|   | Ahla w sahla — and welcome to your Sunday morning recap, a look back at the week's biggest stories from Lebanon. The numbers hit hard this week. The World Bank put a price tag on the resumed war: $3.571 billion in lost tourism and consumption, with a 6.4% GDP contraction projected for 2026. Meanwhile, a damning investigation revealed that Iranian IRGC officers had entered Lebanon on genuine Lebanese passports issued under false names — exposing a forgery network inside General Security itself. And yet, between the ceasefire diplomacy, a rail revival with Syria, and a Brooklyn rabbi's love letter to Beirut, the week wasn't only grim. Scroll down. |
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Where was the Lebanese Jewish author of this week's 'love letter to Lebanon' born? Scroll to the bottom for the answer — or play all 10 at sobhiye.news/games/news-quiz |
| | - War's $3.5 Billion Price Tag: The World Bank estimated the resumed war has cost Lebanon $3.571 billion in lost tourism and domestic consumption in 2026, projecting a 6.4% GDP contraction — worse than 2024. Tourism alone accounted for $3.001 billion of those losses, with south Beirut, Nabatieh, and south Lebanon absorbing the hardest hits.
- IRGC Officers, Forged Passports: An investigation revealed that Iranian IRGC officers killed in Israel's March strike on a Beirut hotel had entered Lebanon using genuine Lebanese passports issued under false names. Sequential passport numbers pointed to a single issuing center, exposing what sources described as a deep-rooted forgery network embedded within General Security's regional offices.
- South Lebanon Burns: Lebanon's National Council for Scientific Research reported that Israeli military activity has burned 160 square kilometers of Lebanese land since October 2023 — half of it agricultural. This year alone, approximately 7,500 hectares were destroyed, including 350 hectares after June's framework agreement, with residents and officials accusing Israel of a deliberate scorched-earth policy.
- UN Security Council Eyes New UNIFIL Formula: Ahead of a Security Council session, diplomatic sources disclosed a proposal backed by France, Spain, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres to restructure UNIFIL around a force of roughly 5,500 troops, blending unarmed monitors with drone, radar, and satellite technology. Israel opposed any international presence that doesn't meet its security conditions; no official Lebanese request had been filed.
- Israel Preparing for Southern Battle: Security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israeli forces spent the week paving the ground for a potential military offensive, intensifying operations around the Ali al-Taher heights and routes toward Bint Jbeil. Strikes, artillery, and phosphorous bombs targeted surrounding hills and villages across both the eastern and central sectors of south Lebanon.
- Grand Mufti Calls for Peace's Courage: Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdellatif Derian on Monday declared that "peace is often more difficult than war," backing Lebanese authorities' ceasefire efforts and urging unity among Lebanon's three presidencies. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, speaking at the same Prophet's birthday commemoration, called for a Lebanon where displaced citizens could return home under a strong and just state.
- Hezbollah-US Signals Grow Louder: Political sources told Lebanese media that Hezbollah was increasingly betting on political rather than military leverage, and the group began signaling openness to indirect communication with Washington. US Ambassador Michel Issa did not rule out contact, but conditioned it on Hezbollah offering something substantive — as debates over who replaces UNIFIL added a new layer of urgency to the standoff.
- Lebanese-Syrian Rail Revival: Public Works Minister Fayez Rasamny led a Lebanese delegation to Damascus this week and reached an agreement to form a joint Lebanese-Syrian technical committee on reviving the rail link between Tripoli port and Syria's network via Abdeh. The vision extends to connecting Lebanon by rail to Iraq, Jordan, Gulf states, and Turkey — with the Abdeh crossing expected to reopen within approximately a week.
- Beirut Municipality's Accountability Gap: Fifteen months after the 2025 municipal elections, a council member publicly admitted the Beirut municipality had no clear plans for waste management or traffic, with three Aquatak vehicles broken and unfixed. The politically broad "Beirut Bteejamana" slate that swept 23 of 24 seats — uniting Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah, Kataeb, and FPM — now faces pointed questions about whether its alliance was built for governing or just for winning.
- A Lebanese Jew's Love Letter: Rabbi Isaac Choua, a Brooklyn-born descendant of Beirut's Jewish community, published a moving open letter to Lebanon marking the centennial of the Maghen Abraham synagogue's inauguration on August 25, 1926. His family's roots trace from Deir al-Qamar to Wadi Abu Jamil — a reminder that Lebanon's story of coexistence is older, and wider, than its conflicts.
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That's your week in Lebanon. Rest up — we'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning. |
The author was born in Brooklyn after the Lebanese Civil War drove his family out in the 1970s. Read the full story → |
Lebanon news, every weekday morning. Free, sharp, ~5 minutes. |
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