Outgoing and incoming US administration officials rush to ease conflict in Lebanon as its parliament holds presidential vote this week
With the deadline looming for the terms of a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah to be met, an American diplomat on Monday said “much progress” had been made recently.
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.
Lebanon's last president, Michel Aoun, left office two years ago, and the position has remained vacant since. He bears no relation to Joseph Aoun. On Thursday, the country is set to hold elections to fill the top post, potentially ushering in a new era of leadership.
Both sides are accusing each other of violations as the deadline nears for Israeli troops to withdraw from Lebanon.
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Lebanese lawmakers will attempt to elect a first president in more than two years this week, with army commander Joseph Aoun one of the two main candidates to lead a country battered by months of war and years of economic crisis.
Lebanon’s parliament is set to convene Thursday to attempt to elect a head of state for the 13th time during a presidential vacuum of over two years.
The Israeli military is continuing to destroy infrastructure in south Lebanon and might stay past the 60-day deadline stipulated in the ceasefire deal
The leading candidate is Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun, no relation to the former president. He is widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi Arabia, whose assistance Lebanon will need as it seeks to rebuild after a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Lebanon has not had a president for two years. An election planned for this week could kickstart the country's long-stalled political system.