Lebanon charges 13 over confiscated Hezbollah explosives

What the report says

Lebanon’s military court has charged 13 people it says are linked to Hezbollah with trafficking explosives and related offences, according to Al Jazeera’s report on Friday. The case follows the seizure earlier this month of a truck at the Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint, on the road between Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, where authorities say they found 780kg of explosives, including TNT and C-4. Two people were detained during the operation, while the other 11 remain at large.

The charges include possession of weapons, undermining state security and forming illegal associations, state media reported. Five of the accused have reportedly been identified only by nicknames because officials do not know their real names. Hezbollah acknowledged that the explosives belonged to it and said they were intended for use against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, where Israel still occupies areas, according to the group’s statement cited by Al Jazeera.

Hezbollah called the case “unjust” and said the shipment was meant to confront Israel rather than threaten Lebanon’s state security. The group’s opponents, however, have expressed concern that such material could be used against domestic rivals, although investigators have not said the seized shipment was intended for that purpose.

The case comes amid broader pressure on Hezbollah to disarm, including from Lebanese authorities and under a June framework between Lebanon and Israel that links a gradual Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas in the south with the Lebanese army’s deployment there. Hezbollah has rejected calls to give up its weapons, and Lebanon’s prime minister has said the state will act firmly against arms outside legal control.