Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday welcomed the election of his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun after the country...Israel

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.

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.

General Joseph Aoun secured 99 votes from the 128-seat parliament, after winning an endorsement from the Hezbollah-backed candidate. The career soldier is the fifth army commander to be elected president in Lebanon’s history.

The outcome showed the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group after its devastating war with Israel.

As the country endured economic crisis and a devastating war, lawmakers failed 12 times to pick a head of state. They have now settled on Joseph Aoun, the leader of the military.

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

Lebanese lawmakers elected army chief Joseph Aoun as head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.

With a nearly unanimous 99 out of 128 votes, the Lebanese parliament elected the head of the army, Gen. Joseph Aoun, as Lebanon’s 14th president on Jan. 9. In a strong inaugural speech Aoun laid out an ambitious agenda premised on regaining the Lebanese state’s monopoly of the use of force,

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