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Lebanon

November 28, 2024

Beirut 4:34 pm

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Supporters wave national flags as well as orange flags of the Free Patriotic Movement and the yellow flag of the Hezbollah movement, as Lebanon's outgoing President Michel Aoun leaves the presidential palace in Babda, at the end of his mandate, east of the capital Beirut, on October 30, 2022.

Lebanon to hold January presidential elections amid fragile ceasefire

The announcement of a parliament session to elect a head of state after more than two years of presidential vacuum coincides with a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which the Israeli army said was being breached in the south.

IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Could Israel-Lebanon deal momentum lead to Gaza ceasefire?

Having concluded the deal for a ceasefire in Lebanon, the Biden administration is now pushing the Israeli government to advance on a deal with Hamas.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei holds a weekly press conference in Tehran on Oct. 28, 2024.

Iran praises Lebanon ceasefire, vows response to Israel 'in due time'

Iran has repeatedly vowed to respond to the late October Israeli strikes on the country, and a senior official repeated the assertion following the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

A Hezbollah supporter holds up the yellow flag of the Lebanese militant group in front destruction in Beirut's southern suburbs as people rushed back to check their homes on November 27, 2024, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.

Displaced Lebanese return to southern villages as ceasefire holds

The year-long war has left thousands of dead, displaced more than 1 million people and caused severe damage to Lebanon's infrastructure.

Latest News

US military to monitor Israel-Lebanon ceasefire alongside UN, France

Israel Lebanon

Biden says Israel, Lebanon accept ceasefire to end war

An Israeli soldier sits in a tank stationed near the border with Lebanon in the Upper Galilee area in northern Israel, on Nov. 26, 2024.

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Israel security cabinet approves ceasefire deal with Hezbollah to end Lebanon war

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Marjayoun, near the Lebanon-Israel border, on Sept. 23, 2024.

Cautious optimism in Lebanon as Israel inches toward cease-fire deal

Smoke billows above Beirut's southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on Nov. 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Joyce Karam

Senior News Editor

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional geopolitics, China in the Middle East

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Adnan Nasser

In Beirut, reporting on Lebanon

Rodayna Raydan

In Boqaata, reporting on culture

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC2M0G9CRVU4

Intel: US praises Germany for expanding Hezbollah terrorist designation

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and pro-Israel lawmakers welcomed Germany’s decision this week to designate the entirety of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia-cum-political party, as a terrorist organization.

A man wearing a face mask walks past a damaged facade of a bank, after overnight protests fuelled by worsening economic conditions, in the southern city of Sidon, Lebanon April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho - RC2ZEG9LTAWF

Lebanon to seek IMF assistance to help with economic crisis

The prime minister said Lebanon would seek $10 billion in loans from the international financial institution after passing a reform bill.

German special police talk near the El-Irschad (Al-Iraschad e.V.) centre in Berlin, Germany, April 30, 2020, after Germany has banned Iran-backed Hezbollah on its soil and designated it a terrorist organisation. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke - RC2UEG9F1PDQ

Germany designates entirety of Hezbollah a terrorist organization

Germany previously only classified Hezbollah's military wing as terrorists. Israel hopes the rest of Europe will follow suit.

People shop at a supermarket after the Saudi government eased a curfew and allowed stores to open, following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Marwa Rashad - RC2CEG9U1YOY

Saudi Arabia eases anti-virus measures

Saudi Arabia allowed businesses to reopen today, but mosques, schools and other places remain closed.

Lebanese demonstrators wear face masks during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese pound currency outside Lebanon's Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC2IAG903BZB

Lebanese protest dire economic conditions as coronavirus lockdown eases

Protests have resumed in Lebanon, with many people lamenting hunger and economic strife as the country's financial crisis continues during the coronavirus lockdown.

A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine, amid fear of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran April 2, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2DWF9GIRD0

Women, children face increased risk of abuse during Mideast lockdowns

No COVID-19 furlough for imprisoned Iranian women’s rights activists; Interreligious, LGBT couples struggle to connect; Yemen’s cease-fire gets a second chance.

A health worker and armed Palestinians gather under the portrait of their late leader Yasser Arafat at the Wavel Palestinian refugee camp (also known as the Jalil camp) in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on April 24, 2020, after cases of infection by the novel coronavirus were detected there. - The residents of the Wavel camp were tested after a member of a household, a Palestinian refugee from Syria, was admitted to the state-run Rafic Hariri hospital in the capital Beirut for demonstrating COVID-19 sympt

Four new coronavirus cases in refugee camp in Lebanon

The four infected individuals are relatives of the first refugee woman who tested positive for the coronavirus in a Palestinian refugee camp this week.

A general view of tents at a camp in Bar Elias, in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon January 13, 2020. Picture taken January 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC2QFE9G8SHJ

NGO: Most refugees in Lebanon lack soap after refugee tests positive for coronavirus

The International Rescue Committee's survey was released after a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon tested positive for the virus.

A farmer is seen in a green of cannabis plants in a field overlooking a lake in Yammouneh in West of Baalbek, Lebanon August 13, 2018. Picture taken August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC1701D184F0

Lebanon becomes first Arab country to legalize cannabis farming

Despite pushback from Hezbollah, the Lebanese parliament passed legislation Tuesday legalizing cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes.

Workers disinfect the Wavel camp (also known as the Jalil Camp) for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on April 22, 2020, after the UN announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus there. - The patient, a Palestinian refugee from Syria, has been taken to the Lebanese state-run Rafiq Hariri hospital in Beirut, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said in a statement on April 21. More than 2,000 people live in Wavel, according to statistics released by Lebanons' government a

First confirmed coronavirus case in Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp

A Palestinian refugee woman tested positive for the coronavirus in Lebanon amid fears that the conditions in such camps could lead to an outbreak.

Lebanese members of Parliament attend a legislative session in a theatre hall to allow social distancing amid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in UNESCO Palace building in Beirut, Lebanon April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC2Y8G9Q09EO

Lebanese parliament reconvenes with anti-virus measures in place

The Lebanese parliament voted to pass a bill allowing cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes as protests resumed in Beirut.

Lebanon records zero new COVID-19 cases for first time since virus emerged

Anti-government protesters return to the streets of Beirut, the Lebanese parliament approves an IMF loan and the Health Ministry reports no new cases of COVID-19.