From the Liveblog of
Friday, June 5, 2026
Lebanon sentences two anti-Hezbollah activists in abstentia for ‘inciting’ Israeli attacks
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLebanon’s judiciary has charged two anti-Hezbollah activists in absentia with inciting Israeli attacks against the Iran-backed terror group and sentenced them to 15 years in prison, a judicial official tells AFP.
It is the harshest sentence yet against activists expressing support for Israel, which has officially been at war with Lebanon since 1948.
The official, who requests anonymity, says the two individuals, Ahmed Yassine and Joumana Gebara, both living outside Lebanon, have been charged with “collaborating with Israel and inciting it to continue its military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon” by the military tribunal in a trial that began in November 2024.
Yassine, a Paris-based university professor, is accused of “inciting the Israeli army to bomb the historic Baalbek Citadel by disseminating information claiming that the citadel housed Hezbollah weapons depots.”
Yassine also has a YouTube channel where he shares political commentary to more than 140,000 subscribers.
Gebara is accused of “praising Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee and thanking him for the bombings of Lebanon, as well as calling for normalization with Israel” during the previous Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, the official says.
It has previously arrested people accused of spying for Israel.
The Times of Israel Community.