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Lebanon war - Israel Hezbollah conflict - Displaced families - Dahiyeh destruction - South Lebanon

Between reconstruction and despair

As ceasefire negotiations remain volatile and both displacement and fighting persist, many Lebanese fear rebuilding may prove impossible after a second devastating war in less than two years.

By Katharine Sorensen
1994 naturalization decree - Lebanese citizenship - Decree 5247 - Collective naturalization - Council of State

The 1994 decree that shook Lebanese identity

Lebanon’s 1994 naturalization decree reshaped citizenship, sparked legal battles, deepened sectarian tensions, and continues influencing identity, governance, and demographics today.

By Dr. Wissam Raji
David Satterfield - Lebanese sovereignty - Israel-Lebanon conflict - U.S. foreign policy - Abraham Accords

David Satterfield: Hezbollah’s death grip on Lebanon continues

Former U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield argues that only bold political action not military force can weaken Hezbollah’s hold on Lebanon and restore the country's sovereignty.

By Amal Chmouny
Strait of Hormuz - Maritime law - UNCLOS - U.S.-Iran conflict - Global oil trade

The Strait of Hormuz and modern maritime coercion

The crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is exposing a widening gap between the rules governing global maritime trade and the technology now being used to undermine them.

By Katharine Sorensen
Israel - Hezbollah - Israel Lebanon ceasefire - Israel Hezbollah conflict - Lebanon sovereignty - UN Resolution 1701 - Israeli drones over Lebanon - Lebanese airspace violations

Aerial sovereignty and the control of Lebanon’s skies

Israeli overflights over Lebanon are among the most extensively documented sovereignty violations in the modern Middle East, yet decades of normalization have stripped them of political urgency.

By Katharine Sorensen
Lebanon - Taif Agreement - Constitutional Law - Lebanese Constitution - Consociationalism

The Lebanese Constitution: A century of endurance and crisis

Lebanon’s Constitution marks 100 years of endurance amid deliberate implementation, recurring crises, institutional fragility, and ongoing struggles over statehood and reform.

By Anthony Chamoun
Russia Ukraine war - Russian ghost fleet - Ukrainian grain - Mikhail Nenashev - Tartus port - Syria Russia relations

The ship that wouldn't stop

How Russia's ghost fleet delivered 27,400 tons of stolen Ukrainian grain to Syria and why the world's diplomatic architecture failed to stop it.

By Josiane Hajj Moussa
Palestinian refugee camps - Nahr al-Bared - Lebanese Army - Fatah al-Islam - Lebanese state authority - Palestinian factions

The legacy of Nahr al-Bared: The border within

Nearly 2 decades after the Battle of Nahr al-Bared, Lebanon remains trapped between fragile sovereignty, non-state armed factions, and unresolved refugee camp tensions.

By Anthony Chamoun
Italy Lebanon relations - Fabrizio Marcelli - UNIFIL Lebanon - Italy ambassador - Italian aid Lebanon

Italy and Lebanon: A persistent partnership amidst war

Italian Ambassador Fabrizio Marcelli exclusively discusses with The Beiruter Italy’s support for Lebanon, UNIFIL security, reconstruction efforts, Israeli operations, and regional diplomacy amid conflict.

By Josiane Hajj Moussa
Lebanon summer festivals - Beirut Holidays Festival - Cedars International Festival - Beiteddine Festival - Lebanese tourism

Lebanon’s summer has been cancelled

As Lebanon’s summer festivals are called off, an entire seasonal economy tied to tourism, nightlife, and local livelihoods is being shaken. The Beiruter spoke with festival organizers and tourism officials about the country’s fragile economic cycle.

By Michella Rizk
United Arab Emirates - OPEC - UAE oil policy - Global energy markets - Saudi Arabia UAE tensions

The question of Oil alliances

United Arab Emirates’s exit from OPEC signals growing fractures in the global oil alliance.

By Josiane Hajj Moussa
Lebanon economy - State assets Lebanon - Public property - Port of Beirut - IMF Lebanon

Lebanon’s hidden billions: Assets without returns

Lebanon’s vast state-owned assets could become a pillar of recovery if managed transparently and transformed into productive public revenue.

By Jessica Habchy
Anwar Sadat - Lebanon Israel negotiations - 1973 war Egypt - Camp David Accords - Arab Israeli conflict

Why Lebanon needs a Sadat moment

Reassessing Anwar Sadat’s strategy reveals diplomacy, pragmatism, and U.S. mediation as tools to achieve political ends, offering analytical parallels for Lebanon’s contemporary security, negotiations, and strategic realignment challenges.

