Citizens Dispose of Civil War Munitions to Store Fuel in Lebanon

Lebanon’s port of Beirut after an August explosion in 2020, AFP
Lebanon’s port of Beirut after an August explosion in 2020, AFP
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Citizens Dispose of Civil War Munitions to Store Fuel in Lebanon

Lebanon’s port of Beirut after an August explosion in 2020, AFP
Lebanon’s port of Beirut after an August explosion in 2020, AFP

Over the last few weeks, security forces in Lebanon have been finding and clearing explosives disposed of on the streets across various districts of the Levantine country.

The manner in which the incendiaries were tossed raised many speculations as the country passes through economic and social turbulence.

Despite suspicions, a military source who requested anonymity said that the phenomenon was not intended as a security threat but rather done out of personal “safety concerns.”

According to the source, citizens who are stockpiling oil by-products in their homes and neighborhoods as they brace for heavier shortages of derivatives at gas stations are afraid that the devices would pose a danger to their lives.

So far, the discarding does not constitute any security threat, especially that the discovered explosives were not intended for detonation and were old and kept by their owners from the days of the Lebanese Civil War, they explained.

According to the source, the mass disposal of bombs, shells, and mines is very natural. The devices were present at the homes of civilians because many Lebanese citizens were involved in armed factions during the 25 years of war in the 70s and 90s.

In light of the fuel crisis that Lebanon is experiencing, these munitions have turned into a burden on their owners, the source clarified, adding that the devices pose a severe threat when stored near diesel and gasoline in residential neighborhoods.

The incendiaries even pose a threat when stored in basements and underground building stories.

Any spark or fire threatens to spell total disaster for those storing the munitions and those around. That is why many are throwing out explosives on the streets.

It is even believed that those getting rid of the explosives are the same callers tipping security forces about their location.

It is noteworthy that, two days ago, Lebanese security forces found old-fashioned rocket-propelled grenades in a garbage dump in the Verdun area in the capital, Beirut.



Hezbollah Says Fired Missiles at Base Near South Israel's Ashdod

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system operates to intercept incoming projectiles, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system operates to intercept incoming projectiles, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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Hezbollah Says Fired Missiles at Base Near South Israel's Ashdod

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system operates to intercept incoming projectiles, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system operates to intercept incoming projectiles, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Hezbollah said its fighters on Thursday fired missiles at a military base near south Israel’s Ashdod, the first time it has targeted so deep inside Israel in more than a year of hostilities.

Hezbollah fighters "targeted... for the first time, the Hatzor air base" east of the southern city, around 150 kilometers from Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, "with a missile salvo," the Iran-backed group said in a statement.

A rocket fired from Lebanon killed a man and wounded two others in northern Israel on Thursday, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service.
The service said paramedics found the body of the man in his 30s near a playground in the town of Nahariya, near the border with Lebanon, after a rocket attack on Thursday.
Israel meanwhile struck targets in southern Lebanon and several buildings south of Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

Israel has launched airstrikes against Lebanon after Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas' attack on Israel last October. A full-blown war erupted in September after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.
More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the country’s Health Ministry, and over 1 million people have been displaced. It is not known how many of those killed were Hezbollah fighters and how many were civilians.
On the Israeli side, Hezbollah’s aerial attacks have killed more than 70 people and driven some 60,000 from their homes.