Hezbollah says explosives seized by authorities belong to group

A Hezbollah flag is seen in Lebanon as the group faces a decline in influence following two wars with Israel since 2023. (AFP pic) BEIRUT: A Hezbollah MP acknowledged Thursday that a 500kg shipment of explosives seized last week by Lebanese authorities belonged to the group, a rare admission by the Iran-backed militants.

"The vehicle and its cargo belong to the resistance" against Israel, lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said.

He said Hezbollah also called for the immediate release of those arrested over the seizure.

Fadlallah demanded the return of the shipment, seized on a road linking eastern Lebanon to Beirut, saying it constituted "capabilities" used by Hezbollah against Israel.

Lebanese prime minister Nawaf Salam has said the state will no longer tolerate any possession of "illegal weapons".

A judicial source told AFP the explosives were seized from a vehicle that was carrying 250kg of TNT and 250kg of the explosive C-4.

Salam has said authorities will "identify all individuals involved in this criminal operation and those who ordered it".

He said Lebanese people would be concerned by the seizure, especially since C-4 has previously been used in political assassinations in Lebanon.

At the beginning of this decade Hezbollah was accused of carrying out several political killings.

The group, which once dominated political life in Lebanon, has been weakened by two wars it waged against Israel since 2023.

Since a ceasefire in June, Hezbollah has not claimed any further attacks against Israel.

The Lebanese army has seized two other explosives shipments since the beginning of the month in the east of the country, near the border with Syria.

Since the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, the two countries have been working to eradicate smuggling across their porous border.