On Thursday, Samy Gemayel, the leader of Lebanon’s Kataeb Party, issued a strong call for Hezbollah to cease its involvement in the Gaza conflict and return to a national agenda.
Samy Gemayel © X
On Thursday, Samy Gemayel, the leader of Lebanon’s Kataeb Party, issued a strong call for Hezbollah to cease its involvement in the Gaza conflict and return to a national agenda.
He criticized Hezbollah’s ongoing military confrontations with Israel, which began on October 8, 2023, following the Hamas-initiated war against Israel. Hezbollah, a Shiite party backed by Iran, has justified these hostilities as part of its “support front” for Gaza.
“We ask Hezbollah to end the support front, return to the state, and abandon regional adventurism,” Gemayel stated in a press conference in Beirut, later reiterating the message on the platform X (formerly Twitter).
He further urged Hezbollah to hand over its arms and fighters to the Lebanese army, emphasizing that this was not a surrender, but rather a return to national sovereignty and the abandonment of regional agendas.
Gemayel highlighted that Hezbollah’s assertion that its arms protect the Lebanese population had been undermined by the ongoing conflict, which has brought further instability to the country.
“This war has dismantled the argument that Hezbollah’s weapons protect the Lebanese people. We call for a separation of paths and the recognition of the state and its army, the implementation of international resolutions, and the facilitation of the election of a president to begin a process of national reconciliation,” he said.
A majority of the Lebanese population is opposed to the campaign of terror led by Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsor.
Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to help Lebanese displaced by this year’s war with Israel, two people with direct knowledge of the transfer said, the first significant aid from the group to supporters who bore the brunt of the conflict.
Israelis will on Wednesday mark three years since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a military assault that destroyed much of Gaza, where conditions remain dire despite a year-old ceasefire that is meant to halt the war for good.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Ankara and Istanbul from October 21 to 23, his office said on Tuesday, in what will be the first dedicated bilateral visit to NATO ally Turkey by a Canadian leader.
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