The new president, Joseph Aoun, is a favorite of America, France, and Saudi Arabia. He even gets a cautious endorsement from Israel amid skepticism

General Joseph Aoun was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States, which funds, trains, and arms the Lebanese military and helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in November.

As the country endured economic crisis and a devastating war, lawmakers failed 12 times to pick a head of state. They have now settled on Joseph Aoun, the leader of the military.

Lebanon is geared to select a new president this week as the army has made significant strides in taking over for IDF troops deployed in southern Lebanon

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein announced the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the western sector of Lebanon, stating it is a positive development. Speaking in Lebanon, he confirmed that withdrawals will persist until the Israeli forces have fully vacated the area.

The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanon's newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, said Thursday that "a new phase" has started for the war-ravaged country and pledged to rebuild the state, adopt a policy of "positive neutrality" and fight corruption.

An Israeli official told The Post that plans for the withdrawal of the IDF “don’t change the fact that after the ceasefire terminates, Israeli forces will need to remain in southern Lebanon.”

Army Commander General Joseph Aoun received Senior Advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, at his office in Yarzeh. The meeting was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson and Major General Jasper Jeffers,

US envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut on Monday ahead of a meeting of the committee monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has entered its second month. The visit comes amid mounting tension and accusations of violations from both sides.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein has told Lebanon that the United States has not received any message from Israel about an intention to keep Israeli forces in south Lebanon beyond January 27, informed sources said.