Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict.

President Joseph Aoun said a "new phase" had begun with Israel, expressing hope that his election would bring stability. Germany, France and the European Union have also conveyed optimism.

A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead. In Lebanon, the parliament voted Thursday to elect the country’s army commander, Joseph Aoun, as head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum.