Lebanon

Israel Approves 2026 Budget with Increased Defense Spending

Israel's parliament approved the 2026 budget early Monday, providing for a significant increase in military spending as the country remains engaged in wars on multiple fronts. Lawmakers passed the budget with 62 votes in favour and 55 against. The vote averted an automatic government collapse and snap election that would have followed failure to ...

Assassination Sparks Clashes in Ain al-Hilweh Camp

Clashes erupted Sunday in the southern Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp following the assassination of a man known as “Imad al-Sarii.” He was a bodyguard for the brother of senior Fatah figure Munir al-Maqdah and was reportedly killed by an Islamist militant, a military source told This is Beirut. The assailant is suspected to be linked to Islamist ...

Iran's Ambassador Won't Leave Lebanon Despite Expulsion: Diplomatic Source

Iran's ambassador will not leave Lebanon despite being declared persona non grata and ordered to leave the country by Sunday, an Iranian diplomatic source told AFP. "The ambassador will not leave Lebanon, in accordance with the wishes of the speaker of parliament Nabih Berri and of Hezbollah," the source said, speaking on condition ...

Iran Claims Aluminium Plant Attacks in Gulf as Houthis Join War

Iran claimed on Sunday attacks on two major aluminium plants in the Gulf, further raising the economic stakes of the Middle East war after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis joined the conflict. The war that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran has mushroomed throughout the region, sending world energy markets into a tailspin and ...

Hundreds of Israelis Protest Against War, Clash with Police

Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv and some other Israeli cities on Saturday to protest the war in the Middle East, in unauthorised demonstrations that security forces sought to disperse. Weekly protests against the war launched by Israel and the United States against Iran on February 28 have been taking place in Tel Aviv and elsewhere, initially ...

Israel Hits Southern Lebanon as Tensions Mount

Lebanon saw a sharp escalation in the south on Saturday, with multiple deadly incidents reported throughout the day. An Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle carrying a media team on the Jezzine road, killing Al-Manar journalist Ali Choueib, Al-Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni, and two others. In response, Israeli army Arabic spokesperson ...

Israel Military Says Journalist Killed in Lebanon Member of Elite Hezbollah Unit

The Israeli military said it had killed on Saturday a member of an elite unit of Hezbollah who worked as a journalist for Al Manar television network. The military targeted and eliminated Ali Shoeib, a "terrorist in the intelligence unit of Hezbollah's Radwan Force," it said in a statement. Shoeib, it said, "operated within ...

IDF Uncovers Hezbollah Tunnel Near Church, Weapons Stockpile in School

The Israeli military said troops from the Givati Brigade operating under the 91st Division uncovered an active underground tunnel network allegedly used by Hezbollah near a church in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam. The army said soldiers discovered a tunnel shaft and an underground route built near the religious site while conducting ...

Lebanon Expels Iran’s Envoy, but the IRGC Still Looms Large

While Lebanese authorities’ decision to expel Iran’s envoy to the country marks a significant attempt to restore state sovereignty and redefine the bounds of ties between Tehran and Beirut, its practical impact on the ground remains limited. Beirut’s move comes amid an escalating war between Israel and Hezbollah that has underscored the ...

Lebanon’s Paralysis, Hezbollah’s Impunity, and a War Without Exit

Hopes for a swift end to Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon have all but faded, as Jerusalem signals it is preparing to establish a buffer zone up to the Litani River until Hezbollah is no longer a threat. At the same time, U.S. policymakers privately acknowledge that de-escalation is not possible without a fundamental shift within Lebanon ...