Crisis Chronology

LEBANON

01/08/2024

IDF strike in Lebanon kills senior Hezbollah commander.

01/02/2024

Hamas leader Saleh Arouri killed in missile attack in Beirut. Israel is suspected.

12/12/2023

Israel warns of wider war in Lebanon with Hezbollah, which has intensified its rocket attacks on northern Israel.

11/02/2023

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nazrallah says that Hezbollah will not increase the intensity of its attacks on Israel in support of Hamas unless Israel does so against Lebanon but calls for the war to end.

10/22/2023

Israel relocates some citizens living near the border with Lebanon, as fears of a wider war increase. US orders some diplomatic personnel to leave Iraq.

10/18/2023

In the aftermath of the hospital bombing, PLA’s Abbas, Jordan and Lebanon cancel scheduled meeting with US President Biden, a blow to hopes for a regional approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

10/18/2023

Hezbollah increases its rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon, raising fears of a wider regional war.

10/11/2023

Israel shells southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah rocket attacks from there.

10/08/2023

Attempted incursion into Israel from Lebanon by Gaza-based Islamic Jihad thwarted. The group also says they are holding thirty Israeli captives.

08/03/2023

Banks from four Arab countries discussing ways to invest in Lebanese banking.

07/17/2023

Skirmishes along the Lebanese border, centered around the town of Ghajar, a disputed area that straddles Lebanon and Syrian territory captured and occupied by Israel since 1967.

06/23/2023

Protestors in front of central bank building.

06/15/2023

Protestors in Beirut suburbs attack bank buildings demanding their money.

03/22/2023

Police fire tear gas at demonstrators, many of them from the security forces, protesting the economic morass of the country. Currency has dropped to its lowest value against the dollar.

02/01/2023

Central bank devalues the pound by 90%.

10/11/2022

Israel and Lebanon agree to exploit the maritime gas fields by defining the maritime border between the two countries (though not the land border, which is also in dispute). Hezbollah had threatened to attack a new offshore gas facility that Israel is readying for production in what Lebanon claims are disputed waters and Israel had put its military on alert, but this deal should calm those concerns. It will also provide Lebanon with a new cash flow.

10/07/2022

Banks close front-office service “indefinitely” after wave of robberies.

10/06/2022

Israel rejects Lebanese changes to maritime treaty, putting it in doubt.

10/04/2022

A small wave of armed depositors taking their money out of banks at gunpoint, due to bank restrictions on withdrawal amounts.

06/05/2022

Lebanon warns Israel against any “aggressive action” in sea region where both countries hope to develop natural gas resources.

05/17/2022

Hezbollah and allies lose their majority in parliament. Its ally the Free Patriotic Movement is no longer the largest Christian bloc in parliament. It was surpassed by the Lebanese Forces, backed by the US and Saudi Arabia. Overall, Hezbollah and allies will have 58 seats, those opposed to Hezbollah will have 47, and groups advocating for change in government will have 22. There is one other seat.

05/15/2022

Parliamentary elections today. Early returns suggest Hezbollah and affiliated parties suffer losses. he Lebanese Forces, an anti-Hezbollah former militia, might overtake the Hezbollah-allied Free Patriotic Movement as the largest Christian bloc in parliament, splitting te chamber between Hezbollah's allies, its opposition, and independents.

05/15/2022

Parliamentary elections today. Early returns suggest Hezbollah and affiliated parties suffer losses. he Lebanese Forces, an anti-Hezbollah former militia, might overtake the Hezbollah-allied Free Patriotic Movement as the largest Christian bloc in parliament, splitting the chamber between Hezbollah's allies, its opposition, and independents.

04/26/2022

Saudi Arabia and France pledge to initial humanitarian projects in Lebanon to alleviate financial crisis.

04/25/2022

Israel fires missile into suspected Hezbollah positions in Lebanon in retaliation for rocket attacks.

04/06/2022

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh says the bank is not bankrupt.

04/06/2022

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh says the bank is not bankrupt.

04/04/2022

Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh al-Shami says that the central bank and the state are now bankrupt. Losses will be distributed among the creditors.

