Lebanon

LAF Commander General Rodolphe Haykal Meets with Officials in Saudi Arabia

This is Beirut 10/02 21:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Rodolphe Haykal Saudi Arabia LAF

General Rodolphe Haykal, commander of the LAF, met with officials in Saudi Arabia on Sunday and Monday during the World Defense Show. The meeting occurred in preparation for the upcoming March 5 French-Saudi-led conference in Paris to garner support for the LAF. Haykal’s dialogue with Saudi officials was carried out to discuss avenues for ...

Lebanon, Jordan Seek Solutions After Damascus Bans Non-Syrian Trucks

This is Beirut 10/02 18:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Lebanon Jordan

Lebanon and Jordan are seeking a solution with Syria after the latter barred foreign trucks from entering its territory, officials from both countries told AFP on Tuesday. Damascus had issued a decision on Saturday stipulating that "non-Syrian trucks will not be allowed to enter" the country, and that goods being imported by road must ...

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Hezbollah-Linked Gold and Cash Network

This is Beirut 10/02 18:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United States Hezbollah al-Qard al-Hassan Iran

The U.S. Treasury Department released a statement on Tuesday outlining new sanctions that target Hezbollah’s cash-based financial network. Elaborating on the sanctions, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated that the “Treasury will work to cut these terrorists off from the global financial system to give Lebanon a chance to be ...

AnalysisU.S. Rep. LaHood to This Is Beirut: “No Progress, No Support,” Lebanon Must Act Now

Amal Chmouny 10/02 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanon Lebanese Army Amal Donald Trump Hezbollah

When Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal arrived in the U.S. capital during the first week of February, he entered a fundamentally transformed strategic landscape. The meetings that unfolded—from tense political exchanges to a dramatic walkout by Sen. Lindsey Graham—crystallized a stark reality: Lebanon’s decades-long balancing act ...

Lebanese Forces Party Delegation Meets Syrian Officials in Damascus

This is Beirut 10/02 16:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Syria AssadRegime LFParty

A delegation from the Lebanese Forces, one of Lebanon’s main Christian political parties, held talks in Damascus on Tuesday with Syria’s Information Minister Hamza Mustafa, Lebanese media reported. According to MTV, the delegation included Lebanese MP Melhem Riachi, a former information minister, and the party’s head of foreign relations, ...

UNIFIL to Withdraw Majority of Troops in Lebanon by Mid 2027

This is Beirut 10/02 14:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Lebanese Army UN Security Council United Nations Hezbollah UNIFIL UN Italy France Israel

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is preparing to withdraw most of its troops from Lebanon by mid-2027, following the expiration of its mandate, spokesperson Kandice Ardiel told AFP on Tuesday. UNIFIL, which has served for decades as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon, has recently been supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces ...

Op-edWill Hezbollah Turn to Political Assassinations Again?

Iftah Burman 10/02 13:00 - Reading : 10 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Amal Hassan Nasrallah UN Security Council

As Hezbollah faces mounting pressure, the risk is growing that the group could once again turn to assassinations to preserve its fragile military, political, and financial positions. In December 2025, fresh revelations about the activities of Hezbollah’s assassination squad, Unit 121, brought the group’s use of political violence back ...

Kuwait Targets Hezbollah’s Health Network With New Terrorism Designations

This is Beirut 09/02 21:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Kuwait Hezbollah Lebanon Public Health

Kuwait added eight Lebanese hospitals to its national terrorism list on Monday in an effort to target service sectors that Hezbollah incorporates into its cashflow. This development grows the list of sanctioned Lebanese entities by the Kuwaiti government, which notably includes the Hezbollah-affiliated financial apparatus Al Qard Al Hassan. The ...

Qassem: Israeli-U.S. Aggression Is Lebanon’s Core Challenge

This is Beirut 09/02 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Iran Israel USA Trump

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Monday that Lebanon has preserved its independence through resistance and possesses “real capabilities,” arguing that the country’s central challenge remains what he described as ongoing Israeli and American aggression. Speaking during a public address, Qassem said that sustained Israeli ...

Op-edWhat the LAF Chief’s Visit to the U.S. Revealed

Hussain Abdul-Hussain 09/02 14:35 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanese Army Hezbollah Israel Rodolphe Haykal Washington Lebanon US

Lindsey Graham portrayed his meeting with Rodolphe Haykal, which collapsed within minutes, as a complete debacle. The U.S. senator asked the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) chief if Hezbollah was a terrorist organization. Haykal’s reply—“not in the Lebanese context”—prompted Graham to walk out in fury, insisting that any group responsible ...

Lebanon Warns of Economic Fallout as Syria Bars Foreign Trucks

This is Beirut 09/02 10:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Lebanon Trade Agriculture Economy

Lebanese transport unions sounded the alarm on Monday after Syria imposed new restrictions on foreign trucks entering its territory, a move they say threatens Lebanon’s land transport sector and risks disrupting trade flows between the two countries. The decision, issued by Syria’s General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs ...

Israel Detains Senior Islamic Group Operative in South Lebanon

This is Beirut 09/02 09:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel South Lebanon Nawaf Salam Ceasefire

Israeli forces carried out a cross-border raid into southern Lebanon overnight, detaining what the military described as a “senior operative” from Al-Jama‘a al-Islamiya, the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said troops from the 210th Division conducted the operation in the Mount ...