Lebanon 

The acting governor of the Banque du Liban has not notified the IMF of any new developments related to the country; IMF officials are waiting, hoping that Lebanon will enact reform laws that will lead to agreement on a recovery plan

Peacekeepers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon are present on the ground in the south of the country "despite escalating tensions" between Israel and Hezbollah, said UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti

The country will file an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council over what it called Israel's violation of its sovereignty by disrupting its navigation systems

A UNIFIL investigation into an Israeli tank that killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured others in October in Lebanon said the Israeli attack killed the journalist when he was "clearly identifiable"

The suspension of financial support by donor countries to the UN agency for UNRWA will put at risk the education of 38.000 Palestinian refugee children in Lebanon

The Israeli Air Force launched an extensive wave of attacks against Lebanon, in which at least seven civilians were killed, in response to rocket attacks by Hezbollah towards the north of the country that killed an Israeli soldier

Britain would be organising a plan to de-escalate tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border; the plan would involve Britain training Lebanese army forces to do more security work in the border region

The Lebanese parliament approved an amended draft budget for 2024 that, according to experts, neglects to include crucial reforms that would help the country emerge from a financial meltdown that has gutted the public sector for almost five years

The Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces warned that "the probability of war" in Lebanon is at an all-time high after the latest series of missile attacks between the IDF and Hezbollah

Senior Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri was among at least six people killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh; this fact could change the evolution of the ongoing conflict, according to experts

The historic Deir Mimas monastery, a revered site dating back to 1404 A.D., has been attacked by Israeli forces a day before Christmas Eve; many read the action as a signal of a broader pattern of aggression targeting religious sites and civil shrines