04/04/2022

Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh al-Shami says that the central bank and the state are now bankrupt. Losses will be distributed among the creditors.

03/24/2022

Court charges Christian politician Samir Geagea with involvement in the violent clashes between protestors and police in 10/21.

03/21/2022

Lebanese PM Mikati vows to end all Lebanon-originated activities that affect the security of Saudi Arabia. Lebanon had criticized Saudi fighting in Yemen and Saudi Arabia had expelled Lebanese diplomats in 2021, saying that the structure of Lebanese government, which gives Hezbollah a strong voice, was detrimental to Saudi security. Saudi Arabia responds positively and says it will contribute to the restoration of Lebanon’s role in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia’s withdrawal contributed to the financial meltdown in Lebanon.

03/21/2022

Court charges the head of the central bank, Riad Salameh, with financial crimes. He is also being investigated by European countries.

03/21/2022

Banks begin two-day strike in protest of government orders that freeze assets.

03/15/2022

Mikati says he will not run for re-election in the parliamentary elections 5/15. Following Hariri’s withdrawal, this leaves a leadership vacuum in Sunni Muslim politics.

01/24/2022

Saad Hariri, citing division, impotence, and confusion in national and international response to Lebanon’s crisis, retires from politics and calls on his followers in the Future Movement group not to participate in upcoming elections.

01/11/2022

With temperatures well above 100° F, Argentina is the hottest place on earth. Thousands are without power.

11/08/2021

Mikati says that preparations and preliminary talks for new negotiations with the IMF are moving forward.

10/25/2021

Christian leader of Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, is ordered to appear before a military investigation of attacks on Hezbollah and Amal demonstrators on 10/14.

10/22/2021

Aoun rejects law passed by parliament that would move elections of to 3/27/22, saying that it would reduce participation. Parliament will meet to discuss next steps, but a majority still seems to advocate moving the elections up.

10/19/2021

Parliament sets 3/27/22 as date of legislative elections in order to avoid campaigning during Ramadan.

10/13/2021

Fierce gunfighting after police try to break up a rally organized by Hezbollah and Amal demanding the dismissal of the lead investigator into the port explosion.

10/12/2021

Investigation into the Beirut port explosion has been suspended after two former ministers facing charges, ex-finance minister Ali Hasan Khalil (who did not appear for questioning) and former public works minister Ghazi Zeiter, lodged a new legal complaint against the lead investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar. It is their third attempt to remove the judge.

10/09/2021

Second of Lebanon’s two main power plants runs out of fuel, leaving much of the country without electricity, at least for most of the day. Private companies provide some power, but they are also struggling to stay in operation.

09/11/2021

Mikati becomes prime minister and announces a cabinet. It is Lebanon’s first government in more than a year.

09/09/2021

Government begins cash support payments in US dollars to everyone up to a maximum of six in a family.

09/04/2021

Syria announces agreement to supply Lebanon with Jordanian electricity and Egyptian natural gas through Syrian territory.

09/04/2021

Syria announces agreement to supply Lebanon with Jordanian electricity and Egyptian natural gas through Syrian territory.

08/27/2021

Security chiefs warns that the collapse of state institutions could cause general chaos.

08/21/2021

Government changes the exchange rate for fuel, which will likely double its cost. The central bank, however, will pay a higher exchange rate on imported fuel, so there is still some subsidy that the government will have to repay.

08/17/2021

Blackouts and fuel shortages throughout the country.

08/12/2021

Departing Prime Minister Hassan Diab calls central bank’s ending of fuel subsidies “Illegal,” though the move had been expected for some time.

08/05/2021

Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon in retaliation for Hezbollah missile attacks.

07/26/2021

Prime minister appointed

Billionaire businessman Najib Mikati is appointed to form a new government. He has served as prime minister twice before.

07/15/2021

Hariri steps down as prime minister designate, citing differences with President Aoun.

07/06/2021

Prime Minister Diab says Lebanon is days away from a “social explosion.” The World Bank says the situation is dire, one of the worst depressions in modern history.

06/30/2021

Continued rioting over economic crisis and government inaction. Government approves cash payments to families of $56 billion.

06/29/2021

Government approves a rise in fuel prices of more than 35%.

