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‘Impossible’ that Beirut Port Blast was Caused by Hezbollah Arms, Says President

A Lebanese soldier walks amid the debris of the Port of Beirut on August 7, 2020, three days after a massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital there. (AFP)
A Lebanese soldier walks amid the debris of the Port of Beirut on August 7, 2020, three days after a massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital there. (AFP)
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‘Impossible’ that Beirut Port Blast was Caused by Hezbollah Arms, Says President

A Lebanese soldier walks amid the debris of the Port of Beirut on August 7, 2020, three days after a massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital there. (AFP)
A Lebanese soldier walks amid the debris of the Port of Beirut on August 7, 2020, three days after a massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital there. (AFP)

Lebanese President Michel Aoun dismissed as “impossible” the chance that a vast explosion in Beirut’s port this month was caused by a blast from a deposit of Hezbollah arms, but said that all possibilities would be investigated.

Lebanese authorities are probing what caused massive amounts of ammonium nitrate warehoused unsafely for years at the port to denotate in a mushroom cloud on Aug. 4, killing 178 people, injuring 6,000 and destroying swathes of the city.

Aoun, an ally of the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, told Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Tuesday that the group did not store weapons at the port, echoing comments by Hezbollah’s leader earlier this month.

“Impossible, but serious events like these light up spirits and imagination,” Aoun said when asked about people advancing the hypothesis, but added that “even this lead will be investigated”.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has denied accusations that his party had weaponry warehoused at Beirut port. He has said that the group would wait for results of the investigation but if it turns out to be an act of sabotage by Israel then it would “pay an equal price”.

Hezbollah has fought several wars with Israel and is classified by the United States as a terrorist group.

Israel has denied any involvement in the blast.

Aoun has said the probe is looking into whether neglect, an accident or “external interference” caused the blast.

“Although it seems that (it) has been an accident, I want to avoid being accused of not having listened to every voice,” Aoun told the Italian daily.

He said that many people claimed seeing airplanes fly by the port just before the blast and, although “not very credible”, they should be listened to.

Aoun, Prime Minister Hassan Diab - whose government resigned last week after public fury - and a host of officials had documents warning an explosion of the material could destroy Beirut. Aoun and Diab insisted they had referred the warning to the appropriate authorities.

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Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
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Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)

The Israeli military has announced the formation of a special rapid response unit in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to fend off threats from Syria, when necessary.

Commander of the 210th Bashan Division Lieutenant Colonel Yair Palai said the unit would operate as an effective attack force capable to launch in seconds and prevent threats on Israel similar to the one Hamas launched on October 7, 2023.

“The Unit will be prepared 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of events,” he said.

“In the case of any security incident, the Unit will strike the enemy mercilessly. There is no possibility of failure, because this unit depends on constant vigilance,” Palai said.

The unit, which is comprised of elite soldiers from reconnaissance units and special reserve units, will operate under the 210th Division.

Sources said the unit has fully mobilized and operated continuously over the past three months.

Its goal was initially to counter Iranian, Syrian, Yemeni, Iraqi or other militias that might operate from the Golan against Jewish settlements there.

But recent developments in Syria compelled the army to prepare for any additional threats.

Last week, Syrian army soldiers were killed in a major attack by opposition fighters led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, who swept into the city of Aleppo in the northwest, forcing the military to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar Assad in years.

On Tuesday, Haaretz said the Israeli military fears that amid the Syrian opposition assault and their taking over of military sites belonging to the Assad regime in the country, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands.

If such weapons fall into the hands of the opposition fighters or Iranian militias, Israel would have to act in a way that “may affect Syria and the entire Middle East,” according to Haaretz.

The report said that after the country's civil war, Assad tried to rebuild his chemical weapons production facilities, with most having been removed from Syria under an international agreement. But a substantial part of the chemical weapons project, particularly the knowledge accumulated over the years, still remains in Assad's hands.

Haaretz wrote that Israel has relayed messages to the Syrian regime via the Russians insisting that Assad assert his sovereignty and bar Iran from operating from within Syria.

“The army is monitoring with concern the surprise Syrian rebel offensive on Assad strongholds in Syria that began last week,” it said.

Also, intelligence officials believe that while the Syrian president's standing has been weakened, Iran, with Russia's support, is exploiting the chaos in order to send in tens of thousands of fighters from the armed militias that support it.

According to Haaretz, the army's current estimate is that there are 40,000 Iranian militia fighters in Syria.

In tandem with the ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli army has been carrying out strikes almost daily on the border between Syria and Lebanon in order to thwart attempts to smuggle weaponry destined for Hezbollah.

Although to date there is no firm evidence that the Iranian forces plan to station themselves in Damascus, the newspaper said one Israeli diplomatic official involved in the discussions referred to this on Sunday as a known fact. “Iran has begun to send an influx of forces into Syria in an attempt to aid Assad and suppress the revolt,” he said.