On the Verge of Collapse: Lebanon’s Battle for a Future | Dispatch | HD Documentary| Reupload

Oct 15, 2024 | Long considered the Switzerland of the Middle East, Lebanon is now going through the worst economic crisis in its history. 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. In one year, food prices have jumped 500% due to galloping inflation.

For Riad, who runs a grocery store in the suburbs of Beirut, business has become hellish. Every morning, calculator in hand, he changes the labels of his products according to the day’s exchange rate. An operation all the more complex as his store is plunged into darkness, due to lack of electricity. The Lebanese government no longer provides more than two hours of electricity per day in the country. It is impossible for the population to heat, light or use their refrigerator. Taking advantage of the situation, a network of private generators has emerged.

The Lebanese pound, the local currency, has lost 90% of its value. The only ones to get away with it are those who are paid in dollars. The greenback, which is exchanged for a fortune against the local currency, has given birth to a new privileged social class in the country. A salesman in an international pharmaceutical company, Joseph lives like a king in a ruined Lebanon. Thanks to his new purchasing power, he repaid his house loan in two months, instead of… twenty years!

In a bankrupt state, plagued by corruption, six out of ten Lebanese citizens now dream of leaving the country. In Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, Mohammed and his son left by sea to reach Germany. Although their trip was cut short off the Turkish coast, the young father is still ready to take all the risks to reach the European El Dorado.

Netanyahu Urges UN Forces Leave Lebanon Combat Zones | REUTERS

Oct 13, 2024 | The United Nations said Israeli tanks burst through the gates of a base of its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, the latest accusation of Israeli violations and attacks that have been denounced by its own allies.

PM Netanyahu's Message to the People of Lebanon

Oct 8, 2024 | PM Netanyahu's Message to the People of Lebanon: "You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza." | This is a message to the people of Lebanon:

Israel Tells US It Plans to Launch Limited Ground Incursion into Lebanon - US Official | BBC News

Sep 30, 2024 | Israel has told the US it plans to launch a limited ground incursion into Lebanon as soon as Monday, a US official has said.

Hezbollah's deputy leader said it's ready for an Israeli ground offensive, as Israel continues air strikes across Lebanon.

It's the first speech by a high-ranking official since Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and Naim Qassem said the battle "may be long".

n Lebanon, officials said more than 1,000 have been killed in the past two weeks, while up to a million people may now be displaced.


That was a very powerful, short speech by Benjamin Netanyahu. True words! – © Mark Alexander

'Lebanon Will Pay a Big Price If War Escalates' - Minister Tells Sky News

Sep 24, 2024 | Lebanon's economy minister has warned his country will pay a “very big price” if Hezbollah continues to escalate the war against Israel. Amin Salam told Yalda Hakim the war will take Lebanon to a “very difficult place”.

Naftali Bennett to Lebanese People: Stand Up against Hezbollah!

Sep 24, 2024

Walkie-talkies Explode in Lebanon, Day after Pager Blasts - Reports | BBC News

Sep 18, 2024 | More blasts have been reported in Beirut, a day after exploding pagers killed 12 and injured thousands across Lebanon.

A BBC reporter says one blast happened at a funeral, other sources say "communication devices" seem to have exploded.

Multiple sources say Mossad, the Israeli spy agency, was behind the attack on Tuesday - Israel has not commented.

Expert Explains How Israel Could Face 'Extraordinarily Dangerous' Moment

Aug 3, 2024 | CNN’s Jim Sciutto speaks with the Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs Andrew Miller about the Middle East, as the region braces for an Iranian retaliation to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran.

Countries Urge Nationals to Leave Lebanon as Middle East War Fears Grow | BBC News

Aug 4, 2024 | The US has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon on “any ticket available”, as fears grow that war in the Middle East may spread. The UK, Sweden, France, Canada and Jordan have issued a similar warning.

Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets at the town of Beit Hillel in northern Israel at around 00:25 local time on Sunday (21:25 GMT Saturday). Footage posted on social media showed Israel's Iron Dome air defence system intercepting the rockets. There have been no reports of casualties. Israel’s air force responded by striking targets in southern Lebanon.

Iran has vowed “severe” retaliation against Israel, which it blames for the death of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday.

Israel is yet to comment on his death.


