Editing Lebanon (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Lebanon}}
=== Antiquity ===
{{Main|History of ancient Lebanon}}[[File:Byblos_Libanon_2003.JPG|thumb|[[Byblos]] is believed to have been first occupied between 8800 and 7000 BC<ref name="PeltenburgWasse2004a">{{cite book |author=Garfinkel, Yosef |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mKBAAAAMAAJ |title=Neolithic Revolution: New Perspectives on Southwest Asia in Light of Recent Discoveries on Cyprus |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84217-132-5 |editor1=E. J. Peltenburg |chapter="Néolithique" and "Énéolithique" Byblos in Southern Levantine Context |access-date=18 January 2012 |editor2=Alexander Wasse |archive-date=16 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216215004/https://books.google.com/books?id=6mKBAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> and continuously inhabited since 5000 BC,<ref name="byblos1">{{cite book |last1=Dumper |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&q=byblos+continually+inhabited&pg=PA104 |title=Cities of the Middle East and North Africa |last2=Stanley |first2=Bruce E. |last3=Abu-Lughod |first3=Janet L. |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2006 |isbn=1-57607-919-8 |page=104 |quote=Archaeological excavations at Byblos indicate that the site has been continually inhabited since at least 5000 B.C. |access-date=22 July 2009 |archive-date=23 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923091024/https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&q=byblos+continually+inhabited&pg=PA104 |url-status=live }}</ref> making it among [[List of oldest continuously inhabited cities|the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world]].<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web |title=Byblos |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Byblos |access-date=14 March 2018 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618094126/https://www.britannica.com/place/Byblos |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=30 May 2017 |title=The world's 20 oldest cities |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/galleries/The-worlds-20-oldest-cities/1old-byblos/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/galleries/The-worlds-20-oldest-cities/1old-byblos/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |access-date=14 March 2018 |newspaper=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It is a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Byblos |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/295 |access-date=14 March 2018 |website=UNESCO |archive-date=27 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627224245/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/295 |url-status=live }}</ref>|left]]

The [[Natufian culture]] was the first to become sedentary at around 12000 BC.<ref>Lieberman D.E., [http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/paleo_0153-9345_1991_num_17_1_4538 Seasonality and gazelle hunting at Hayonim Cave : new evidence for "sedentism" during the Natufian], [[Paléorient]], 1991, volume 17, issue 17/1, pp. 47–57</ref> 

Evidence of early settlement in Lebanon was found in [[Byblos]], considered among the [[List of oldest continuously inhabited cities|oldest continuously inhabited cities]] in the world.<ref name="byblos" /> The evidence dates back to earlier than 5000 BC. Archaeologists discovered remnants of prehistoric huts with crushed limestone floors, primitive weapons, and [[Jar burial|burial jars]] left by the [[Neolithic]] and [[Chalcolithic]] fishing communities who lived on the shore of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] over 7,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://destinationlebanon.gov.lb/eng/Byblos/History.asp |title=Archaeological Virtual Tours: Byblos |publisher=Destinationlebanon.gov.lb |access-date=14 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223164318/http://destinationlebanon.gov.lb/eng/Byblos/History.asp |archive-date = 23 February 2008}}</ref>

Lebanon was part of northern [[Canaan]], and consequently became the homeland of Canaanite descendants, the [[Phoenicia]]ns, a seafaring people based in the coastal strip of the northern [[Levant]] who spread across the Mediterranean in the first millennium BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_lebanonphoenicians.htm |title=Lebanon in Ancient Times |publisher=About.com |date=13 April 2012 |access-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511150553/http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_lebanonphoenicians.htm |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The most prominent Phoenician cities were [[Byblos]], [[Sidon]] and [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]. According to the [[Bible]], King [[Hiram I|Hiram of Tyre]] collaborated closely with [[Solomon]], supplying cedar logs for [[Solomon's Temple]] and sending skilled workers.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last1=Najem |first1=Tom |title=Historical Dictionary of Lebanon |last2=Amore |first2=Roy C. |last3=Abu Khalil |first3=As'ad |last4=Najem |first4=Tom |date=2021 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-2043-9 |edition=2nd |series=Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East |location=Lanham Boulder New York London |pages=2–8}}</ref> The [[Canaanite languages|Phoenicians]] are credited with the invention of the [[Phoenician alphabet|oldest verified alphabet]], which subsequently inspired the [[Greek alphabet]] and the [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] one thereafter.<ref>A Companion to the Ancient Greek Language, article by Roger D. Woodward (ed. Egbert J. Bakker, 2010, Wiley-Blackwell).</ref>

In the 9th century BC, [[Phoenician colonies]], including [[Carthage]] in present-day [[Tunisia]] and [[Cádiz]] in present-day [[Spain]], flourished throughout the Mediterranean. Subsequently, foreign powers, starting with the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], imposed tribute and attacked non-compliant cities. The [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] took control in the 6th century BC.<ref name=":10" /> In 539 BC, The cities of Phoenicia were then incorporated into the [[Achaemenid Empire]] by [[Cyrus the Great]].<ref name="books.google.nl">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L7fr8WGPS_gC&pg=PA8|title=Global Security Watch—Lebanon: A Reference Handbook: A Reference Handbook|access-date=25 December 2014|isbn=9780313365799|last1=Sorenson|first1=David S.|date=12 November 2009|publisher=Abc-Clio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012124444/https://books.google.com/books?id=L7fr8WGPS_gC&pg=PA8|archive-date=12 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The Phoenician city-states were later incorporated into the empire of [[Alexander the Great]] following the [[Siege of Tyre (332 BC)|siege of Tyre in 332 BCE]].<ref name="books.google.nl" />[[File:PhoenicianTrade EN.svg|thumb|Map of [[Phoenicia]], trade routes and the Phoenician colony of [[History of Carthage|Carthage]]]]

In 64 BC, the Roman general [[Pompey]] had the region of Syria annexed into the [[Roman Republic]]. The area was then split into two [[Imperial province|Imperial Provinces]] under the [[Roman Empire]], [[Coele-Syria]] and [[Phoenice (Roman province)|Phoenice]], the latter which the land of present-day Lebanon was a part of.

The region that is now Lebanon, as with the rest of Syria and much of [[Anatolia]], became a major center of Christianity in the [[Roman Empire]] during the early spread of the faith. During the late 4th and early 5th century, a hermit named [[Maron]] established a monastic tradition focused on the importance of [[monotheism]] and [[asceticism]] near the Mediterranean mountain range known as [[Mount Lebanon]]. The monks who followed Maron spread his teachings among Lebanese in the region. These Christians became known as [[Maronites]] and moved into the mountains to avoid religious persecution by Roman authorities.<ref>{{cite book | title=From the Holy Mountain: A Journey Among the Christians of the Middle East | author=Dalrymple, William | year=1997 | publisher=Vintage Books (Random House) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHGYvr7rkrsC | page=305 | isbn=9780307948922 | access-date=20 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905212200/https://books.google.com/books?id=jHGYvr7rkrsC | archive-date=5 September 2015 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref> During the frequent [[Roman–Persian Wars]] that lasted for many centuries, the [[Sasanian Empire]] occupied what is now Lebanon from 619 till 629.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qFTHBoRvQbsC&pg=PA338|title=Colonialism|access-date=25 December 2014|isbn=9781576073353|last1=Page|first1=Melvin Eugene|last2=Sonnenburg|first2=Penny M.|year=2003|publisher=Abc-Clio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012124706/https://books.google.com/books?id=qFTHBoRvQbsC&pg=PA338|archive-date=12 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Middle Ages ===
During the 7th century, [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Muslims conquered Syria]] from the Byzantines, incorporating the region, including modern-day Lebanon, under the [[Rashidun Caliphate|Islamic Caliphate]].<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=William W. |title=Lebanon: A History, 600–2011 |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-518111-1 |edition= |series=Studies in Middle Eastern history |location=New York, N.Y |pages=3–28, 232, 247}}</ref> In the era of [[Uthman]]'s caliphate (644–656), Islam gained significant influence in Damascus, led by [[Mu'awiya I|Mu'awiya]], a relative of Uthman, serving as the governor. Mu'awiya sent forces to the coastal region of Lebanon, prompting conversions to Islam among the coastal population. However, the mountainous areas retained their Christian or other cultural practices.<ref name=":10" /> Despite Islam and Arabic becoming officially dominant, the population's conversion from Christianity and [[Syriac language]] was gradual. The Maronite community, in particular, managed to maintain a large degree of autonomy despite the succession of rulers over Lebanon and Syria. The relative  isolation of the Lebanese mountains meant the mountains served as a refuge in the times of religious and political crises in the [[Levant]]. As such, the mountains displayed religious diversity and the existence of several well-established sects and religions, notably, [[Maronites]], [[Druze]], [[Shia Islam|Shiite Muslims]], [[Isma'ilism|Ismailis]], [[Alawites]] and [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobites]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hitti|first=Philip|author-link=Philip K. Hitti|date=1957|title=Lebanon in History|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.53848|location=|publisher=Macmillan and Co Ltd|pages=246}}</ref> 

After the Islamic conquest, Mediterranean trade declined for three centuries due to conflicts with the Byzantines. The ports of Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and Tripoli struggled to recover, sustaining small populations under [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] and [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] rule. Christians and Jews were often obligated to pay the ''[[jizya]]'', or poll tax levied on non-Muslims.<ref name=":42" /> During the 980s, the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] took control of the Levant, including Mount Lebanon, resulting in the rejuvenation of Mediterranean trade along the Lebanese coast through renewed connections with Byzantium and Italy. This resurgence saw Tripoli and Tyre flourishing well into the 11th century, focusing on exports such as textiles, sugar, and glassware.<ref name=":42" />

During the 11th century, the [[Druze in Lebanon|Druze]] religion emerged from a branch of [[Shia Islam]]. The new religion gained followers in the southern portion of Mount Lebanon. The southern portion of Mount Lebanon was ruled by Druze feudal families till the early 14th century. The Maronite population increased gradually in Northern Mount Lebanon and the Druze have remained in Southern Mount Lebanon until the modern era. [[Keserwan District|Keserwan]], [[Jabal Amel]] and the [[Beqaa Valley]] was ruled by Shia feudal families under the Mamluks and the Ottoman Empire. Major cities on the coast, [[Sidon]], [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]], [[Beirut]], and others, were directly administered by the Muslim Caliphs and the people became more fully absorbed by the Arab culture.[[File:Siege of Tripoli Painting (1289).jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Fall of Tripoli (1289)|Fall of Tripoli]] to the Egyptian [[Mamluk]]s and destruction of the Crusader state, the County of Tripoli, 1289]]

Following the fall of Roman [[Anatolia]] to the Muslim Turks, the Byzantines put out a call to the Pope in Rome for assistance in the 11th century. The result was a series of wars known as the [[Crusades]] launched by the [[Frankish Empire|Franks]] from Western Europe to reclaim the former Byzantine Christian territories in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially [[Syria]] and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] (the ''[[Levant]]''). The [[First Crusade]] succeeded in temporarily establishing the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] and the [[County of Tripoli]] as Roman Catholic Christian states along the coast.<ref>{{cite book | author=Hillenbrand, Carole | publisher=Psychology Press | year=2000 | title=The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives | isbn=978-1-57958-354-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UalnoF5MBHMC | pages=20–21 | access-date=20 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905174853/https://books.google.com/books?id=UalnoF5MBHMC | archive-date=5 September 2015 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref> These crusader states made a lasting impact on the region, though their control was limited, and the region returned to full Muslim control after two centuries following the conquest by the Mamluks.

