Sami Gemayel: We Refuse to Be Held Hostage by Hezbollah

Gemayel speaks during an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
Gemayel speaks during an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
TT
20

Sami Gemayel: We Refuse to Be Held Hostage by Hezbollah

Gemayel speaks during an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
Gemayel speaks during an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.

The head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, Sami Gemayel, warned against some opposition parties resorting to a settlement with Hezbollah in the upcoming presidential elections, noting that the past six years of President Michel Aoun’s reign “led to a complete collapse.”

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Gemayel said: “We have a basic problem called Hezbollah’s weapon, so let us confront it and stop this procrastination.”

“We are not ready to remain hostages to Hezbollah, and for the state to remain hostage to Hezbollah’s decisions and choices that have nothing to do with Lebanon,” he added.

He also called for placing Hezbollah’s weapons on a “real dialogue table.”

The effort to agree on a single name for the presidency “depends on the ability of the opposition, parties and representatives to surpass personal interests and narrow accounts, and agree on a single strategy to fight this battle,” according to the Lebanese deputy.

“For me, that's the key,” he said. “Names are not important, but the agreement on a unified strategy is… We are supposed to maintain communication with the aim of reaching a strategy…”

Gemayel denied the presence of discrepancies within the opposition about the specifications of the new president.

“We want a president who can be entrusted with the sovereignty of this country; a president who is reformist and capable of action, and who unites all Lebanese,” he underlined.

Gemayel stressed that Hezbollah has been waging an open battle for more than 17 years, to gain control over the country.

He went on to say: “In 2016, [Hezbollah] succeeded in imposing its candidate on the presidency and enforcing a settlement that was accepted by the majority of the political parties, except for us.”

This led to the complete collapse of the country at the economic, social, health and education levels, according to the deputy, who asked: “Will we continue with this approach? Can Lebanon bear that Hezbollah name a new president again for the next six years? Can the Lebanese people tolerate such matters? Is it acceptable for Lebanon to remain isolated from its Arab surroundings and from the international community?”

However, Gemayel underlined the presence of a “real opportunity”, but reiterated that it would require the unity of all opposition blocs.

“Today, we must all have the ability to go beyond our personal considerations to achieve this goal... We [the Kataeb]… believe that our role is to serve Lebanon, not ourselves. For this, we always look to the interest of the country and the cause we are defending,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Nevertheless, Gemayel said he believed that it was still too early to judge the success of this movement, because serious contacts were underway.

He continued: “It is true that [Hezbollah] does not have the majority, and it is also true that the opposition does not have a majority, and therefore we must be humble and communicate together, and put all special considerations aside.”

According to Gemayel, it is still early to talk about a presidential vacuum.

He said in this regard: “We are two months away from the presidential elections. We are still deliberating together on names and discussing each of the possible scenarios to be adopted in our strategy. When we reach the last days of President Aoun’s term, then we will see what the electoral situation and balances will be like… Then we'll talk about this issue.”



Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
TT
20

Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthis are in disarray over escalating American strikes targeting military and security sites, as well as weapons depots belonging to them, Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani said, revealing that the group has lost nearly 30% of its military capabilities.

Al-Eryani told Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent strikes have directly hit "the military capabilities of the Houthi group, targeting mainly infrastructure related to ballistic missiles and drones, which were used to threaten international maritime navigation in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden."

US President Donald Trump had ordered the start of the military campaign against the Houthis on March 15, pledging to destroy their capabilities.

In the past four weeks, the Houthis have been hit by 365 air and naval strikes, field reports said. The campaign has been primarily targeting fortified bunkers and military warehouses, especially in the group's strongholds in the governorates of Saada, Sanaa, Amran, and Hodeidah.

"Our assessment, based on our field sources, is that the militia has lost 30% of its capabilities, and this number is rising as military operations continue,” Al-Eryani said.

The minister also spoke of "surprises” that will please Yemenis in the coming weeks.

Trump said Monday that the US campaign against the Houthis has been “very successful militarily.”

“We’ve really damaged them,” he said, adding that “we’ve gotten many of their leaders and their experts.”

The Yemeni Minister of Information considered the powerful strikes “as not enough to end the Houthi threat, especially since the militia is still receiving logistical support from Iran through multiple smuggling routes."

Last week, Britain’s The Telegraph quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that Iran had ordered military personnel to leave Yemen to avoid direct confrontation with the US.

Al-Eryani called for “keeping military, political, and economic pressure” on the Houthis and increasing control on the sources that provide arms to the Houthis. He also called for “supporting the legitimate forces to enable them to take control of all Yemeni territory."
Al-Eryani confirmed that the Houthis have recently suffered significant human losses at various leadership levels, yet the militias have avoided announcing such losses for fear of undermining the morale of their fighters.

Last month, Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Mohammed al-Daeri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the country’s armed forces and all military formations were at a high state of readiness to respond firmly to any Houthi attacks or provocations.

Al-Daeri said the Houthis bear full responsibility for the recent escalation, the imposition of international sanctions, and the militarization of regional waters, which have worsened the humanitarian and economic situation for Yemenis.