Crainte d'une escalade militaire au Moyen-Orient : après le Liban, la France recommande à ses ressortissants de quitter l’Iran : Les inquiétudes s'amplifient après la multiplication des menaces de l'Iran et de ses alliés contre Israël. »

Israel Strikes Beirut Suburb, Targeting Hezbollah Commander

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Tensions have soared between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since a strike on Saturday in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights killed children and teenagers playing soccer.

Israel carried out a strike in Beirut on Tuesday night, retaliating for an assault that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights over the weekend. The Israeli military said it had targeted a commander whom it blamed for the attack, fueling Western concerns that Israel’s long-running conflict with the powerful Lebanese militia Hezbollah could escalate further.

The Israeli strike was the second time during the war that the Israeli military has targeted Lebanon’s capital, after the killing of a senior Hamas leader there in January.

The explosion in Beirut came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that there would be a “severe” response for the Golan Heights attack, which hit a field where young people were playing soccer. Israel blamed Hezbollah, and the group denied responsibility for the assault, which landed in the Druse Arab village of Majdal Shams. Western officials had urged Israel to exercise restraint in its response. » | Ronen Bergman, Adam Rasgon and Euan Ward | Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Lebanon: Robbery of the Century | ARTE.tv Documentary

Jun 22, 2024 | In 2019, Lebanon suffered an unprecedented economic crisis which pushed most of the population into poverty. How could a small ruling élite become so rich and powerful while everyone else loses their life savings? This is the story of Lebanon’s slide into a kleptocracy.

How Islamists Overran My Country, Lebanon – Brigitte Gabriel

May 13, 2024 | Brigitte Gabriel tells the story of how Islamists overran her country, Lebanon , with the aid of Islamic countries in the 1970s.

It's important to note that religion and thus religious extremism is dangerous and needs to be checked especially in Africa so that what happened to the Middle East won't take place on the [African] continent.

This is the reason why the enlightenment and advocacy towards naturalism needs to be intensified in Africa and the world.

Al Jazeera English: Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah Gives Gaza Speech

Nov 3, 2023 | The Hezbollah chief says whoever wants to prevent a regional war, must quickly stop the war on the Gaza Strip. Nasrallah repeats that all options in the Lebanese front are open. He says that Hezbollah is ready for all possibilities.

Addressing the US deployment of warships in the region, Nasrallah says Hezbollah is not intimidated. As he continues to touch on familiar themes during his speech, the Hezbollah leader also says that further escalation on the Lebanese front is a real possibility.

He warns that such a development depends on Israeli actions in Gaza. Nasrallah continues, saying Hezbollah has been escalating its operations by the day and forcing Israel to keep its forces near the Lebanon border instead of Gaza or the occupied West Bank.


It appears that World War III has already begun! And it’s a holy war! Our politicians had better get with the story and repeal all those ridiculous laws passed in the name of political correctness, in the vain hope that Islam and the Christian, but increasingly secular, West can live in peace and harmony. In the long-run, these two diametrically-opposed world religions and ways of life cannot. Throughout history, Islam and Christianity have vied for pre-eminence and dominance. When two powerful forces collide, one is bound to win. We must ensure that we do. We in the West have some tough decisions ahead. The peaceful world we had come to know and love has been dealt a severe blow.

Some twenty plus years ago, I wrote a book referencing a "New Dark Age". It would appear that that new dark age has well and truly dawned. The forces of darkness have been trying hard to snuff out the light. We have reached a pivotal moment in the fight for supremacy. Benightedness is in battle with enlightened thought, and is trying very hard to triumph over it. Superstition is trying to triumph over and conquer science. Science must win! – © Mark Alexander

Times Radio: Lebanon Cannot Stop Hezbollah Mobilising If Israel Do Not De-escalate | Lebanese Ambassador

Oct 19, 2023 | "Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese society. Of course, they have their modus operandi. But until now, they've been exerting self-restraint." The Lebanese ambassador to the UK will not say if Lebanon would stop Hezbollah from becoming involved in the Israel-Gaza Conflict.

Israel Will ‘Destroy’ Lebanon If War Spreads

THE TELEGRAPH: UK and US warn over escalation in Middle East crisis as jets bomb northern neighbour

Israeli jets have started bombing in Lebanon as the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) warned it would “destroy” the country if Hizbollah entered the war.

