamas could come to an end as Israel continues its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli Apache helicopter fires a missile towards the Gaza Strip July 22, 2014. Israel pounded targets across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, saying no ceasefire was near as top U.S. and United Nations diplomats pursued talks on halting the fighting that has claimed more than 600 lives. With the conflict entering its third week, the Palestinian death toll rose to 616, including nearly 100 children and many other civilians, Gaza health officials said. Israel's casualties also mounted, with the military announc

Israel's legal framework for Gaza strikes

Declaring Gaza a "belligerent, entity sui generis" has informed Israel’s strategy in the conflict.

A poster of (R-L) Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, former Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi and Lebanese resistance leader and cleric Sheikh Ragheb Harb, is seen in between Iranian, Syrian, Lebanese and Hezbollah flags during Resistance and Liberation Day celebrations in Bint Jbeil May 25, 2014. The event commemorates the 14th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POL

Personal appearance by Nasrallah could be target for attacks

While Hezbollah sources hint that Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah may appear in person to deliver this year's Quds Day speech, there are questions of whether he can, in light of genuine concerns for his safety.