The leader of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — A few hours after an unprecedented Israeli strike on a residential building in a Christian area of Metn — long considered relatively safe since the war between Israel and Hezbollah resumed — Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused what he called the “deep state” of putting civilians at risk.
The strike, carried out Sunday evening, killed at least three people, including a local LF official who was on the floor above the one targeted. According to Israeli army radio, the strike missed its intended target.
At a press conference, Geagea said that what he described as the “deep state” — the Lebanese Army, Internal Security Forces and the judiciary — had “preferred to let some Lebanese walk into danger rather than confront them,” arguing that assuming its responsibilities from the outset “would have been better for everyone.” A leading opponent of Hezbollah, he urged state institutions to establish clear mechanisms to identify sources of danger and act without delay.
“Even if the state chooses not to prevent some from putting themselves in danger, it does not have the right to expose those who want to live in safety to death in their own homes,” he added.
Geagea said municipalities are fulfilling their role by collecting and transmitting information to the security services, but that follow-up remains insufficient. Identifying potential threats, he stressed, falls to the security agencies, which must maintain clear lists and take the necessary measures to protect civilians.
He estimated that “seventy-five percent of people respect the state, but the state does not respect them in return,” warning that this could further erode what little trust remains in public institutions.
Commenting on the strike itself, Geagea said Israel's intended target was “a leader of Iran’s Quds Force.” “A strike hit an old building, causing the ceiling to collapse onto the home of our comrade Pierre Moawad, who was there,” he said. “He fell along with his wife and a woman visiting them. Several people in the apartment and in a neighboring one were also injured,” he added, saying the incident required “little interpretation.”
“Our comrade Pierre is a martyr for me, but such incidents must not be repeated,” he continued, calling on security services to compile precise lists of displaced people in so-called safe areas and carry out a thorough census.
Geagea said Moawad was a former Lebanese Forces member who began as a fighter in Beirut, later joined the artillery, and entered politics after the Taif Agreement, which ended the 1975–1990 civil war. After the party was dissolved, he remained active in North Metn at a time when political activity was banned, Geagea added.
Moawad later worked at the Burj Hammoud center as its secretary before being appointed head of the Lebanese Forces office in Yahchouche, in Ftouh Kesrouan. Geagea offered condolences to the families of Pierre Moawad and his wife, Flavia, who were killed in the strike, as well as to the family of the third victim, a resident of the building.
The strike in Ain Saadeh, carried out without warning, has heightened tensions in some Christian areas toward displaced people from Shiite regions heavily bombarded by Israel. Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai said Monday that Lebanon “can recover only through its neutrality,” again denouncing the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a rival to the Lebanese Forces and a former ally of Hezbollah, also called on Hezbollah officials not to take shelter among displaced civilians and their hosts.
Hours before the strike, President Joseph Aoun had renewed his call for direct negotiations with Israel, warning against south Lebanon becoming “a new Gaza,” in remarks delivered on the sidelines of Easter Mass in Bkerke.
According to the latest Health Ministry toll released Monday evening, 1,497 people have been killed in Lebanon since March 2.
Iran negotiator vows 'decisive' response to US-Israeli attack