Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the leaders of Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in recent days to ask them to support the election of a new Lebanese president. Senior White House official Amos Hochstein has also told Arab officials that the weakening of Hezbollah by Israeli attacks should be viewed as an opportunity to potentially break a political impasse.

The country’s political parties have been unable to agree on a new president since the previous leader, Michel Aoun, left office at the end of his term in 2022 - WSJ, 2nd screenshot.

With investment that would be negligible in international terms a South Lebanese army can be built, positioned south of the Awali River, acting as a buffer between Israel and Hizbullah. In the past the South Lebanon Army that existed in this area was of a totally different and more limited nature. Crucially, it was a completely separate entity from the Lebanese Armed Forces, the official army of Lebanon, and acted without co-ordination or instruction from the country’s government. It must be different this time - Lapid, 2n screenshot.