Among the most lasting effects of the Crusades in this region was the contact between the Franks (i.e., the French) and the Maronites. Unlike most other Christian communities in the [[Eastern Mediterranean]], who swore allegiance to [[Constantinople]] or other local patriarchs, the Maronites proclaimed allegiance to the Pope in Rome. As such the Franks saw them as Roman Catholic brethren. These initial contacts led to centuries of support for the Maronites from France and Italy, even after the fall of the Crusader states in the region.

=== Ottoman rule ===
{{see also|Mount Lebanon Emirate|Sidon Eyalet|Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate}}[[File:DeirAlQamar-FakhredinePalace.jpg|thumb|[[Fakhreddine II Palace]], 17th century|left]]

In 1516, Lebanon became part of the [[Ottoman Empire]], with governance administered indirectly through local [[emir]]s.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last1=Najem |first1=Tom |title=Historical Dictionary of Lebanon |last2=Amore |first2=Roy C. |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5381-2043-9 |edition=2nd |series= |location=Lanham Boulder New York London |pages=xxi-xxxv, 2–9 |chapter=Chronology; Introduction}}</ref> Lebanon's area was organized into provinces: Northern and Southern Mount Lebanon, Tripoli, Baalbek and Beqaa Valley, and [[Jabal Amil]].

In 1590, Druze tribal leader [[Fakhr al-Din II]] succeeded [[Mount Lebanon Emirate#Qurqumaz (1544–1585)|Korkmaz]] in southern Mount Lebanon and quickly asserted his authority as the paramount emir of the Druze in the Shouf region. Eventually, he was appointed [[Sanjak-bey]], overseeing various Ottoman sub-provinces and tax collection. Expanding his influence extensively, he even constructed a fort in [[Palmyra Castle|Palmyra]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Gorton, T.J. |title=Renaissance Emir |date=25 April 2013 |publisher=Quartet Books |isbn=9780704372979 |pages=160–161}}</ref> However, this expansion raised concerns for Ottoman Sultan Murad IV, leading to a punitive expedition in 1633. Fakhr al-Din II was captured, imprisoned for two years, and subsequently executed in April 1635, along with one of his sons.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gorton, T.J. |title=Renaissance Emir |date=25 April 2013 |publisher=Quartet Books |isbn=9780704372979 |pages=195–210}}</ref> Surviving members of his family continued to govern a reduced area under closer Ottoman supervision until the late 17th century. On the death of the [[Ahmad Ma'n|last Maan emir]], various members of the Shihab clan ruled Mount Lebanon until 1830.

While the history of Druze-Christian relations in Lebanon has generally been marked by harmony and peaceful coexistence,<ref>{{cite book |last=Hazran |first=Yusri |title=The Druze Community and the Lebanese State: Between Confrontation and Reconciliation |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=9781317931737 |page=32 |quote=the Druze had been able to live in harmony with the Christian}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Artzi |first=Pinḥas |title=Confrontation and Coexistence |publisher=Bar-Ilan University Press |year=1984 |isbn=9789652260499 |page=166 |quote=.. Europeans who visited the area during this period related that the Druze "love the Christians more than the other believers," and that they "hate the Turks, the Muslims and the Arabs [Bedouin] with an intense hatred.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=CHURCHILL |title=The Druzes and the Maronites |publisher=Montserrat Abbey Library |year=1862 |page=25 |quote=..the Druzes and Christians lived together in the most perfect harmony and good-will..}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hobby |title=Near East/South Asia Report |publisher=Foreign Broadcast Information Service |year=1985 |page=53 |quote=the Druzes and the Christians in the Shuf Mountains in the past lived in complete harmony..}}</ref> there were occasional periods of tension, notably during the [[1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus|1860 Mount Lebanon civil war]], during which around 10,000 Christians were killed by the Druze.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+lb0026) |title=Lebanon |work=Library of Congress Country Studies |date=December 1987 |access-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731123851/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+lb0026%29 |archive-date=31 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, the [[Emirate of Mount Lebanon]], which lasted about 400 years, was replaced by the [[Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate]], as a result of a European-Ottoman treaty called the [[Règlement Organique (Mount Lebanon)|Règlement Organique]]. The ''Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate''<ref name="UCS">{{cite book | title=Beirut | publisher=University of California Press |author1=Fisk, Robert |author2=Debevoise, Malcolm |author3=Kassir, Samir | author-link=Robert Fisk | year=2010 | pages=94 | isbn=978-0-520-25668-2}}</ref><ref name="Sanasar">{{cite book | title=Cultural resources in Lebanon | publisher=Librarie du Liban | author=Salwa C. Nassar Foundation | year=1969 | location=Beirut | pages=74}}</ref><ref name="frg">{{cite book | title=Lebanon: war and politics in a fragmented society | publisher=Routledge | author=Winslow, Charles | year=1996 | pages=291 | isbn=978-0-415-14403-2}}</ref> (1861–1918, {{langx|ar|متصرفية جبل لبنان }}; {{langx|tr|Cebel-i Lübnan Mutasarrıflığı}}) was one of the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s subdivisions following the [[Tanzimat]] reform. After 1861 there existed an autonomous Mount Lebanon with a Christian [[mutasarrıf]], which had been created as a homeland for the [[Lebanese Maronite Christians|Maronites]] under European diplomatic pressure following the 1860 massacres. The [[Maronite]] [[Catholic]]s and the [[Druze]] founded modern Lebanon in the early eighteenth century, through the ruling and social system known as the "[[Christianity and Druze|Maronite-Druze dualism]]" in Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.<ref name="Deeb 2013">{{cite book|title=Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah: The Unholy Alliance and Its War on Lebanon| first=Marius|last=Deeb|year= 2013| isbn= 9780817916664|publisher=Hoover Press|quote= the Maronites and the Druze, who founded Lebanon in the early eighteenth century.}}</ref>[[File:Carte du Liban d'apres les reconnaissances de la Brigade Topographique du Corps Expeditionnaire de Syrie en 1860-1861.jpg|thumb|1862 map drawn by the French expedition of [[Charles-Marie-Napoléon de Beaufort d'Hautpoul|Beaufort d'Hautpoul]],<ref name="Hakim2013">{{cite book|last=Hakim|first=Carol|title=The Origins of the Lebanese National Idea, 1840–1920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W3asKDHYERwC&pg=PA287|access-date=2 April 2013|year=2013|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-27341-2|page=287|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621114243/http://books.google.com/books?id=W3asKDHYERwC&pg=PA287|archive-date=21 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> later used as a template for the 1920 borders of [[Greater Lebanon]]<ref name="Firro2003">{{cite book|author=Firro, Kais|title=Inventing Lebanon: Nationalism and the State Under the Mandate|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zRwOcE9wJAQC&pg=PA18|access-date=2 April 2013|date=8 February 2003|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-857-1|page=18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621074704/http://books.google.com/books?id=zRwOcE9wJAQC&pg=PA18|archive-date=21 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rooke">{{cite book|author=Tetz Rooke|chapter=Writing the Boundary: "Khitat al-Shăm" by Muhammad Kurd ʹAli|editor=Hiroyuki|title=Concept Of Territory In Islamic Thought|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykTYAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA178|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-18453-6|page=178|quote=His [([[Thongchai Winichakul]]'s)] study shows that the modern map in some cases predicted the nation instead of just recording it; rather than describing existing borders it created the reality it was assumed to depict. The power of the map over the mind was great:"[H]ow could a nation resist being found if a nineteenth-century map had predicted it?" In the Middle East, Lebanon seems to offer a corresponding example. When the idea of a Greater Lebanon in 1908 was put forward in a book by Bulus Nujaym, a Lebanese Maronite writing under the pseudonym of M. Jouplain, he suggested that the natural boundaries of Lebanon were exactly the same as drawn in the 1861 and 1863 staff maps of the French military expedition to Syria, maps that added territories on the northern, eastern and southern borders, plus the city of Beirut, to the Mutasarrifiyya of Mount Lebanon. In this case, too, the prior existence of a European military map seems to have created a fact on the ground.}}</ref>|295x295px|left]]

The Baalbek and Beqaa Valley and Jabal Amel was ruled intermittently by various Shia feudal families, especially the [[El Assaad Family|Al Ali Alsagheer]] in Jabal Amel that remained in power until 1865 when Ottomans took direct ruling of the region. [[Youssef Bey Karam]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ehdenfamilytree.org/getperson.php?personID=I1&tree=ehden|title=Youssef KARAM, I b. May 1823 Ehden, Zgharta, Lebanon d. 7 Apr 1889 Naples, Italy: Ehden Family Tree|website=www.ehdenfamilytree.org}}</ref> a Lebanese nationalist played an influential role in Lebanon's independence during this era.

