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Lebanon

Lebanon

September 19, 2026

Beirut 1:26 am

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Hibatullah Barakat / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon charges 5 in alleged Hezbollah operation to train Assad loyalists

A Lebanese military court has charged the five, including an Assad-era Syrian officer and Hezbollah members, with running a cross-border security network planning attacks in Syria’s coastal region.

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.

Latest News

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

Kawnat HAJU / AFP via Getty Images

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.

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

Turkish Airlines pilot Murat Agca talks to media at Istanbul's Ataturk airport October 19, 2013. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan personally greeted two kidnapped Turkish pilots when they arrived back in Istanbul on Saturday after two months in captivity in Lebanon. The pair were released earlier under a deal whereby nine Lebanese hostages were freed in Syria and allowed to return home via Turkey. The Turkish pilots had been abducted in retaliation for the snatching of the Lebanese. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY

Turkey Rescues Its Pilots in Swap Deal

Turkey’s silent diplomacy yielded results on Oct.19, when it rescued the two Turkish Airlines pilots kidnapped in Beirut on Aug. 9.

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird (L) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud before a meeting of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People during 68th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1418C

Can Saudi Withdrawal From Security Council Spark Dialogue?

While unfortunate, the withdrawal of Saudi Arabia from the UN Security Council may focus attention on the lack of an Arab voice at the UN.

Protesters shout slogans as they hold an image of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a demonstration against the possibility of a U.S. military strike against the Syrian government, in Tunis September 10, 2013. REUTERS/Anis Mili (TUNISIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13G1N

Hezbollah Deputy Received in Paris

France hosts a Hezbollah deputy just three months after the party was added to the EU terrorist list.

A U.N. vehicle returns to a hotel where experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are staying, in Damascus October 11, 2013. The global chemical weapons watchdog charged with overseeing destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile during a civil war won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a relatively small organisation with a modest budget, dispatched its experts after a sarin gas attack killed more t

Is Saudi Arabia Holding Up The Geneva II Conference on Syria?

While Turkey may be shifting its Syria policy in response to domestic and international pressure, Saudi Arabia appears to be digging in to oppose the trend toward a diplomatic solution.

Civilians look at the bodies of victims of an attack in the village of Mwafaqiya, in Nineveh province, October 17, 2013. A suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives blew himself up in a village in northern Iraq, killing at least 11 people early on Thursday, police said. The attack targeted members of Iraq's predominantly Shi'ite Shabak minority in the village of Mwafaqiya in Nineveh province. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX14F5M

Syria Crisis Sidelines Iraq

While the world focuses on Syria, Iraq endures daily carnage and a security situation that is spiraling out of control.

Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem October 14, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14AZQ

Netanyahu Stuck On Repeat on Palestine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu undercut Israeli-Palestinian negotiations with his recent address to the Knesset.

arab christians.jpg

Islamist, Christian Differences On Display at Conference

A conference held in Amman, Jordan, about Christians and the Arab Spring revealed the many differences between Islamists and Christians over minority rights.

Newly released Abdulbasit Aslan (R), a Turkish national abducted by a Lebanese Shi'ite in Beirut, shakes hands with Abbas Ibrahim, head of the Lebanese General Security, as Turkish ambassador to Lebanon Inan Ozyildiz (C) looks on, at the Lebanese General Security headquarters in Beirut September 13, 2012. REUTERS/ Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR37XTM

Will Bishops Be Included in Deal To Release Lebanese Detainees?

New information suggests that a deal is near to secure the release of nine Lebanese citizens detained in Syria in March, but questions remain about two kidnapped bishops' fate.

Palestinian protesters hurl rocks at Israeli soldiers during clashes in Betunia, near the West Bank city of Ramallah October 11, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX147KO

Egyptian-Israeli Peace Dilemma For United States

Egypt's peace agreement with Israel has stood in the way of a lasting solution for Palestinians.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) looks past his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu (2nd R) during the opening of a ministerial meeting in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 13, 2013. The OIC urged its member states to make generous contributions at this week's main donors conference on Mali to be held in Brussels, which aims to raise funds to repair the damage caused by the war against Islamists in the African country. AFP PHOTO/STR

Lebanon Stability Depends On Iran-Saudi Entente

The warming trends in US-Russia and US-Iran ties may or may not benefit Lebanon, unless Iran and Saudi Arabia end their sectarian regional policies.

Egyptian Christians enter the St. Simon monastery to attend an event to commemorate the second anniversary of the Maspero clashes, where the military cracked down on Christian protesters and killed 25, at the St. Simon monastery in Cairo, October 9, 2013. Picture taken October 9, 2013. REUTERS/ Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION ANNIVERSARY) - RTX1468U

Rise of Islamists Threatens Christian, Human Rights

The rise of Islamists in the Middle East has increased the oppression of minorities in the region, but the issue could be resolved by protecting the human aspect of citizens.

A U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber is followed by fighter planes above one of the three great pyramids of Giza, Egypt October 25, during a demonstration flight which is part of the Bright Star 99 military exercises. Some 73,000 military personnel from eleven countries are taking part in the exercises in the Egyptian Western desert and the Mediterranean.

FMS/ZDC - RTRRTL5

US 'Muddled' Approach to Egyptian Aid Needs Reassessment

The freeze on aid shows the United States is missing the message on Egypt.