05/24/2021

Lebanon remains without a government as Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement Party and Hariri and his political party, the Future Movement, trade accusations about who is preventing agreement.

03/17/2021

Aoun tells Hariri to form a government or step aside.

03/08/2021

Seventh day of protests against the government.

12/20/2020

Students protest increase in tuition.

10/22/2020

Hariri again prime minister

Hariri named prime minister again.

10/01/2020

Lebanon and Israel agree to negotiate a settlement on disputed border.

09/13/2020

Najib Berri, head of Amal, rejects the way in which the cabinet is being chosen, imperiling the 9/15 deadline asserted by France for a new government before sanctions are imposed. Another Hezbollah ally, Christian politician Gebran Bassil makes a similar statement. Shia leaders reported to be seeking Finance ministry position.

08/13/2020

Parliament approves a state of emergency, giving the military sweeping powers.

08/11/2020

Aoun accepts resignation of Lebanese government. Diab remains as caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed. Aoun can appoint a new cabinet without parliament’s approval, but he has said little.

08/09/2020

Second day of large protests against the government.

08/04/2020

Huge explosions in Beirut.

08/03/2020

Foreign minister Nassif Hitti resigns, calling Lebanon a “failed state.” Charbel Wehbe replaces him.

06/07/2020

Protests against government plan for economic crisis.

05/28/2020

Parliament passes $300 million aid package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also passes a law that creates an anti-corruption commission that is able to investigate accounts at the Central Bank. The law was opposed by those who thought it would be used to punish political opposition, among others.

05/28/2020

Parliament passes $300 million aid package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also passes a law that creates an anti-corruption commission that is able to investigate accounts at the Central Bank. The law was opposed by those who thought it would be used to punish political opposition, among others.

05/21/2020

Lebanon continues to lurch toward an economic crisis after 100 days of the Diab government. Protests continue. Diab has so far not appointed anyone to deal with the state-run electricity company Electricite du Liban (EDL), a main source of the country’s debt.

05/20/2020

Banks reject a government plan for the economy.

04/28/2020

Protests intensify

Violent protests in Tripoli and elsewhere as the pound continues to lose value. Millions have lost half the value of their salary and savings over the last six months.

04/04/2020

Central Bank allows small depositors to make withdrawals in local currency.

03/26/2020

Government extends stay-at-home order for two weeks, until 4/12 due to COVID-19.

03/09/2020

Government defaults on its Eurobond debt.

02/11/2020

Protestors attempt but fail to stop parliament from voting on the new government, which is approved.

02/03/2020

Banks tighten controls on the dollar as the economic crisis deepens.

01/21/2020

Diab becomes prime minister

Hassan Diab is confirmed as prime minister. He appoints a cabinet he describes as nonpolitical

01/16/2020

Second night of protests outside central bank.

12/25/2019

Protests continue about the nomination of Diab. But even according to the power-sharing system in use today, where the prime minister has to be a Sunni Muslim, Diab is not likely to succeed. Having scant support among his Sunni community and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's Future Bloc in parliament, he lacks the political backing to be a strong prime minister vis-a-vis President Aoun and the Hezbollah-AMAL alliance.

12/19/2019

Former education minister Hassan Diab is named prime minister-designate with the support of Hezbollah, Amal, and their Christian ally, the Free Patriotic Movement. He is a technocrat and as required, a Sunni.

12/19/2019

Former education minister Hassan Diab is named prime minister-designate with the support of Hezbollah, Amal, and their Christian ally, the Free Patriotic Movement. He is a technocrat and as required, a Sunni.

12/18/2019

Hariri says he will not be prime minister.

12/18/2019

Hariri says he will not be prime minister.

12/16/2019

Aoun delays vote on government.

12/16/2019

Army fights Hezbollah and Amal groups that were attempting to attack an anti-government protestor camp.

12/16/2019

Army fights Hezbollah and Amal groups that were attempting to attack an anti-government protestor camp.

12/16/2019

Army fights Hezbollah and Amal groups that were attempting to attack an anti-government protestor camp.

12/16/2019

Army fights Hezbollah and Amal groups that were attempting to attack an anti-government protestor camp.

