Foreign Diplomats Tour Beirut Airport after Weapons Claims

An exterior view of Rafik Hariri international airport during a tour organized by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 24 June 2024. (EPA)
An exterior view of Rafik Hariri international airport during a tour organized by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 24 June 2024. (EPA)
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Foreign Diplomats Tour Beirut Airport after Weapons Claims

An exterior view of Rafik Hariri international airport during a tour organized by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 24 June 2024. (EPA)
An exterior view of Rafik Hariri international airport during a tour organized by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 24 June 2024. (EPA)

Senior Lebanese officials on Monday defended procedures at Beirut airport during a tour for journalists and diplomats, a day after a British daily alleged Hezbollah was storing weapons at the facility.

The accusations came during escalating exchanges of fire and bellicose rhetoric between Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and Israeli forces, which have engaged in near-daily fire since war in Gaza began.

Hezbollah has been acting in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas since the armed group's October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

On Sunday, British daily The Telegraph reported that Hezbollah was storing missiles and rockets at Beirut airport, where "whistleblowers" had reported the arrival of "unusually big boxes" from Iran.

Hezbollah has not made any official comment.

"The airport adheres to international standards," said caretaker Transport Minister Ali Hamieh, who led the visit together with Lebanon's ministers for foreign affairs, tourism and information.

Representatives from foreign missions including Egypt, Germany and the European Union delegation joined the tour of the airport's warehouse facilities.

Hamieh on Sunday held a press conference to reject The Telegraph report as false and "to say that there are no weapons entering or leaving Beirut." He invited ambassadors and reporters for the tour.

At the airport, Hamieh described The Telegraph report as part of "psychological war" on Lebanon and said it was a "distortion of the reputation" of Lebanon's only international airport.

The tour "included an import and export center... that accounts for 20 percent of the import traffic and is concerned with services for Iranian planes which were the subject of The Telegraph report", Hamieh said.

Another warehouse accounted for the remaining 80 percent of imports and exports, he told a press conference.

- 'Lies' -

Israel has for years accused Hezbollah of keeping weapons in installations throughout Lebanon, including near Beirut airport, an accusation Hezbollah has denied.

Israel bombed Beirut airport when it last went to war with Hezbollah in 2006.

The airport's manager, Fadi El-Hassan, said all aircraft arriving at the facility, including Iranian planes, "are subject to the same customs procedures".

Egyptian ambassador Alaa Moussa said that while diplomats were not responsible for inspecting the airport for prohibited items, "our presence (at the tour) is a message of support" to Lebanon and "a message to all parties that what is needed... is calm".

More than eight months of cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have left at least 481 people dead in Lebanon, mostly fighters, but also including 94 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed in the country's north.

Housewife Rola Qassem, aged around 50, who had just arrived from Ivory Coast to spend summer in south Lebanon with her family, said she didn't believe the reports of weapons being stored at the airport.

"It's all lies so that people are afraid to go to Lebanon, to stop tourism," she told AFP.



New Israeli Strikes on Gaza Draw Global Condemnation 

Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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New Israeli Strikes on Gaza Draw Global Condemnation 

Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday he is "shocked" by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and has called for the ceasefire in Gaza to be respected.

Guterres, in a statement, called for humanitarian aid to resume for people in Gaza and for the hostages held by Hamas to be released unconditionally.

Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing at least 413 Palestinians, including women and children, according to hospital officials. The surprise bombardment shattered a ceasefire in place since January and threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel's actions.

Türkiye said Israel's attacks on Gaza amounted to a "new phase in its policy of genocide" against Palestinians and urged the international community to take a determined stance to ensure a ceasefire is upheld and humanitarian aid is delivered. 

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry added it was unacceptable for Israel to cause a "new cycle of violence" in the region, adding the Israeli government's "hostile approach" threatened the future of the Middle East. 

The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it called a large number of civilian casualties after Israel struck Gaza and hoped that peace would return. 

"Undoubtedly, it's another deterioration in the situation (in Gaza) and another spiral of escalation that is causing our concern," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 

"Especially concerning of course are the reports of major casualties among the civilian population," he added. 

"We are monitoring the situation very closely and, of course, we are waiting for it to return to a peaceful course." 

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for the ceasefire to be maintained.

"There’s already been enormous suffering there, which is why we’re calling upon all parties to respect the ceasefire and hostage deal that was put in place," Albanese told reporters.

"We’ll continue to make representations. Australia will continue to stand up for peace and security in the region," he added.

The United Nations' Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory urged for the ceasefire in Gaza to be immediately reinstated.

"Waves of airstrikes occurred across the Gaza strip since the early hours of the morning ... This is unconscionable. A ceasefire must be reinstated immediately," Muhannad Hadi said in a statement.

The UN human rights chief said he was horrified by Israeli strikes on Gaza. 

"I am horrified by last night's Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy," said High Commissioner Volker Turk in a statement. 

"Israel's resort to yet more military force will only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions."