Paula Astih

Paula Astih
Arab World The Lebanese government in session chaired by President Joseph Aoun (Lebanese Presidency)

Between Bringing Down Governments and Losing Control: Hezbollah Faces a New Political Equation

Since becoming involved politics in 1992, Hezbollah gradually evolved from a parliamentary player with limited influence into a central force in Lebanon’s…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World A camp housing displaced people from southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs on the Lebanese capital’s waterfront (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Beirut Plan to Organize the Displaced Ends in Waterfront Camp

The insistence of about 500 displaced Lebanese to stay along Beirut’s waterfront has raised questions about why they chose to remain in that area despite the…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Damascus (Lebanese Prime Minister’s Office)

Formation of Lebanese-Syrian Higher Business Council to Revive Economic Relations

Lebanon and Syria are expected in the coming weeks to translate the agreements and understandings reached during the recent visit of the Lebanese prime…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World Syrian refugees in Lebanon return to their country through the Masnaa crossing after the fall of the Syrian regime in December 2024. (EPA)

Did Israel’s War on Lebanon Drive Syrian Refugees Back Home?

Israel’s war on Lebanon has accelerated the return of Syrian refugees, but officials and aid agencies say it has not by itself resolved, or fundamentally…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World A woman walks next to an ambulance at the site of an Israeli strike carried out before a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Hezbollah Tallies Its Dead from Israel War, Estimates Exceed 1,000

Hezbollah said its fighters would “keep their fingers on the trigger” hours after a ceasefire took effect between Lebanon and Israel, warning it would not stay…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World An Israeli helicopter flying in Israeli airspace near the border with Lebanon (EPA)

Hezbollah 'Addresses Its Supporters'...Reveals Using Surface-to-Air Missiles

Hezbollah has, in recent days, activated the use of surface-to-air missiles to target Israeli drones, in addition to firing them at helicopters and fighter…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World A man points at a building damaged by Israeli strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, March 28, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer

Destruction from Two Wars Strains the Lebanese State

A pattern of systematic destruction pursued by Israel in the current war is becoming clearer by the day, extending in both context and objectives from the…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World 23 March 2026, Lebanon, Chaat: A Hezbollah flag is seen fixed to the debris after an Israeli airstrike that targeted a residential home in Chaat. (dpa)

Hezbollah Escalates its Rhetoric, Threatens Lebanese Govt

Leading Hezbollah officials decided to escalate their rhetoric against the Lebanese government, threatening to take new political approaches after the war,…

Paula Astih (Beirut)