12/15/2019

Protests continue, and security forces response is more militant.

12/14/2019

Violent protests, focusing on Hariri’s candidacy for prime minister.

12/14/2019

Violent protests, focusing on Hariri’s candidacy for prime minister.

12/08/2019

Hariri again considered to be the leading candidate to become prime minister after Khatib withdraws his candidacy.

12/04/2019

Government sets 12/8 as start of talks to form a new government though Aoun has not formally announced them. Protests continue against Khatib.

12/03/2019

Hariri supports nomination of Samir Khatib, the head of a major contracting and construction company, to be prime minister. The announcement sparks new protests.

12/02/2019

US military aid is released to Lebanon after months of unexplained delay.

11/25/2019

Violent clashes between supporters of Hariri veruss Hezbollah and Amal Movement adherents, both Shiite groups.

11/22/2019

Pro- and anti-government rallies on national independence day.

11/19/2019

Meeting of parliament is postponed after demonstrations and clashes with police.

11/16/2019

Safadi withdraws his candidacy.

11/15/2019

Foreign minister says that Mohammad Safadi, a wealthy former finance minister, has agreed to be Lebanon’s prime minister if he wins the support of leading parties. He is a Sunni media owner with business interests in Saudi Arabia. Protestors object to another member of the elite being nominated.

11/13/2019

Protests are renewed after Aoun, in an address, calls for protests to end lest they become a “disaster” for the country.

11/12/2019

Protests continue and tension rises after a protestor is shot by police.

11/06/2019

Protestors shut down banks, ministries, and other government institutions in an effort to force the government to overhaul the system.

11/01/2019

Aoun says Lebanese government should transition from its current “confessional” organization to a non-sectarian form.

10/29/2019

Hariri resigns

Hariri resigns, saying there is nothing further he can do. While in recent, the prime minister has been required to be a Sunni Muslim, protestors have called for a non-sectarian government with the slogan "All for all." Protestors celebrate, but also demand President Aoun and Speaker Bassil also resign. Hezbollah and Amal supporters attack protestors in Beirut. Aoun will negotiate with the parliamentary groups. Hariri, Walid Jumblatt of the Progressive Socialist Party, and Samir Geagea of the Lebanese Forces, all want Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law, out of the government. This would involve renegotiating the agreement that divides the government among the three powerful groups. Protestors also want that, but want a technocrat government and Aoun pledges to do so.

10/26/2019

Protestors form a human chain entirely across the country from north to south.

10/25/2019

Protests continue as masked police forces attack protestors. Shiite Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah continues to support government and warns the that protests will cause chaos and perhaps civil war, but many Shia have been accusing Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, the Amal Movement leader of corruption.

10/24/2019

Pres Aoun calls on protest leaders to discuss the government and what they want from it. “I am ready to meet your representatives that carry your concerns to listen to your specific demands. You will hear from us about our fears over financial collapse."

10/23/2019

Protests continue, effectively paralyzing the country.

10/21/2019

Hariri announces a package of reforms to address the economic problems in Lebanon, headlined by a 50% pay cut for top government offiials. Protestors reject the reforms and all for a general strike.

10/19/2019

Four members of the cabinet resign, saying the government cannot address the problems, but Hezbollah says it remains in the government. Protests continue.

10/18/2019

Hariri calls on all members of the government to find a solution to the nation’s economic problems within 72 hours. Protests continue.

10/17/2019

Protests begin

Second day of protests against new taxes, especially on internet calls through WhatsApp, and even more so on the government’s handling of the economy. There are widespread shortages of food and fuel. Hariri has requested that the policy on WhatsApp be reversed, and the finance minister said the tax will not yet be imposed.

08/27/2019

Lebanon calls Israeli drone crash in Beirut an act of war.

08/25/2019

Drones believe to be Israeli crash in a Beirut suburb, and other locations in Syria and Iraq are hit by drone strikes.

03/19/2019

Disagreement about future relations with Syria. Hariri’s Future Movement wants to delay normalizing relations until a political settlement is reached. The Free Patriotic Movement led by Foreign Minister Gabran Bassil, advocates immediate normalization.