Lebanon experienced profound devastation in the [[World War I|First World War]] when the [[Ottoman Army (1861–1922)|Ottoman army]] assumed direct control, disrupting supplies and confiscating animals, ultimately leading to a severe famine.<ref name=":8" /> During the war, approximately 100,000 people in Beirut and Mount Lebanon died due to starvation.<ref name=Ilah>{{cite web |author=Saadi, Abdul-Ilah |title=Dreaming of Greater Syria |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=12 February 2008 |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/arabunity/2008/02/2008525183842614205.html |access-date=26 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513110319/http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/arabunity/2008/02/2008525183842614205.html |archive-date=13 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== French Mandate ===
Amidst the height of the [[World War I|First World War]], the [[Sykes–Picot Agreement]] of 1916, a secret pact between Britain and France, delineated Lebanon and its surrounding areas as regions open to potential French influence or control.<ref name=":8" /> After the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] emerged victorious in the war, the [[Ottoman Empire]] ultimately collapsed, losing control over the area. Soon after the war, Patriarch [[Elias Peter Hoayek]], representing the Maronite Christians,  successfully campaigned for an expanded territory at the 1919 [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]], also including areas with significant Muslim and Druze populations in addition to the Christian-dominated Mount Lebanon.<ref name=":8" />

In 1920, King [[Faisal I of Iraq|Faisal I]] proclaimed the [[Arab Kingdom of Syria]]'s independence and asserted control over Lebanon. However, following a defeat to the French at the [[Battle of Maysalun]], the kingdom was dissolved.<ref name=":8" /> Around the same time, at the [[San Remo conference|San Remo Conference]], tasked with deciding the fate of former Ottoman territories, it was determined that Syria and Lebanon would fall under French rule; shortly afterward, the formal division of territories took place in the [[Treaty of Sèvres]], signed a few months later.<ref name=":8" />

On 1 September 1920, [[Greater Lebanon]], or ''Grand Liban'', was officially established under French control as a [[League of Nations mandate|League of Nations Mandate]], following the terms outlined in the proposed [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon]]. Greater Lebanon united the regions of Mount Lebanon, North Lebanon, South Lebanon, and the Bekaa, with Beirut as its designated capital.<ref>{{cite web |author=Beggiani, Chorbishop Seely |title=Aspects of Maronite History (Part Eleven) The twentieth century in Western Asia |url=http://www.stmaron.org/marhist11.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060629110712/http://stmaron.org/marhist11.html |archive-date=29 June 2006 |access-date=17 January 2013 |publisher=Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn }}</ref><ref name=":8" /> These specified boundaries later evolved into the present-day configuration of Lebanon. This arrangement was later ratified in July 1922.<ref name=":8" /> The Lebanese Republic was officially proclaimed on 1 September 1926, with the [[Constitution of Lebanon|adoption of a constitution]] inspired by the French constitution on 23 May of the same year. While a Lebanese government was established, the country continued to be under French control.<ref name=":8" />

==== Pressure on German-occupied France ====
[[File:French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon map en.svg|thumb|right|Map of the [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French Mandate]] and the states created in 1920]]

Lebanon gained a measure of independence while France was occupied by Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/glossary.html |website=WWII Behind Closed Doors | title = Glossary: Cross-Channel invasion| access-date = 17 October 2009| publisher = [[Public Broadcasting Service]]| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091028211604/http://www.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/glossary.html| archive-date = 28 October 2009| url-status=dead | df = dmy-all}}</ref> General [[Henri Dentz]], the [[Vichy France|Vichy]] [[High commissioner]] for Syria and Lebanon, played a major role in the independence of the nation. The Vichy authorities in 1941 allowed Germany to move aircraft and supplies through [[Syria]] to [[Iraq]] where they were used against British forces. The United Kingdom, fearing that [[Nazi Germany]] would gain full control of Lebanon and [[Syria]] by pressure on the weak Vichy government, [[Syria–Lebanon campaign|sent its army into Syria and Lebanon]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle that Shaped the Middle East |publisher=Simon & Schuster |last=Barr |first=James|isbn=978-1-84983-903-7|location=London|oclc=990782374|date = 27 October 2011}}</ref>

After the fighting ended in Lebanon, General [[Charles de Gaulle]] visited the area. Under political pressure from both inside and outside Lebanon, de Gaulle recognized the independence of Lebanon. On 26 November 1941, General [[Georges Catroux]] announced that Lebanon would become independent under the authority of the [[Free French]] government. Elections were held in 1943 and on 8 November 1943 the new Lebanese government unilaterally abolished the mandate. The French reacted by imprisoning the new government. Lebanese nationalists declared a provisional government, and the British diplomatically intervened on their behalf. In the face of intense British pressure and protests by Lebanese nationalists, the French reluctantly released the government officials on 22 November 1943, and accepted the independence of Lebanon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barr |first=James |date=10 August 2020 |title=Who are Lebanon's real friends? |url=https://unherd.com/2020/08/who-are-lebanons-real-friends/ |access-date=17 August 2024 |website=UnHerd |language=en-GB}}</ref>[[File:Beirut's Martyrs' Square during celebrations marking the release by the French of Lebanon's government from Rashayya prison on November 22, 1943, the day of Lebanon's independence. Adib Ibrahim.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Martyrs' Square, Beirut|Martyrs' Square in Beirut]] during celebrations marking the release by the French of Lebanon's government from [[Rashayya prison]] on 22 November 1943]]

=== Independence from Free France ===
Following the end of World War II in Europe the French mandate may be said to have been terminated without any formal action on the part of the [[League of Nations]] or its successor the [[United Nations]]. The mandate was ended by the declaration of the mandatory power, and of the new states themselves, of their independence, followed by a process of piecemeal unconditional recognition by other powers, culminating in formal admission to the United Nations. Article 78 of the UN Charter ended the status of tutelage for any member state: "The trusteeship system shall not apply to territories which have become Members of the United Nations, relationship among which shall be based on respect for the principle of sovereign equality."<ref>Mandates, Dependencies and Trusteeship, by H. Duncan Hall, Carnegie Endowment, 1948, pages 265–266</ref> So when the UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, after ratification of the [[United Nations Charter]] by the [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|five permanent members]], as both Syria and Lebanon were founding member states, the French mandate for both was legally terminated on that date and full independence attained.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/aboutun/unhistory/ |title=History of the United Nations |publisher=United Nations |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127033154/http://www.un.org/aboutun/unhistory/ |archive-date=27 January 2012}}</ref> The last French troops withdrew in December 1946.

Lebanon's unwritten [[National Pact]] of 1943 required that its president be Maronite Christian, its [[Speaker (politics)|speaker of the parliament]] to be a [[Lebanese Shia Muslims|Shia Muslim]], its prime minister be [[Lebanese Sunni Muslims|Sunni Muslim]], and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Deputy Prime Minister be [[Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians|Greek Orthodox]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usip.org/publications/lebanons-confessionalism-problems-and-prospects|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709034419/http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2006/0330_lebanon_confessionalism.html|archive-date=9 July 2008|title=Lebanon's Confessionalism: Problems and Prospects|last=Harb|first=Imad|date=March 2006|work=USIPeace Briefing|publisher=United States Institute of Peace|access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref>

Lebanon's history since independence has been marked by alternating periods of political stability and turmoil interspersed with prosperity built on [[Beirut]]'s position as a regional center for finance and trade.<ref name="dos-2009-01">{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/lebanon/116354.htm |title=Background Note: Lebanon |date=January 2009 |work=Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs |publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=31 January 2010 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306215351/https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/lebanon/116354.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 1948, Lebanon supported neighboring Arab countries in a [[1948 Arab–Israeli War|war against Israel]]. While some irregular forces crossed the border and carried out minor skirmishes against Israel, it was without the support of the Lebanese government, and Lebanese troops did not officially invade.{{sfn|Morris|2008|p=524}} Lebanon agreed to support the forces with covering artillery fire, armored cars, volunteers and logistical support.{{sfn|Morris|2008|p=259}} On 5–6 June 1948, the Lebanese army – led by the then [[Ministry of National Defense (Lebanon)|Minister of National Defense]], [[Majid Arslan|Emir Majid Arslan]] – captured [[Al-Malkiyya]]. This was Lebanon's only success in the war.{{sfn|Morris|2008|p=260}}
[[File:Camille Chamoun com Getúlio Vargas em visita ao Brasil, 1954 (cropped).tif|thumb|247x247px|Under [[Camille Chamoun]]'s presidency, Lebanon experienced economic growth.]]
100,000 [[Palestinians in Lebanon|Palestinians]] fled to Lebanon because of the war. Israel [[Palestinian right of return|did not permit their return]] after the cease-fire.<ref name="amn">{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE18/010/2007 |title=Lebanon Exiled and suffering: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon |year=2007 |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=18 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211203636/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE18/010/2007 |archive-date=11 December 2013}}</ref> As of 2017, between 174,000 and 450,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon with about half in refugee camps (although these are often decades old and resemble neighborhoods).<ref name="aljazeera">{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/2009527115531294628.html|title=Lebanon's Palestinian refugees|last=al-Issawi|first=Omar|date=4 August 2009|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=21 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715083438/http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/2009527115531294628.html|archive-date=15 July 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Often Palestinians are legally barred from owning property or performing certain occupations.<ref name="Butters">Andrew Lee Butters [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1881651,00.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826165651/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1881651,00.html|date=26 August 2013}} "Palestinians in Lebanon: A Forgotten People", 25 February 2009, Time Magazine.</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]], Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in "appalling social and economic conditions."

In 1958, during the last months of President [[Camille Chamoun]]'s term, [[1958 Lebanon crisis|an insurrection]] broke out, instigated by Lebanese Muslims who wanted to make Lebanon a member of the [[United Arab Republic]]. Chamoun requested assistance, and 5,000 [[United States Marines]] were briefly dispatched to Beirut on 15 July. After the crisis, a new government was formed, led by the popular former general [[Fouad Chehab]].

