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Lebanon

Lebanon

April 22, 2026

Beirut 11:06 pm

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Olmert

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.

Jewel SAMAD / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon-Israel negotiations to continue even as Iran talks stall

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun also said that Lebanon will lead the negotiations and that no other party will take part, emphasizing that this track is separate from any other talks.

Joseph EID / AFP via Getty Images

Who are Lebanon’s main players influencing talks with Israel?

Amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, focus is now on the main political players in Lebanon and their role in shaping or derailing any deal.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun delivers a speech during a meeting of Pope Leo XIV with authorities, civil society and diplomatic corps at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on November 30, 2025. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP via Getty Images)

Aoun says Lebanon seeks 'permanent agreements' with Israel after White House invite

Aoun says Lebanon is entering a “new stage” of negotiations with Israel focused on “permanent agreements” following a US-brokered ceasefire and a White House invitation extended to both him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Netanyahu caved to Trump on Lebanon and what it means for Israel

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Jerusalem on February 26, 2026. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Iran says Strait of Hormuz 'completely open' to ships

MUSCAT, OMAN - MARCH 25: Locals take photos of two bulk carriers anchored at Muscat Anchorage on March 25, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which conveys about 20% of the world's oil and gas, has mostly come to a halt after the joint U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28. Iran, in a defiant reply to a ceasefire proposal from the United States, has claimed that sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz "is its natural and legal right." Under international law, t

Trump announces Lebanon-Israel ceasefire, will invite Aoun and Netanyahu to White House

Trump, Rubio speak to Lebanon's president amid push for Aoun-Netanyahu call

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) arrives to attend a cabinet session to discuss an army plan to disarm the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, on September 5, 2025. In August, under heavy US pressure and fearing Israel would intensify its strikes, Lebanon's government ordered the army to draw up a plan for disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by 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 photo taken during a tour organized by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport shows staff loading cargo onto a plane at Beirut's international airport on June 24, 2024.

India, Jordan join chorus of countries warning against travel to Lebanon

The fighting between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel has escalated in recent days, prompting several countries to recommend against travel to Lebanon due to concerns over a war breaking out.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon holds airport tours to dispel weapons report amid Israel-Hezbollah tension

Lebanon has responded to a report that Hezbollah is moving weapons through its international airport with a tour for foreign diplomats and journalists.

CORRECTION / Smoke plumes rise from a fire in a field after rockets launched from southern Lebanon landed near Kela in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on June 13, 2024 amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) / "The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Jalaa MAREY has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Kela] instead of [Katzrin]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all you

Salvo of rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel as Cyprus responds to Hezbollah

Hezbollah fired a new round of rockets on Israel hours after its leader warned Cyprus against military coordination with Israel if war breaks out with Lebanon.

US special envoy Amos Hochstein (L) meets with Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut on June 18, 2024 amid continuing tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border.

In Lebanon, Hochstein calls for 'urgent' end to Israel-Hezbollah escalation

US special envoy Amos Hochstein met with the army commander and other top officials in Beirut to discuss the cross-border escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, one day after his trip to Israel.

Lebanese army forces deploy near the US Embassy after a Syrian man was arrested following a shooting near the embassy, Beirut, Lebanon, June 5, 2024.

Do Lebanon's US Embassy attack, border clashes signal rise in extremism?

While armed groups are becoming more active in Lebanon in the wake of regional tensions resulting from the Gaza war, some believe the country is not prone to rise of extremism.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Zibqin in southern Lebanon on June 12, 2024.

Hezbollah-Israel clashes intensify as fears grow of all-out war in Lebanon

The situation on the Israel-Lebanon border is worsening, all while US efforts to reach a cease-fire in Gaza have yet to lead to a deal.

Lebanese army chief General Joseph Aoun (C-back) arrives at an operational command post in the eastern town of Ras Baalbek, on August 23, 2017.

Pentagon hosts Lebanon’s army chief in bid to avert Israel-Hezbollah war

The Biden administration wants the Lebanese Armed Forces to deploy near the Israel-Lebanon border to help defuse a potentially explosive conflict with Hezbollah. But first, Lebanon's top general needs to be able to pay his soldiers their salaries.

RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah fires 160 rockets at Israel after senior commander killed

Hezbollah launched more than 160 rockets at north Israel in response to the death of the most senior commander in the Lebanese group killed since the cross-border hostilities began in October.

A visitor looks at portraits of late Franco-Lebanese film director Maroun Baghdadi and pictures from his movies at the venue of an exhibition dedicated to his memory in Beirut on December 12, 2023, as Lebanon commemorates the 30th annivesary of his death in an accident at the age of 43. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Lebanon's resistance through culture: Return of Beirut’s Metropolis Cinema

As Beirut continues to navigate its path toward recovery, Metropolis Cinema stands as a symbol of the enduring power of art and culture to resist, unite and inspire.

DANIEL DORKO/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon's military chief heads to US amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tension

The visit coincides with escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah on the border and a foiled attack on the US Embassy in Lebanon.

An ambulance is pictured as Lebanese army deploy near the US embassy in Beirut on June 5, 2024, after a Syrian man was arrested following a shooting near the embassy.

Attack on US Embassy in Lebanon, Syrian gunman wounded

Investigations are ongoing into the shooting incident, which comes amid intensified cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

fire

Israeli war cabinet calls Lebanon meeting as Hezbollah tension spikes

Israel's war cabinet is set to convene to discuss the escalation of violence on the border with Lebanon.