The Kataeb political bureau held a meeting chaired by party leader MP Sami Gemayel, starting with a minute of silence for the victims of the Beirut port explosion. The party leader addressed the "Kataeb victims: Joe Andoun, Joe Aqeeki, Tony Baramki, Randa Rizkallah, and the secretary general of the Kataeb Party, Nizar Najarian, who chose to continue his national path that prompted his return to Lebanon after years of exile, and fell in the central Kataeb house, giving his life for the homeland he loved until his last breath."
A statement issued by the attendees emphasized that "in order to uphold justice and honor the blood that was shed, along with the suffering and pain of the victims' families in Lebanon, the Kataeb Party reiterates the necessity of releasing the file, launching investigations, and allowing Judge Bitar to issue his preliminary ruling as soon as possible to restore some sense of justice in Lebanon."
The attendees addressed "serious information and reports concerning a potential war" and the Kataeb political bureau extended "salutations to the steadfast families in the South who are enduring difficult times due to Hezbollah's monopoly on decisions of peace and war, placing them in the midst of an unknown war in service of Iran and its interests."
The party praised "the resilience of the Kataeb comrades in the regions of Hasbaya, Marjayoun, Bint Jbeil, Nabatieh, and Tyre, who refused to abandon their livelihoods and homes, deciding once again to confront all challenges as dictated by their national duty."
The political bureau concluded that "Lebanon is in a state of waiting for strikes and their repercussions and responses due to involvement in battles that its citizens do not want, and which the Lebanese state has no authority over. These battles have begun to exceed containment, moving outside their framework and objectives, entering into a maze of regional war that Iran seeks to impose through the arms of a unified front, allowing it to sit at the negotiating table in the region as a regional player, while Lebanon, lacking its leadership, becomes a pawn manipulated by Hezbollah."
The bureau congratulated the Maronite Patriarchate and Lebanon on the canonization of Patriarch Mar Estephan Douaihy, noting that "this sacred occasion serves as an additional milestone reaffirming that Lebanon is elevated by its saints, who lived a life of austerity and knowledge, establishing the Lebanon we know and should have."
