Lebanon

AnalysisLebanon’s Last Chance: Disarm Hezbollah or Risk Collapse

Amal Chmouny 11:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel United States Donald Trump

Lebanon’s long‑simmering debate over Hezbollah’s disarmament has sharpened into a defining confrontation between state sovereignty and a foreign‑backed militia. In Washington, the issue is becoming the centerpiece of US regional policy. For President Trump’s administration, Hezbollah’s disarmament is not merely a security objective but ...

Clearfield's Mechanism: Remaking Peace, Once Again

Natasha Metni Torbey 24/10 18:10 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Mechanism Joseph Clearfield ceasefire Lebanon

Same story, same players. After every lull along the southern border, the same words return, the same statements roll out, the same diplomats spring into action, each convinced that this time, “it’s different.” We hear about a “gradual de-escalation plan,” a “monitoring mechanism,” a “return to the core resolutions.” Earnest ...

Israeli Raid on Toul Kills Two, Including Hezbollah Member

This is Beirut 24/10 15:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Baalbeck Hezbollah Israel lebanon Nabatieh Tyr South Lebanon

Two people were killed on Friday in an Israeli air raid on the Toul region in the Nabatieh caza, southern Lebanon. The victims were identified as Hussein al-Abd Hamdan, a Hezbollah member who had survived last year’s Pager explosion, and Abbas Hassan Karaki, who was driving a Honda CR-V at the time of the strike. Karaki’s brother, Radwan ...

Op-edSheikh Naim’s Clash with the Formal Economy

Johnny Kortbawi 24/10 15:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Banks Banque du Liban Hezbollah Israel Naim Qassem Cash

One of Hezbollah’s most pressing challenges, beyond its ongoing military decline and Israel’s persistent targeting of its depots and stockpiles, is its financial crisis. The depletion of resources has left the group unable to engage with its population as it once did to sustain its alternative economy. A clear example is Sheikh Naim ...

Block 8: Lebanon’s Energy Strategy Faces a Credibility Test

Mario Chartouni 24/10 14:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Europe Israel United Kingdom USA

On Thursday at the Baabda Presidential Palace, Lebanon’s Council of Ministers took two decisive steps in the country’s energy policy by approving the oil exploration agreement for Block 8 and ratifying the maritime border with Cyprus. These decisions reflect the government’s determination to revive a strategic sector long stalled by ...

UN Day 2025: Lebanon Marks Ties with the United Nations

This is Beirut 24/10 11:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United Nations Joseph Aoun Lebanese Army UN Security Council lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert

President Joseph Aoun marked United Nations Day 2025 by recalling the principles that have guided both Lebanon and the UN since the organization’s founding 80 years ago. “This day is a reminder of a pact made eight decades ago – a pact that feels like a charter for Lebanon’s mission and struggle,” he said on Friday. Emphasizing the ...

Cabinet Approves Key Appointments and Oil Exploration Deal

This is Beirut 23/10 19:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Central Bank of Lebanon Joseph Aoun Nawaf Salam lebanon Cabinet

The Council of Ministers convened on Thursday at Baabda presidential palace, approving a series of administrative, economic and financial decisions. The cabinet, chaired by President Joseph Aoun, reviewed 44 items on its agenda, focused on appointments, energy agreements and the banking and education sectors. Among the key decisions, the Cabinet ...

InvestigationAugust 4, 2020: Key Developments in the Grechushkin Case

Natasha Metni Torbey 23/10 17:40 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Port explosion Lebanon Justice Bulgaria Igor Grechushkin Tarek Bitar

There are renewed signs of progress in the investigation into the Beirut port explosion of August 4, 2020. Two judicial tracks are taking shape: that of investigating judge Tarek Bitar, still mired in the legal actions brought against him, and that of Igor Grechushkin, the presumed owner of the Rhosus, currently detained in Bulgaria. Meanwhile, ...

Violent Airstrikes Rock Beqaa and Hermel

This is Beirut 23/10 13:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Airstrikes

A series of Israeli airstrikes shook the Beqaa and Hermel regions on Thursday. Loud explosions were heard in the areas of Janta, Shmistar and the heights of Hermel. The Israeli army announced that it carried out a series of airstrikes against Hezbollah positions in the Beqaa and northern Lebanon. According to a statement from the Israeli army, ...

PoliticsCyprus Border Deal Reaffirms Mikati’s 2011 Decision

Bassam Abou Zeid 23/10 13:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel United Nations Cyprus Najib Mikati

The Cabinet is set to approve the Lebanon-Cyprus maritime border agreement, despite claims that Lebanon forfeited around 5,000 square kilometers along the median line of the two countries’ exclusive economic zones. Lebanese negotiators assert that these claims have no basis in international law, and studies indicate that disputing them would ...

Grade Tampering Scandal at the Lebanese University: Investigation Underway

This is Beirut 23/10 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanese University Lebanon education scandal

The investigation into the grade-tampering scandal at the Faculty of Law of the Lebanese University has reached a turning point. Earlier this month, the public institution was rocked by revelations that exam scores had been falsified in favor of several Kuwaiti students. According to information reported by the local TV channel MTV, and on the ...

EditorialFlights Over a Nest of Fools!

Marc Saikali 23/10 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hamas Hezbollah Israel Middle East Palestine

More than half of Ici Beyrouth and This is Beirut’s audience lives between France, North America and Africa. Those of you reading from these far-off lands are lucky enough not to be, like us, lulled from dawn to dusk by the relentless hum of drones. Yes, they are back. And this time, they are flying even lower. Beirutis have gone all out, ...