This is Beirut

Israeli Forces to Expand Past ‘Yellow Line’ As Operations in Lebanon Intensify

This is Beirut, 26/05 19:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Benjamin Netanyahu Amal Hezbollah Israel

The Israeli Army has started to operate on the ground past the “Yellow Line” in southern Lebanon on Tuesday as Israeli officials express their intent to intensify operations against Hezbollah amid persistent threats. According to AFP, citing an Israeli military official, the Israeli Army began to expand its operations in southern ...

Qassem Escalates Against Lebanese State as Hezbollah Faces Growing Pressure Over Weapons and Negotiations

Kaline Antoun, 25/05 20:40 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Amal Israel Lebanese Forces

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem sharply escalated his rhetoric against the Lebanese government on Sunday, openly rejecting direct negotiations with Israel, defending the group’s weapons, and warning that “the people have the right to overthrow the government if authorities fail to protect Lebanon’s sovereignty.” The speech, ...

U.S. Sanctions on Hezbollah and Amal's "Deep State": Implications for the Duo and the State

Claudia Groeling, 23/05 01:50 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah Lebanese Army Lebanon Israel

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on nine individuals in Lebanon accused of supporting Hezbollah and obstructing efforts to disarm the Iran-backed group, in one of Washington’s clearest moves yet to counter Hezbollah’s influence over Lebanon’s political and security institutions. The sanctions, announced by the ...

No Turning Back in Lebanon-Israel Talks

Samar El-Kadi, 22/05 15:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Amal Hezbollah negotiations

Amid a fraught ceasefire, preparations are underway for the next phase of the U.S.-mediated Lebanon-Israel diplomatic process, which analysts describe as a major turning point. Security talks between Lebanese and Israeli military delegations are scheduled to begin at the Pentagon on May 29, while a parallel political track is set to reconvene in ...

Iran Condemns U.S. Sanctions as Washington Expands Pressure on Hezbollah’s Institutional Network

This is Beirut, 22/05 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hezbollah Washington Amal Lebanon Israel

Iran on Friday strongly condemned new U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian Ambassador-designate to Lebanon Mohammad Reza Sheibani, as well as several Lebanese political, military, and security officials accused by Washington of supporting Hezbollah. In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry described the sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury ...

Why Lebanon Still Lacks a Viable Shia Alternative

Marwan El Amine, 21/05 17:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Amal Hezbollah Israel Washington

An important question is increasingly being raised among sovereigntist political circles in Lebanon and within regional and international forums, particularly in Washington: where is the Shia alternative to the Hezbollah-Amal political alliance? Some parties ask this question in good faith, based on the conviction that any meaningful path toward ...

Displaced Residents Back State-Led Camp Relocation in Beirut

Ralph Atrach, 20/05 20:35 - Reading : less than a minute

Amal Hezbollah Internal Security Forces

Displaced residents told This is Beirut that they were being relocated from private property in Biel to state- and municipality-owned land under a government-supervised plan coordinated by security forces and the Beirut Municipality. Several residents expressed support for the move, saying they backed the state-led relocation effort, while ...

Breaking the Myth of Hezbollah's Captive Constituency

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 19/05 10:35 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Amal Baalbeck Israel

Israel’s Alma Center is wrong about Lebanon’s Shia population. In a recent article, the institute claimed that Hezbollah’s Shia constituency is a “captive audience” chained by dependency, fear, and ideology. In reality, Hezbollah’s committed ideologues are a minority, while dependency and fear can be reversed. Those dependent on ...

How Hezbollah's Coordination Unit Continues to Influence Lebanese Security

Ralph Atrach, 06/05 20:10 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Amal Lebanese Army Internal Security Forces

The Lebanese Armed Forces’ (LAF) recent raids in a southern suburb of Beirut to apprehend gunmen were coordinated with Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit, a security source told This Is Beirut, highlighting the unit’s continuing influence over security measures in Lebanon. In a tense standoff Sunday, Hezbollah supporters blocked ...

Six Decades Without the State: Southern Lebanon’s Long Shadow of Militias

Marwan El-Amine, 24/04 16:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon South Lebanon Amal Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah

For nearly 60 years, the Shia of southern Lebanon have known only the rule of militias. This reality dates to 1969, when the Lebanese state ceded part of its sovereignty to Palestinian armed groups, allowing them to launch attacks against Israel. Since then, the region has fallen under a succession of armed actors, culminating in the firm ...

Berri Navigates Lebanon’s Ceasefire Opening

Samar El-Kadi, 23/04 21:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Ceasefire Amal Donald Trump Ain el-Tineh

A fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire has opened a narrow political window for Lebanon, with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s stance on the talks evolving amid diplomatic contacts with Saudi Arabia. The latest came in a phone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud hours before a second round of talks with Israel on ...

Iran Says Won't Reopen Hormuz as Long as U.S. Blockade Remains

This is Beirut, 23/04 08:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Donald Trump Emmanuel Macron Lebanon Amal Gulf

Iran's vow not to reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- so long as a U.S. naval blockade remained in place -- was held into Thursday despite a ceasefire extension, as the Gulf nation announced the seizure of two ships trying to cross the strategic waterway. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said late Wednesday that it had also "directed 31 vessels ...

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