Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel said the president and the Lebanese government are doing everything they can to manage the current crisis, but warned that Hezbollah is holding the country hostage and operating in line with Iranian interests.

In an interview with Al Hadath, Gemayel said the top priority must be to separate the Lebanese State from Hezbollah, adding that the president’s recent statements and actions show that the State should not be held responsible for the group’s activities.

Gemayel said the Kataeb Party supports the president and the government in any initiative aimed at addressing the crisis. However, he stressed that such efforts will not succeed unless the State reasserts full control over its territory and Hezbollah is fully disarmed.

“As the Kataeb Party, we’re calling on the government to take tougher decisions and stronger measures,” he said. “The army needs to take the initiative on the ground and seize illegal weapons. The State has to deal with this issue more decisively. The president’s initiative won’t go anywhere if he doesn’t have the ability to control the situation at home.”

Gemayel said that as long as Hezbollah refuses to comply with State decisions, it will be difficult for any presidential initiative to succeed.

Addressing the controversial decision by the military court to release three Hezbollah members arrested for possessing illegal weapons, Gemayel pointed to structural problems within the court. He noted that the only judge on the panel affiliated with the Justice Ministry has been referred for inspection, while the other members are military officers who fall outside the ministry’s authority, thus limiting the justice minister’s ability to take disciplinary action.

Gemayel stressed that the Cabinet decision to disarm armed groups is clear and should not be tied to any other conditions. Disarmament and the prohibition of non-State military activity must proceed regardless of other considerations, he said, adding that the army and the government must implement the decision if the president’s initiative to end the current conflict is to succeed.

He also called on the government to send clear signals on the ground that its approach has changed, including by conducting security raids. While noting that the Lebanese army has been carrying out operations away from the media spotlight, he said the public should be kept informed and that those efforts should be intensified.

According to Gemayel, the government could begin disarmament operations and raids in areas not currently being targeted by Israel, particularly in locations the army can reach without exposing its troops to airstrikes.

“We need to send a clear message that serious action has begun,” he said, adding that his party is pushing strongly in that direction.

Gemayel warned that Lebanon is heading toward “total destruction” and faces the risk of a ground invasion that could devaState large parts of the country. He said Lebanon must avoid a scenario similar to the devastation seen in Gaza and urged the State not to give in to blackmail or threats of civil war.

“Using force to disarm Hezbollah would be a bad option,” he said. “But the worse option is doing nothing and leaving the weapons in place. We have to take responsibility and have the courage to make difficult decisions.”

Gemayel described Hezbollah as far more than a small armed group, calling it “an Iranian army operating inside Lebanon,” with vast resources, funding and advanced technology. He acknowledged that this has turned the group into a deeply entrenched militia that will not be easy for the State and its security forces to dismantle. Still, he argued that doing so is necessary if Lebanon is to be saved and protected from the threat of an Israeli invasion.

Commenting on a recent phone call with Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Gemayel said the Syrian leader offered reassurances regarding the deployment of Syrian forces along the Lebanese border.

According to Gemayel, al-Sharaa explained that Syrian forces are also deployed along the Iraqi border and that the purpose of the deployment is to secure Syria’s borders, particularly given Hezbollah’s presence and the existence of its camps along the frontier. The Syrian president made it clear, Gemayel said, that the measures are strictly defensive and that Damascus has no intention of entering Lebanon.

On the issue of extending parliament’s term by two years, Gemayel said it has become clear that holding legislative elections during the current conflict is impossible, particularly given the large number of displaced people. Lebanon would need about a year to organize proper elections, he said, which is why his party supported a one-year extension instead.

He concluded by saying that the priority is to avoid a vacuum in State institutions, restore Lebanon’s sovereignty, and end the abnormal situation in which militias dictate State decisions, paving the way for a new Lebanon that is open to the Arab world and aligned with the Gulf region’s economic momentum.