Explosives seizure at Dahr al-Baidar reignites debate over Hezbollah’s arsenal

BEIRUT — The seizure on Saturday of hundreds of kilograms of explosives from a vehicle at a checkpoint in Dahr al-Baidar, in the Bekaa, and the subsequent implication of two Hezbollah members have continued to draw reactions from Lebanon’s political circles.

The incident has reignited debate over the party’s military arsenal, which Lebanon has pledged to dismantle as it pursues direct negotiations with Israel. The case has also revived fears of further attacks and assassination plots that could destabilize the country.

Following the Nov. 27, 2024 cease-fire agreement, reached after more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Army must dismantle the party’s military presence and arsenal. The army launched this mission for months in south Lebanon, but the initiative stalled when Hezbollah entered a new war with Israel on March 2, 2026, after the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran.

Here are the main reactions to the explosives seizure:

• Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement, Hezbollah’s closest ally, declined to comment, saying it was "waiting for the outcome of the investigation and Hezbollah's official position."
• Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Joumblatt told L'OLJ, "It’s good that the state is doing its job and seizing any weapons and explosives. There are a lot of explosives in this country," without commenting on the reported link between the seized explosives and Hezbollah.
• Tony Frangieh, an MP from the Marada Party, a longtime Hezbollah ally, said the party’s efforts to rebuild its arsenal should come as no surprise. "Everyone knows they are rearming for the next stage of the confrontation. In this sense, the arms seizure is just a detail," he said. "The real solution begins with an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and a return to Resolution 1701 (2006) for the monopoly on weapons."
• Tripoli MP Ashraf Rifi, who opposes Hezbollah, called for an end to the party’s armed presence. In a statement, he said the case was particularly serious given Lebanon’s history of assassinations involving explosives, citing the attempt to kill former minister Marwan Hamadeh and the assassinations of Rafik Hariri, Gen. Wissam al-Hassan and intelligence officer Wissam Eid. He referred to a series of attacks in Beirut in the early 2000s that were attributed to the Syrian regime and its allies in Lebanon.