The Middle East is on the verge of another war. And if recent events are an indicator, it’ll be even more devastating than the current conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The Telegraph recently reported that the Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shia terrorist group very closely aligned to Iran, is using Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut to store weapons, including ballistic missiles, unguided artillery rockets, and laser-guided anti-tank missiles. Hezbollah is Iran’s foremost proxy. Since Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Hezbollah has been carrying out low-level attacks on northern Israel, which has evacuated thousands of its residents.
Airport workers told the U.K.-based newspaper that “mysterious large boxes” routinely arrive on flights from Iran. The whistleblowers also claimed that a highly explosive and toxic white powder known as RDX is also being stored at the airport. Further, it was alleged that Wafiq Safa, a top Hezbollah commander, is a frequent visitor to the airport and has close ties with customs officials.
These allegations are serious. Rafic Hariri is Lebanon’s sole international airport and is a major entry point for travelers and commerce. If it is being used by a terrorist organization to hold weapons it would become a legitimate military target.
As one whistleblower told the Telegraph: “If they keep bringing in these goods that I’m not allowed to check, I really believe that I’ll die from the explosion or I’ll die from Israel bombing ‘the goods,’” he said. He added: “It’s not just us, it’s the ordinary people, the people coming in and out, going on holiday. If the airport is bombed, Lebanon is finished.”
Unsurprisingly, Lebanon’s Hezbollah-affiliated Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, denied the allegations. And some analysts cast doubt on the story, citing the fact that the Telegraph’s sources were unnamed. Yet, there are reasons to suspect that the claims are true.
To disprove the allegations, Lebanese officials invited journalists on a tour of the airport. However, dozens of reporters and camera crews were prevented from entering cargo-handling areas. And there is a good reason that the whistleblowers were anonymous. As one of them said: “If we don’t do what they say, our families will be in danger.”
It would be entirely in keeping with Hezbollah’s character for the group to store weapons at the airport. Hezbollah has long had a presence at the Beirut airport, as noted by the journalist Michael Totten in his 2011 book, The Road to Fatima Gate. And like Hamas, Hezbollah also has a long history of using civilian population centers to hide terrorists and weapons. And this includes ports of entry. In August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate exploded at the Port of Beirut, killing at least 218 people and injuring hundreds more. Evidence strongly suggests that improperly stored explosives were to blame .
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The Alma Research and Education Center, an Israeli-based NGO, has documented how ensconced Hezbollah is in civilian population centers in Lebanon, from towns in the country’s south to Beirut and beyond . Entire villages and communities sit atop weapons depots, launching pads, and Hezbollah bases. All are being used as human shields by a ruthless terrorist group while the United Nations and leading Western countries look the other way.
U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 1559 call for Hezbollah to be disarmed and disbanded. But the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFIL), and the Lebanese government itself, have failed to do so. Tragedy awaits.
The writer is a Senior Research Analyst for CAMERA, the 65,000-member, Boston-based Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis
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