The air raids came as the United States and the UK expressed fears that Israel’s war with Hamas could “escalate” into a conflict involving “the wider Middle East”.

The Israeli strikes were carried out after anti-tank rockets fired by Hizbollah killed one person in northern Israel in the most serious clashes outside of Gaza since the war began.

Tzachi Hanegbi, an Israeli national security adviser, warned the Iran-sponsored terrorist group not to start a war on a second front, threatening the “destruction of Lebanon” if it did.

Western nations have warned against any escalation in the conflict and have moved to try and prevent it spilling outwards, potentially drawing in Iran, with the US ordering a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region over the weekend. » | Roland Oliphant, Senior Foreign Correspondent, in Jerusalem | Sunday, October 15, 2023

Israel Latest: 'All Hell Will Break Loose’ | Lord Richard Dannatt

Oct 10, 2023 | “This is a really critical moment in world history.” Whatever Israel does “will have huge consequences” and “all hell will break loose” if they provoke an attack from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, says Lord Richard Dannatt, former head of the British Army.

Lebanon LGBTQ+ Activists Say Attacks Are Distraction from Country’s Problems

THE GUARDIAN: Community reports shift from uneasy tolerance to being scapegoated for socioeconomic crisis

An anti-LGBTQ+ protest in Beirut, Lebanon, this month. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh/EPA
When the Christian extremists of Soldiers of God menaced a bar in Beirut’s nightlife district during a drag show, their members had a chilling message for patrons: “We have warned you a hundred times … this is just the beginning.” The group, whose members sometimes carry weapons, have repeatedly threatened places associated with Lebanon’s LGBTQ+ community, accusing them of “promoting homosexuality” amid an increase in homophobic rhetoric from the country’s politicians.

Lebanon has long been considered a bastion of relative tolerance compared with other countries in the Middle East, with gay-friendly clubs, bars and civil society organisations existing in pockets of the capital.

Spaces of relative safety flourished despite growing pressure from conservative elements across Lebanese society. However, LGBTQ+ people say they have noticed a shift from an uneasy tolerance to being scapegoated for the country’s problems. » | Ruth Michaelson | Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Lebanon: Extreme Poverty, Corruption and Soaring Inflation | Middle East Documentary

Jul 20, 2023 | Long considered the Switzerland of the Middle East, Lebanon is now going through the worst economic crisis in its history. 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. In one year, food prices have jumped 500% due to galloping inflation.

For Riad, who runs a grocery store in the suburbs of Beirut, business has become hellish. Every morning, calculator in hand, he changes the labels of his products according to the day’s exchange rate. An operation all the more complex as his store is plunged into darkness, due to lack of electricity.

The Lebanese government no longer provides more than two hours of electricity per day in the country. It is impossible for the population to heat, light or use their refrigerator. Taking advantage of the situation, a network of private generators has emerged.

The Lebanese pound, the local currency, has lost 90% of its value. The only ones to get away with it are those who are paid in dollars. The greenback, which is exchanged for a fortune against the local currency, has given birth to a new privileged social class in the country. A salesman in an international pharmaceutical company, Joseph lives like a king in a ruined Lebanon. Thanks to his new purchasing power, he repaid his house loan in two months, instead of… twenty years!

In a bankrupt state, plagued by corruption, six out of ten Lebanese citizens now dream of leaving the country. In Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, Mohammed and his son left by sea to reach Germany. Although their trip was cut short off the Turkish coast, the young father is still ready to take all the risks to reach the European El Dorado.

(This documentary was first released in 2022.)

Lebanon Wildfires: Firefighters Hampered by Government Budget Freeze

Jul 15, 2023 | Unusually high temperatures in Lebanon are being blamed for a surge in wildfires. Firefighters are struggling to cope because the government is almost bankrupt. Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reports from Akkar, northern Lebanon.

Germany Issues Arrest Warrant for Lebanese Central Bank Boss | DW News

May 24, 2023 | Germany has issued an arrest warrant for Lebanese Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, on allegations of corruption including forgery, money laundering, and embezzlement. The 72-year-old is accused of misappropriating millions from Lebanon's central bank. This follows a similar warrant from France and an Interpol Red Notice after his no-show at a Paris court hearing. Despite these charges, Salameh denies all wrongdoing. DW spoke to Anne Kirstine Rønn from the London School of Economics’ Middle East Center.