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.

Four Israeli civilians who “illegally entered Lebanon” were detained on Thursday afternoon, Israeli police said.

The Democratic Gathering bloc was the first bloc to officially announce its presidential candidate ahead of a president election session scheduled for January 9. The session might end more than two years of presidential vacuum.

The Democratic Gathering bloc said Wednesday, following a meeting, that its MPs will vote for Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun on January 9.

Syrian interim health minister Maher al-Sharaa said Thursday that there has been communication with the Lebanese state "from day one."

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and discussed with him the latest developments in Syria and south Lebanon.

Mikati was accompanied by a ministerial delegation, the Lebanese Army representative, and Lebanon's ambassador to Turkey.

Representatives of the United States, France, UNIFIL and the Lebanese and Israeli armies met Wednesday in Naqoura.

The U.S.-led committee that also includes France, UNIFIL, Lebanon, and Israel, was formed to monitor the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel that took effect in late November. This was the committee's second meeting.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat will travel Saturday with a delegation to Syria to meet with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani who now prefers to be called Ahmad al-Sharaa, a local media outlet said.

Al-Jadeed TV channel said Jubmlat, along with MPs from the Democratic Gathering bloc and Druze religious figures, will congratulate al-Sharaa for ousting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has tried to convince Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri of electing Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun as president, several local media reports said.

Jumblat had met Berri on Monday and both said they were optimistic that a president would be elected in a session scheduled for January 9.

A group of Israeli settlers have briefly crossed the border into Lebanon before they were removed by troops, the military acknowledged Wednesday.

The settlers who crossed the border came from the Uri Tzafon movement, a group calling for Israeli settlement of southern Lebanon. Photos posted by the group online Saturday showed a small group of settlers holding signs and erecting tents inside Lebanon while Israeli soldiers were present.