Geagea: Aoun’s Presidency Turned Lebanon into Failed State

Geagea during his speech on Sunday. (Lebanese Forces)
Geagea during his speech on Sunday. (Lebanese Forces)
TT
20

Geagea: Aoun’s Presidency Turned Lebanon into Failed State

Geagea during his speech on Sunday. (Lebanese Forces)
Geagea during his speech on Sunday. (Lebanese Forces)

Lebanese Force leader Samir Geagea slammed on Sunday President Michel Aoun, saying his term was catastrophic for Lebanon.

“His term is that of complete collapse that is being managed by ruling groups that have surrendered authority and state sovereignty,” he added during an address commemorating LF martyrs.

“They have turned Lebanon into a failed state that is ruled by the corrupt, failures, thieves, traitors and criminals,” he stressed.

“There can be no salvation and progress with this ruling class, whose strong foundation is the Hezbollah and Free Patriotic Movement,” he added. The FPM was founded by Aoun and is now headed by his son-in-law Gebran Bassil.

“Aoun’s presidency has been very catastrophic for all Lebanese, especially the Christians,” remarked Geagea.

He acknowledged the criticism against the LF that had reached an agreement with the FPM in 2016 that ensured Aoun’s election as president.

“We extremely regret that a move that was full of good intentions would backfire,” he said. The Maarab agreement, he stressed, had national and Christian intentions. It sought to end the presidential vacuum, achieve national unity and mend historic wounds.

“Unfortunately, the deal turned into an unprecedented tragedy for Lebanon,” lamented Geagea.

“Lebanon is in need of a captain, who can steer the state ship towards safety, not a pirate, who has taken the people hostage to his selfishness and is steering the ship according to his interests.”

Separately, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi informed his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Sunday that Tehran supports the formation of a strong Lebanese government.

In telephone talks with Macron, he said Iran was prepared to cooperate with France to that end.

The formation of a strong government “may ensure and protect the rights of the Lebanese people,” he was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

“We are ready to work with France towards Lebanon and its development,” he stressed, adding that Iran, France and Hezbollah’s efforts to form a strong government “fall in Lebanon’s favor.”



52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
TT
20

52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including four children, hospital officials said Saturday. Also, 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites.

The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Another four people were killed in strikes near a fuel station, and 15 others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israeli military said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, troops struck approximately 250 targets in the Gaza Strip, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional Hamas infrastructure sites. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths.

The Hamas-led group killed some 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and abducted 251. They still hold 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

US President Donald Trump has said that he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were no signs of a breakthrough.