Until the early 1970s, Lebanon was dubbed "the Switzerland of the Middle East" for its unique status as both a snow-capped holiday destination and secure banking hub for [[Gulf Arab]]s.<ref>[https://asiatimes.com/2020/02/switzerland-of-the-middle-east-unravels/ "Switzerland of the Middle East unravels"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421162802/https://asiatimes.com/2020/02/switzerland-of-the-middle-east-unravels/ |date=21 April 2023 }} ''AsiaTimes''. 21 February 2020, Accessed 21 April 2023.</ref> Beirut was also nicknamed "the Paris of the Middle East."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shair |first=Kamal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qj-gMqGK1YUC&pg=PA3 |title=Out of the Middle East: The Emergence of an Arab Global Business |date=28 July 2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-84511-271-4 |language=en |access-date=6 June 2024 |archive-date=6 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606114522/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Qj-gMqGK1YUC&pg=PA3&redir_esc=y |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Civil War and occupation ===
{{Main|Lebanese Civil War|Syrian occupation of Lebanon|Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon}}With the 1970 [[Black September in Jordan|defeat]] of the [[PLO]] in Jordan, many Palestinian militants relocated to Lebanon, increasing their [[Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon|armed campaign]] against Israel. The relocation of Palestinian bases also led to increasing sectarian tensions between Palestinians versus the Maronites and other Lebanese factions.[[File:Green Line, Beirut 1982.jpg|thumb|The [[Green Line (Lebanon)|Green Line]] that separated west and east Beirut, 1982|left]]
In 1975, following increasing sectarian tensions, largely boosted by [[Fatahland|Palestinian militant relocation]] into South Lebanon, a full-scale civil war broke out in Lebanon. The [[Lebanese Civil War]] pitted a coalition of Christian groups against the joint forces of the [[Palestinian Liberation Organization|PLO]], left-wing Druze and Muslim militias. In June 1976, Lebanese President [[Élias Sarkis]] asked for the Syrian Army to intervene on the side of the Christians and help restore peace.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Toaldo|first1=Mattia|title=The Origins of the US War on Terror: Lebanon, Libya and American intervention in the Middle East|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415685016|page=45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_gePvKuC_YC&q=elias+sarkis+syrian+intervention&pg=PA45|year=2013}}</ref> In October 1976 the [[Arab League]] agreed to establish a predominantly Syrian [[Arab Deterrent Force]], which was charged with restoring calm.<ref name="fco-cpl">{{cite web|title=Country Profile: Lebanon |url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/middle-east-north-africa/lebanon/?profile=all |publisher=British Foreign & Commonwealth Office |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000044/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/middle-east-north-africa/lebanon/?profile=all |archive-date=17 January 2013}}</ref> PLO attacks from Lebanon into Israel in 1977 and 1978 escalated tensions between the countries. On 11 March 1978, 11 Fatah fighters landed on a beach in northern Israel and hijacked two buses full of passengers on the Haifa – Tel-Aviv road, shooting at passing vehicles in what became known as the [[Coastal Road massacre]]. They killed 37 and wounded 76 Israelis before being killed in a firefight with Israeli forces.<ref>{{Citation|title=133. Statement to the press by Prime Minister Begin on the massacre of Israelis on the Haifa – Tel Aviv Road|date=12 March 1978|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1977-1979/133%20Statement%20to%20the%20press%20by%20Prime%20Minister%20Begin|access-date=14 March 2023|publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs|archive-date=15 August 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040815085643/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1977-1979/133%20Statement%20to%20the%20press%20by%20Prime%20Minister%20Begin|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> Israel invaded Lebanon four days later in [[Operation Litani]]. The [[Israeli Army]] occupied most of the area south of the [[Litani River]]. The [[UN Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 425|Resolution 425]] calling for immediate Israeli withdrawal and creating the [[United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon]] (UNIFIL), charged with attempting to establish peace.[[File:BlueLine.jpg|thumb|Map showing the [[Blue Line (border)|Blue Line]] demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, established by the UN after the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 1978|left]]

Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, but retained control of the southern region by managing a {{convert|12|mi|km|0|adj=mid|-wide|order=flip}} security zone along the border. These positions were held by the [[South Lebanon Army]] (SLA), a Christian militia under the leadership of Major [[Saad Haddad]] backed by Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister, [[Likud]]'s [[Menachem Begin]], compared the plight of the Christian minority in southern Lebanon (then about 5% of the population in SLA territory) to that of European Jews during World War II.<ref>Smith, op. cit., 355.</ref> The PLO routinely [[Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon|attacked]] Israel during the period of the cease-fire, with over 270 documented attacks.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Ze'ev Schiff |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1035902227 |title=Israel's Lebanon War |date=1985 |publisher=Touchstone |isbn=9780671602161 |author2=Ehud Yaʼari|author3=Ina Friedman |oclc=1035902227}}</ref> People in Galilee regularly had to leave their homes during these shellings. Documents captured in PLO headquarters after the invasion showed they had come from Lebanon.<ref>Jillian Becker, ''The PLO'', (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984), pp. 202, 279.</ref> PLO leader [[Yasser Arafat]] refused to condemn these attacks on the grounds that the cease-fire was only relevant to Lebanon.<ref>Smith, op. cit., p. 376.</ref>
In April 1980 the killing of two UNIFIL soldiers and the injuring of a third by the South Lebanon Army, near [[At Tiri]], in the buffer zone led to the [[At Tiri incident]]. On 17 July 1981, Israeli aircraft bombed multi-story apartment buildings in Beirut that contained offices of PLO associated groups. The Lebanese delegate to the United Nations Security Council claimed that 300 civilians had been killed and 800 wounded. The bombing led to worldwide condemnation, and a temporary embargo on the export of U.S. aircraft to Israel.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Bombing of Beirut|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|volume=11|issue=1|year=1981|pages=218–225|doi=10.1525/jps.1981.11.1.00p0366x}}</ref> In August 1981, defense minister [[Ariel Sharon]] began to draw up plans to attack PLO military infrastructure in West Beirut, where PLO headquarters and command bunkers were located.<ref>Smith, op. cit., p. 377.</ref>[[File:Civil war Lebanon map 1983a.gif|thumb|Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1983: {{legend|#008000|controlled by [[Syria]]}}{{legend|#ff00ff|controlled by Christian groups}}{{legend|#ffff00|controlled by Israel}}{{legend|#0080ff|controlled by the UN}}]]
In 1982, [[PLO in Lebanon|PLO]] attacks from Lebanon on Israel led to [[1982 Lebanon War|an Israeli invasion]], aiming to support Lebanese forces in driving out the PLO. A [[Multinational Force in Lebanon|multinational force]] of American, French and Italian contingents (joined in 1983 by a British contingent) were deployed in Beirut after [[Siege of Beirut|the Israeli siege of the city]], to supervise the evacuation of the PLO. The civil war re-emerged in September 1982 after the assassination of Lebanese President [[Bachir Gemayel]], an Israeli ally, and subsequent fighting. During this time a number of sectarian massacres occurred, such as in [[Sabra and Shatila massacre|Sabra and Shatila]], and in [[War of the Camps|several refugee camps]].<ref>''The War of the Camps'', Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn, 1986), pp. 191–194</ref> The multinational force was withdrawn in the spring of 1984, following [[1983 Beirut barracks bombings|a devastating bombing attack]] during the previous year.

During the early 1980s, [[Hezbollah]], a Shiite Islamist militant group and political party, came into existence through the efforts of Shiite clerics who were [[Hezbollah–Iran relations|financially supported and trained by Iran]]. Arising in the aftermath of the 1982 war and drawing inspiration from the [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution in Iran]], Hezbollah actively engaged in combat against Israel as well as [[suicide attack]]s, [[car bomb]]ings and assassinations. Their objectives encompassed eliminating Israel, fighting for the Shia cause in the Lebanese civil war, ending Western presence in Lebanon, and establishing a Shiite [[Khomeinism|Khomeinist]] [[Islamic state]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=What is Hizbullah? |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2023/10/18/what-is-hizbullah |access-date=12 January 2024 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=12 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112195506/https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2023/10/18/what-is-hizbullah |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":42" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Armajani |first=Jon |title=Shia Islam and Politics: Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon |date=2020 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-7936-2136-8 |location=Lanham (Md.) |pages=171–175}}</ref>