By Anthony Chamoun
Lebanon climate change - Temperature rise Lebanon - Water crisis - Litani River decline - Rainfall variability

The climate reality reshaping Lebanon

Lebanon is warming faster than expected, as rising temperatures and collapsing water systems reshape the country’s environmental future.

By Michella Rizk
Lebanon war - Disability rights - Displacement - Accessible shelters - Humanitarian crisis

Beyond emergency gaps: Rethinking disability in crisis

Lebanon has introduced new disability policies, but without implementation and follow-through, the same gaps persist across conflicts, leaving persons with disabilities to navigate the system on their own.

By Katharine Sorensen
Lebanon Syria Jews - Lebanon Jewish community - Lebanon sects law - Decision No. 60 L.R. - French Mandate Lebanon - Lebanese constitution

The Lebanese “Israelites”

A decades-old legal label still shapes how Lebanon classifies its Jewish citizens, exposing how language can distort the line between religion, identity and politics.

By Michella Rizk
Lebanese Army - Lebanon - Lebanese Civil War - Civil War - Lebanese civil war history - Lebanese Civil War memory - Hezbollah

Lebanon’s unfinished war and the risk of another

Fifty-one years after the spark of Lebanon’s civil war, the country faces a familiar and dangerous reality, where unresolved dual authority and armed actors outside the state continue to threaten a return to conflict.

By Josiane Hajj Moussa
Global protests - Israel Iran war - ACLED data - Middle East - US intervention

The Beiruter's Watch

Mapping global protest responses to the Israel–Iran war.

By The Beiruter
War impact - Waste management - Circular economy - Infrastructure collapse - Resource reuse

Waste management in times of war

War is reshaping how waste is produced and managed in Lebanon, exposing the limits of a system built on disposal, rather than reuse.

By Katharine Sorensen
Litani River Lebanon - Lebanon Israel border - Hezbollah Israel conflict - Water security Middle East - Lebanon sovereignty

Litani River: A century of geopolitical significance

The Litani River holds century-long geopolitical significance, shaping Lebanon’s agriculture, hydroelectric power, security, and territorial integrity, while repeatedly serving as a strategic focal point in Israeli-Lebanese conflicts.

By Michella Rizk - Anthony Chamoun
David B. Des Roches interview - Israel Iran conflict analysis - Hezbollah Lebanon politics - Middle East geopolitics - Lebanon sovereignty debate

A new Middle East and Lebanon’s test

Defense and security expert Colonel David B. Des Roches, speaking in an exclusive interview with The Beiruter.

By Josiane Hajj Moussa
Lebanon politics - Hezbollah - Amal - Shiite movements - War of Brothers 1988

Brothers in blood

From the killing fields of 1988 to the corridors of power in 2025. The untold story of Hezbollah and Amal. Two movements born from the same community, shaped by bloodshed, bound by necessity. What looks like unity is rarely what it seems.

By Josiane Hajj Moussa
Ukraine war anniversary - Russia Ukraine war 2022 - Roman Goriainov - Ukraine ambassador Lebanon - Ukraine 2026 military situation

Exclusive to The Beiruter: Ukraine’s Ambassador on four years of war

On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ambassador Roman Goriainov reflects on the war’s evolution, Ukraine’s resilience, and the global stakes for sovereignty and international order.

By Josiane Hajj Moussa
Islam and Christianity - Shared fasting traditions - Ramadan and Lent - Interfaith dialogue - Mary in the Qur’an

Islam and Christianity: A shared encounter in fasting

An exploration of fasting in Islam and Christianity, tracing shared spiritual roots, historical encounters, and the deeper meaning of fasting beyond hunger toward discipline, silence, and closeness to God.

By Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Nokkari

The Beiruter

Specials

Between reconstruction and despair

The 1994 decree that shook Lebanese identity

David Satterfield: Hezbollah’s death grip on Lebanon continues

The Strait of Hormuz and modern maritime coercion

Aerial sovereignty and the control of Lebanon’s skies

The Lebanese Constitution: A century of endurance and crisis

The ship that wouldn't stop

The legacy of Nahr al-Bared: The border within

Italy and Lebanon: A persistent partnership amidst war

Lebanon’s summer has been cancelled

The question of Oil alliances

Lebanon’s hidden billions: Assets without returns

Why Lebanon needs a Sadat moment

The climate reality reshaping Lebanon

Beyond emergency gaps: Rethinking disability in crisis

The Lebanese “Israelites”

Lebanon’s unfinished war and the risk of another

The Beiruter's Watch

Waste management in times of war

Litani River: A century of geopolitical significance

A new Middle East and Lebanon’s test

Brothers in blood

Exclusive to The Beiruter: Ukraine’s Ambassador on four years of war

Islam and Christianity: A shared encounter in fasting