Suzan Haidamous

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut reporter/researcher covering the Middle East

Education: East Tennessee State University, M.A. in Political Science and Government; Lebanese University, B.A. in Political Science and Economy

Suzan Haidamous is a Beirut-based researcher and reporter for The Washington Post, covering Lebanon, Syria and the Gulf. Before joining the Post in 2011, she worked as an English-language news anchor for Tele-Liban and freelanced for the Guardian, the Sydney Morning Herald and other outlets. She is a member of the Women in Journalism collective.
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Latest from Suzan Haidamous

War within a war: Israel takes aim at Hamas militants in Lebanon

Officials and experts in Lebanon say Israel’s assassination campaign against Palestinian militants has brought Hamas and Hezbollah closer together.

September 5, 2024
Workers remove a burned vehicle at a site that was targeted by a drone attack in Sidon in southern Lebanon on Aug. 26.

Lebanon detains former central bank governor accused of financial crimes

Riad Salameh, who was once credited with reviving Lebanon’s post-civil-war economy, has since been blamed for the stunning collapse of its banking sector.

September 3, 2024
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir//File Photo

How Israel and Hezbollah stepped back from the brink of all-out war

Analysts and officials said the potentially disastrous exchange of fire along the Israel-Lebanon border Sunday had become a face-saving moment for both sides.

August 26, 2024
Nadia Hashmar, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, looks out from her apartment in Haifa, Israel, on Sunday.

Israel, Hezbollah exchange heaviest strikes in months, raising regional tension

The dramatic but contained escalation overnight Sunday stopped short of all-out war, with Hezbollah and Israel both signaling restraint.

August 25, 2024
Smoke and fire rise on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, after Israel said it had carried out preemptive strikes on Hezbollah.

As Hezbollah and Israel step up attacks, ailing Lebanon fears the worst

In Lebanon’s impoverished south, where Hezbollah holds sway and attacks have been most intense, Syrian refugees have borne the brunt of the recent violence.

August 22, 2024
Amoon Gadra, a Syrian who works sorting plastic waste across from the building that was hit in Nabatiyeh, says she expects the violence in Lebanon to intensify. (Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post)

Israeli strikes in Gaza and Lebanon kill at least 25, officials say

Saturday’s bloodshed came after the United States and its allies expressed optimism over cease-fire negotiations to end the war in Gaza.

August 17, 2024
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a destroyed building Saturday after an overnight Israeli airstrike on Zuweida in the central Gaza Strip.

Gaza cease-fire talks underway in Qatar without Hamas in attendance

Israel and the United States, with mediating partners Egypt and Qatar, resumed high-stakes negotiations in Doha over a cease-fire and hostage-release deal.

August 15, 2024
A woman carries a child at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Thursday, after Israeli authorities gave permission for some cancer patients to leave Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing to receive treatment in Jordan.

Fearing war, unsettled at home, Iran weighs retaliation against Israel

Iran seeks to project a show of force while avoiding a regional war, a task that has become more difficult after its first direct attack on Israel, which occurred in April.

August 12, 2024
A poster of slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh hangs along a street in Iran's capital, Tehran, on Saturday.

As war looms and flights dwindle, Lebanese grapple with whether to flee

The exodus from Lebanon began last week after back-to-back assassinations targeted a Hezbollah commander near Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

August 7, 2024
A Middle East Airlines plane takes off from Beirut-Rafic Al Hariri International Airport on Tuesday.

Iran and its allies mourn militant leaders, vow revenge against Israel

Mourners in Iran and Lebanon commemorated slain Hamas and Hezbollah officials as they signaled that the outburst of violence in the region may be far from over.

August 1, 2024