Lebanon

Budget Talks Spiral Into Iran Clash in Parliament

Lebanon’s parliamentary session on Tuesday was marked by a heated verbal clash after MP Firas Hamdan was cut off mid-speech while denouncing Lebanon’s relationship with Iran. Hamdan accused political forces of turning southern Lebanese communities into bargaining chips in regional power struggles, arguing that such alignments have brought ...

U.S. Appoints Its Ambassador to Ceasefire Mechanism

Lebanon was officially informed on Monday that Ambassador Michel Issa will represent the United States in all upcoming meetings of the ceasefire mechanism. According to official Lebanese sources, the notification was interpreted as a formal conclusion of Morgan Ortagus’s role in Lebanon related to the ceasefire mechanism. The most recent ...

WB Approves $350 Million to Support Lebanon’s Recovery and Digital Transformation

On Monday, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $350 million in new financing to help Lebanon address the basic needs of its poorest and most vulnerable populations while advancing the digital transformation of public services. The funding, split between two projects, aims to provide social protection, promote economic ...

Israeli Strike Kills One in South Lebanon

One person was killed on Tuesday after an Israeli airstrike targeted a motorcycle in the town of Batouliyeh, in the district of Tyre. Following the attack, the Israeli army announced that it had struck a Hezbollah operative in the Deir Qanoun area. Earlier, an Israeli reconnaissance drone targeted an uninhabited house at the western entrance of ...

U.S. Delegations Meet in Jordan on Lebanon-Israel Relations as Karam Floats Tel Aviv Talks

The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee convened in Jordan on Monday to discuss the steps needed for a sustainable peace between the two countries as former ambassador Simon Karam expresses further willingness for direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.  On Sunday, Simon Karam, Lebanon’s ...

Qassem Warns Hezbollah May Intervene If Iran Is Attacked

Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, delivered a speech amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran on Monday, stating that any attack on Iran would also target his group, and warned that any new war on the Islamic Republic would ignite the region. On the question of Hezbollah’s engagement in a conflict scenario, Qassem left ...

Qatar Pledges Continued Economic and Political Support to Lebanon

During a visit to Beirut, Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi announced a new aid package for Lebanon, including $40 million dedicated to the electricity sector, alongside development, and humanitarian initiatives. President Aoun reaffirmed the importance of Qatar’s support and expressed gratitude for ...

Syrian Security Thwarts Weapons Smuggling Attempt Bound for Lebanon

Syrian internal security forces announced on Monday that they had thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large shipment of weapons into Lebanese territory, following coordinated operations in central and southern Syria. According to the Internal Security Directorate in the Al-Qusayr area of Homs, acting in cooperation with the Internal Security ...

Heavy Israeli Airstrikes Hit Southern Lebanon

Israel carried out a significant military escalation in southern Lebanon late Sunday and early Monday, launching a series of airstrikes it said targeted Hezbollah military infrastructure, as tensions along the border continued to rise. At dawn on Monday, Israeli fighter jets struck the Aqmata–Louaize heights in the Iqlim al-Touffah region. ...

After Maduro: The Challenge of Dismantling Hezbollah in Venezuela

After U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on January 3, Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed that Washington would uproot Hezbollah and Iranian influence in the South American country. “We are not going to have a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere, in the sphere of control and the crossroads for ...

New Israeli Strikes: One Killed and One Wounded in South Lebanon

The Israeli army carried out several airstrikes on Sunday in southern and eastern Lebanon, killing at least one person and wounding another, according to an initial toll. In southern Lebanon, the strikes hit the towns of Kherbet Selm and Kfardounine in the Bint Jbeil district. A hangar that had already been targeted in previous operations was ...