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Lebanon

Lebanon

September 19, 2026

Beirut 9:21 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

Egypt's interim Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy (3rd L) speaks as German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (2nd R) looks on during their meeting in Cairo August 1, 2013. Germany urged Egypt to avoid "the appearance of selective justice" on Thursday amid a crackdown on deposed President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, which remained defiantly dug in at a protest camp the police have orders to remove. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX126WM

The Road Map That Egypt Needs

A number of conditions could break the deadly stalemate in Egypt and produce a smooth transition.

Islamist preacher Omar Bakri attends an interview with Reuters at his home in Tripoli, northern Lebanon May 24, 2013. Bakri praised Michael Adebolajo, one of the suspected killers of a British soldier in Woolwich, but said his actions were spontaneous and that he acted alone. Syrian-born Bakri, who founded the banned Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, was banished from Britain in 2005. REUTERS/Stringer (LEBANON - Tags: CRIME LAW RELIGION CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZYWR

Extremist Preacher Denies Al-Qaeda’s Presence in Lebanon

Salafist preacher Omar Bakri Fostock has denied that al-Qaeda maintains a presence in Lebanon, but doesn’t rule out the establishment of an Islamic emirate in the country.

The Caracalla Dance Theatre performs a new theatrical production of "The village" (Al-Dayaa) during a dress rehearsal during the Baalbeck International Festival in Baalbek, in the Bekaa valley, July 14, 2009. The Baalbeck International Festival is an annual entertainment festival that takes place in July and August in the Roman Ruins of the Baalbek Temples. REUTERS/Ahmed Shalha (LEBANON SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) - RTR25NWB

Lebanon's Latest Church-State Scuffle

In Lebanon’s complex, diverse society, religious institutions often take on vocal roles in protecting what they regard as affronts to the sanctity of their beliefs.

People walk past empty restaurants in downtown Beirut November 20, 2012. In addition to tumbling exports, Lebanon's tourist industry has declined by as much as 15 percent. Most Gulf countries warned their citizens this year not to visit Lebanon after clashes erupted between supporters and opponents of the Syrian uprising. Lebanon has also lost most of the 600,000 Arab tourists who usually drive into Lebanon through Syria each year. To match Reuters Summit MIDEAST-SUMMIT/LEBANON-SYRIA REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon's Economy Shrinks Under Burden of Syrian Crisis

Traditionally bolstered by its larger and more economically diverse neighbor, Lebanon’s economy has felt the sting of the war raging in Syria.

Syrian and Palestinian refugees register their names in order to receive humanitarian aid at the Offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Beirut April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZ3F9

Lebanon Needs Viable Solutions For Displaced Syrians

Just as it is inevitable that displaced Syrians will continue to flow across the Lebanese border, it is also inevitable that the Lebanese state’s inability to keep up with the burden will drag Lebanon into a crisis of its own.

An Indonesian soldier from the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stands near a U.N. armoured vehicle as a picture of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is seen behind him in the southern Lebanese village of Adaisseh July 24, 2013. Europe's decision to blacklist Hezbollah's "military wing" was triggered by the Lebanese movement's growing role in Syria, but the partial ban may have little practical impact due to fears of destabilising Lebanon and the wider Middle East. REUTE

EU Decision Leaves Hezbollah More Resolute Than Ever

At a critical time in Lebanese politics, the EU decision to classify Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization has reopened debate about the party’s participation in government and its right to possess arms.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (C) arrives for talks with Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department in Washington, July 30, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held their first peace talks in nearly three years on Monday in a U.S.-brokered effort that Kerry hopes will end their conflict despite deep divisions. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX124QA

Peace Talks in Need of Clarity

Legal clarity will be crucial as the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resume.

People pray at the shrine of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein ibn Ali at the Al-Hussein mosque, named after the grandson, before Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the mosque in old Cairo February 5, 2013. Ahmadinejad was both kissed and scolded on Tuesday when he began the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution. The trip was meant to underline a thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state, President Mohamed Mursi, last Jun

The Coming Rapprochement Between Iran and the Brotherhood

As both Sunni and Shiite groups in the Middle East are targeted by the West and its allies, some predict a forthcoming Sunni-Shiite rapprochement.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) reacts as he poses with his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras (L) and Greece's Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos (R) after signing agreements in Istanbul March 4, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EK7W

Turkey's Egypt Question

Turkey's role in the Middle East will turn on how it handles the crisis in Egypt.

A poster of Mohamed Hassan Shehade, a Hezbollah fighter who died in the Syrian conflict, hangs on a building in Adloun town, south of Sidon in southern Lebanon, July 23, 2013. The European Union agreed on Monday to put the armed wing of Hezbollah on its terrorism blacklist, a move driven by concerns over the Lebanese militant group's involvement in a deadly bus bombing in Bulgaria and the Syrian war. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CRIME LAW) - RTX11W1Q

No Separation in Hezbollah Political and Military Wings

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah mocks the EU’s misunderstanding of the inseparable nature of the party’s military and political branches.

An Indonesian soldier from the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) uses his walkie-talkie as he stands near a picture of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in the southern Lebanese village of Adaisseh July 24, 2013. Europe's decision to blacklist Hezbollah's "military wing" was triggered by the Lebanese movement's growing role in Syria, but the partial ban may have little practical impact due to fears of destabilising Lebanon and the wider Middle East. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (

How Will Terror List Decision Affect EU-Hezbollah Ties?

The European Union’s decision to add Hezbollah’s military wing to the list of terrorist organizations could compromise key security coordination between the two sides.

Angelina Eichhorst, head of EU delegation in Lebanon, meets with Ammar Moussawi, Hezbollah's international relations official in Beirut's southern suburbs July 25, 2013. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday the European Union had given Israel justification to attack Lebanon by blacklisting the armed wing of his group, and would bear responsibility for any Israeli military action. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11YHU

Does Hezbollah Seek Cold Peace With EU?

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is working to contain the fallout from the EU decision.