In the late 1980s, as [[Amine Gemayel]]'s second term as president drew to an end, the Lebanese [[Lebanese pound|pound]] collapsed. At the end of 1987 US$1 was worth £L500. This meant the legal minimum wage was worth just $17 a month. Most goods in shops were priced in dollars. A [[Save the Children]] director estimated that 200,000–300,000 children were in need of assistance and were living almost entirely on bread, which was subsidized by the government. Those who could relied on foreign assistance. Hezbollah was receiving about $3–5 million a month from [[Iran]].<ref>[[Middle East International]] No 315, 19 December 1987, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; [[Jim Muir]] pp.6–7</ref> In September 1988, the Parliament failed to elect a successor to President Gemayel as a result of differences between the Christians, Muslims, and Syrians. The Arab League Summit of May 1989 led to the formation of a Saudi–Moroccan–Algerian committee to solve the crisis. On 16 September 1989 the committee issued a peace plan which was accepted by all. A ceasefire was established, the ports and airports were re-opened and refugees began to return.<ref name="fco-cpl" />[[File:Visit of Rafik Hariri, Libanese Prime Minister, to the EC P0009170125H (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Rafic Hariri]], prime minister of Lebanon in 1996]]In the same month, the Lebanese Parliament agreed to the [[Taif Agreement]], which included an outline timetable for Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and a formula for the de-confessionalization of the Lebanese political system.<ref name="fco-cpl" /> The civil war ended at the end of 1990 after 16 years; it had caused massive loss of human life and property and devastated the country's economy. It is estimated that 150,000 people were killed and another 200,000 wounded.<ref>{{cite news|title=After 2 Decades, Scars of Lebanon's Civil War Block Path to Dialogue|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/world/middleeast/after-2-decades-scars-of-lebanons-civil-war-block-path-to-dialogue.html|work=The New York Times|author=Wood, Josh|date=12 July 2012|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218233705/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/world/middleeast/after-2-decades-scars-of-lebanons-civil-war-block-path-to-dialogue.html|archive-date=18 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Nearly a million civilians were displaced by the war, and some never returned.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72218 |title=Lebanon: Haven for foreign militants |publisher=UN IRIN news |date=17 May 2007 |access-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910195217/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72218 |archive-date=10 September 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Parts of Lebanon were left in ruins.<ref>{{cite web |last=Salem |first=Paul |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20061101faessay85602/paul-salem/the-future-of-lebanon.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108115822/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20061101faessay85602/paul-salem/the-future-of-lebanon.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 November 2006 |title=The Future of Lebanon |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations |date=1 November 2006 |access-date=17 January 2013}}</ref> The Taif Agreement has still not been implemented in full and Lebanon's political system continues to be divided along sectarian lines. Conflict between Israel and Lebanese militants continued, leading to a series of violent events and clashes including the [[Qana massacre]].<ref>{{cite news|date=31 July 2006|title=Qana makes grim history again|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5228554.stm|access-date=4 October 2020|archive-date=3 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503221122/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5228554.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Haberman|first=Clyde|date=3 June 1994|title=Dozens Are Killed As Israelis Attack Camp in Lebanon|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/03/world/dozens-are-killed-as-israelis-attack-camp-in-lebanon.html|access-date=4 October 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414154802/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/03/world/dozens-are-killed-as-israelis-attack-camp-in-lebanon.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=5 June 1997|title=Fighting erupts in Lebanon after rockets hit Jewish state|url=https://www.jta.org/1997/06/05/default/fighting-erupts-in-lebanon-after-rockets-hit-jewish-state|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|language=en-US|archive-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218132941/http://archive.jta.org/article/1996/12/16/2885375/fighting-erupts-in-lebanon-after-rockets-hit-jewish-state|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2000, Israeli forces fully withdrew from Lebanon.<ref>{{cite web|date=29 April 2020|title=New details surface 20 years on from Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200429-new-details-surface-20-years-on-from-israels-withdrawal-from-lebanon/|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Middle East Monitor|language=en-GB|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414052925/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200429-new-details-surface-20-years-on-from-israels-withdrawal-from-lebanon/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=لبنان.. سنوات الحرب والسلام|url=https://www.aljazeera.net/2004/10/03/%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85|access-date=4 October 2020|website=www.aljazeera.net|language=ar|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030654/http://www.aljazeera.net/specialfiles/pages/0073f487-cba7-40d5-8042-257748c8a13f|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=24 September 2019|title=Israeli regime's ample weaknesses make its collapse undeniable: Nasrallah|url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/150402/Israeli-regime-s-ample-weaknesses-make-its-collapse-undeniable|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Mehr News Agency|language=en|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054839/https://en.mehrnews.com/news/150402/Israeli-regime-s-ample-weaknesses-make-its-collapse-undeniable|url-status=live}}</ref> Since then, 25 May is regarded by the Lebanese as the [[Resistance and Liberation Day (Lebanon)|Liberation Day]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Resistance and Liberation Day in Lebanon in 2021|url=https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/lebanon/resistance-and-liberation-day|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Office Holidays|language=en|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525074658/https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/lebanon/resistance-and-liberation-day|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=On the occasion of the Day of Resistance and Liberation, the Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun delivered the Order of the Day to the troops|url=https://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/en/content/occasion-day-resistance-and-liberation-armed-forces-commander-general-joseph-aoun-delivered|access-date=4 October 2020|website=الموقع الرسمي للجيش اللبناني|date=24 May 2019 |language=en|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414052942/https://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/en/content/occasion-day-resistance-and-liberation-armed-forces-commander-general-joseph-aoun-delivered|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The internal political situation in Lebanon significantly changed in the early 2000s. After the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the death of former president [[Hafez al-Assad]] in 2000, the Syrian military presence faced criticism and resistance from the Lebanese population.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mroue |first=Bassem |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700118094/Lebanese-mark-uprising-against-Syrian-domination.html |title=Lebanese mark uprising against Syria's domination |work=Deseret News |access-date=17 January 2013 |date=13 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120160239/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700118094/Lebanese-mark-uprising-against-Syrian-domination.html |archive-date=20 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>[[File:Cedar_Revolution_Demonstrators.jpg|thumb|left|Demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005]]On 14 February 2005, former Prime Minister [[Rafic Hariri]] was assassinated in a [[car bomb]] explosion.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Oakland|title=Language of murder makes itself understood|date=9 October 2007|url=https://www.thestar.com/article/264773|work=Toronto Star|access-date=2 February 2009|quote=Like a wound that just won't heal, a large expanse patch of fresh asphalt still mottles the grey surface of Rue Minet el-Hosn, where the street veers west around St. George Bay. The patch marks the exact spot where a massive truck bomb exploded 14 February 2005, killing prime minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others and gouging a deep crater in the road.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016153757/http://www.thestar.com/article/264773|archive-date=16 October 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Leaders of the [[March 14 Alliance]] accused [[Syria]] of the attack,<ref name="Syria-assassin">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/lebanon/lebanon_syria.html |title=Recent background on Syria's presence in Lebanon |publisher=CBC News Indepth |date=30 January 2007 |access-date=17 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119123620/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/lebanon/lebanon_syria.html |archive-date=19 November 2012}}</ref> while Syria and the [[March 8 Alliance]] claimed that Israel was behind the assassination. The Hariri assassination marked the beginning of a series of assassinations that resulted in the death of many prominent Lebanese figures.<ref group="nb">2005: [[Bassel Fleihan]], Lebanese legislator and Minister of Economy and Commerce; [[Samir Kassir]], Columnist and [[Democratic Left Movement (Lebanon)|Democratic Left Movement]] leader; [[George Hawi]], former head of [[Lebanese Communist Party]]; [[Gibran Tueni]], Editor in Chief of "An Nahar" newspaper. 2006: [[Pierre Gemayel]], Minister of Industry. 2007: [[Walid Eido]], MP; [[Antoine Ghanim]], MP.</ref> The assassination triggered the [[Cedar Revolution]], a series of demonstrations which demanded the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the establishment of an international commission to investigate the assassination. Under pressure from the West, Syria began withdrawing,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4342705.stm|title=Syria begins Lebanon withdrawal|date=12 March 2005|work=BBC News|access-date=11 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308091520/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4342705.stm|archive-date=8 March 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> and by 26 April 2005 all Syrian soldiers had returned to Syria.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/04/26/lebanon/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726023249/http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/04/26/lebanon/ |archive-date=26 July 2008 |title=Last Syrian troops leave Lebanon |access-date=17 January 2013}}</ref>

[[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1595|UNSC Resolution 1595]] called for an investigation into the assassination.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8353.doc.htm|title=Press Release SC/8353|date=7 April 2005|publisher=United Nations – Security Council|access-date=19 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122120851/http://un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8353.doc.htm|archive-date=22 January 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission]] published preliminary findings on 20 October 2005 in the [[Mehlis report]], which cited indications that the assassination was organized by Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hoge|first=Warren|title=Syria Involved in Killing Lebanon's Ex-Premier, U.N. Report Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/international/middleeast/20cnd-syria.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|date=20 October 2005|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218220207/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/international/middleeast/20cnd-syria.html?_r=0|archive-date=18 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Mehlis |first=Detlev |title=Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1595 |publisher=[[United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine]] |url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/fd807e46661e3689852570d00069e918/308be5d60f79289b852570a5005d0d00!OpenDocument |date=19 October 2005 |quote=It is the Commission's view that the assassination of 14 February 2005 was carried out by a group with an extensive organization and considerable resources and capabilities. [...] Building on the findings of the Commission and Lebanese investigations to date and on the basis of the material and documentary evidence collected, and the leads pursued until now, there is converging evidence pointing at both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in this terrorist act. |access-date=2 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228173759/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/fd807e46661e3689852570d00069e918/308be5d60f79289b852570a5005d0d00%21OpenDocument |archive-date=28 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="UN_S2005662">{{UN document |docid=S-2005-662 |type=Document |body=Security Council |document_number=662 |access-date=9 April 2008 |date=20 October 2005|title=Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1595 (2005)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/News/dh/docs/mehlisreport/ |title=Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1595 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=5 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414021338/http://www.un.org/news/dh/docs/mehlisreport/ |archive-date=14 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Post-war revolution and spillover of the Syrian conflict ===
{{main|Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon|2011 Lebanese protests|17 October Revolution}}
On 12 July 2006, [[Hezbollah]] launched a series of rocket attacks and [[2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid|raids]] into Israeli territory, where they killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/world/africa/13iht-web.0713mideast.2188501.html | work=The New York Times | first1=Greg | last1=Myre | first2=Steven | last2=Erlanger | title=Clashes spread to Lebanon as Hezbollah raids Israel – Africa & Middle East – International Herald Tribune | date=12 July 2006 | access-date=19 February 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701013043/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/world/africa/13iht-web.0713mideast.2188501.html | archive-date=1 July 2017 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref> Israel responded with [[airstrike]]s and [[artillery]] fire on targets in Lebanon, and a ground invasion of [[southern Lebanon]], resulting in the [[2006 Lebanon War]]. The conflict was officially ended by the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701|UNSC Resolution 1701]] on 14 August 2006, which ordered a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, and the disarmament of Hezbollah.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8808.doc.htm|title=Security Council calls for end to hostilities between Hizbollah, Israel|date=11 August 2006|publisher=UN – Security Council, Department of Public Information|access-date=19 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130025538/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8808.doc.htm|archive-date=30 January 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 August 2023 |title=Hold your breath |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2006/08/24/hold-your-breath |access-date= |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=31 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231162650/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2006/08/24/hold-your-breath |url-status=live }}</ref> Some 1,191 Lebanese<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lebanonundersiege.gov.lb/english/F/Main/index.asp |title=Lebanon Under Siege |date=27 September 2006 |access-date=5 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927025252/http://www.lebanonundersiege.gov.lb/english/F/Main/index.asp |archive-date=27 September 2006}}</ref> and 160 Israelis<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terrorism+from+Lebanon-+Hizbullah/Israel-Hizbullah+conflict-+Victims+of+rocket+attacks+and+IDF+casualties+July-Aug+2006.htm |title=Israel-Hizbullah conflict: Victims of rocket attacks and IDF casualties July–Aug 2006 |publisher=Mfa.gov.il |access-date=5 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624211414/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terrorism+from+Lebanon-+Hizbullah/Israel-Hizbullah+conflict-+Victims+of+rocket+attacks+and+IDF+casualties+July-Aug+2006.htm |archive-date=24 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> were [[Casualties of the 2006 Lebanon War|killed]] in the conflict. Beirut's southern suburb was heavily damaged by Israeli airstrikes.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/13/mideast/index.html | publisher=CNN | title=Israeli warplanes hit Beirut suburb | date=13 July 2006 | access-date=6 January 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429061457/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/13/mideast/index.html | archive-date=29 April 2007 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2007, the [[Nahr al-Bared]] refugee camp became the center of the [[2007 Lebanon conflict]] between the Lebanese Army and [[Fatah al-Islam]]. At least 169 soldiers, 287 insurgents and 47 civilians were killed in the battle. Funds for the reconstruction of the area have been slow to materialize.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81306 |title=Life set to get harder for Nahr al-Bared refugees |publisher=UN IRIN newsg |date=5 November 2008 |access-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110922104134/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81306 |archive-date=22 September 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Between 2006 and 2008, [[2006–2008 Lebanese political protests|a series of protests]] led by groups opposed to the pro-Western Prime Minister [[Fouad Siniora]] demanded the creation of a national unity government, over which the mostly Shia opposition groups would have veto power. When [[Émile Lahoud]]'s presidential term ended in October 2007, the opposition refused to vote for a successor unless a power-sharing deal was reached, leaving Lebanon without a president.

