Lebanon's parliament will try to elect a president on Thursday, with officials seeing better chances of success in a political landscape shaken by Israel's war with Hezbollah and the toppling of the group's ally Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria.

Lebanese political heavyweights held talks Wednesday a day ahead of a parliamentary session to elect a president, but even with key player Hezbollah weakened by war, there is no guarantee of consensus.

Lebanon risks losing vital reconstruction aid if parliament fails to elect a president during its session on Thursday. The high-stakes, long-awaited exercise comes about two weeks before the expiry of a 60-day deadline for Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon and ahead of US president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration,

Lebanese lawmakers are due to meet on Thursday to elect a president, but analysts say that even with key political player Hezbollah weakened by war, white smoke is not guaranteed. But, according to David Wood,