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

Lebanon

Lebanon

June 17, 2026

Beirut 6:38 pm

28°C

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on April 24, 2026, on the sidelines of a European summit.

Analysis

Why Trump’s push for Syria to confront Hezbollah is an unlikely bid

Trump’s proposal faces resistance from Damascus, skepticism from experts and opposition across Lebanon’s political spectrum.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

How Iran's internal divide over Lebanon could shape US negotiations

Sources familiar with the indirect discussions between Tehran and Washington told Al-Monitor that Iran had prepared a significant response to Sunday's Beirut strike.

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

President Donald Trump insisted he has a great relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but criticized the scale of Israel’s strikes in Lebanon.

Latest News

Gulf cautiously welcomes US-Iran deal as Hezbollah congratulates Tehran

Veiled women in black Chadors wave Iran and Hezbollah flags during commemoration at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 22, 2026.

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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

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

Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri greets his supporters after he prayed at the grave of his father, slain prime minister Rafic Hariri, during a commemoration for the 19th anniversary of his assassination, in Beirut, on February 14, 2024. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Why Saad Hariri return to politics in Lebanon is still unlikely

Saad Hariri’s brief return to Lebanon this month fueled speculation that he might be eying a return to politics, but experts see it as far-fetched in current dynamics.

Greg Nash/Getty Images

Sen. Coons to visit Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah clashes, leadership crisis

Democratic Senator Chris Coons is headed for Beirut in what some observers comment is a show of US support for Lebanon at a time of ongoing crisis.

This picture shows a general view of Lebanon's port city of Tripoli on April 26, 2023. A crushing economic crisis in Lebanon has impelled members of the security forces to take on side hustles to get by, raising concerns about security in the eastern Mediterranean country. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Nearly 1,000 buildings in Tripoli, Lebanon are at risk of collapse: Amnesty

Amnesty International has denounced the local Tripoli government’s lack of action to protect residents who have been living in unsafe buildings since last year’s earthquake.

Smoke billows following two Israeli air raids (L and R) in the southern Lebanese city town of Ghaziyeh.

Israel strikes near Sidon in serious Lebanon escalation

The latest strikes hit an area some 30 kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon border, where Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in tit-for-tat exchanges since last October.

School Lebanon

In south Lebanon, schools resume classes as displaced shelter inside

Hezbollah steps in as municipalities struggle to respond to the growing number of displaced.

Smoke billows above the village of Khiyam, in southern Lebanon, during an Israeli bombardment near the Lebanese border, Feb. 8, 2024.

Israel, Hezbollah cling to deterrence to avoid escalation

Most experts doubt an expansion of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border, but events on another border could change that.

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah says Israel will pay in ‘blood’ as cross-border fighting intensifies

The fire exchanges that have been ongoing between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel since October have intensified this week, raising fears of a full-blown conflict.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern Lebanese village of Shihin near the border on February 11, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP) (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

France's plan seeks Hezbollah pullback, army deployment to Lebanon-Israel border

France is pushing a plan to de-escalate Israel-Hezbollah tensions and avoid a full-fledged war similar to 2006.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike as flares fall on the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, near the border with Israel, Jan. 19, 2024.

Suspected Israeli strikes in Syria amid escalation with Hezbollah in Lebanon

A Hezbollah commander in Lebanon was injured in an Israeli strike as foreign diplomats worked to de-escalate tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border.

Nawaf Salam, Lebanon's Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks to the media after Security Council consultations on the Palestinian request for full United Nations membership during the General Assembly September 26, 2011 at UN headquarters in New York. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images)

Meet Lebanon's Nawaf Salam, new ICJ president

Salam, Lebanon’s former ambassador to the UN, becomes head of the UN’s top legal body at a critical time amid the Gaza war.

Supporters of Lebanon's President Michel Aoun cheer under a large national flag, as he prepares to leave the presidential palace in Babbda at the end of his mandate, east of the capital Beirut, on October 30, 2022. - Already reeling from three years of economic meltdown, Lebanon faces the prospect of its multi-faceted crisis deepening further when President Michel Aoun's mandate expires. (Photo by anwar amro / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s alliance with Christian FPM movement shows cracks

The presidential vacuum and ongoing cross-border hostilities have strained already deteriorating relations between the Shiite Hezbollah group and the Free Patriotic Movement.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne chairs a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the Middle East, including the situation in Gaza and Israel on Jan. 23, 2024, in New York City.

France's new FM Sejourne makes first visit to Egypt, Lebanon, Israel & Jordan

French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné is set to visit the Middle East, meeting with almost all the parties involved in the Gaza war, except Qatar.