Lebanese leaders slam Hezbollah's firing of rockets, throw support behind state

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil on Monday warned against another “support war” in Lebanon, after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel drawing massive Israeli retaliation.

“We warned against a war to support Gaza because it would only bring ruin to Lebanon and to those who waged it, and it would not be able to save Gaza, and so it was! We warn again against a war to support Iran because it will bring us more ruin without saving Iran. Neutralize Lebanon and leave it as a homeland for the Lebanese. It is not at the service of Iran or Israel,” Bassil said in a post on X.

Kataeb Party leader Sami Gemayel meanwhile urged strong action from the Lebanese state.

“To the executive authority that will meet shortly: Enough with the empty rhetoric. The time for decisive decisions has come. Look at the destruction. Look at the roads filled with displaced families and children. Look at the suffering of our people who were forced to leave their towns. Is there any authority in the world that would accept a gang of mercenaries controlling the fate of a nation, and killing the future of an entire people in service of a collapsing, dictatorial foreign regime?” Gemayel said ahead of an emergency cabinet session.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat meanwhile urged neutrality.

"If I were to offer any advice regarding this immense confrontation unfolding in the region, which extends far beyond Lebanon, it would be to remain neutral, as launching missiles will only bring us further devastation and destruction. In this regard, I call for greater solidarity with the Lebanese Army above all else," said Jumblat in a post on X.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri meanwhile asserted that "Hezbollah's launching of missiles from Lebanese territory is an irresponsible act that has exposed the lives of Lebanese citizens to grave dangers and dragged Lebanon into the ongoing war between the United States, Israel, and Iran, without any regard for the interests of the state or its people.”

“The consequences were immediate and severe, as Israel responded directly with a series of airstrikes targeting the South, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley, leading to the displacement of tens of thousands of citizens from their homes in search of safety and reviving scenes of anxiety and fear in the lives of Lebanese citizens already exhausted by proxy wars," Hariri lamented.

He added: “I declare my full support for the Lebanese state and its legitimate institutions, and I say clearly that the time has come for Hezbollah to act on the basis that Lebanon is a homeland for all its sons, not an arena for settling scores or foreign agendas. The decision of peace and war is an exclusive right of the political authority represented by the Lebanese government, and any violation of this constitutional principle constitutes an attack on the sovereignty of the state and brings upon the country and its people consequences that they cannot bear.”