Former President Amine Gemayel on Sunday mourned the death of Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, hailing him as the first resistance fighter.

“He was our guide to the second independence and the one who sparked its start," he said. "He was an essential pillar in the Lebanese resistance."

"Amid the hardships that the country is currently facing, we are in dire need of adhering to Sfeir's teachings and experience in order to save Lebanon from the quagmire it is stuck into and from the blatant neglect of the foundations of the Lebanese entity," Gemayel stressed.

"Any settlement must not be sealed at the expense of basic postulates and sanctities because we must hold onto our constants in order to save Lebanon in the present and future," he added.