Michel Aoun

Former Lebanese President Michel Aoun slammed the country’s Hezbollah terrorist organization for its persistent attacks on Israel, stating that “one party cannot make decisions about a conflict like this all by itself,” and noting that Lebanon has no obligation to defend the Gaza-based Palestinians as it has “no treaty with Gaza.”

89-year-old Michel Aoun, president of Lebanon since 2016, vacated his office on Sunday with no successor standing by. Aoun’s departure leaves a country in even more turmoil, as one of his final acts was accepting the resignation of interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government.

Israel and Lebanon on Thursday signed a controversial U.S.-mediated maritime deal, which Prime Minister Yair Lapid hailed as the first time an enemy state had formally declared recognition of the State of Israel.

Lebanese Judge Tarek Bitar, the second judge to oversee the investigation of the titanic explosion that devastated the Port of Beirut in August 2020, has survived an effort by several targets of his investigation to remove him and effectively kill the probe.

The people of Lebanon noted with dismay on Tuesday that the first anniversary of the huge and deadly Port of Beirut explosion has arrived without any real progress in the much-touted probe to determine who was responsible.

Lebanese interim Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe on Wednesday tendered his resignation after making remarks blaming Gulf states, Lebanon’s traditional allies, for facilitating the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS), the government announced.

ROME — Pope Francis received Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri for a private meeting in the Vatican on Thursday.

Ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri is poised to lead the embattled nation yet again, recent reports indicate. Hariri resigned from the role a year ago after mass protests demanded government reform to address Lebanon’s ongoing financial crisis. He served as

Lebanese President Michel Aoun used his address to the 2020 U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday to thank the international community for assisting Lebanon after an explosion rocked Beirut, but also insisted on his country’s sovereignty.

Residents of Beirut, Lebanon, were dismayed on Thursday to see a plume of smoke rising from their seaport only a month after a titanic explosion killed over 200 people and damaged much of the city.

The Lebanese military discovered over four tons of ammonium nitrate near Beirut’s port on Thursday, less than a month after a deadly explosion killed nearly 200 people and devastated large parts of the historic city.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Sunday that he supports calls for Lebanon to become a “secular state,” Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, the highest-ranking Sunni Muslim cleric in Lebanon, added his support Wednesday to calls for an independent international investigation of the massive Beirut explosion on August 4.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The head of Lebanon’s customs authority was formally arrested on Monday after being questioned over the massive explosion in Beirut earlier this month, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The National on Thursday discussed efforts of Lebanese Christians to cope with social, political, and sectarian fallout from the massive explosion in Beirut. To the surprise of few, but the dismay of many, the catastrophe has inflamed religious tensions that are never far from the surface in Lebanon.

Lebanese officials on Wednesday hastened to reassure the public that imported goods, including foodstuffs, will not be seriously hindered by last week’s massive explosion in Beirut, even though the blast destroyed the city’s vital port facilities.

A bombshell report published by Reuters on Tuesday revealed that senior Lebanese officials received warnings as recently as last month that a cache of highly combustible ammonium nitrate held at the Port of Beirut was a threat to its densely populated surroundings and should be moved.

A police officer in Beirut was reportedly killed on Saturday and hundreds were injured as angry protests swept the devastated city over the weekend.

Reports in multiple Middle Eastern outlets suggested on Sunday that Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab may soon step down following the mass resignations of nine lawmakers and four of the nation’s 20 ministers. A third of ministers must resign for the government to collapse.

Lebanese protesters have hung in effigy an image of Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah during protests outside the country’s parliament in Beirut, amid mounting anger over the government’s silence after last Tuesday’s explosion killed more than 160 people, injured 6,000 more and destroyed large swaths of the city.

Dozens of residents of Beirut, Lebanon, took the streets late Thursday to demand accountability from their government after an explosion destroyed much of the city’s port area, leaving at least 150 dead, 5,000 injured, and hundreds of thousands homeless. Security forces responded by tear-gassing desperate residents.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday that the cause of the titanic explosion in Beirut on Tuesday “has not been determined yet,” and authorities have not ruled out “possibility of external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act.”

A Lebanese lawmaker revealed evidence on Wednesday that customs officials tried to get the government to secure a stash of ammonium nitrate, a combustible material, at least six times and received no guidance.

The government of Iran and leaders of Hezbollah, Iran’s terrorist proxy group in Lebanon, offered assistance to the city of Beirut after a massive explosion on Tuesday caused enormous damage and casualties.

The Lebanese Red Cross stated Wednesday that the gigantic explosion at the port of Beirut has killed over 100 people and injured over 4,000.

Beirut — Protest-hit Lebanon has approved an economic rescue plan and requested aid from the International Monetary Fund as it battles its worst financial crisis in decades.

Protests in Lebanon turned violent again over the weekend, with over 400 injuries reported. There were several claims of security forces using live ammunition against protesters in addition to water cannons and tear gas.

Lebanon’s president on Monday postponed talks on naming a new prime minister after security forces repeatedly used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons against hundreds of protesters over the weekend.

A group of men supporting the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah attacked a group of anti-corruption protesters Sunday night in Lebanon.

Lebanese DJ Madi Karimeh entertained a crowd of thousands of demonstrators in Tripoli on Saturday, as a mass protest against government corruption quickly turned into a music festival when Karimeh pumped dance music over a loudspeaker from a balcony overlooking the crowd.

TEL AVIV — The head of the terror organization Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said in an internal meeting Tuesday that he was not in a hurry to retaliate for recent Israeli strikes against his group, the Lebanese Al-Akhbar daily reported.

TEL AVIV – The alleged Israeli drone attack in a Hezbollah-dominated suburb of Beirut caused serious damage to an advanced industrial equipment for mixing fuel for long-range missiles, setting Hezbollah’s missile program back by at least a year, according to reports. 

TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah to “calm down” after the latter threatened to exact revenge on Israel over an Israeli strike in Syria Saturday night that saw Hezbollah operatives killed. 

TEL AVIV — Israel has been accused of issuing a “declaration of war” by the highest political echelons in both Lebanon and Iraq Monday over two unrelated drone strikes in each country a day earlier. 

Lebanese President Michel Aoun is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to help get Syrian refugees back home.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday urged Lebanon to pick a side as he visited the country on a regional tour to build a united front against Iran.