Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea is ready for consensus on a new president through bilateral talks.

Geagea said Thursday in a statement, in response to remarks by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri about the urgent need to elect a president, that consensus can be reached through "calm bilateral consultations" and not through a "theatrical" dialogue table.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has warned against a further delay in electing a president.

"A president must be elected within the next few weeks," Berri told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Thursday.

Israeli strikes killed a woman in her eighties in a south Lebanon village early Thursday morning, Lebanese state media said, with rescuers confirming the death to AFP.

"Hostile bombing on the town of Maroun al-Ras this morning killed a woman and wounded her husband," Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said.

The Israeli army struck Thursday the outskirts of several border towns including Yaroun, Aita al-Shaab, Aitaroun, Maroun al-Rass and Kfarkila, killing a woman in her eighties in Maroun al-Rass.

Israeli warplanes had carried out airstrikes deep inside Lebanon late Wednesday evening, hitting a forested area near the town of Bouslaya, more than 20 kilometers from the border, Lebanese state media reported.

A high-ranking member of Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization was charged with terrorism offenses, including the bombing of a building in Argentina in 1994 that killed 85 people, in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.

Samuel Salman El Reda, 58, who remains at large and is believed to be in Lebanon, was described by federal authorities as the leader of terrorist activity carried out by Hezbollah since at least 1993.

The European Union has announced an additional 40 million Euros contribution to the education sector in Lebanon to ensure that vulnerable children continue receiving quality education.

"This new support, which will be implemented by UNICEF, will help the most marginalized boys and girls aged 3-18 years in accessing education, by reducing enrollment barriers.," the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon said in a statement.

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said Wednesday after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, that Berri will be focused on electing a new president after the holidays.

"I think that electing a president is a priority to Speaker Berri," Bou Saab said.

Holding a final Cabinet session this year hinges on the possibility of reaching an agreement to name a new chief of staff and two military council members, governmental sources told al-Liwaa newspaper.

As France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna urged restraint along the Lebanon-Israel border in meetings with senior officials in Beirut Monday, Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that Israel before Lebanon must be urged to respect U.N. Resolution 1701 as it daily violates the Lebanese sovereignty by land, air and sea.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Wednesday that Berri, a key ally of Hezbollah, has blamed Colonna for showing support for Israel and visiting an Israeli military base. "This is reprehensible," Berri reportedly said.

A Qatari drive regarding Lebanon’s presidential file will strongly emerge in the beginning of the year, a media report said on Wednesday.