On 7 May 2008, [[Hezbollah]] and [[Amal Movement|Amal]] forces, sparked by a government declaration that Hezbollah's communications network was illegal, seized western [[Beirut]],<ref name="Global Politician">{{cite news|url=http://www.globalpolitician.com/24841-lebanon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628234738/http://www.globalpolitician.com/24841-lebanon|archive-date=28 June 2011|title=Lebanon back to Normalcy?|last=Ruff|first=Abdul|date=1 June 2008|work=Global Politician|access-date=19 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Zisser |first=Eyal |title=The Sunni-Shi'i Struggle over Lebanon: A New Chapter in the History of Lebanon |date=2011 |url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137495068_9 |work=The Sunna and Shi’a in History: Division and Ecumenism in the Muslim Middle East |pages=145–161 |editor-last=Bengio |editor-first=Ofra |access-date=7 January 2024 |place=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |language=en |doi=10.1057/9781137495068_9 |isbn=978-1-137-49506-8 |editor2-last=Litvak |editor2-first=Meir}}</ref> the most important Sunni center in Lebanon, leading to an [[2008 Lebanon conflict|intrastate military conflict]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Elizabeth |last2=Statton |first2=Allegra |date=2008-05-08 |title=Violence escalates between Sunni and Shia in Beirut |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/may/08/lebanon |access-date=2025-04-09 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Beirut street clashes turn deadly |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20080509-beirut-street-clashes-turn-deadly-lebanon-hezbollah?navi=MONDE |publisher=[[France 24]] |access-date=9 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204041825/http://www.france24.com/en/20080509-beirut-street-clashes-turn-deadly-lebanon-hezbollah?navi=MONDE |archive-date=4 December 2010 |date = 9 May 2008}}</ref> The Lebanese government denounced the violence as a coup attempt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tni.org/article/walking-tight-wire|title=Walking the tight wire – Conversations on the May 2008 Lebanese crisis|last=Martínez|first=Beatriz|author2=Francesco Volpicella|date=September 2008|publisher=Transnational Institute|access-date=9 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323224102/http://www.tni.org/article/walking-tight-wire|archive-date=23 March 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> At least 62 people died in the resulting clashes between pro-government and opposition militias.<ref name="Doha NYT" /> On 21 May 2008, the signing of the [[Doha Agreement (2008)|Doha Agreement]] ended the fighting.<ref name="Global Politician" /><ref name="Doha NYT" /> As part of the accord, which ended 18 months of political paralysis,<ref name = "Doha">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=92308|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305232232/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=92308|archive-date=5 March 2009|title=Lebanese rivals set to elect president after historic accord|last=Abdallah |first=Hussein|date=22 May 2008|work=[[Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]]|access-date=19 October 2009}}</ref> [[Michel Suleiman]] became president and a national unity government was established, granting a veto to the opposition.<ref name="Global Politician" /> The agreement was a victory for opposition forces, as the government caved in to all their main demands.<ref name="Doha NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/world/middleeast/16lebanon.html|title=Feuding Political Camps in Lebanon Agree to Talk to End Impasse|last=Worth|first=Robert|author2=Nada Bakri|date=16 May 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=19 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211002146/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/world/middleeast/16lebanon.html|archive-date=11 December 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Shatila_-_street_view_(3).jpg|thumb|Over 20,000 [[Syrians in Lebanon|Syrian]] and [[Palestinian refugees]] live in the [[Shatila refugee camp]] on the outskirts of Beirut.]]
In early January 2011, the [[Lebanese government of November 2009|national unity government]] collapsed due to growing tensions stemming from the [[Special Tribunal for Lebanon]], which was expected to indict Hezbollah members for the Hariri assassination.<ref name="BBC collapse">{{cite news|title=Hezbollah and allies topple Lebanese unity government|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12170608|access-date=12 January 2011|publisher=BBC|date=12 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113042200/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12170608|archive-date=13 January 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> The parliament elected [[Najib Mikati]], the candidate for the Hezbollah-led [[March 8 Alliance]], Prime Minister of Lebanon, making him responsible for forming a new government.<ref name="NYT collapse">{{cite news|last=Bakri|first=Nada|author-link=Nada Bakri |title=Resignations Deepen Crisis for Lebanon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/world/middleeast/13lebanon.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1|access-date=12 January 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=12 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110084949/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/world/middleeast/13lebanon.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1|archive-date=10 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Hezbollah leader [[Hassan Nasrallah]] later accused Israel of assassinating Hariri.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-09/world/lebanon.nasrallah.israel_1_hezbollah-leader-hassan-nasrallah-israelis?_s=PM:WORLD |title=Hezbollah chief: Israel killed Hariri |work=CNN|date=9 August 2010 |access-date=17 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116235714/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-09/world/lebanon.nasrallah.israel_1_hezbollah-leader-hassan-nasrallah-israelis?_s=PM%3AWORLD |archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref> A report leaked by the [[Al Akhbar (Lebanon)|Al-Akhbar]] newspaper in November 2010 stated that Hezbollah had drafted plans for a violent takeover of the country in case the Special Tribunal for Lebanon issued an indictment against its members.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hezbollah Threatens an 'Explosion' in Beirut Over Tribunal|url=http://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/hezbollah-threatens-explosion-beirut-over-tribunal|publisher=Stratfor|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110160410/http://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/hezbollah-threatens-explosion-beirut-over-tribunal|archive-date=10 November 2013}}</ref>

In 2012, the [[Syrian civil war]] threatened to spill over in Lebanon, causing [[Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon|incidents of sectarian violence]] and armed clashes between [[Lebanese Sunni Muslims|Sunnis]] and [[Alawites in Lebanon|Alawites]] in Tripoli.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian War Plays Out Along a Street in Lebanon|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/world/middleeast/syrian-war-plays-out-along-a-street-in-lebanon.html?ref=middleeast|work=The New York Times|author=Cave, Damien|date=23 August 2012|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701041958/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/world/middleeast/syrian-war-plays-out-along-a-street-in-lebanon.html?ref=middleeast|archive-date=1 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[UNHCR]], the number of [[Refugees of the Syrian civil war|Syrian refugees]] in Lebanon increased from around 250,000 in early 2013 to 1,000,000 in late 2014.<ref name=refugees>{{cite web|title=Syria Regional Refugee Response – Lebanon| work=UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response |url=http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122|publisher=UNHCR|access-date=9 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626091416/http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122|archive-date=26 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, The [[Lebanese Forces Party]], the [[Kataeb Party]] and the [[Free Patriotic Movement]] voiced concerns that the country's sectarian based political system is being undermined by the influx of Syrian refugees.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kverme|first=Kai|title=The Refugee Factor|url=http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/02/14/refugee-factor/fgl0|publisher=SADA|access-date=14 February 2013|date=14 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192335/http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/02/14/refugee-factor/fgl0|archive-date=29 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 6 May 2015, [[UNHCR]] suspended registration of Syrian refugees at the request of the Lebanese government.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Janmyr|first=Maja|date=16 March 2018|title=UNHCR and the Syrian refugee response: negotiating status and registration in Lebanon|journal=The International Journal of Human Rights|volume=22|issue=3|pages=393–419|doi=10.1080/13642987.2017.1371140|issn=1364-2987|doi-access=free|hdl=1956/17996|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In February 2016, the Lebanese government signed the Lebanon Compact, granting a minimum of €400 million of support for refugees and vulnerable Lebanese citizens.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tsourapas|first=Gerasimos|date=4 May 2019|title=The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Foreign Policy Decision-Making in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey|journal=Journal of Global Security Studies|volume=4|issue=4|pages=464–481|language=en|doi=10.1093/jogss/ogz016|issn=2057-3170|doi-access=free}}</ref> As of October 2016, the government estimated that the country hosts 1.5 million Syrians.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/53061 | title=Document - Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) 2017–2020 – full version | access-date=12 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230101444/https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/53061 | archive-date=30 December 2018 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref>

