RSS
Lebanon’s Army Chief Elected President, Showing Weakened Hezbollah

Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun walks after being elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who has US support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah after its devastating war with Israel.
In a speech to the chamber, Aoun, 60, vowed to work to ensure the state has the exclusive right to carry arms, drawing loud applause as lawmakers from Hezbollah — which runs its own military forces — sat still.
He promised to rebuild south Lebanon and other parts of the country he said had been destroyed by Israel, and also to prevent Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which was mired in deep economic and political crises even before the latest conflict. “Today, a new phase in the history of Lebanon begins,” he said.
His election reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah badly pummeled from last year’s war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
It also indicated a revival of Saudi influence in a country where Riyadh’s role was eclipsed by Iran and Hezbollah long ago.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar congratulated Lebanon, saying on X he hoped Aoun’s election would contribute towards stability and good neighborly relations.
US Ambassador Lisa Johnson, attending the session, told Reuters she was “very happy” with Aoun’s election.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Joseph Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shi’ite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammed Raad said that by delaying their vote for Aoun, the group had “sent a message that we are the guardians of national consensus.”
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah‘s long preferred candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French and Saudi envoys shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
A source close to the Saudi royal court said French, Saudi, and US envoys had told Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally, that international financial assistance — including from Saudi Arabia — hinged on Aoun’s election.
“There is a very clear message from the international community that they are ready to support Lebanon, but that needs a president, a government,” Michel Mouawad, a Christian lawmaker opposed to Hezbollah who voted for Aoun, told Reuters.
“We did get a message from Saudi of support,” he added.
The Saudi king and crown prince congratulated Aoun.
FRANCE URGES FORMATION OF STRONG GOVERNMENT
His election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of aid to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Much of the damage is in majority Shi’ite areas where Hezbollah draws support. Hezbollah has urged Arab and international support for Lebanon.
Lebanon’s system of government now requires Aoun to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
France said the election opened a new page for Lebanon.
“This election must now be followed by the appointment of a strong government” capable of “carrying out the reforms necessary for Lebanon’s economic recovery, stability, security, and sovereignty,” French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.
Lebanon’s international bonds, which have been in default since 2020, rallied after Aoun’s victory was announced.
Aoun has played a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese army to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Opponents of his candidacy said his election was the result of foreign pressure. Lawmaker Gebran Bassil, leader of one of the biggest Christian factions, told the session that many lawmakers had received “instructions from abroad.”
But Melhem Riachi, a Christian lawmaker who voted for Aoun, said the election marked the end of the previous era with “an Iranian face.” “This is the era of Lebanon’s harmony with the international community,” he said.
The post Lebanon’s Army Chief Elected President, Showing Weakened Hezbollah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.