Hezbollah ceasefire amid warnings IDF could stay in Lebanon past deadline should Beirut fail to rein in Iran-backed terror group

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.

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 Israeli military said it had conducted an airstrike on vehicles loaded with weapons used by Lebanon's Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon.

BEIRUT — 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 party or even expressing a political opinion — a rarity for someone in Lebanon’s fractured, transactional political system.

As the ceasefire deadline looms, Israel's strikes on Hezbollah and hints at extended presence raise questions about commitment to the withdrawal agreement.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati will on Saturday make his first official trip to neighbouring Syria since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, his office told AFP.

As Hezbollah’s influence wanes and Gulf nations extend support, Lebanon faces a rare opportunity to stabilize and reclaim its position.

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

Lebanon's parliament will try to elect a president on Thursday, with officials seeing better chances of success in a political landscape shaken by Israel's war with Hezbollah and the toppling of the group's ally Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria.

Israel has warned on Sunday that its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah could collapse if the Iran-backed group does not withdraw beyond the Litani River, one of the key stipulations of the truce.

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.Deadlock in parliament between pro- and anti-Hezbollah blocs had stalemated a dozen previous attempts to elect a president,