-
Egypt Moves to Deepen Economic Ties With Lebanon
Averting a potential Israeli escalation was not the sole focus of Egypt’s recent diplomatic engagements with Lebanon. Cairo has also moved to open the door to economic cooperation with Beirut across several sectors, most notably energy and electricity. This broader agenda helps explain Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s visit to Beirut last week, which followed…
-
Lebanon’ Sovereignty Test: Plan Pits Army Against Hezbollah’s ‘Red Lines’
The international presence in southern Lebanon has entered a countdown phase, as United Nations peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL) begin reducing their troop levels. A quarter of the force has been withdrawn in one lump sum move, according to UNIFIL spokesperson Candice Arbel, in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia. The drawdown is set to continue…
-
How Does Hezbollah Re-Engineers Its Financial Arm?
Hassan did not hesitate to turn to one of the well-known institutions in his community to seek a small loan after the latest war between Hezbollah and Israel. His home was damaged, his income shrank, and Lebanese banks had closed their doors to him years ago. What he simply needed was a sum of money…
-
Squeezed between Two Giants, Lebanon Endures
Silence does the talking While trimming my nails the other day, my manicurist Reem lifted her head and asked me in that quiet, matter-of-fact way that Lebanese resignation often takes: “Do you know what it means to leave your home in the morning and not know if it will still be there when you return…
-
Diplomatic Ping-Pong Between Raji and Araghchi
It didn’t take long after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi invited his Lebanese counterpart, Yousef Raji, to visit Tehran for Raji to decline the offer. Raji, who said current circumstances were behind his decision not to travel to Iran, instead proposed holding the meeting “in a neutral third country to be agreed upon.” He stressed…
-
Israel Opens Direct Contacts with Lebanon, Signals Possible Shift on Syria
In a striking diplomatic move that could reshuffle regional dynamics at a highly sensitive moment, Israel announced it would send an official representative to a meeting that includes Lebanese government and economic actors—a step the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office described as “a first attempt to build a basis for relations and economic cooperation between Israel…
-
A Suburb in Full: From Lemon Blossoms to Hezbollah
Beirut’s Southern Suburb — universally known simply as the Dahieh — needs no introduction. The phrase alone commands attention in Lebanon, across the region and beyond. Over the years, the Dahieh has ceased to be a mere geographic space; it has become a political symbol and a fully-fledged social and security ecosystem that tied directly…
-
War Trauma Still Haunts Lebanon’s Children
The war that drove Mayyada and her two young daughters from southern Lebanon last year continues to cast shadows on every part of their life in Beirut. They fled in September 2024. They hoped the distance they travelled would quiet the nightly explosions and the roar of warplanes near Hezbollah strongholds. But the sounds of…
-
Hezbollah’s Weapons and Israel’s Calendar
The past few days were anything but ordinary in Beirut’s southern suburb. Within minutes on Sunday, the scene flipped upside down when Israeli missiles struck a residential building in Haret Hreik, killing senior Hezbollah commander Haitham al-Tabtabai. In first images, the strike site looked like it had just emerged from a lightning war: thick columns…
-
Hezbollah’s Weapons Networks Are Facing Fresh Scrutiny
The arrest of Lebanese drug trafficker Noah Zaiter coincided with Israeli media reports claiming that weapons were once again being smuggled from Syria into Lebanon, and that Hezbollah had “restored its military capabilities.” The group not only did not deny these reports, but its Secretary-General publicly declared that Hezbollah had “recovered well” and that its fighters…