Securing 99 of the Lebanese parliament’s 128 votes, Aoun garnered widespread support across Lebanon’s political spectrum, despite initial reservations from Hezbollah and its allies.

While political statements from Aoun are rare, he recently emerged as the US and Saudi Arabia’s favoured candidate for the Lebanese presidency.

The local and international push gathered momentum following Israel’s two-month offensive in Lebanon last year, which killed over 4,000 people and displaced over a million.