The Lebanese parliament finally voted on a new president on Thursday following two years of deadlock. Joseph Aoun the head of the country's armed forces won a majority of the votes.

Five people were killed and four wounded in an Israeli strike on the town of Tayr Debba in southern Lebanon on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said.

The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Friday with security officials to discuss Gaza ceasefire talks, an Israeli official told The Associated Press.

The January 2025 election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanese president marks a shift toward sovereignty and stability following Hezbollah's weakened influence after its war with Israel. Aoun faces major tests in governance,

1920 - The League of Nations grants the mandate for Lebanon and Syria to France, which creates the State of Greater Lebanon out of the provinces of Mount Lebanon, north Lebanon, south Lebanon and the Bekaa. 1926 - Lebanese Representative Council approves a constitution and the unified Lebanese Republic under the French mandate is declared.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will meet Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Saturday, two Lebanese sources said, becoming the first head of government to visit Syria's capital since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Lebanon’s new president and former army commander Joseph Aoun has maintained a low profile. Those who know him say he is no-nonsense, kind and averse to affiliating himself with any

The weakening of Hezbollah in last year's war with Israel allowed Lebanon's long deadlocked parliament to reach consensus around a president who has the confidence of the international community.

In Lebanon, many saw the election on Thursday of Gen. Joseph Aoun, the commander of the Lebanese military, as a crucial step toward bringing stability to the country. It was also seen as a concession by Hezbollah and, some analysts said, an acknowledgment that the group was no longer in a position to paralyze the state.