Israel has acknowledged for the first time it was behind the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh Arouri in Beirut's southern suburbs in January 2024.

Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas and a founder of the group’s military wing, was one of at least five top Hamas leaders assassinated in Lebanon over the past year, according to the year-end review released by Israel’s Shin Bet security service on Tuesday.

The Israeli military has blamed "operational burnout" and a "weakening of discipline and safety" in the death of a 70-year-old archaeologist who was killed in southern Lebanon along with another soldier while visiting a combat zone in November.

According to Israeli media reports, Zeev Erlich was not on active duty when he was shot, but was wearing a military uniform and had a weapon. The army said he was a reservist with the rank of major and identified him as a "fallen soldier" when it announced his death.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil has called for an inter-Christian understanding on a president, ahead of an election session scheduled for January 9.

Bassil said there might be surprises in the session and called for consensus, in remarks published Tuesday in al-Joumhouria newspaper.

Deputy head of Hezbollah's political council Mahmoud Qmati has warned that Hezbollah will deal differently with Israeli soldiers if they remain in Lebanon for more than 60 days - an initial stage of a ceasefire reached in late November.

"We've committed to patience for 60 days and after that the present forces will become occupation forces and we'll deal with them accordingly," Qmati told Hezbollah's al-Manar on Monday.

Turkey is prepared to export electricity to Lebanon and Syria to assist them in addressing power shortages, Turkey’s energy minister said, adding that a Turkish delegation was already in Damascus to evaluate Syria’s energy infrastructure.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar also said Monday that the Turkish delegation included experts who would be assessing how Syria’s oil and natural gas could be used to improve the economy.

France's top diplomat and defense chief arrived on Monday in Lebanon, where a fragile truce since late November ended intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu met with Lebanon's army chief Joseph Aoun, and on Tuesday are due to visit U.N. peacekeepers near the Israeli border.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah condemned Monday the repeated Israeli violations of a ceasefire reached in late November, claiming that the ceasefire did not include any terms allowing these violations.

"We know this enemy and we know that the only way to confront it is by the resistance's weapons and the people-army-resistance equation," Fadlallah said, adding that the credibility of "those who want sovereignty" is now at stake.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that he will impose economic sanctions on a donation campaign led by Hezbollah for the victims of the September pager and walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that the ruling "establishment" in Lebanon is still entrenched and coherent.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called for parliament to convene on January 9 to elect a president, in an attempt to break a gridlock of over two years and reactivate the country's crippled state institutions.

The session will be open with successive rounds. "We might hold several rounds in the same session, what's important is for parliament to elect a president and for MPs to shoulder their responsibilities," Berri told An-Nahar newspaper, in remarks published Monday.