Israel Says It Intercepted a UAV in Syrian Territory that Was Launched Towards Israel

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system operates for interceptions, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system operates for interceptions, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
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Israel Says It Intercepted a UAV in Syrian Territory that Was Launched Towards Israel

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system operates for interceptions, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system operates for interceptions, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

The Israeli military said on Friday it intercepted overnight an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Syrian territory that was launched towards Israel.
The UAV was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory, the Israeli army said.
On Thursday, Syrian state media reported that a number of civilians were wounded and material damage was caused by an "Israeli aggression" on Qusayr in Homs province, in central Syria.
The Israeli military, which typically does not comment on specific reports of strikes in Syria, said in a statement it had hit "weapons storage facilities and command centers" used by militant group Hezbollah in the area of Al-Qusayr.

According to the Israeli military, in recent months, Israel has been carrying out strikes to reduce the transfer of weapons from Iran through Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon, which it said had spread to into the town of Al-Qusayr, near the Syrian-Lebanese border.
The attack targeted the industrial zone of Qusayr and some of the city's residential neighborhoods, according to state media.



Lebanon's Parliament Renews Army Chief's Term in First Session after Ceasefire

Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
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Lebanon's Parliament Renews Army Chief's Term in First Session after Ceasefire

Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)

Lebanon's parliament Thursday renewed the term of army chief Joseph Aoun, who is seen as a potential presidential candidate in next year's vote.

The parliament has seldom met since Israel’s war with Hezbollah began 14 months ago, and has not convened to try to elect a president since June 2023, leaving the country in a political gridlock.

Thursday’s session is the first since a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday which has left the Lebanese military responsible for ensuring Hezbollah fighters leave the country's south and its facilities dismantled. The army is expected to receive international aid to help deploy troops to deploy in the south to exert full state control there, The AP reported.

Gen. Joseph Aoun is seen as a likely presidential candidate due to his close relationship with the international community and his hold on an institution that is seen as a rare point of unity in the country facing political and sectarian tensions. Lebanon has been without a president since Oct. 31, 2022.

It is unclear whether the decision to renew Aoun's term will impact his chances as Lebanon's next president.

Hezbollah and some of its key allies and their legislators have been skeptical of a Aoun presidency due to his close relationship with Washington.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who spearheaded negotiations with the United States to end the war, also called for parliament to convene on Jan. 9, 2025 to elect a president, the first attempt in almost 19 months.

French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, tasked by French President Emmanuel Macron with helping Lebanon break its political deadlock, observed the session before meeting with Berri and later caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Berri, in an address Wednesday, urged political parties to pick a president that will bring Lebanon's rival groups together, in a bid to keep the war-torn and financially battered country from further deteriorating amid fears of internal political tensions between Hezbollah and its political opponents following the war.

The militant group's opponents, who believe Hezbollah should be completely disarmed, are furious that it made the unilateral decision to go to war with Israel in solidarity with its ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.