Samir Geagea, head of Lebanon’s largest Christian bloc, calls on Hezbollah to surrender arms to the state, warning that continued defiance risks dragging the country into civil war.
Lebanon’s simmering political fault lines erupted Sunday as Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces party, issued a searing call for Hezbollah to hand over its weapons to the state.
Speaking to supporters, Geagea slammed Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon’s wars with Israel, arguing that the Iran-backed militia’s arsenal has brought the nation nothing but devastation.
“Your weapons had no impact against Israel. Instead they brought destruction, ruin, displacement, and new occupation,” Geagea declared.
He insisted that “all weapons must return to the Lebanese state”, warning that Hezbollah’s defiance could ignite a civil war more catastrophic than its failed confrontations with Israel.
“Your war with Israel was lost and destructive… a civil war would be even more disastrous and could cause you to lose everything,” Geagea warned.
Framing Hezbollah as a proxy of Tehran, he accused the group of advancing an “Iranian expansionist project” at the expense of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The remarks come as the Lebanese Armed Forces prepare to implement a cabinet mandate to disarm Hezbollah by the end of 2025. Last week, the cabinet welcomed a military proposal on disarmament, though no binding timeline was set.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has been battered by months of conflict with Israel. Two months of open warfare decimated much of its leadership and destroyed significant portions of its arsenal.
But Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the government plan outright, vowing the group would never surrender its arms.
Lebanon now stands at a crossroads: state sovereignty or continued militia rule.
