Hezbollah

Change in Syria Jeopardizes Presidential Election Session on Jan. 9

On December 8, 2024, a historic shift reshaped Syria as Bashar al-Assad's regime fell to the opposition in just ten days. This seismic event reverberated through Damascus and the wider region, drawing attention to the Middle East’s uncertain future at a particularly delicate time, with Israel’s war on Hamas and the conflict with Hezbollah in ...

Hezbollah Shifts from Military Tactics, Targeting Media, Opinion Leaders

Hezbollah appears to be pivoting its strategy from direct military confrontation with Israel to targeting journalists and opinion leaders in Lebanon. This shift was highlighted recently by the assault on journalist Daoud Rammal, who was attacked by suspected Hezbollah members while visiting his parent's grave in Doueir, located in the ...

Israeli Airstrike Targets a Car in Bint Jbeil, Injures LAF Personnel

An Israeli airstrike targeted a car on Monday morning along the Saf al-Hawa road near a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Bint Jbeil.  According to a statement on X by the Lebanese Army, the strike resulted in the death of a civilian and moderate injuries to four soldiers. Additionally, a missile was removed from the highway in the town of ...

Geagea: 'Time for Justice Has Come'

Samir Geagea, the leader of the Lebanese Forces Party, considered that “the time for justice has come, not only in Syria but also in Lebanon.” He pointed out that the Assad family’s Syrian administration had thwarted the development of a legitimate state in Lebanon. Geagea used Sunday’s overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime as an ...

Gemayel: 'It’s Time for Hezbollah to Surrender Weapons'

On Sunday, MP Nadim Gemayel reaffirmed that “no one is above the Lebanese state” and that “there is no other option for Hezbollah but to surrender its weapons.” “Today, all statues of Assad, his brother, his father, and all his dynasty are falling to the dustbin of history, and we remain,” Gemayel stated during festivities in Sassine ...

Bashar al-Assad Ran Away… and Bashir Lives Forever in Us

It is a dream realized. Today, we will not hide our joy. We will celebrate, cheer and roam the squares. We will gather in Sassine Square, the square of the martyred President Bashir Gemayel, to raise a toast in his honor. We will then pass by the statue of Samir Qassir in downtown Beirut and stop by An-Nahar newspaper to salute Gebran Tueni. From ...

Syria: Various Indicators of an Imminent Collapse

A new dawn breaks over Syria, liberated from the man who has been known at times as “the tyrant of Damascus,” and at other times as “the executioner.” After the fall of Homs on Saturday night into the hands of opposition rebels, the collapse of Damascus and Bashar al-Assad’s regime was just a matter of hours. Since the surprise ...

The Fall of Assad: Another Major Setback for Hezbollah and Its Allies

The collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime delivers a major blow to the Iranian axis in the region, with Hezbollah bearing the brunt of the impact. Assad's departure signals the disintegration of the once-aspired "Shia Crescent," which aimed to connect Tehran to Beirut via Baghdad and Damascus. As a new Middle East takes shape ...

Syria: The Middle East’s Berlin Wall Has Fallen

It only took a few days for the "rebels" to overthrow one of the world's most tyrannical regimes—almost without a fight. At this point, it’s still difficult to understand how such a heterogeneous group, mostly armed with light weapons—at least according to the images we've seen—managed to bring down the Assad regime, which has been in ...

The Quest to Turn Hezbollah into a Political Group

After Nazism devastated Germany and Europe, leaving a trail of death across the Mediterranean basin and beyond, the war ended on May 8, 1945, with Nazi Germany’s surrender, followed by Japan’s capitulation on September 2, 1945. In the aftermath of the Allied victory, there was never any consideration of integrating the Axis powers – Nazi ...

The Assad Dynasty in Syria: Autocratic Legacy, Repression and Challenges

Syria has been under the rule of the Assad dynasty for more than half a century. Hafez al-Assad, the founder, seized power in 1970, followed by his son Bashar, who took control in 2000 after his father's death. Belonging to the Alawite minority, the Assads established an autocratic regime over a predominantly Sunni population, portraying ...

Near Tyre, a Shiite Maqam Dedicated to Saint Peter

The medieval castle of Chameh, near Tyre, and the “maqam” of Shimon el-Safa that it houses are among the archaeological treasures for which Lebanon requested “enhanced protection” from UNESCO against the risks of war. However, the ground fighting in November between Hezbollah and the Israeli Army overran the request in question. The ...