Lebanon delays parliamentary elections by two years amid regional conflict.

Lebanon's parliament on Monday postponed legislative elections by two years, citing the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, according to a statement from the parliament speaker.

The country was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes.

Parliament speaker and key Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri announced, "Parliament approved the extension of its term for two years," after elections that were initially scheduled for May were delayed.

Lawmakers convened even as Israeli warplanes flew over the southern suburbs of Beirut. Several members of Hezbollah's 13-seat bloc, including its leader Mohammed Raad, were present.

Lebanon has postponed elections multiple times in the past. Between 2013 and 2014, polls were delayed due to political divisions linked to the war in neighboring Syria, and in 2017 elections were postponed over a dispute regarding the electoral law.

In the 2022 election, Hezbollah and its allies lost their parliamentary majority to traditional opponents and independent candidates who emerged from Lebanon's 2019 protest movement. Parliament remains deeply divided between the two camps.

Prior to the outbreak of the latest conflict with Israel, political forces opposed to Hezbollah, with encouragement from the United States, had pushed for postponing the elections.

The decision to delay the polls comes as the Lebanese government also pledged to disarm Hezbollah, a move the group opposed as it sought to rebuild its political influence following major losses against Israel.