Israeli drama 'Fauda' ranks No. 1 on Netflix in Lebanon, ministry says

The Israeli thriller Fauda is the most-watched title on Netflix in Lebanon, according to a post published by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X, which said the series also ranked second in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and placed in the top 10 across the region. The ministry framed the numbers lightly, writing that the Middle East appears to agree on one thing: good TV.

The same ranking was reported by The Jerusalem Post, which described the show as Lebanon's top title on the platform and said it is performing strongly across the Arab world. Neither report published the underlying viewing figures, the period the ranking covers, or the country-by-country data behind it.

What 'Fauda' is

The title is the Arabic word for chaos. In the series it is used as the distress call shouted by members of an Israeli undercover unit when a covert operation is blown and its operatives have to fight their way out. The show is spoken largely in Hebrew and Arabic and follows Israeli operatives working in the West Bank and beyond, with much of the drama built around characters on both sides of the conflict.

Lior Raz, who plays the lead, and Avi Issacharoff, a journalist who covers Palestinian and Arab affairs, are the two names most closely associated with the production. Both appeared at a Netflix screening event in New York City, according to a photograph published with The Jerusalem Post's report, alongside cast members Yaakov Zada Daniel, Netta Garti and Gal Malka. The image was captioned as a conversation held around the screening of Season 5.

The new season and October 7

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the current season takes the story of the October 7 massacre to audiences internationally. That refers to the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza and reshaped Israeli television, film and publishing, much of which has since turned to the attack and its aftermath as subject matter.

Neither report set out how the events of that day are depicted in the series, how much of the season is devoted to them, or whether the production consulted survivors or officials. The ministry's post is a single sentence on the subject and The Jerusalem Post's item, as circulated, centres on the streaming rankings rather than on the content of the episodes.

Why rankings in Lebanon and the Gulf are notable

Lebanon and Israel have no diplomatic relations and remain formally in a state of war. Lebanese law restricts commercial dealings with Israel, and Israeli cultural products have historically not been distributed openly there. Streaming platforms bypass much of that architecture: a global catalogue is served to subscribers in each country, and a title can climb a national chart without any local broadcaster, distributor or cinema being involved.

The Gulf picture is different again. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain both normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, and Israeli content has since circulated more visibly in those markets. Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel decades ago, though public opinion there has often been sharply critical of Israeli policy. A high chart position in any of these countries indicates viewing, not endorsement, and the reports do not attempt to characterise why audiences are watching.

How Netflix country rankings work

Netflix publishes daily and weekly lists of the most-watched titles by country. Those lists rank titles against each other rather than reporting absolute audience numbers, so a top position reflects relative performance within a single market on a given day or week. A smaller market can therefore produce a No. 1 placing on a comparatively modest number of views. Neither the ministry nor The Jerusalem Post specified which of Netflix's lists the placings were drawn from.

Government accounts routinely amplify cultural successes, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry's X account is an official channel of the state. That does not make the ranking inaccurate, but readers should note that the framing in the post is promotional in tone.

What the reports do not say

Several things remain open. The material does not give a date range for the chart position, does not say whether the placing has held for more than one day, and gives no viewing hours or subscriber numbers for any country. It does not say how Netflix is available in Lebanon, whether Lebanese authorities have commented, or whether any regional body has responded to the series.

There is also no detail on the size of the region Netflix counts in its regional top 10, nor a list of the other countries where the show charted. The two reports agree on the rankings themselves, and the ministry post is the only stated origin for the country-by-country figures that appear in both.