Gemayel: Hezbollah Will Not be Able to Impose a President on the Lebanese

Kataeb Party President MP Sami Gemayel (Kataeb.org)
Kataeb Party President MP Sami Gemayel (Kataeb.org)
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Gemayel: Hezbollah Will Not be Able to Impose a President on the Lebanese

Kataeb Party President MP Sami Gemayel (Kataeb.org)
Kataeb Party President MP Sami Gemayel (Kataeb.org)

The head of the Lebanese Kataeb party, MP Sami Gemayel, announced turning the page on a disagreement between him and the political aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Ali Hassan Khalil, declaring his acceptance of the apology after a verbal dispute between the two earlier this week.

On the other hand, he pointed to a “provocative” rhetoric, stressing that no party could impose its will on the Lebanese people and warning that such matters could lead to tension.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Gemayel voiced his rejection of a president imposed by Hezbollah, saying: “Such a president would be the president of Hezbollah’s republic and not that of all the Lebanese.”

His remarks came in the wake of a verbal dispute between him and Khalil, which involved accusations and sectarian expressions. The latter apologized on the same evening from the head of the Kataeb party, who also received a call from Berri.

Gemayel went on to denounce the “provocative behavior and attempts to establish superiority over others, amid an unprecedented economic crisis.”

He noted that Lebanon was “on the brink of collapse, and the people of all sects and regions were in a state of anger and despair,” warning that “sectarian tension and a sense of injustice and oppression” can drag Lebanon into the unknown.

“There is only one road map that can save Lebanon, which is electing a president who is able to launch a rescue plan,” Gemayel told the news conference.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of former president Michel Aoun ended on October 31.

Touching on Hezbollah’s weapons, the Kataeb party leader said: “The problem of weapons must be put on the table for discussion, and the upcoming President of the Republic is required to have the ability to negotiate in order to restore sovereignty and solve the problem… We don’t want to use the term defensive strategy, as the issue pertains to equality and law.”



Top Houthi Leaders Flee Sanaa Amid Trump-Ordered US Strikes

Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
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Top Houthi Leaders Flee Sanaa Amid Trump-Ordered US Strikes

Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)

Senior Houthi leaders have disappeared from public life in Sanaa, gripped by fear of US airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump, now entering their third week, sources in Yemen said.

The first-tier leadership of the Iran-aligned group is believed to have fled the capital, which remains under Houthi control, seeking shelter in remote areas of Saada and Amran provinces.

According to informed sources, the group’s leaders have severed traditional communication channels and several have either gone into hiding or relocated to undisclosed locations as a precaution against possible targeted strikes.

Since the launch of US airstrikes on March 15, senior and mid-level Houthi leaders have vanished from public view and social media platforms, Yemeni sources say, as fear of targeted attacks continues to grow within the group’s ranks.

Informed sources confirmed there has been no trace of the group’s top two tiers of leadership - neither in the institutions under Houthi control in Sanaa, nor on the streets and neighborhoods they once frequented in luxury vehicles.

Even the sectarian events that Houthi leaders were known to regularly attend have reportedly gone on without their visible presence.

The Houthi group has remained tight-lipped about the extent of its human and military losses following US airstrikes ordered by Trump.

However, sources say several leaders not belonging to the ruling family of Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi are still believed to be in Sanaa.

Many of these figures have adopted strict security measures to avoid detection, including travelling in vehicles with tinted windows and covering their faces with cloaks when leaving temporary residences, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The precautions reflect growing fears of betrayal or being targeted by further strikes.

A source in Sanaa revealed that third-tier Houthi officials—mostly tribal figures and field supervisors—were instructed to flee to the northern provinces of Saada, Amran and other areas as US air raids intensified.

According to the source, mid-level Houthi officials have lost all direct contact with the group’s senior leadership after the latter switched locations and shut down their communication lines.