The opposition and change MPs will have a “unified plan” in the January 9 presidential election session, MP George Okais announced after a meeting for the opposition and change MPs on Tuesday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Tuesday described the Hezbollah-led “defiance camp” as a “liar” camp, but noted that the LF is however willing to “carefully consider” the nomination of Army chief Joseph Aoun if the defiance camp officially endorses him for the presidency.

Druze leader Walid Jumblat has said that Army Commander General Joseph Aoun is still his bloc’s presidential candidate, adding that his nomination has received “positive feedback from the five-nation group for Lebanon.”

The five-party Cessation of Hostilities Implementation Mechanism, which is tasked with monitoring the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, convened at a UNIFIL position in Ras Naqoura Monday for the third Pentalateral Meeting, a joint statement from the U.S. and French embassies in Lebanon and UNIFIL said.

U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein arrived Monday in Beirut, amid a fragile Lebanon-Israel truce, which took effect on November 27.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had warned on Sunday that "there will be no agreement" if Hezbollah did not withdraw "beyond the Litani river", while Hezbollah new leader Sheikh Naim Qassem warned the group's patience with Israeli violations could run out before the end of the ceasefire's 60-day implementation timeframe.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Sunday that if Hezbollah does not withdraw beyond the Litani River “there will be no agreement,” and Israel will be forced to act.

“Israel is interested in the implementation of the agreement in Lebanon and will continue to enforce it fully and without compromise to ensure the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Katz said during a visit to a military base in northern Israel where the army has set up a display of captured Hezbollah weapons.

The head of Hezbollah's Coordination and Liaison Unit, Wafiq Safa, announced Sunday that his party does not have a "veto" on electing Army chief Joseph Aoun as president.

Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi stressed Friday that “what the ministry and the Airport Security Apparatus are doing is aimed at protecting Lebanon and the Lebanese,” hours after controversy at the airport over the entry of two Iranian suitcases.

Political parties in Lebanon are working to agree on two or three presidential candidates ahead of a presidential vote session scheduled for next week, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa told Al-Jadeed on Friday.

Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with neither of the two main blocs -- Hezbollah and its opponents -- having the majority required to elect one, and unable to reach a consensus.

Armed clashes erupted on Syria's border between the Lebanese Army and a group of gunmen following an attempt to reopen an illegal border crossing.

"Clashes have stopped in the Maaraboun area between the Lebanese Army and Syrian gunmen after several armed men were wounded. The gunmen retreated as the illegal border crossing remained closed," al-Jadeed TV reported on Friday afternoon.