By Nohad Topalian | 2024-02-16

BEIRUT -- Hizbullah's calculated decision to locate its offices, command centers and weapon depots in densely populated residential areas poses a mounting danger to the Lebanese population, sources tell Pishtaz affiliate outlet Al-Fassel.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, residents of Hizbullah-dominated areas of Lebanon have expressed growing concern over the presence of these depots and offices in their neighborhoods.

There are roughly 30 Hizbullah weapon depots across the country, according to various media reports, where medium-range Iranian missiles are produced, stored and launched.

Adding to the sense of danger, many senior Hamas officials live in exile in Lebanon under the protection of Hizbullah, with Hamas official Osama Hamdan holding near-daily press conferences in Beirut's southern suburb.

Hamas has its Lebanon headquarters in the southern suburb, and "fully coordinates with Hizbullah," a well-informed source told Al-Fassel, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Elements of the Iran-backed Houthis also are based in the southern suburb.

On January 2, an Israeli strike hit a Hamas bureau on Hadi Nasrallah street in the southern suburb, killing senior Hamas official Saleh al-Aruri.

The strike took many by surprise, with a number of local residents saying they had no idea the office was located on their busy street, AFP reported.

Al-Aruri, 57, was the deputy leader of Hamas's political bureau and one of the founders of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the group's armed wing.

More recently, he was the "channel or link" among the Hamas movement, Iran and Hizbullah, a Hamas source told AFP. He had regularly visited Iran.

Local residents said they were surprised to learn that the Hamas bureau had occupied a nondescript building next to a pharmacy and a sweets shop on Hadi Nasrallah street.

"No one knew that there was a Hamas office here," said Ahmed, 40, who works in the nearby sweets shop. "I heard three explosions; at first I thought it was thunder."

'Mysterious' explosions

Analysts note that many of Hizbullah's arms and ammunition depots are located in residential areas, as evidenced by a series of explosions in recent years.

Several "mysterious" explosions over the years indicate that Hizbullah has been storing its weapons and ammunition in residential areas in southern Lebanon, the anonymous source told Al-Fassel.

A powerful explosion occurred near Houmin al-Fawqa in Nabatiyeh district on January 13, 2022, causing a fire.

According to L'Orient Le Jour, some witnesses to the explosion said Hizbullah elements arrived quickly at the scene and set up a security cordon, blocking access to the area.

The explosion reportedly took place in a room used by the Iran-backed party, and gas canisters present at the scene may have caused the blast, sources said.

A December 2021 explosion in the Bekaa Valley was caused by the detonation of an old stockpile of Hizbullah's ammunition, according to local media reports.

And in September 2020, a mysterious and powerful explosion took place in a building in Ain Qana, a Hizbullah stronghold in south Lebanon, L'Orient Le Jour reported.

"Hizbullah has two kinds of storage; the first is strategic for sophisticated weapons, while the second is tactical [and is done] by converting homes into weapon depots," the anonymous source told Al-Fassel.

The Iran-backed party "stores its weapons in its areas of influence, and residents are aware of this and know that they are living on explosive barrels," he said, adding that fear has led many to flee their villages.

Southern Lebanon is "a launch pad for Grad and guided missiles," he said.

Hizbullah also has turned Jabal Rayhan in the Jezzine region into a fortified fortress, establishing a large base extending from Mashghara in the western Bekaa Valley all the way to Nabatiyeh, the anonymous source said.

Beirut's southern suburb houses a Hizbullah warehouse and command center, as well as an integrated structure underground, he added.

Civilians in danger

"There is no doubt that Hizbullah has weapon depots and missile platforms that may be located in southern villages and the southern suburb," military expert Naji Malaeb told Al-Fassel.

In Beirut's southern suburb, Hizbullah hosts the offices and media outlets of members of the so-called "axis of resistance," an alliance of Iran-backed armed groups that includes Hamas and the Houthis, he said.

"This exposes the residents of all those areas to danger," he said, pointing out that residents of the southern suburb were placed in harm's way by al-Aruri's presence in the area.

Residents also fear that a new war with Israel provoked by Hizbullah and allied groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, would have devastating consequences for Lebanon, which is already mired in crisis.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the Lebanese-Israeli border has witnessed near-daily exchanges of fire, mainly between the Israeli army and Hizbullah.

At least 218 people have been killed in Lebanon, mostly Hizbullah fighters but also at least 26 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Malaeb said the exchange of fire across the border with Israel has turned the border towns into "a missile launching pad" and displaced many local residents, who fear for their lives and livelihoods, he said.

"Lebanon is under security and military occupation by the Hizbullah militia on behalf of its sponsor, Iran, and this exposes all of Lebanon to danger, not just the south," Change Movement head Elie Mahfoud told Al-Fassel.

Mahfoud said Hizbullah's missile platforms and weapon depots are reportedly stored in residential areas.

He pointed to the overturning, in August, of a weapon-laden truck in the mountain town of Kahale on the road linking Beirut to the Bekaa Valley, which borders Syria.

"To this day, no one has revealed where it came from or where it was going," Mahfoud said.

Military analysts said the munitions seized from the Kahale truck, which belonged to Hizbullah, were for sophisticated weapons, MTV reported at the time.

In a similar incident in August 2021, angry residents of a mainly Druze village in southern Lebanon stopped a truck carrying a Hizbullah rocket launcher, accusing the Iran-backed party of endangering civilian lives.