The body was found as international mediators kept up a push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal The Israeli military said Wednesday that its troops recovered the body of a hostage in Gaza and brought it back to Israel following a "complex and difficult operation".

The body of an Israeli hostage held captive by militants in Gaza since the October 7 attack has been identified after recovery of his remains, the military said on Friday.Palestinian militants seized the Arab Bedouin father and son from Kibbutz Holit near the Gaza border during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7,

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had recovered another body of a hostage in the Gaza Strip. An Arab Israeli, aged 53, was brought out after being found dead in a tunnel in the Rafah area of southern Gaza on Tuesday,

Lebanon’s parliament has elected its US-backed army chief to be the country’s next president, ending a years-long political stalemate and presidential vacuum.

General Joseph Aoun was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States, which funds, trains, and arms the Lebanese military and helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in November.

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who has U.S. support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.