Lebanon's Speaker Sets Jan. 9 Date to Elect President

FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
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Lebanon's Speaker Sets Jan. 9 Date to Elect President

FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri set a Jan. 9 date for lawmakers to elect the country's president, the state news agency (NNA) reported on Thursday.
Lebanon has not had a president or a fully empowered cabinet since October 2022 due to a power struggle.

Israel's offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon had prompted a renewed bid by some leading Lebanese politicians to fill the two-year-long presidential vacuum.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the US and France, allowing people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting.

Berri has said that, once there's a ceasefire, he supported the election of a president who doesn't represent "a challenge" to anyone.

The presidency is decided by a vote in Lebanon's 128-seat parliament. No single political alliance has enough seats to impose its choice, meaning an understanding among rival blocs is needed to secure the election of a candidate.



Israeli Strikes Kill 17 People In Gaza, Nearly all of Them Women or Kids

Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
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Israeli Strikes Kill 17 People In Gaza, Nearly all of Them Women or Kids

Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza killed at least 17 people late Tuesday, nearly all of them women or children, the territory’s Health Ministry and hospital officials said.
Five kids were killed as they sheltered together in the same tent, said Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children's ward at nearby Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Their bodies were among the eight children and five women brought to the hospital after strikes on tents, homes and a vehicle. Two bodies were unidentifiable, The Associated Press said.
The Israeli military said it targeted militants who had taken part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, without providing evidence. Israel said it took steps to lessen the risk of hurting civilians and blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties.
The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is raging with no end in sight, although there has reportedly been recent progress in long-running talks aimed at a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Some Palestinians in the Gaza Strip still have hope the war will end soon. Issam Saqr, a displaced man from Khan Younis, told The Associated Press he hopes the ceasefire “will happen today — before tomorrow!”