Tel Aviv, Dec 2, (dpa/GNA) – Israel has accused the Lebanese Hezbollah of murdering several Lebanese citizens because, they could have exposed the militia’s complicity in a deadly explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020.
The four victims could have revealed that the explosion was caused by Hezbollah’s storage of the highly explosive chemical ammonium nitrate, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday.
The individuals eliminated were officers in the Customs Department, and journalists who had pointed to the link between Hezbollah and the explosion, the IDF claimed.
The information could not initially be independently verified. Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the explosion in the past.
The explosion in the port of Beirut in August 2020 claimed the lives of more than 200 people. There were 6,000 injuries and entire neighbourhoods were destroyed.
The explosion was caused by hundreds of tonnes of the highly explosive chemical ammonium nitrate, which had been stored for years without safety precautions. The explosion was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions worldwide.
To date, no one has been held accountable for the explosion.
The investigation has stalled, mainly due to political influence, judicial blockades and massive corruption.
Those responsible are evading investigation, and judges are being obstructed.
At the beginning of the year, the government announced a new attempt to investigate. This was also helped by the weakening of the politically powerful Hezbollah through the war with Israel, as it had prevented progress in the investigations for years.
GNA