Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, during a visit to an Israeli military position in southern Lebanon, threatened Sunday to “crush Hezbollah’s head” if the group violates the ceasefire agreement.

Druze leader Walid Jumblat and an accompanying delegation on Sunday met in Damascus with Syrian rebel leader-turned-interim political leader Abou Mohammad al-Jolani, who now prefers to be called by his real name Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Efforts are ongoing to secure the success of the January 9 presidential election session, Speaker Nabih Berri said.

Lebanese rescuers recovered three bodies from the rubble of a building struck by Israel in a September air raid that killed Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, state media reported on Friday.

Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel said Friday that Hezbollah should know that the Lebanese will not accept to stay "under its guardianship" or to be "second-degree citizens" anymore.

"We are neither willing to take revenge nor to isolate or exclude anyone," he said, talking about Hezbollah, Amal, and their supporters.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has announced along with the Democratic Gathering bloc that they would endorse Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun in a presidential vote scheduled for January 9.

The bloc and Jumblat were the first to announce their official candidate. But why did Jumblat decide to support Aoun?

Israeli army forces withdrew Friday from the southern town of Bani Hayyan two days after invading it, media reports said.

The Israeli army withdrew from the town towards Markaba, after its forces carried out bulldozing and detonations of houses and roads.

The car of 20-year-old man Mahdi Shammout was found Friday in the Wadi al-Hujeir area in south Lebanon after contact was lost with him on Thursday, al-Jadeed TV said.

The military leader of the Islamist-led rebels who ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who now prefers to use his real name Ahmad al-Sharaa, has reassured the Lebanese about the future of relations between the two countries.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Friday issued an end of year message for the Lebanese.

“2024 was, to put it mildly, an exceptionally difficult year for Lebanon. Far too many lives were lost, devastated, and disrupted. The conflict (between Israel and Hezbollah), which inflicted untold suffering and trauma, also left great destruction. And certainly, the arduous process of healing, picking up the pieces, and rebuilding has only just begun,” Hennis-Plasschaert said.