On Beirut’s Waterfront, Loss Meets Life, and Luxury, Amid War

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Thousands displaced by Israeli strikes on Lebanon’s capital now shelter along the promenade hugging the Mediterranean Sea. They share it with joggers, cyclists and dog walkers, alongside dizzying displays of wealth.

The shirtless jogger, his headphones in and his back slick with sweat, ran past a row of tents pitched along the seafront in downtown Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. In one tent, a displaced family of four — uprooted by weeks of war that have convulsed the nation — watched him pass.

For a moment, the scene held its uneasy calm. The evening sun faded into the Mediterranean Sea, the steady rhythm of the waves softened the edges of the day, and the runner kept his pace, eyes forward. And then a deafening roar shattered it all: An Israeli airstrike had hit a nearby neighborhood, sending plumes of smoke into the sky.

“We chose the seaside because it is peaceful,” said Hussein Hame, 37, who, along with his wife and two children, was displaced this month from Dahiya, a collection of neighborhoods on the southern outskirts of Beirut where Hezbollah holds sway. “But this war finds you everywhere.”

War has returned to Lebanon, and the capital’s meandering seafront has become an unlikely front line. Here, a stark contrast has emerged: The displaced and destitute sit in the cold, while others live life as usual — jogging, cycling — amid the dizzying wealth and luxury that exist nearby. » | Abdi Latif Dahir | Photographs by Diego Ibarra Sanchez | Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon | Sunday, March 22, 2026

'Nowhere in Lebanon Is Safe': Beirut Reels under Relentless Israeli Airstrikes | DW News

Mar 16, 2026 | The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is once again forcing families from their homes. Shelters are overflowing, and some families in Beirut are now spending their nights on the seafront. The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that more than one million people have already been displaced in Lebanon. DW’s Mohamad Chreyteh reports.

A Beirut Hotel Sheltering the Displaced Comes Under Fire

March 8, 2026 | A Christian hotel owner opened her doors to Shiite Muslims fleeing Israel’s bombardment of the southern outskirts of Beirut. Then an Israeli missile struck the hotel, killing her 34-year-old receptionist. | By Simona Foltyn, Adrian Hartrick, Ang Li, Mark Boyer, Santiago García Muñoz and Jon Hazell
Watch the NYT video here.

Trump Demands Unconditional Surrender from Iran as Intense Bombing in Tehran and Beirut Continue

Mar 6, 2026 | There's been intense bombing in both the Iranian and Lebanese capitals and promises from the governments in Israel and Washington that even more devastating firepower is on the way.

Trump is in his usual playbook of maximalist demands - insisting on total surrender.

But Iran's targeting of the Gulf is also taking a dramatic toll - with Qatar warning of having to halt energy exports and surging oil and gas prices that could cause a global economic crisis.

The Guardian View on the Beirut Blast: A Tragedy within a Crisis

THE GUARDIAN: The world owes solidarity to a people exhausted by decades of corrupt and negligent government

Beirut has come to know the sound of explosions too well in its recent past, but none looked or felt like the blast that laid waste central districts of the city on Tuesday. The devastation is on a scale more usually wrought by earthquakes. The port at the heart of the Lebanese capital was annihilated. Shock waves ripped the facades from every building in neighbouring districts – and behind every shattered window are shattered lives. There are not enough hospital beds or a reliable supply of electricity. Infrastructure for storing and importing many of the city’s essential goods has been destroyed, making scarcity of food an imminent threat. A vast crater at the site of the detonation scars the coastline, but deeper still are the wounds to a nation that was already reeling from economic crisis, debilitated by pandemic and weary from political chaos and corruption. » | Editorial | Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Beirut Explosion Destruction Captured in Drone Footage

Aerial video captures the devastating impact of the explosion that left dozens dead and thousands injured in the Lebanese capital. The full scale of the blast is yet to be felt as rescue efforts continued the morning after the explosion flattened much of the city's port

Huge Explosion Rocks Beirut with Widespread Damage and Injuries | ITV News

What Is Happening In Saudi Arabia? - Marwa Osman on The Corbett Report

The Lebanese Prime Minister has "resigned" on Saudi tv. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has rounded up a dozen other princes in the House of Saud in a startling move that threatens to upset the kingdom. Reports saying that King Salman will step aside for the crown prince abound. What the hell is happening? Joining us to help sort through the rubble of this incredible week is Marwa Osman, a political analyst and commentator in Beirut.

‪Lebanon: Police Forensic Experts Inspect Double Bomb Site in Southern Beirut‬

Policemen and forensic investigators worked on Friday at the bomb site where double suicide attacks killed at least 43 people and left more than 200 injured, Thursday, in the suburb of Bourj al-Barajneh in southern Beirut.

Beirut Turmoil: 'Lebanon On Brink of New Arab Spring'

It is the fourth night of unrest in Lebanon's capital Beirut. What started as demonstrations over a breakdown in the city's rubbish removal system has turned into violent protests, with calls growing for the government to resign.

Trash Crisis in Beirut, Clashes with Police, Calls for Government to Go

Another day of violent street clashes in Lebanon has gripped the capital, amid the ongoing waste collection crisis. Thousands poured into the streets of Beirut, rallying against government corruption. Police again battled masked youths, who set tires ablaze, as the night descended into chaos.

