lebanon

Mechanism Meeting Faces Competing Interests and Agendas

The mechanism meeting on Friday takes place amid a series of unfolding events, beginning with the Paris meeting that set a preliminary date for the Army Support Conference in February, continuing with army operations in Yanouh in the Tyre district and videos from Toulin in the Nabatieh district, and culminating with the highly anticipated summit ...

Hezbollah’s Ammar Al-Moussawi Makes Secret Visit to Saudi Arabia

Hezbollah official Ammar Al-Moussawi has been on a secret three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, coordinated through Turkish mediation following his trip to Istanbul for the “Al-Ahd for Jerusalem Conference,” according to Nidaa Al-Watan. Sources cited by the newspaper said the meetings focused on providing “reassurances” regarding the recent ...

Depositors Rally Against Government’s Proposed Financial Gap Plan

A protest organized by the Depositors’ Associations Gathering and the Association of Expatriate Depositors was held on Thursday, bringing together representatives of depositor groups and unions in a unified show of opposition to the government’s proposed financial gap draft law. Demonstrators said the proposed legislation unfairly shifts the ...

Paris to Host Conference Supporting LAF in February

Paris will host a conference in February in support of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), following a quadripartite meeting held in the French capital on Thursday, the French Foreign Ministry confirmed to This is Beirut. The venue of the conference has yet to be announced. The meeting brought together LAF Commander General Rodolphe Haykal, French ...

Scathing Message by “Shiite Depositor” Targets Yassine Jaber

The page “Lebanon Pulse” published on its X account a message purportedly from a “Shiite depositor”, addressed to Finance Minister Yassine Jaber. In the message, the author accuses the minister of having, in the past, incited members of the Shiite community in front of the US ambassador and called for their bombardment and removal of ...

BDL: IMF Concerns on Financial Gap Law Are Risky and Inconsistent

The Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) issued observations regarding the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s recent comments on the financial gap bill. BDL described the IMF’s remarks as risky and inconsistent with accounting and financial standards, noting that there is no historical precedent in a systemic crisis where a state first erodes the ...

“Gap Law” for Beginners

For several months now, the so-called “Gap Law” (law on financial gap) has been presented as the key to resolving Lebanon’s banking crisis. Its proponents argue that it would help restore order to the financial system and pave the way for an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But behind this technical ...

Lebanon Debate: Gap Law Risks Bankrupting Banks, Wiping out Depositors

The following article, originally written on Thursday by Lebanon Debate, is reproduced here in full to highlight their analysis of the proposed financial gap bill and its potential impact on depositors and the Lebanese banking sector: “Once again, Nawaf Salam’s government is rushing to pass the financial gap law before the end of the year, ...

Urgent Appeal to Stop the Financial Conspiracy Threatening Depositors and Banks

Lebanon Pulse published a sharply critical message from a depositor addressed to Nawaf Salam, Yassin Jaber, and Amer Bsat, accusing them of playing a central role in what the text describes as a conspiracy that began before 2019 and has culminated today with severe consequences for depositors and the banking sector. In the message, the author ...

Parliament Approves $250 Million World Bank Reconstruction Loan

Despite a boycott by Lebanese Forces and Kataeb MPs, Lebanon’s parliament met Thursday morning and approved a World Bank loan intended to support reconstruction in the war-torn south. Lebanon has been working with the World Bank on a roughly $250 million loan under the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Project aimed at supporting efforts to ...

Israel Launches Airstrikes on Hezbollah Targets Across Lebanon

Israeli warplanes struck multiple sites across southern and eastern Lebanon on Thursday, targeting Hezbollah military infrastructure including a compound used for training and weapons storage, the IDF said. According to the Israeli army, the strikes dismantled militant infrastructure and launch sites where Hezbollah operatives underwent shooting ...

Israeli FM: Strikes on Hezbollah Don’t Breach Lebanon’s Sovereignty

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Wednesday that Israeli strikes against Hezbollah do not constitute a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, arguing instead that the Iran-backed group is the primary factor undermining its sovereignty. In an interview with Al Arabiya English, Saar said Israel has only “minor” disputes ...