Lebanon's newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, said Thursday that "a new phase" has started for the war-ravaged country and pledged to rebuild the state, adopt a policy of "positive neutrality" and fight corruption.

Joseph Aoun has wide-reaching support, including from Hezbollah and Israel. The political Hezbollah faction as well as its parliamentary ally, the Amal Movement, had abstained from voting, she said. Lebanon's military wing of Hezbollah is considered a terrorist group by several countries,