Lebanon

A New Approach to Teaching History: Will Lebanon’s Schools Embrace Multiple Narratives?

Sana Richa Choucair 13/04 15:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

In Lebanon, the official history textbook ends with the withdrawal of French troops in 1946, following the country’s independence in 1943. Entire chapters of the country’s modern history remain unaddressed—most notably the 1975–1990 war, which left at least 150,000 dead and 17,000 missing. Even the terminology remains contested: Should it ...

Audi Calls for Unity on Palm Sunday, 50 Years After Civil War Outbreak

This is Beirut 13/04 15:10 - Reading : less than a minute

Audi elias audi greek orthodox civil war palm sunday

On Palm Sunday, which happens to coincide this year with the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Audi prayed “that the Lebanese have learned from the lessons of the past, that the images of war remain etched in their memory to ensure it is never repeated, and that they resolve ...

The Holiday Inn: From Luxury to Battlefield, Beirut’s Forgotten Symbol of War

Melissa Manouchakian 13/04 13:30 - Reading : less than a minute

Holiday Inn civil war April 13

The Holiday Inn in Beirut, once a symbol of modernity and luxury, now stands as a haunting reminder of Lebanon's civil war. Opened in 1974, the 26-story hotel was a beacon of Beirut's vibrant nightlife and international appeal. However, by 1975, it became a strategic battleground during the Lebanese Civil War. During the “Battle of the ...

Salam on 50th Anniversary of Civil War: Time to Rebuild a State Protected by Its Army

This is Beirut 13/04 13:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Civil War Nawaf Salam Syria

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who laid a wreath of flowers at the Martyrs’ Monument in central Beirut on the 50th anniversary of the commemoration of the Lebanese Civil War on Sunday, said, “We must learn from the tragedies of the war and it is time to rebuild our state capable of protecting us through its army.” On the occasion, he ...

Army Seizes Truck Carrying Captagon Manufacturing Equipment in Hermel

This is Beirut 13/04 12:30 - Reading : less than a minute

army lebanon captagon syria narcotics lebanese-syrian border

An Army unit, in coordination with a patrol from the Intelligence Directorate, seized a truck carrying equipment used for Captagon production along with raw materials used in narcotics manufacturing in Sammaka, Hermel on Saturday, April 12. According to a statement issued by the Army Command – Directorate of Orientation, “the seized items ...

$April 13, 1975: \$

April 13, 1975: "A Day Engraved in Our Memory"

Elie Valluy - correspondant à Paris 13/04 11:28 - Reading : 10 minute(s)

France Lebanon Civil War Expatriates

François Boustani remembers Sunday, April 13, 1975 — the day the Lebanese civil war began — with vivid clarity. “That day is etched in our memory,” recalls the cardiologist, who was in Zahleh, eastern Lebanon, at the time. “The phone rang that afternoon. My parents had friends over for lunch. It was my uncle, calling to warn my father ...

ExplainerThe Mummies of Qadisha (1/2)

Amine Jules Iskandar 13/04 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Qadisha Mamluk Cave Mummies

The Maronite mummies were discovered in the Qadisha Valley on July 13, 1990, by a team of speleologists from the Group for Subterranean Studies and Researches of Lebanon (GERSL). The team included Pierre Abi Aoun, Fadi Baroudi, Antoine Ghaouch and Paul Khawaja. After two years of exploration and excavation in the Assi cave, located in the Hadat ...

April 13 (1): A Sudden Spark or the Culmination of a Crisis?

Michel Touma 13/04 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Palestinians PLO civil war April 13 Kataeb Ain el Remmaneh

Ain el-Remmaneh, Sunday, April 13, 1975. A religious ceremony is held around 10 in the morning, to mark the inauguration of a Melkite church in this working-class suburb of Beirut, a stronghold of Lebanon’s main Christian parties. Several prominent figures are present, including President Camille Chamoun and Kataeb leader Pierre Gemayel. During ...

The Feast of Palms: ‘A Red (Blood) Carpet for Jesus’

Fady Noun 13/04 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Christians Church

Jesus begins the final act of His earthly life with pure joy: the act of His Passion and His victory over death, the ultimate transformation of the human race. This pure joy is that of Palm Sunday, commemorated by the Church on the last Sunday of Lent. It is, in anticipation, the joy of Easter itself. Yet the shadow of the Cross subtly looms over ...

J. Aoun Calls for Unity and a Stronger State on 50th Anniversary of Civil War

This is Beirut 12/04 20:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Joseph Aoun Lebanon April 13 1975

On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War, President of the Republic Joseph Aoun delivered a speech in Lebanese Arabic – a sign of empathy with a people still deeply scarred by the legacy of war and ongoing crises. More importantly, he called on the Lebanese to learn from the past in order to build a ...

Samy Gemayel to Hezbollah: ‘It’s Time to Hand the Weapons over to the State’

This is Beirut 12/04 18:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Samy Gemayel

In a speech delivered in Chiyah (Beirut) during a commemoration marking the launch of the Lebanese resistance, the head of the Kataeb Party, Samy Gemayel, made a direct appeal to Hezbollah, urging it to voluntarily hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state. “Hezbollah must hand over its weapons willingly, just as others have done before them. ...

Security in Lebanon: When the Streets Call for Order

Soumia Benmerzoug 12/04 17:15 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanon Security Beirut Tripoli

In 2025, Lebanon’s population is estimated at approximately 5.8 million. Beirut, the capital, accounts for nearly 2.4 million residents, while Tripoli, the country’s second-largest city, houses approximately 850,000. These figures underscore the country’s heavy urban concentration—particularly in areas where security tensions are most ...