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

Lebanon

Lebanon

September 20, 2026

Beirut 11:52 am

28°C

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

A woman stands next to a poster of assassinated leftist politician Chokri Belaid during a demonstration, calling for Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali and his cabinet to step down, at the National Constituent Assembly in Tunis, February 11, 2013. A party led by interim President Moncef Marzouki said on Monday it had "frozen" its withdrawal from Tunisia's coalition government while talks continue on a political crisis sharpened by the killing of an opposition politician. Belaid's killing - Tunisia's first such po

Failure to Confront Extremists Keeps Tunisian Unity Elusive

The Tunisian government's lackluster reaction to the murder of opposition leader Chokri Belaid is setting a very dangerous precedent, writes Nassif Hitti.

Men drink tea and smoke water pipe at a cafe in the old city of Damascus November 8, 2012. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR3A600

Life Continues in Damascus Despite Surrounding Conflict

As the Syrian conflict nears its third year, Damascus remains largely detached from its rural surroundings, writes Nasser Chararah.

Lebanese Christian leaders and members of the ruling majority stand during a minute of silence in memory of slain Lebanese army general Francois El Hajj, at the Kataeb party headquarters in Beirut 12 December 2007. Hajj and his bodyguard were killed today in a car bomb that also injured eight others in a Christian suburb on the outskirts of Beirut. L-R: National Liberal Party's Dory Chamoun, deputy parliament speaker Farid Makari, Lebanese Forces party leader Samir Geagea, former Lebanese president Amine Ge

Deputy Speaker Makari: 'We Do Not See Stability in Lebanon'

Speaking to Al-Monitor's Elie Hajj, Lebanon's Deputy Speaker Farid Makari explains why he believes the European Union will likely implicate Hezbollah's military wing in the murders in Bulgaria, but not classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

Lebanon's Christian Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, attends an interview with Reuters in Bkirki, north of Beirut, February 28, 2012. Violence and bloodshed is turning the "Arab Spring" into winter, the head of Lebanon's Maronite Church said, threatening Christians and Muslims alike across the Middle East. Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, whose Maronite Church also has a strong presence in Syria, said change could not be brought to the Arab world by force and that Christians feared the turmoil was helping extrem

Visit of Lebanese Patriarch to Syria Sparks Controversy

Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai recently visited Syria, in a move that sparked controversy among Lebanon's already divided political circles, writes Elie Hajj.

A bus, that was damaged in a bomb blast on Wednesday is seen outside Burgas Airport, about 400km (248 miles) east of Sofia July 19, 2012. A suicide bomber carried out an attack that killed seven people in a bus transporting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, the country's interior minister said on Thursday, and Israel said Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants were to blame. Video surveillance footage showed the bomber was similar in appearance to tourists arriving at the airport, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetano

Hezbollah Goes on Defense In Response to Bulgaria Bombing

After a period of apparent indifference on Hezbollah's part regarding recent accusations that it was behind last summer’s Burgas bombing, Nasser Chararah argues that the party will soon adopt a strategy of defense.

A woman holds a picture of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a rally to commemorate the birth of Prophet Mohammad in Beirut's suburbs, January 25, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3CY5K

Hezbollah Prepares to Make Its Case On Bulgaria Indictment

Hezbollah will respond on Feb. 16 to Bulgarian accusations that the group is responsible for the Burgas bombing in July, writes Jean Aziz.

A couple mourns next to a Tunisian flag during the funeral procession for the late secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid in the Jebel Jelloud district in Tunis February 8, 2013. Tens of thousands of mourners chanted anti-Islamist slogans on Friday at the Tunis funeral of Belaid, whose assassination has plunged Tunisia deeper into political crisis. REUTERS/ Anis Mili (TUNISIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS OBITUARY) - RTR3DHTW

Is Spring Over in Tunis?

The recent assassination was a rare interruption in Tunisia's peaceful revolution, writes Clovis Maksoud, who fears a dangerous polarization is emerging between secularists and Islamists there.

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters gesture as they pray during a ceremony to mark Ashura in Beirut's suburbs, November 25, 2012. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel on Sunday that thousands of rockets would rain down on Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities if Israel attacked Lebanon. In a speech marking the Shi'ite Muslim festival of Ashura, Nasrallah said Hezbollah's response to any attack would dwarf the attacks from Gaza during the eight-day conflict between Israel and the Islamist Hamas rule

Hezbollah, Part 1: Origins and Challenges

Mohammad Harfoush looks at Hezbollah, one of Lebanon’s most polarizing organizations, in part one of a survey of the factors that led to the movement's formation and its present status in Lebanese society and politics.

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) to make a statement on Middle East Peace talks in the East Room of the White House in Washington September 1, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2HTEC

Obama Visit to Israel an Opportunity

US President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to Israel is an opportunity for a new start in US policy in the region, writes Clovis Maksoud.

A destroyed truck, thought to be used by Islamist rebels, is seen on the road between Konna and Sevare February 4, 2013. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (MALI - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3DDI1

Fear of Extremism Grows in Maghreb

Nassif Hitti comments on regional concerns about the rise of extremism following developments in Mali.

Lebanese Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim sheikhs listen to Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a rally to commemorate the birth of Prophet Mohammad in Beirut's suburbs, January 25, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3CY5E

Hezbollah Faces PressureAfter Bulgaria Indictment

Ali Hashem examines responses in Lebanon and abroad to Bulgaria's accusations against Hezbollah for the Burgas bombing.

Lebanese soldiers man a checkpoint after their deployment in Aarsal town in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa February 5, 2013. Four Lebanese soldiers and two gunmen were killed in clashes in the country's Bekaa Valley on Friday after militants attacked a Lebanese army unit, security sources said. REUTERS/ Ahmad Shalha (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3DDSC

Hezbollah: Israeli Strike On Syria Was Also a Strike at Iran

Tensions in Lebanon and the region are high amid fears that the Syrian crisis will spread, writes Nasser Chararah.