Lebanon: army seizes a large cache of weapons and ammunition in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah’s stronghold

The Lebanese army announced on Friday, November 13 that it seized a large quantity of weapons and war ammunition from a warehouse in Msharrafieh, a neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs (Dahiyeh), considered the main stronghold of Hezbollah. The raid was carried out by the army’s Intelligence Directorate, which the army Command’s statement describes as a “special security operation.” It was preceded, according to the army, by close monitoring of arms shipments and the arms trade. One Lebanese man was arrested in the operation.

The seized weapons were handed over to the authorities, and the interrogation of the detainee began under the supervision of the competent judicial authority. The two photographs released by the army show the warehouse’s contents laid out on the ground: RPG launchers and rockets, assault rifles, dozens of pistols in carrying cases, hundreds of magazines, machine-gun ammunition belts and wooden ammunition crates. The southern suburbs host institutions and offices linked to Hezbollah and are the centre of its political and popular influence, and army raids there are rare.

The state’s weapons monopoly

The operation comes as Nawaf Salam’s government tries to impose the state’s monopoly on weapons. On March 2, 2026, the cabinet banned all military and security activities of Hezbollah with immediate effect, declared them illegal and asked the organisation to hand its weapons to the state. The same decision instructed the armed forces and security services to implement it and to arrest those who violate it. The decision came a few hours after Hezbollah claimed responsibility for rocket and drone launches toward Israel.

Hezbollah refuses to hand over its arsenal while Israeli forces remain on Lebanese soil, arguing its weapons are necessary to face Israel, and Naim Qassem rules out disarmament (our report). The authorities, however, have stepped up operations in recent days. On November 9 the army seized rockets and weapons in raids in Baalbek, and on Tuesday, November 10, a patrol of the Internal Security Forces arrested five Hezbollah-linked men in northern Lebanon. Prime Minister Salam commented on the arrests by saying that “the era of impunity is over.”

The Msharrafieh seizure adds to this series of operations, with the difference that this time the target was inside Dahiyeh. According to L’Orient-Le Jour, the authorities are also seeking a second suspect, considered the owner of the warehouse. The government has also tasked the army with implementing the plan to control weapons north of the Litani River, in southern Lebanon.