02/25/2019

UK puts political wing of Hezbollah on its terrorist list.

12/17/2018

UN confirms existence of illegal Hezbollah tunnels from Lebanon to Israel.

12/04/2018

Israel begins program of exposing Hezbollah tunnels from Lebanon.

11/20/2018

Government still unable to agree on a cabinet. Hezbollah demands a Sunni ally minister, which would reduce the share held by Said Hariri’s Sunni Future Movement coalition. The FM lost seats in the legislature, winning only seventeen of the twenty-seven allotted to Sunnis. The cabinet is split, half of its thirty seats for Christians and half for Muslims. Of the Muslim portfolios, six go to Sunnis, six to Shia, and three to the Druze. Traditionally, a group of five MPs of the same political stance call for them to receive a cabinet ministership, but the six the Hezbollah claims all ran on different parliamentary tickets, so Hariri says it is a play by Hezbollah to reduce his group’s power and not a true representation. The struggle is called the Sunni tangle.

07/24/2018

Aoun charges Saad Hariri with forming a new government and names him prime minister.

07/23/2018

Nabih Berri, a Shia and ally of Hezbollah, is re-elected speaker of parliament.

05/20/2018

Russia seeking increased influence in Lebanon, partly through the Eastern Orthodox Church, by calling the war against terrorism a holy war. It has revived an 1872 organization, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS), to organize Arab Christians.

05/07/2018

Hezbollah and Amal (led by Nabih Berri), the Shiite coalition, wins 43 seats in parliament, enough to block any legislation they choose. However, more than half of the parliament – including Hariri’s Freedom Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement (led by Gebran Bassil, son-in-law of the party’s founder, President Michel Aoun), Lebanese Forces (15 seats, led by Samir Geagea), and the Progress Socialist Party -- has not been supportive of the Shiites. Amal wants to retain the Finance Ministry, a crucial one. Lebanese Forces wants the Energy Ministry. There growing opposition to the 10/31/16 governance agreement created by Aoun, Berri, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, Sunni leader Najib Mikati, and Maronite leader Sleiman Frangieh.

05/06/2018

First parliamentary elections since 2009. Voters vote for one preferred seat, and also for a preferred list of coalition partners. The parliament of 128 seats reserves half for Muslims and half for Christians. The president of the country must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.

03/28/2018

Ongoing struggle in the eastern Mediterranean about oil and gas deposits under the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt and Greek Cyprus agreed on an Exclusive Economic Zone that Cyprus may exploit, but Turkey disputes that and has increased military activity in the area to prevent Greek Cypriot development in the most recent discoveries, called the Aphrodite field and the Calypso field. Greek Cypriot Pres Anastasiades has support from the EU against Turkish military moves and Turkey has condemned that response. Turkish Cypriots threaten to begin their own exploitation of the area if the Greek Cypriots do not desist. Israel and Lebanon dispute several fields off the Levant coast. Egypt has exclusive right to the Zohr field north of the country.

12/05/2017

Hariri withdraws resignation after Lebanon cabinet affirms its disengagement from conflicts in the Arab world. Hezbollah agrees to remove its fighters from Iraq after the Islamic State is declared defeated.

11/22/2017

Returning to Lebanon, Saad Hariri delays his resignation until further discussions.

11/21/2017

Hariri leaves Paris for Cairo.

11/17/2017

Saad Hariri arrives in Paris. He says he will return to Lebanon on 11/22/17.

11/16/2017

Hariri to visit France as French try to mediate the situation in Lebanon.

11/09/2017

Hariri’s party calls for him to return to Lebanon. Saudi Arabia says that he is free to travel.

11/06/2017

Hezbollah in Lebanon calls for calm.

11/05/2017

Saudi Arabia declares that the missile fired from Yemen is an act of war by Hezbollah and faults the government of Lebanon for failing to stop aggression by its military arm.

11/04/2017

PM Saad Hariri resigns

PM Saad Hariri resigns while in Saudi Arabia, accusing Iran and Hezbollah of fomenting discord in the Arab world. Pres Michel Aoun must appoint a Sunni as PM. An assassination plot against Hariri was recently foiled.