Lebanese gov’t lands blow against Hezbollah by firing airport staff suspected of smuggling

Beirut’s Rafic al-Hariri Airport has long served as one of the main conduits for smuggling weapons, funds, and equipment for Hezbollah, the terror group that has held the Lebanese state in an iron grip for decades.

However, since an Israeli military campaign decimated the group’s leadership, killed thousands of its operatives and destroyed most of its weapons arsenal, a new Lebanese government, with the help of Western allies, has slowly worked to free the state from Hezbollah’s control.

In another important milestone in this struggle, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday that dozens of staff members suspected of collaborating with Hezbollah were recently fired from the airport.

Lebanon’s new prime minister – not known as a friend of Israel – said that the laws would now be enforced, and that smugglers were already arrested.

Civilian flights from Iran, which had been used for smuggling, have been suspended since February, amid Israeli threats to intercept them.

In addition, ground crews told the WSJ they now have to search every plane and passenger, while in the past, they had been told by Hezbollah-affiliated superiors to exempt some of them. A shipment of more than 50 pounds of gold was recently intercepted, according to security officials.

“You can feel the difference,” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told the WSJ, “We’re doing better on smuggling for the first time in the contemporary history of Lebanon.”

In addition to the airport, which is located within the Hezbollah stronghold of the Dahiyeh neighborhood, the terror group operated numerous overland smuggling routes connecting it to its Iranian patrons via Syria and Iraq.

However, the fall of the allied Assad regime cut off most of these routes, leaving Hezbollah dependent upon supplies via the air, and possibly, the sea.

Salam is planning to further distance the state from Hezbollah’s control by advancing plans for a second international airport in northern Lebanon, an area mainly populated by Sunnis and outside of direct Hezbollah control.

The terror group, which also controls a sizable bloc in the parliament, opposes the plan. “They were the ones who did not want the Lebanese authorities to go for the airport,” Salam said. “Now things have changed.”

Since the ceasefire with Israel, the Lebanese army has slowly taken control of areas in southern Lebanon and raided some of its weapons stores. Nevertheless, the IDF has struck against repeated attempts by the group to restore its infrastructure and move remaining weapons.

Hezbollah is now struggling to come up with the funds required to rebuild its infrastructure and military capabilities, as well as for its promises of the reconstruction of houses in southern Lebanon and compensations for the families of killed operatives.

The shrine for the slain Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safi al-Din is supposed to look like this. It is expected to be on built on the road leading to Beirut International Airport in Bourj el-Barajneh neighborhood of Beirut. pic.twitter.com/lJCbOWtCOD

— SAMRIBackup (@SamriBackup) January 17, 2025

Amid this tense situation, a media scandal has shed light on the terror group’s priorities.

According to a segment aired on the Lebanese Al-Jadeed channel on Friday, Hezbollah recently spent “tens of millions of dollars” to buy the land and build the mausoleum of killed leader Hassan Nasrallah, including the use of “non-transparent Iranian money” and “bags filled with smuggled dollars,” which bypassed the state-sanctioned banking channels.

Following the report, several of the channel’s journalists either resigned or were fired, amid a storm of outrage from Hezbollah-affiliated media.

Ibrahim Moussawi, a parliament member of Hezbollah, called the segment a “qualified crime” and demanded that the state’s judiciary investigate those responsible.