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Hezbollah in hot water after Beirut explosion

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – There are no confirmed ties between Iran-backed Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah and the August 4 explosion in Beirut so far, but the group has found itself coming under fire in the wake of the disaster, the Jewish National Syndicate (JNS) reported Tuesday.

The explosion killed almost 200 people, wounded thousands and left hundreds of thousands of residents homeless. The blast has been linked to a cargo ship that arrived in Beirut in 2013, carrying 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate.

While no direct link has yet been established between Hezbollah and the explosion, some are concerned the terrorist Lebanese political party is at least partly to blame, if only because its leaders knew this explosive material had been unsafely stored at the Beirut port for over six years, JNS said.

As journalists and investigators seek to uncover the truth, Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman, a former deputy director of Israel’s National Security Council and current vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, told JNS that “Historically, Hezbollah has been known to provide its cells abroad with ammonium nitrate.” Noting that many in Lebanon suspect Hezbollah of involvement, Lerman asks: “What were the initial blasts coming from? Why was nothing ever done to remove the ammonium nitrate from the port?” asked Lerman.

Hezbollah was already in deep water trying to manage its ongoing low-grade conflict with Israel, its operations in Syria and the widespread anger at Lebanon’s political class as the country deals with economic collapse and the COVID-19 pandemic as well, JNS reports. Therefore, Lerman suggested to JNS, the organization was unlikely to be interested in going to war with Israel at this time.