Rahi Urges Formation of All-Party Gov’t, President to ‘Pull Lebanon from Rock Bottom’

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi (National News Agency)
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi (National News Agency)
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Rahi Urges Formation of All-Party Gov’t, President to ‘Pull Lebanon from Rock Bottom’

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi (National News Agency)
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi (National News Agency)

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric has reiterated demands for politicians to speed up the formation of an all-party government and elect a new president to pull the country out of rock bottom.

"The government shall be inclusive, inspire confidence through its national approach, and seriously address some outstanding issues," Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi said at a sermon in Bkerke on Sunday.

He cited article 73 of the constitution, which stipulates electing a new president one month at least and two months at most before the term limit of the current president ends.

Rahi expressed regret at Lebanon’s current “isolation” from the Arab world after being a “partner in the progress of societies.”

“Unfortunately, Lebanon is affected more than other countries with the regional developments because many of its parties have chosen to take sides,” Rahi lamented.

He expressed regret that all regional countries are moving ahead and seeking to overcome obstacles, while Lebanon is immersed in problems and crises.

Rahi further stressed that the only way for Lebanon to achieve stability and growth is by being neutral to regional developments.

He pledged to help all relevant parties wishing to overcome obstacles, to form a new government, and elect a president to save the country, restore its sovereignty, and put it back on the right track.

He said that delay in government formation is an exception in all world countries but has become a norm in Lebanon.

“We are not willing to surrender to fate, accept the logic of living in permanent crises, nor submit to the status quo,” Rahi stressed. He affirmed that he will not spare any internal, Arab and international effort to save Lebanon.

He noted that waiting only means wasting opportunities and losing the country.



Building in Beirut Southern Suburbs Struck After Israeli Warning

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Building in Beirut Southern Suburbs Struck After Israeli Warning

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A building in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahieh was struck on Sunday almost an hour after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order to residents of the area.

The Israeli army's spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, earlier said on X that residents should evacuate several buildings in the Hadath neighborhood and move "at least 300 meters away.”

Residents reported hearing gunfire across the area, which they said they believed was intended to warn people to leave, as well as seeing a massive traffic jam on roads leading from the area.

"To everyone located in the building marked in red on the attached map, and the surrounding buildings: you are near facilities belonging to Hezbollah," Adraee wrote in a post that included a map of the potential targets.

The Israeli army said the building was being used to store precision missiles belonging to Hezbollah.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Hezbollah's precision missiles "posed a significant threat to the State of Israel."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the United States and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire agreement struck in November, to compel Israel to stop its attacks.
"Israel's continued actions in undermining stability will exacerbate tensions and place the region at real risk, threatening its security and stability," he said in a statement.

Earlier this month an Israeli airstrike killed four people, including a Hezbollah official, in Beirut's southern suburbs -the second Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-controlled area of the Lebanese capital in five days.