Lebanon Seizes 800 Kilograms of Explosives Bound for Hezbollah's Beirut Stronghold

Lebanese authorities are investigating an attempt to transport approximately 800 kilograms of explosives into Beirut's Dahiyeh district after two Hezbollah operatives were arrested in possession of the shipment. According to a Lebanese report published Saturday, the suspects were acting on orders from a Hezbollah commander, who instructed them to deliver the explosives to another individual.

According to the detainees' testimony, the shipment was initially transported in a Honda vehicle to a location in the mountainous Baalbek region. From there, the explosives were supposed to be transferred to a caravan and transported to Dahiyeh, in accordance with the instructions they had received.

The seized shipment included 216 kilograms of C-4 and 281 kilograms of tetryl, explosives used for military purposes and demolitions. The remaining cargo consisted of nails and small explosive charges, apparently intended to increase casualties. According to the report, Lebanese security forces had not previously encountered explosives of this type.

Saudi news channel Al-Arabiya reported that the suspects and the seized explosives were transferred to the Lebanese army's military police. A legal source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government commissioner at the military court had reviewed the preliminary investigation findings and ordered further inquiries, including verifying the detainees' testimony and determining the shipment's intended destination and purpose.

A Lebanese political source called Monday for everyone involved to face the full force of the law. Speaking to Nidaa Al-Watan, the source said, "This affair is extremely serious, and there is no making light of what could have happened had the vehicle reached its final destination."

The source added, "The investigations must not be watered down; they must be completed quickly and with the utmost seriousness, until the details of the dangerous scenario from which Lebanon was spared are clarified and everyone involved in it is exposed, planners and perpetrators alike."

The incident comes amid efforts by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah under the ceasefire agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon in June, which provides for a gradual withdrawal of IDF forces.