Salam El Zaatari, 10:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanon Israel Iran Hezbollah United States
As the dust settles from the most consequential Israel–Iran confrontation in decades, attention is shifting sharply to a more familiar, but no less volatile, battleground: Lebanon. The war may have moved west, but its logic remains the same. Deter, dismantle, destroy. The question no longer is whether Hezbollah will disarm, it’s what Israel ...
Marc Saikali, 08:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Lebanon Tom Barrack
Six pages: that’s the full length of the US document handed to Lebanese authorities. The official response to those six pages is what US special envoy Tom Barrack will be seeking during his upcoming visit, scheduled on Monday. For Lebanon’s leadership, the time has come to “step out of the shadows” and take clear, time-bound action. As ...
Johnny Kortbawi, 01/07 12:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Amal Hezbollah Expat Vote Diaspora Shiite
The issue of expatriate voting - if it makes it onto Parliament’s agenda - has taken on a sectarian dimension, placing the Shia community in an increasingly contradictory position, both in relation to the broader Lebanese diaspora and to the very idea of Lebanese emigration itself. This tension is especially perplexing given that Shias ...
Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 01/07 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syria Iran Lebanon Hezbollah United States
Now that the leaders of Lebanon are certain that Israel and America would not shy away from using force against Iran when need be, and now that they are sure that the bark of China and Russia in the Middle East is louder than their bite, Beirut is finally moving on Hezbollah’s arms. Lebanon’s normalization with Israel will come next. Druze ...
Natasha Metni Torbey, 30/06 20:10 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanon USA Israel Hezbollah Thomas Barrack Iran
The question of Hezbollah’s weapons cannot be resolved solely within Lebanon. As an ideological, military and political extension of Iran, Hezbollah’s arsenal is intrinsically linked to broader regional dynamics, especially the power balance between Tehran and Washington. Experts agree that local initiatives will be ineffective unless ...
Amal Chmouny, 30/06 12:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Syria United States
As the United States escalates its initiatives aimed at the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Lebanese government finds itself at a critical juncture, facing a multitude of internal and external challenges. A recent statement from Tom Barrack, the US Ambassador to Turkey, the Presidential Envoy to Syria, and the "de facto envoy" to Lebanon, ...
Michel Touma, 30/06 08:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
A former Sunni MP — once a leading voice in parliament and still one of the few clear-headed voices left in the country — told me, during a conversation at the height of the Cedar Revolution, that the 1982 Israeli siege of Beirut had been an existential turning point for his community. Under the shelling, they realized that their dream of Arab ...
This is Beirut, 28/06 23:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lebanon Israel Hezbollah Naim Qassem Illegal weapons
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem has dismissed an upcoming cabinet debate on the issue of illegal weapons, calling the timing “inappropriate” given the current state of conflict with Israel. Speaking Saturday on the third day of Ashura commemorations, Qassem pushed back against growing calls for Hezbollah to ...
This is Beirut, 28/06 20:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Two Israeli strikes killed three people in southern Lebanon on Saturday. One person was killed and two others were injured in a drone strike that targeted a motorbike on Saturday afternoon in the Mahrouna area, in the Tyre district. The victim has been identified as Abbas Wehbe, “an Intelligence officer of Hezbollah’s ...
This is Beirut, 28/06 20:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
lebanon weapons UNIFIL Israel Hezbollah resolution 1701
International pressure is mounting on Lebanon to assert full state control over arms possession. According to sources quoted by al-Hadath, this move is now seen as essential for the continuation of both the international Quintet’s role and the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. The Quintet, which includes the United States, ...
This is Beirut, 28/06 15:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel South Lebanon strike
An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed one person on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Public Health – the latest attack despite the ceasefire. In a statement, the Ministry said that an “Israeli enemy” drone strike on a car in Kounine killed one man, according to a preliminary toll. The Israeli military did not immediately ...
This is Beirut, 28/06 13:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lebanon Youssef Rajji Sovereignty disarmament Hezbollah Palestinians
Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji reaffirmed Lebanon’s stance against external interference and called for mutual respect in regional relations during his speech at the “Path to the State” conference on Saturday. Rajji stressed Lebanon’s commitment to a non-interventionist policy: “We do not want anyone to interfere in our internal ...