General updates

Following the outbreak of war in Iran on 28 February involving Israel and the United States, the conflict spread to Lebanon after Hezbollah entered the fighting and Israel launched retaliatory strikes in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut starting on 1 March.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, the ongoing escalation has resulted in at least 1,039 people killed and 2,876 injured across the country since 2 March 2026, as the day of the research, reflecting a sharp increase in civilian casualties as hostilities intensify. According to the Disaster Risk Management Unit (DRM) and the Ministry of Social Affairs, as of 8 March 2026, 538 collective shelters were open across the country, hosting about 117,228 internally displaced persons, including over 27,000 families fleeing bombardment and evacuation orders in the south and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Freedom of association

As a positive development for freedom of association in Lebanon, the Ministry of Labor formally approved the registration of the Union of Journalists in Lebanon (formerly the Alternative Press Syndicate) on 19 February 2026, without raising any objections.

Freedom of expression

Lebanon’s draft Media Law, referred to Parliament in December 2025, has completed committee review and amendments and is now ready for debate in the full Parliament in the coming weeks. This was reported by Naharnet on 18 February 2026. The draft includes provisions on decriminalizing press offences and establishing a media regulatory framework, and UNESCO has encouraged its timely consideration.

On 23 February, the Human Rights Committee approved a proposal to abolish the death penalty in Lebanon and replace it with life imprisonment. The proposal will now be referred to the full Parliament for debate and a final decision. This represents a major step forward in a country where the death penalty has existed since the creation of the modern Lebanese state for serious crimes and remains enshrined in law, even though it has not been carried out for more than 20 years. The United Nations, including the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, has welcomed the legislative efforts underway in Lebanon and called for such reforms to align with international human rights obligations to protect the inherent right to life and human dignity under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Amid the ongoing conflict in Lebanon, the government formally instructed all official state media outlets — including national television, radio, and the state news agency — to stop referring to Hezbollah as “resistance” in their reporting and to use neutral terminology instead. The Information Minister announced the directive on 2 March 2026, explaining that it reflects government policy and should be followed across government‑affiliated media as part of efforts to standardize language in official coverage during the crisis.

Journalists in Lebanon are facing increasing risks, with media offices coming under attack, putting both staff and the free flow of information in danger. In fact, Israeli airstrikes on 2 March 2026 damaged several media offices in Lebanon, including Al‑Manar TV and Al‑Nour Radio in Beirut and Sawt Al‑Farah Radio in Tyre. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the strikes, calling them violations of international law and highlighting the risks to journalists and freedom of expression. The attacks caused significant property damage, disrupted broadcasting, and forced evacuations. IFJ and Lebanese journalist unions urged protective measures for media workers and stressed that civilian media infrastructure must not be targeted. Likewise, in early March, Lebanese reporters covering hostilities were displaced and reported under fire amid intensifying Israeli strikes, underscoring deteriorating safety conditions for journalists on the ground. On 18 March, Mohammad Cherri, a journalist with Al‑Manar TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, a strike that also killed his wife and drew widespread condemnation. The following day, on 19 March, British journalist Steve Sweeney and his cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity were wounded by an Israeli strike near the Al‑Qasmiya Bridge in southern Lebanon while clearly identified as media personnel. On 28 March 2026, Lebanese media reported that three journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon near Jezzine while covering the conflict. The victims included Ali Shoeib (Al-Manar TV) and Fatima and Mohammed Ftouni (Al-Mayadeen).

SMEX reported on 4 March 2026 that Lebanese residents have been receiving threatening phone calls and text messages urging them to evacuate their homes, triggering fear and confusion across the population. These messages are being sent in a seemingly semi‑random way and appear to exploit readily available personal phone data, which can be purchased or found in public records. The report also noted the use of tactics like caller‑ID spoofing and fake messaging app accounts, highlighting deeper problems with how personal digital information is exposed and used in Lebanon’s digital environment.

Freedom of Peaceful assembly

In mid‑February 2026, anger over new fuel price hikes and VAT increases sparked protests across Lebanon, with taxi drivers and citizens blocking major roads in Beirut on 17 February. Demonstrators said the measures worsened everyday living costs and undercut planned wage and pension increases, highlighting broader frustrations with economic hardship and government mismanagement. Small rallies and strikes by public sector workers reinforced the message that the taxes would leave most people worse off, marking another episode of public unrest in the country’s ongoing financial crisis.