Libanon

Lebanon’s parliament will convene Jan. 9 for the election of a president, state media reported Thursday, following more than two years of presidential vacuum.

The Lebanese Army said Wednesday it was sending more troops to southern Lebanon to help oversee the first hours of the new ceasefire between Hezbollah militants and the Israeli military.

The ceasefire agreement in Lebanon represents “the first ray of hope for peace” in the regional war “amidst the darkness of the last few months”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday in Lisbon.

United States envoy Amos Hochstein says there is a “real opportunity” to bring the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel to an end as he visits Lebanon to discuss a ceasefire. Hochstein made the remarks in Beirut on Tuesday after what he described as “very constructive talks” with Nabih Berri, the speaker of Lebanon’s parliament, who has been endorsed by Hezbollah to negotiate a deal.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that only developments on the battlefield, not political moves, would bring an end to the hostilities between the Lebanese armed group and the Israeli military. In a pre-recorded televised address, Qassem said there would be a road to indirect negotiations through the Lebanese state only if Israel stopped its attacks on Lebanon.

New Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said Wednesday that the militant group would continue fighting Israel in Lebanon and northern Israel until it is offered cease-fire terms it considers acceptable. 

An Interview with Karim Makdisi, Associate Professor of International Politics at the American University of Beirut.

An international conference on Lebanon gets underway in Paris this Thursday, amid hopes it will address the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict, but its potential impact remains uncertain without key players like Israel, Iran, and the United States.  

A displacement crisis in unfolding in Lebanon, as Israel’s escalating military offensive in the south and the bombing of Beirut continues to drive both Lebanese civilians as well as third country refugees from their homes and shelters, UN agencies warned on Wednesday. … Concern also continues for the safety and operations of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon with the UNIFIL mission, who patrol the Blue Line and support Lebanese civilians in need.

The UN’s top human rights official on Tuesday urged an immediate halt to hostilities in Lebanon following an overnight Israeli airstrike near a major hospital in Beirut that reportedly killed at least 18 people, including four children.