Lebanon

An Irish soldier of the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon near the Israeli border was killed and three wounded after their convoy came under fire, Irish officials said Thursday.

A UN peacekeeper from Ireland serving with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been shot and killed, reportedly while on patrol, and three other ‘blue helmets’ have been injured during the incident, the mission said in a statement on Thursday. UNIFIL said the incident took place in Al-Aqbieh, “just outside” the mission’s area of operations in south Lebanon.

Observers are warning of a power vacuum in Lebanon after President Michel Aoun left the presidential palace on Sunday, October 30, a day before completing his term in office, with no replacement.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Thursday signed a letter approving a landmark US-brokered agreement laying out the country’s maritime boundary with Israel, Lebanon's top negotiator told reporters. Israel was set to follow suit in approving the deal, which marks a diplomatic departure from decades of hostility, later in the day.

Lebanon's parliament failed on Monday to elect a president for the fourth time, with just a week left until outgoing President Michel Aoun's term ends and warnings of a constitutional crisis growing louder.

Lebanon's parliament failed to elect a president for the third time on Thursday, bringing the country closer to institutional deadlock amid a deep financial crisis. Outgoing President Michel Aoun's term ends on October 31 and divisions remain among political blocs over the makeup of a new cabinet.

US-brokered agreement marks a major breakthrough in relations between the two countries, which have formally been at war since Israel’s creation in 1948.

Lebanon's parliament failed to elect a new president after a first round of voting Thursday amid deep divisions over a replacement for Michel Aoun whose term expires next month.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) until 31 August 2023, demanding that the relevant parties guarantee freedom of movement for the Interim Force and cease any restrictions and hindrances to the movement of its personnel.

A cohort of independent UN experts has called on the Human Rights Council to launch an international investigation into the massive explosion in Beirut two year ago, with a view to securing justice for those who died and were injured.