Lebanese authorities charged 13 people on Friday with offences including weapons possession, undermining state security and forming illegal associations, state media reported.
The charges follow the seizure of a truck earlier this month at the Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint, linking Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Judicial officials stated that the vehicle carried 780 kilograms of explosives, including 250 kilograms of TNT and 250 kilograms of C-4 plastic explosives.
Law enforcement arrested two people during the initial seizure, while the other 11 charged individuals are at large. Five of the suspects are known only by nicknames because their real names are unknown, judicial officials said.
Hezbollah publicly acknowledged ownership of the explosives. The group stated the material was intended for use against Israel, which occupies large parts of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah also asked Lebanese authorities to return the shipment and release the two detainees, describing the charges as unjust.
Hussein Hajj Hassan, a Hezbollah member of parliament, defended those implicated. The accused did not undermine state security, but confronted the Israeli enemy that threatens Lebanon, he said.
Political opponents of Hezbollah fear smuggled explosives could be turned against domestic detractors, though investigators have not established that the shipment was intended for such an attack.
The legal case comes as pressure mounts on Hezbollah to disarm its military wing. The group has fought two wars with Israel and faces an ongoing push from authorities in Beirut.
Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement in June. That pact envisaged Israel’s gradual withdrawal from occupied areas in southern Lebanon, tied to Hezbollah’s disarmament and the deployment of the Lebanese army.
Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected calls to disarm. The group’s chief, Naim Qassem, dismissed the Lebanon-Israel agreement as null and void.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam promised that state authorities will deal with weapons outside the legal framework with the required firmness.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued carrying out attacks in southern Lebanon despite the framework agreement, systematically demolishing homes and infrastructure in dozens of occupied villages.
