Lebanon charges 13 over Hezbollah-linked explosives seizure

A Lebanese military court has charged 13 people it says are linked to Hezbollah over the trafficking of explosives, following a seizure earlier this month at a checkpoint east of Beirut. The case centres on a truck stopped at Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint, which connects the capital to the eastern Bekaa Valley. Lebanese state media reported that the charges were filed on Friday.

Judicial officials said the vehicle was carrying 780kg of explosives, including 250kg of TNT and 250kg of C-4 plastic explosives. Two people were arrested during the seizure, while the other 11 charged remain at large. Five of those named in the case have been identified only by nicknames because their real identities are not known, according to the same reports.

The charges include possessing weapons, undermining state security and forming illegal associations. Hezbollah has acknowledged owning the seized explosives and said they were intended for use against Israeli forces in south Lebanon. The group has called the charges unjust and asked Lebanese authorities to return the shipment and release the two detainees.

Hezbollah member of parliament Hussein Hajj Hassan said the men did not threaten the state, but instead confronted what he described as the Israeli enemy. The case comes at a sensitive moment for Lebanon, where pressure has been building on Hezbollah to disarm its military wing. The group has fought two wars with Israel and remains one of the country's most powerful armed and political actors.

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In June, Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement that envisaged a gradual Israeli withdrawal from areas it occupies in southern Lebanon, linked to Hezbollah disarmament and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the south. Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm, and its leader, Naim Qassem, has dismissed the agreement as null and void. The seizure and the charges also highlight the wider challenge facing Lebanese authorities as they try to assert control over weapons and armed networks outside the state.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said state authorities will deal with weapons, although the full details of his position were not included in the available report. The case is likely to remain politically sensitive because it touches on state security, border tensions and the role of Hezbollah in the south. What remains unclear is whether investigators believe the explosives were intended only for use against Israeli forces or whether they could have been diverted for other purposes.

It is also not known when the court will next hear the case or whether any of the 11 people still at large will be detained. The outcome will be watched closely because it may affect both Lebanon's internal security debate and its fragile arrangements with Israel.

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