Lebanon divided over Hezbollah explosives seized at checkpoint

Lebanese security forces seized hundreds of kilograms of explosives, including TNT and C-4, from a minivan stopped at a checkpoint in Dahr el-Baydar between the Bekaa Valley and Mount Lebanon on October 5, according to Lebanese officials.

In a statement on Thursday, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said the explosives belonged to Hezbollah, which had demanded the return of the vehicle and the release of two people detained in it. He said the group contacted security and judicial agencies after the vehicle was stopped and told them “the vehicle and its cargo belonged to the resistance.”

Fadlallah described the materials as “capabilities used by the resistance to confront the Israeli occupation of our land in the south,” saying they were meant for use against Israel, not internally against the Lebanese government or other factions. He warned authorities against escalating measures, saying Hezbollah would not tolerate targeting by any party implementing American demands against the resistance.

Many of Hezbollah’s opponents, who blame the Iranian-backed group for past assassinations, fear the smuggled explosives could be turned against the group’s detractors. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam noted that C-4 had been used in previous assassinations, though investigators have not established that the seized shipment was intended for such an attack. Hezbollah has never admitted carrying out assassinations, including the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Political background

On March 2, after Hezbollah responded to Israeli attacks for the first time in over a year in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Salam’s government banned the group’s military activities. Two Hezbollah ministers in his coalition opposed the decision, and the group has repeatedly defied the government by continuing to fight Israel.

Fighting has largely subsided since June, when Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a US-administered trilateral framework agreement. Under the deal, pilot zones would be established in a phased process in which Israel would eventually withdraw troops and the Lebanese Army would enter to disarm Hezbollah. But the programme has had complications from the start, as Israel never had a presence in some areas included in the pilot zones, according to locals, and Israeli demolitions continue in occupied areas.

Investigations and security concerns

In recent weeks, Lebanese security forces have uncovered several operations aimed at smuggling explosives. Salam vowed to investigate the Dahr el-Baydar incident, writing on social media that authorities would not be lenient in following up and expanding the investigation to identify those involved and those behind them, and that weapons outside the legal framework would be dealt with firmly.

Marcel Baloukji, a former brigadier general who oversaw the Lebanese Army’s border committee with Syria, told Al Jazeera the recent busts were connected to wider regional security, particularly the US-Israeli war on Iran and violence between Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi Arabia. He suggested Hezbollah could be looking to follow other pro-Iranian actors and intensify attacks against adversaries, but added it may need explosives for drones to attack Israeli forces occupying southern Lebanon.

Despite promises to investigate, Issam Kayssi, a Beirut-based analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center, raised questions over Salam’s relationship with Lebanon’s multiple security agencies, some of which have competing loyalties. Observers fear some elements may not fully cooperate with the explosives investigations, after security agents failed to act during a 2025 Hezbollah event in Raouche that Salam had prohibited.

Baloukji described Salam’s relationship with the security agencies as “somewhat strained.” “Our situation remains in a state of prolonged limbo, with no solutions in sight,” he said. “The framework agreement is stalled and there is no resolution to de-escalate the situation in the south.”

Source: Al Jazeera.