Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has announced along with the Democratic Gathering bloc that they would endorse Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun in a presidential vote scheduled for January 9.

The bloc and Jumblat were the first to announce their official candidate. But why did Jumblat decide to support Aoun?

Israeli army forces withdrew Friday from the southern town of Bani Hayyan two days after invading it, media reports said.

The Israeli army withdrew from the town towards Markaba, after its forces carried out bulldozing and detonations of houses and roads.

The car of 20-year-old man Mahdi Shammout was found Friday in the Wadi al-Hujeir area in south Lebanon after contact was lost with him on Thursday, al-Jadeed TV said.

The military leader of the Islamist-led rebels who ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who now prefers to use his real name Ahmad al-Sharaa, has reassured the Lebanese about the future of relations between the two countries.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Friday issued an end of year message for the Lebanese.

“2024 was, to put it mildly, an exceptionally difficult year for Lebanon. Far too many lives were lost, devastated, and disrupted. The conflict (between Israel and Hezbollah), which inflicted untold suffering and trauma, also left great destruction. And certainly, the arduous process of healing, picking up the pieces, and rebuilding has only just begun,” Hennis-Plasschaert said.

Four Israeli civilians who “illegally entered Lebanon” were detained on Thursday afternoon, Israeli police said.

The Democratic Gathering bloc was the first bloc to officially announce its presidential candidate ahead of a president election session scheduled for January 9. The session might end more than two years of presidential vacuum.

The Democratic Gathering bloc said Wednesday, following a meeting, that its MPs will vote for Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun on January 9.

Syrian interim health minister Maher al-Sharaa said Thursday that there has been communication with the Lebanese state "from day one."

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and discussed with him the latest developments in Syria and south Lebanon.

Mikati was accompanied by a ministerial delegation, the Lebanese Army representative, and Lebanon's ambassador to Turkey.

Representatives of the United States, France, UNIFIL and the Lebanese and Israeli armies met Wednesday in Naqoura.

The U.S.-led committee that also includes France, UNIFIL, Lebanon, and Israel, was formed to monitor the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel that took effect in late November. This was the committee's second meeting.