Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) intercepted a vehicle carrying nearly 800 kilograms of explosives and related materials on October 5 at the Dahr al Baidar checkpoint on the Bekaa–Beirut highway in central Lebanon. Lebanese reporting linked the shipment to Hezbollah, whose military activities the government prohibited in March while directing security agencies to act against violators. Two men were arrested in the incident.
Interior Minister Ahmad al Hajjar said on October 13 that officers searched a gray Dodge Caravan because its unusually heavy load raised suspicions. The Lebanese daily Al Joumhouria reported that the officer had just begun his shift. The available accounts do not establish that police were conducting a planned operation against Hezbollah or had advance intelligence about the shipment.
Reports differ over the cargo’s weight and composition. The Beirut-based news outlet Al Modon reported approximately 780 kilograms, as did the Associated Press. Al Joumhouria reported that the seized inventory included 281 kilograms of PETN, a powerful high explosive; 206.16 kilograms of C-4 plastic explosive; five empty metal molds for shaped charges; and 305 kilograms of small metal balls. Other reporting identified part of the load as TNT, while another account identified tetryl, a different high explosive. No official inventory has publicly reconciled these accounts.
Al Joumhouria identified the detainees as Haytham Amhaz and Ali al Kurdi. Citing security sources, Al Modon reported that the men acknowledged belonging to Hezbollah and said they collected the materials in Baalbek from an alleged Hezbollah commander known as “Sajed,” after receiving orders from the group. They were instructed to deliver the shipment to another alleged Hezbollah operative known as “Dhulfiqar” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
The Lebanese news website Lebanon Debate reported that the detainees denied Hezbollah membership or having received transport orders from the group. The men reportedly also denied knowing the materials’ origin or intended use. The Lebanese news outlet L’Orient Today reported that a judicial source said the detainees did not know the recipients’ identities, while Al Modon reported they were given the alias “Dhulfiqar” and an address. Two sources cited by L’Orient Today linked the suspects to Hezbollah, while three others declined to confirm their affiliation. The shipment’s intended use remains unknown.
The detainees and seized materials were transferred to the Military Police on judicial instructions. On October 12, Al Modon reported that Lebanon’s chief military prosecutor, Judge Claude Ghanem, had instructed security services to expand the investigation, trace the shipment’s movements, and identify “Sajed” and “Dhulfiqar.” On October 13, Hajjar said that the Lebanese Army’s Intelligence Directorate and the ISF’s Information Branch would expand the investigation at the request of Lebanon’s prosecutor general’s office. The Lebanese broadcaster MTV reported that investigators were also questioning the wife of one detainee, through whom the alleged instruction to transport the explosives may have been relayed.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam publicly endorsed the investigation on October 12. He called the episode a criminal operation and promised to pursue those responsible. Salam also noted that C-4 had figured in Lebanon’s past political assassinations, while pledging to act against unauthorized possession, transportation, and use of weapons. Justice Minister Adel Nassar said he had requested referral of the matter to Lebanon’s Judicial Council, which hears exceptional cases involving state security. A referral had not yet been announced.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Al Mousawi said on October 12 that if reports that the vehicle belonged to the “resistance” were true, the group had nothing to be ashamed of. He rejected insinuations linking Hezbollah to assassinations or internal conflict and defended the organization’s right to confront Israel. Mousawi’s conditional response did not confirm that the shipment belonged to Hezbollah.
Al Joumhouria reported the same day that Hezbollah had sought the explosives’ return, saying they were needed to fight Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. The newspaper further claimed that unspecified international parties had warned Lebanese authorities against handing over the cargo. A security source quoted by Al Modon said the confiscated material would not be returned under the government’s current restrictions, despite approaches by Hezbollah officials. No decision has been made to return the shipment.
In December 2024, the Lebanese daily Nidaa al Watan reported that security forces had intercepted two vans carrying Hezbollah explosive drones and that military prosecutor Maya Kanaan ordered the confiscated material returned to the organization. Kanaan’s attorney disputed the allegations about the cargo and its recipient. Citing a November 9, 2024, police investigation that took place before the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, he said the vans contained only electronic equipment and batteries, which Kanaan authorized to return to their owner.
The interception also coincided with three Lebanese Army announcements about attempted smuggling from Syria. On October 1, troops seized 245 kilograms of TNT, four explosive devices, and detonators. On October 9, they reported confiscating rockets and 24 kilograms of TNT near al Qasr in Hermel. On October 12, they announced another seizure of approximately 200 kilograms of explosives in the same border area. The army did not identify Hezbollah as the recipient in those cases, and no public evidence establishes that the shipments were connected.