Libanon, Beirut: Demonstration wegen Abfallbergen

Ex-Lebanese Army Commander: Assad Fall Would Plunge Middle East in Chaos

Syrian war - blood and sorrow mixed up in the fights of all against all. The chaos is frightening and confusing. Millions of lives off track, splashed over the neighboring countries. Lebanon is one of them, absorbing a tsunami of refugees and trying to lock the conflict outside of its borders. How successful is this attempt? Will Lebanon take sides in the conflict? Who can stop killings in Syria? Sophie travels to Beirut to talk to General Michel Aoun, a former Lebanese Army Commander, currently a politician and leader of the Free Patriotic Movement.

Car Bomb Rocks Shia Suburb in Beirut

Explosion wounds 53 people in busy southern Beirut shopping area controlled by Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.

Inside Story – Lebanon: Spiralling Out of Control?
As anti-Syrian tensions rise over the murder of Lebanon's intelligence chief, we examine the country's sectarian divide.

Nasrallah: 'If You Hit Beirut Airport, We'll Hit Ben Gurion'
HAARETZ: Hezbollah leader threatens to attack Tel Aviv in future conflict; says group still seeks to avenge Mughniyeh.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened Tuesday that if Israel attacks Beirut in the future, Hezbollah will attack Tel Aviv.

"If you hit Rafik al-Hariri international airport in Beirut, we will hit Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv," Nasrallah told thousands of his followers at a ceremony to mark the two-year anniversary of the death of Hezbollah's military leader Imad Mughaniyeh.

"If you hit our ports, we will bomb your ports, and if you hit our oil refineries, we will bomb your oil refineries." >>> Avi Issacharoff, News Agencies | Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Sin City of the Middle East
Party town ... tourists are flocking to Beirut to enjoy its glamorous nightlife and glitzy shows. Photo: The Sydney Morning Herald
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: From nudist beach parties and wild bashes hosted by the likes of Paris Hilton, to gay clubs, gambling and showgirls, Beirut is rapidly earning a reputation as the sin city of the Middle East.

Clubbers don't bat an eye in popping $1000 for a bottle of champagne to guarantee attention at a trendy nightspot, where less is more as far as women's wear is concerned, and fireworks displays regularly light up the skies.

Lebanon has seen it all: a bloody 1975-1990 civil war, military occupation, high-profile assassinations, and unending political instability.

Four years ago, Beirut's seaside Riviera Hotel saw an assassination attempt targeting a leading anti-Syrian minister. Today it is keeping the neighbourhood awake as partygoers drink and dance the night away.

"We have clubs in Cairo," said 26-year-old Wafiq, as he swayed to the beat on a hot August night holding a glass of whiskey and puffing on a Cuban cigar.

"But nothing beats this," said the Egyptian, a financial consultant. "I need to come here to unwind."

A record one million-plus tourists visited Lebanon last month alone, according to the tourism ministry, which is expecting more than two million tourists by the end of 2009, a figure roughly equivalent to half the country's population.

Many of those flocking to Beirut are Lebanese expatriates, but Arab nationals have also arrived en masse to take advantage of Lebanon's glamorous nightlife and glitzy shows like "Hot Legs" at the Casino du Liban, featuring "striptease-style dances", according to the casino's website.

While Lebanon often flirts with the borderline of civil war -- sectarian strife in May 2008 resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people -- any sign of a political detente is quickly followed by a boom in tourism. >>> AFP | Wednesday, August 19, 2009

'Girl Taxi' Service Offers Haven to Beirut's Women

Gay Rights in Lebanon Gain Traction
Gay Pride flag: Google Images
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BEIRUT -- In the Arab world, where several nations have seen killings of gay men in recent months, it can be startling to see a rainbow flag unfurled in public.

But the region's only overt gay rights organization, based in Lebanon, says it is slowly making progress in preventing discrimination and violence.

Now the group, Helem, is preparing for a campaign to overturn the law that makes homosexuality illegal.

In a dramatic step, Helem organized what may have been the only gay rights protest in the Arab world. In February, nearly two dozen gays and lesbians waved rainbow flags in a downtown Beirut square, carrying banners demanding homosexual rights.

They protested what they said was the beating of two gay men by police.

It has been several years since a man was thrown in prison for being gay, said Helem activist Charbel Maydaa. But Lebanon's Article 534, which prohibits having sexual relations that "contradict the laws of nature," remains a threat.

"One of the major problems we face is that some parents threaten their gay children with article 534," he said.

Helem is treading carefully. The group, founded in 2004, is talking with legal experts on how to approach lawmakers and lobby to have Article 534 abolished. Helem members would not comment on how they intend to carry out the campaign.

It's a delicate process, given the deep-seated taboo in Arab countries against even discussing homosexuality. Everyone from religious leaders to family members condemn homosexuality. Human rights groups in other countries, like Egypt, often avoid dealing with issues touching on persecution of gays and lesbians. >>> © Associated Press | Sunday, May 10, 2009

Do Muslims Do Anything Except Fight?
Flag of the Lebanon courtesy of ”Flags of the World” website
BBC: Clashes have flared outside Beirut as Lebanon's army struggled to contain the country's worst internal fighting since its bitter 15-year civil war.

While the capital seemed calm after four days of fighting killed 38 people, violence spread in hills to its east.

Earlier, troops had deployed in the northern city of Tripoli to end battles between Hezbollah sympathisers and supporters of the government.

Thousands fled their homes as running street battles raged overnight.

The violence has triggered fears of a return to Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. Fighting Spreads East of Beirut >>> | Sunday, May 11, 2008

Watch BBC video: Fierce street battles raged overnight in northern Lebanon >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)