=== National crisis (2019–present) ===
{{Main|17 October Revolution|Lebanese liquidity crisis}}
[[File:-i---i- (49140926886).jpg|thumb|The [[Second Arab Spring|2019 protests]] were non-sectarian, crossing the Sunni–Shia Muslim / Christian sociological and religious divide.]]
On 17 October 2019, the first of a series of mass civil demonstrations erupted;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/lebanese-protesters-close-roads-over-imposition-of-new-taxes/2019/10/17/d2f4482a-f116-11e9-bb7e-d2026ee0c199_story.html|title=Protests spread across Lebanon over proposed new taxes|author=Fadi Tawil|date=17 October 2019|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=18 October 2019|agency=AP|archive-date=21 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021000630/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/lebanese-protesters-close-roads-over-imposition-of-new-taxes/2019/10/17/d2f4482a-f116-11e9-bb7e-d2026ee0c199_story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2019/Oct-18/493775-protests-erupt-over-taxes-as-govt-races-to-wrap-up-budget.ashx|title=Protests erupt over taxes as govt races to wrap up budget|date=18 October 2019|journal=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]]|access-date=18 October 2019|archive-date=31 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031204311/http://www.dailystar.com.lb//News/Lebanon-News/2019/Oct-18/493775-protests-erupt-over-taxes-as-govt-races-to-wrap-up-budget.ashx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50095448|title=Lebanon scraps WhatsApp tax as protests rage|date=18 October 2019|access-date=18 October 2019|language=en-GB|archive-date=3 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603152934/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50095448|url-status=live}}</ref> they were initially triggered by planned taxes on gasoline, tobacco and online phone calls such as through [[WhatsApp]],<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2019/Oct-17/493723-lebanon-to-charge-6-on-whatsapp-call-report.ashx|title=Lebanese govt to charge USD 0.20 a day for WhatsApp calls|date=17 October 2019|journal=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]]|access-date=18 October 2019|archive-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609153749/https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2019/Oct-17/493723-lebanon-to-charge-6-on-whatsapp-call-report.ashx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/protests-erupt-lebanon-plans-impose-taxes-191017194856354.html|title=Protests erupt in Lebanon over plans to impose new taxes|date=18 October 2019|website=aljazeera.com|access-date=18 October 2019|archive-date=25 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225124935/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/protests-erupt-lebanon-plans-impose-taxes-191017194856354.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/lebanon-whatsapp-tax-sparks-mass-protests/a-50880357|title=Lebanon: WhatsApp tax sparks mass protests|date=10 October 2019|website=DW|publisher=Deutsche Welle|language=en-GB|access-date=18 October 2019|archive-date=17 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917170317/https://web.archive.org/web/20200803054009/https://www.dw.com/en/lebanon-whatsapp-tax-sparks-mass-protests/a-50880357|url-status=live}}</ref> but quickly expanded into a country-wide condemnation of [[sectarian]] rule,<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://reportsyndication.news.blog/2019/10/27/lebanon-protesters-find-strength-in-unity-ditched-sectarianism/|title=Lebanon Protesters Found Strength in Unity, Ditched Sectarianism|date=27 October 2019|website=Report Syndication|access-date=20 January 2020|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803125404/https://reportsyndication.news.blog/2019/10/27/lebanon-protesters-find-strength-in-unity-ditched-sectarianism/|url-status=live}}</ref> a [[Lebanese liquidity crisis|stagnant economy and liquidity crisis]], unemployment, endemic corruption in the public sector,<ref name=":2" /> legislation (such as banking secrecy) that is perceived to shield the ruling class from accountability<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/News/Local/979920/Protesters_march_from_Al_Nour_Square_to_Central_Bank_in_Tripoli|title=Protesters march from Al Nour Square to Central Bank in Tripoli|date=22 October 2019|work=MTV Lebanon|access-date=26 October 2019|language=en|archive-date=26 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026131114/https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/news/local/979920/protesters_march_from_al_nour_square_to_central_bank_in_tripoli|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/News/Local/979923/Protesters_block_Karakoul_Druze-Mar_Elias_road|title=Protesters block Karakoul Druze-Mar Elias road|date=22 October 2019|work=MTV Lebanon|access-date=26 October 2019|language=en|archive-date=26 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026131115/https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/news/local/979923/protesters_block_karakoul_druze-mar_elias_road|url-status=live}}</ref> and failures from the government to provide basic services such as electricity, water and sanitation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-17/whatsapp-protests-erupt-in-lebanon-as-economic-crisis-deepens|title=Nationwide Protests Erupt in Lebanon as Economic Crisis Deepens|last=Khraiche|first=Dana|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=17 October 2019|publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]|access-date=18 October 2019|archive-date=27 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627164750/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-17/whatsapp-protests-erupt-in-lebanon-as-economic-crisis-deepens|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:WomenLine RiadElSolh 19Nov2019.jpg|thumb|Women protesters forming a line between riot police and protesters in Riad el Solh, [[Beirut]]; 19 November 2019]]
As a result of the protests, Lebanon entered a political crisis, with Prime Minister [[Saad Hariri]] tendering his resignation and echoing protestors' demands for a government of independent specialists.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the961.com/news/lebanese-protesters-addressed-president-aoun-with-an-urgent-demand/|title=Lebanese Protesters Addressed President Aoun with an Urgent Demand/|last=The961|date=1 November 2019|website=the961.com|language=en-EN|access-date=24 November 2019|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231143854/https://www.the961.com/news/lebanese-protesters-addressed-president-aoun-with-an-urgent-demand|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other politicians targeted by the protests have remained in power. On 19 December 2019, former Minister of Education [[Hassan Diab]] was designated the next prime minister and tasked with forming a new cabinet.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50851319|title=Lebanon protests: University professor Hassan Diab nominated to be PM|publisher=BBC|access-date=20 January 2020|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221083243/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-eas|url-status=live}}</ref> Protests and acts of [[civil disobedience]] have since continued, with protesters denouncing and condemning the designation of Diab as prime minister.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/hezbollah-backed-hassan-diab-lebanon-pm-191219155153401.html|title=Lebanese president asks Hassan Diab to form government|date=19 December 2019|access-date=2 January 2020|publisher=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]|archive-date=17 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917170307/https://web.archive.org/web/20191219210501/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/hezbollah-backed-hassan-diab-lebanon-pm-191219155153401.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/roadblocks-lebanon-anger-rises-diab-pick-pm-191220091929392.html|title=Roadblocks across Lebanon as anger rises over Diab pick as PM|date=20 December 2019|access-date=2 January 2020|publisher=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221083239/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/roadblocks-lebanon-anger-rises-diab-pick-pm-191220091929392.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2019/Dec-31/498331-day-76-new-years-revolution.ashx|title=Day 76: New Year's Revolution|date=31 December 2019|access-date=2 January 2020|newspaper=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]]|archive-date=9 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109131005/https://www.dailystar.com.lb//News/Lebanon-News/2019/Dec-31/498331-day-76-new-years-revolution.ashx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lebanon is suffering the worst [[Lebanese liquidity crisis|economic crisis]] in decades.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title=Lebanon Looks to China as US, Arabs Refuse to Help in Crisis |url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/lebanon-looks-to-china-as-us-arabs-refuse-to-help-in-crisis/ |work=The Diplomat |date=16 July 2020 |access-date=20 July 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414030934/https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/lebanon-looks-to-china-as-us-arabs-refuse-to-help-in-crisis/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite news |title=The lights go out on Lebanon's economy as financial collapse accelerates |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/the-lights-go-out-on-lebanons-economy-as-financial-collapse-accelerates/2020/07/19/3acfc33e-bb97-11ea-97c1-6cf116ffe26c_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=19 July 2020 |access-date=20 July 2020 |archive-date=21 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321160915/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/the-lights-go-out-on-lebanons-economy-as-financial-collapse-accelerates/2020/07/19/3acfc33e-bb97-11ea-97c1-6cf116ffe26c_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Lebanon is the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to see its inflation rate exceed 50% for 30 consecutive days, according to Steve H. Hanke, professor of applied economics at the Johns Hopkins University.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lebanon becomes 1st country in Middle East and North Africa to enter hyperinflation|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/perfect-storm-lebanon-1st-country-middle-east-north/story?id=72028194|access-date=29 July 2020|website=ABC News|language=en|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414031049/https://abcnews.go.com/International/perfect-storm-lebanon-1st-country-middle-east-north/story?id=72028194|url-status=live}}</ref> On 4 August 2020, [[2020 Beirut explosion|an explosion at the port of Beirut]], Lebanon's main port, destroyed the surrounding areas, killing over 200 people, and injuring thousands more. The cause of the explosion was later determined to be 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been unsafely stored, and accidentally set on fire that Tuesday afternoon.<ref>{{cite news|date=11 August 2020|title=Beirut explosion: What we know so far|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53668493|access-date=1 October 2020|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806025910/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53668493|url-status=live}}</ref> Protests resumed within days following the explosion, which resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his [[Cabinet of Hassan Diab|cabinet]] on 10 August 2020, nonetheless continuing to stay in office in a [[Caretaker government|caretaker capacity]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 August 2020|title=Lebanon's government resigns after Beirut blast|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/lebanon-s-government-resigns-after-beirut-blast-1.1061864|access-date=8 January 2022|website=The National|language=en|archive-date=5 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005034800/https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/lebanon-s-government-resigns-after-beirut-blast-1.1061864|url-status=live}}</ref> Demonstrations continued into 2021 with Lebanese blocking the roads with burned tires protesting against the poverty and the economic crisis.

