lebanon

Senior U.S. Official to TIB: ‘The United States Supports the Sovereignty and Authority of the Lebanese Government’

In an exclusive statement to This is Beirut, a senior U.S. official conveyed support for the Lebanese government’s authority and expressed concern for Iranian infractions against Lebanese sovereignty.  The official said that “the United States supports the sovereignty and authority of the Lebanese government to make decisions ...

Southern Front: Israel’s Push Toward the Litani River

The Israeli military is conducting a methodical ground campaign in southern Lebanon, advancing slowly but steadily along three main axes as Jerusalem seeks to establish a buffer zone. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he had ordered the military to “further expand the existing security strip” in Lebanon, signaling ...

UNIFIL Says Peacekeepers Wounded in Multiple Incidents in South Lebanon

UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon were wounded in an incident near the Lebanese-Israeli border, a spokesperson for the force said Monday, without specifying the nature of the incident. "There has been an incident involving peacekeepers near Bani Hayyan, and we have injuries," Kandice Ardiel told AFP. Bani Hayyan is a Lebanese town near the border ...

Beirut Port Explosion Investigation Concludes

Judge Tarek Bitar, the judicial investigator in the Beirut port explosion case, has concluded his investigations and referred the entire file to Deputy Public Prosecutor General Judge Jamal Al-Hajjar for review, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Monday. The refered defendants, all of whom have been questioned since early 2025, ...

Israel’s New Manual for Fighting Terrorist Militias

From the ruins of Gaza to the depopulated villages south of Lebanon’s Litani River, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is testing a new doctrine that breaks with decades of conventional wisdom on combating terrorist actors. Rather than applying military pressure to bend governments or populations to its political will, Israel is now waging a war ...

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 ...