For decades, the idea of peace with Israel in Lebanon was shaped and constrained by deep political, sectarian and popular sensitivities, making it largely unspeakable in public life. But after months of fighting between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah, a long-standing taboo appears to be eroding, with a growing number of Lebanese reconsidering assumptions that once seemed deeply entrenched.
A new survey suggests nearly half of Lebanese respondents now support a peace agreement with Israel — a striking shift in a country where hostility toward Israel has long been one of the few issues capable of bridging Lebanon’s deep sectarian and political divides.
The poll, conducted by the Beirut-based research firm Information International, found that support for a peace agreement with Israel rose from 25 percent in August 2025 to nearly 49 percent this month. Support for normalizing relations with Israel also increased sharply, climbing from 13.2 percent to more than 30 percent in less than a year.
The face-to-face survey, conducted between April 28 and May 5, included 2,000 respondents proportionally distributed across Lebanon’s regions and religious communities. It carried a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points, while 26 percent of those approached declined to participate.
The results revealed stark differences across sectarian lines.
Lebanon’s Druze community emerged as the strongest supporter of direct negotiations with Israel, normalization of relations and even the opening of an Israeli embassy in Beirut. Christian groups — particularly Maronite and Orthodox Christians — also showed relatively high levels of support for direct talks.
Among Sunni Muslims, roughly half of respondents supported negotiations, although a majority still opposed any direct contact between Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Shiite respondents remained overwhelmingly opposed. Nearly 93 percent rejected direct negotiations with Israel, while opposition to normalization rose to 94.3 percent. About 96 percent rejected the idea of opening an Israeli embassy in Beirut.
Still, the authors of the survey said the findings cannot be explained through sectarian identity alone.
Jawad Adra, head of Information International, said the polling aimed to better understand how the ongoing war has reshaped Lebanese public opinion and intensified fears of domestic instability and political collapse.
“We wanted to understand the anxieties growing inside Lebanese society during the current war,” Adra said, adding that the survey was also intended to encourage debate about the need for a political system “different from the one that brought the country to this point.”
Adra argued that political affiliation often matters as much as religious identity and cautioned against treating Lebanon’s sectarian communities as unified blocs.
“Sunnis in Sidon are not the same as Sunnis in Beirut or Tripoli,” he said.
Despite the sharp divisions, the survey also revealed areas of broad agreement. According to Adra, many Lebanese — including some who support peace talks — still oppose the opening of an Israeli embassy in Beirut, believe Israel harbors territorial ambitions in Lebanon, and think Israel would have continued striking Lebanon even without Hezbollah’s recent rocket attacks.
One of the survey’s most surprising findings concerned age.
Contrary to the common assumption that younger generations are more open to reconciliation, the poll found that younger Lebanese tended to hold more hard-line views toward Israel, while support for peace was significantly higher among older respondents.
Adra attributed that in part to social media, where younger people are exposed daily to graphic images of destruction and civilian suffering from the war.
Older generations, particularly those between the ages of 40 and 70, appeared more inclined to search for a way out of Lebanon’s repeated cycles of conflict.
“After the interviews ended, many would simply say: ‘We’re exhausted. We can’t take it anymore,’” Adra said.
For some Lebanese, support for peace reflects a desire for stability rather than reconciliation.
Nasrine, a 35-year-old Beirut resident, said she supported peace because it was “the only way to stop the war and the daily bombardment” and allow people to regain a sense of normalcy and security. But she stressed that peace “does not necessarily mean normal relations with Israel.”
Others support full normalization.
Hanaa, 44, from the Beirut suburb of Bchamoun, said it was “illogical” for Lebanon to remain in a permanent state of hostility with a neighboring country. She argued that Lebanon had paid a heavy price through decades of recurring wars and said normal relations could help bring economic and security stability.
For many Lebanese who now support peace or normalization, the idea is seen less as an ideological shift than as an attempt to escape years of war, economic collapse and constant insecurity.
Others, however, still reject both peace and normalization outright, viewing any discussion of reconciliation during wartime as less a free political choice than “a surrender imposed by force.”
Political writer and researcher Jean Feghali said the shift in attitudes was driven largely by the immense destruction Lebanon has suffered in two successive wars since October 2023.
“A large segment of Lebanese society has become convinced that these wars are unwinnable and that peace is necessary,” he said.
Feghali added that ongoing negotiations involving Israel had helped weaken the long-standing taboo surrounding peace talks. He noted that public backlash against such discussions has remained relatively muted.
As for groups opposed to normalization — particularly Hezbollah — Feghali said their response so far had remained largely political and rhetorical.
“Hezbollah today faces opposition from different segments of Lebanese society,” he said.
The survey does not point to a wholesale transformation in Lebanese public opinion. But it does reflect the depth of exhaustion in a country battered by economic collapse, political paralysis and repeated wars — to the point where ideas once considered impossible to discuss are now openly debated in political circles, television studios and family living rooms across Lebanon.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