On 11 March 2021 the [[Ministry of Energy and Water (Lebanon)|caretaker minister of energy]] [[Raymond Ghajar]] warned that Lebanon was threatened with "total darkness" at the end of March if no money was secured to buy fuel for power stations.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Lebanon threatened with total darkness: Ghajar |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2021/Mar-11/518336-lebanon-threatened-with-total-darkness-ghajar.ashx|access-date=11 March 2021|journal=The Daily Star|archive-date=11 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311201123/https://www.dailystar.com.lb//News/Lebanon-News/2021/Mar-11/518336-lebanon-threatened-with-total-darkness-ghajar.ashx|url-status=dead}}</ref> In August 2021, a [[2021 Akkar explosion|large fuel explosion in northern Lebanon]] killed 28 people.<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 August 2021|title=Lebanon fuel tanker explosion kills at least 28|url=https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20210815-lebanon-fuel-tanker-explosion-kills-at-least-20|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[France 24]]|language=en|archive-date=22 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822185953/https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20210815-lebanon-fuel-tanker-explosion-kills-at-least-20|url-status=live}}</ref>  September saw the formation of a [[Third Cabinet of Najib Mikati|new cabinet]] led by former prime minister [[Najib Mikati]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=10 September 2021|title=Lebanon forms new government, ending 13-month standoff|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/10/lebanon-forms-new-government-ending-13-month-standoff|access-date=8 January 2022|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217015213/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/10/lebanon-forms-new-government-ending-13-month-standoff|url-status=live}}</ref> On 9 October 2021, the entire nation lost power for 24 hours after its two main power stations ran out of power due to the currency and fuel shortage.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mistich|first=Dave|date=10 October 2021|title=Power returns to Lebanon after a 24-hour blackout|language=en|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/10/1044911779/power-lebanon-outages-economic-crisis-fuel-shortages|access-date=17 October 2021|archive-date=14 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014182349/https://www.npr.org/2021/10/10/1044911779/power-lebanon-outages-economic-crisis-fuel-shortages|url-status=live}}</ref> Days later, [[2021 Beirut clashes|sectarian violence in Beirut]] killed a number of people in the deadliest clashes in the country since 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 October 2021|title=Gunbattles erupt during protest of Beirut blast probe; 6 die|url=https://apnews.com/article/hezbollah-middle-east-lebanon-beirut-explosions-56b61328f420caf4e259aeb3f428fb9a|access-date=25 October 2021|website=AP NEWS|language=en|archive-date=14 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014125530/https://apnews.com/article/hezbollah-middle-east-lebanon-beirut-explosions-56b61328f420caf4e259aeb3f428fb9a|url-status=live}}</ref> By January 2022, [[BBC News]] reported that the crisis in Lebanon had deepened further, with the value of the [[Lebanese pound]] plummeting and a [[2022 Lebanese general election|scheduled general election expected to be delayed indefinitely]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Lebanon enters the new year in a deepening crisis – BBC News| date=2 January 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXJ4uwcRgtE|language=en|access-date=8 January 2022|archive-date=2 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202062206/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXJ4uwcRgtE|url-status=live}}</ref> The postponement of parliamentary elections was said to prolong the political deadlock in the country. The [[European Parliament]] called Lebanon's present situation a 'man-made disaster caused by a handful of men across the political class'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Situation in Lebanon: Severe and prolonged economic depression {{!}} Think Tank {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2022)729369 |access-date=25 April 2022 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en |archive-date=5 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005034803/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI%282022%29729369 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2022, Lebanon held its first [[2022 Lebanese general election|election]] since a painful economic crisis dragged it to the brink of becoming a [[failed state]]. Lebanon's crisis has been so severe that more than 80 percent of the population is now considered poor by the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 September 2021 |title=Lebanon: Almost three-quarters of the population living in poverty {{!}} UN News |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1099102 |access-date=6 June 2024 |website=news.un.org |language=en |archive-date=21 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721182059/https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1099102 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the election the Shia Muslim [[Hezbollah]] movement (and its allies) lost their parliamentary majority. Hezbollah did not lose any of its seats, but its allies lost seats. Hezbollah's ally, President [[Michel Aoun]]'s [[Free Patriotic Movement]], was no longer the biggest Christian party after the election. A rival Christian party, the [[Lebanese Forces]] led by [[Samir Geagea]], became the largest Christian-based party in parliament. The Sunni [[Future Movement]], led by former prime minister [[Saad Hariri]], did not participate in the election, leaving a political vacuum for other Sunni politicians to fill.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chehayeb |first1=Kareem |title=After elections in Lebanon, does political change stand a chance? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/19/what-stands-next-for-lebanon-after-key-elections |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Chehayeb |first1=Kareem |title=Hezbollah allies projected to suffer losses in Lebanon elections |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/16/hezbollah-allies-projected-to-lose-seats-lebanese-parliamentary-elections |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |access-date=28 May 2022 |archive-date=5 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005034800/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/16/hezbollah-allies-projected-to-lose-seats-lebanese-parliamentary-elections |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Chehayeb |first1=Kareem |title=Hariri's absence leaves Sunni voters unsure ahead of Lebanon poll |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/4/lebanon-sunni-vote |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |access-date=28 May 2022 |archive-date=28 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528120724/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/4/lebanon-sunni-vote |url-status=live }}</ref> The Lebanese crisis became so severe that multiple boats left the coast holding migrants in a desperate run from the country. Many proved unsuccessful and fatal. In April 2022, 6 people died and around 50 people were rescued after an overloaded boat sunk in [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mello |first1=Charbel |last2=Kourdi |first2=Eyad |last3=Alberti |first3=Mia |title=Six drown off Lebanon coast after overloaded boat capsizes, says Lebanese navy |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/24/world/lebanon-migrant-boat-capsize-intl/index.html |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=CNN |date=24 April 2022 |agency=Reuters |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130000108/https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/24/world/lebanon-migrant-boat-capsize-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> And on 22 September, at least 94 people were killed when a boat carrying migrants from Lebanon capsized off Syria's coast. 9 people survived. Many were declared missing and some were found either dead or injured. Dead bodies were sent to nearby hospitals. 40 people are still missing as of 24 September.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Death toll from Lebanon migrant boat climbs to 73, minister says |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/death-toll-from-lebanon-migrant-boat-climbs-to-73-minister-says-1.90782359 |access-date=23 September 2022 |website=gulfnews.com |date=23 September 2022 |language=en |archive-date=18 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018193049/https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/death-toll-from-lebanon-migrant-boat-climbs-to-73-minister-says-1.90782359 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 1 February 2023, the [[Banque du Liban|central bank]] of Lebanon devalued the [[Lebanese pound]] by 90% amid the ongoing [[financial crisis]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bassam |first1=Laila |last2=Gebeily |first2=Maya |last3=Azhari |first3=Timour |date=31 January 2023 |title=Lebanon to devalue currency by 90% on Feb. 1, central bank chief says |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/lebanon-devalue-currency-by-90-feb-1-cbank-chief-says-2023-01-31/ |access-date=1 February 2023 |archive-date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530223509/https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/lebanon-devalue-currency-by-90-feb-1-cbank-chief-says-2023-01-31/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This was the first time Lebanon had devalued its official exchange rate in 25 years.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/2/1/lebanon-devalues-official-exchange-rate-by-90-percent |title=Lebanon devalues official exchange rate by 90 percent |date=1 February 2023 |website=Aljazeera.com |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=28 March 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326105032/https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/2/1/lebanon-devalues-official-exchange-rate-by-90-percent |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2023, Lebanon is considered to have become a [[failed state]], suffering from chronic  poverty, economic mismanagement and a banking collapse.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/lebanon-struggles-to-emerge-from-financial-crisis-and-government-corruption |website=pbs.org |access-date=27 February 2024 |title=Lebanon struggles to emerge from financial crisis and government corruption |date=3 July 2023 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213163019/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/lebanon-struggles-to-emerge-from-financial-crisis-and-government-corruption |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Gaza war]] sparked a [[Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)|renewed Israel–Hezbollah conflict]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Gallant threatens Hezbollah: 'What we can do in Gaza, we can do in Beirut' |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-772795 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=11 November 2023}}</ref> Hezbollah has said it will not stop attacking Israel until Israel ceases its attacks in [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]].<ref>{{cite news |date=11 September 2024 |title=Mapping 11 months of Israel-Lebanon cross-border attacks |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/11/mapping-11-months-if-israel-lebanon-cross-border-attacks |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=18 September 2024 |archive-date=19 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919021145/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/11/mapping-11-months-if-israel-lebanon-cross-border-attacks |url-status=live }}</ref> Starting with the Israeli [[2024 Lebanon pager explosions|explosion of Lebanese pagers and walkie talkies]] in September 2024,<ref>{{cite news |title=Do Lebanon explosions violate the laws of war? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/18/do-lebanon-explosions-violate-the-laws-of-war |work=Al Jazeera |date=18 September 2024}}</ref> the conflict escalated severely,<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel rejects US-backed Lebanon ceasefire plan, hits Beirut again |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanese-prime-minister-believes-ceasefire-between-israel-hezbollah-possible-2024-09-26/ |work=Reuters |date=26 September 2024}}</ref> with the [[September 2024 Lebanon strikes|23 September 2024 Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon]] killing at least 558 people,<ref>{{cite news |title=Israeli strikes cause deadliest day in Lebanon in nearly 2 decades. Here's what we know |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/24/middleeast/israel-strikes-lebanon-hezbollah-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html |work=CNN |date=24 September 2024}}</ref> and sparking a mass exodus from southern Lebanon.<ref>{{cite news |title=In Lebanon, a million people displaced in a country in chaos |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/10/02/in-lebanon-a-million-people-displaced-in-a-country-in-chaos_6728013_4.html# |work=[[Le Monde]] |date=2 October 2024}}</ref> On 27 September 2024, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was [[2024 Hezbollah headquarters strike|killed]] in an Israeli airstrike.<ref>{{cite news |title=Biden, Harris call Israeli killing of Hezbollah's Nasrallah 'measure of justice' |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-harris-call-israeli-killing-of-hezbollah-s-nasrallah-measure-of-justice-/7803193.html |work=VOA News |date=28 September 2024}}</ref> On 1 October 2024, [[2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon|Lebanon was invaded by Israel]] with the objective of destroying infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the south of the country.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel-Hezbollah conflict in maps: Where is fighting happening in Lebanon? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9vp7dg3ml1o |work=BBC News |date=4 October 2024}}</ref> In November 2024, a [[2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement|ceasefire deal]] was signed between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah to end 13 months of conflict. According to the agreement, Hezbollah was given 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon and Israeli forces were obliged to withdraw from the area over the same period.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lebanon ceasefire: What we know about Israel-Hezbollah deal |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2d3gj9ewxo |work=www.bbc.com |date=27 November 2024}}</ref> [[Fall of the Assad regime|The fall of Assad’s Baathist regime]] in Syria was  another blow to its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, which was alredy weakened because of Israeli military actions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rebeiz |first1=Mireille |title=Assad's fall in Syria will further weaken Hezbollah and curtails Tehran's 'Iranization' of region |url=https://theconversation.com/assads-fall-in-syria-will-further-weaken-hezbollah-and-curtails-tehrans-iranization-of-region-245606 |website=The Conversation |date=11 December 2024}}</ref> The Syrian regime change in December 2024 was said to start a new chapter in Lebanese politics.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Assad's Fall Means for Lebanon |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/12/what-assads-fall-means-lebanon |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In January 2025, [[Joseph Aoun]], the Lebanese army commander, was elected Lebanese 14th [[President of Lebanon|president]] after a two-year vacancy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Staff |first1=Al Jazeera |title=Who is Joseph Aoun, the new president of Lebanon? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/9/who-is-joseph-aoun-the-new-president-of-lebanon |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> In February 2025, Prime Minister [[Nawaf Salam]], former president of the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ), formed a new government of 24 ministers after two-year caretaker cabinet.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lebanon names new government after two-year caretaker cabinet |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/8/lebanon-names-new-government-after-two-year-caretaker-cabinet |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> On 26 February 2025,  Lebanon's government of  Nawaf Salam won a confidence vote in parliament.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lebanon's government wins confidence vote in Parliament |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2025/02/26/lebanon-s-government-wins-confidence-vote-in-parliament |work=Al Arabiya English |date=26 February 2025 |language=en}}</ref>