Head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, during an interview with AFP at his residence in Meerab, north of Beirut, on Oct. 7, 2025. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
The leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF), Samir Geagea, took a different tone Monday following unanimous condemnation by the Lebanese political class in the wake of massive Israeli strikes Saturday on Msayleh in southern Lebanon, which killed one person and destroyed multiple construction machines, by calling on the Lebanese state to "assume its own responsibilities" before making appeals to the international community.
The LF leader's message was addressed to "several ministers," and in particular to Culture Minister Ghassan Salame. Geagea directly quoted the culture minister's Sunday remarks about the need for the international community to enforce international resolutions in Lebanon, attributing them to "one of the ministers" without naming him outright.
Geagea countered this demand as "illogical and incompatible with reality." "Before demanding that the international community assume its responsibilities regarding Resolution 1701 and the November 2024 agreements, the Lebanese government must assume its own responsibilities concerning the portions of this resolution and these agreements that relate to it," he wrote.
"Resolution 1701 and the November 2024 agreements stipulate, in their first clauses, that the Lebanese state must dissolve all illegal armed organizations present in Lebanon, collect all illegal weapons, and deliver them to the Lebanese army," he recalled.
Ghassan Salame, responding to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's message requesting that an official complaint be submitted to the UN Security Council, had written Sunday on X that it is "time for the Security Council to implement Resolution 1701, which it adopted two decades ago, and for the countries that devised the November 2024 arrangements to demand compliance from Israel, which has continually violated them since day one and further escalated its breaches yesterday [Saturday]."
'We must implement the provisions of Resolution 1701'
"Honorable ministers and honest citizens of this country: We are seeking the truth outside ourselves in vain. If we want to save our country, put an end to Israeli attacks, and expel Israel from Lebanon, we must implement the provisions of Resolution 1701 and the Nov. 2024 agreements that pertain to us," Geagea stated.
He went on to criticize the attitude of the Lebanese political class: "But to continue to bury our heads in the sand, to compensate for what should be done by cursing the oppressors and the enemy, while blaming the guarantor countries for not having done anything for Lebanon, is a recipe for opening wide the door for Israel to finish what it is doing," he affirmed. "My sincere wish is that everyone pulls their head out of the sand they've hidden it in before Lebanon is destroyed," concluded Geagea.
Despite the cease-fire agreement reached in Nov. 2024 between Israel and Hamas, Israel continues to occupy six points in the south of the country, attack people, homes and infrastructure, and violate Lebanese airspace on a near-daily basis.
Israel says it is enforcing "by force" the cease-fire agreement, which calls for Hezbollah's disarmament at least south of the Litani River. For its part, Hezbollah opposes disarming so long as Israel continues its occupation and aggression.
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