Renewed Conflict Derails Lebanon’s Fragile Economic Recovery - World Bank Group

Beirut, Lebanon – On October 5, a minivan was stopped at a checkpoint in Dahr el-Baydar between the Bekaa Valley and Mount Lebanon region. Lebanese security forces discovered the car was carrying hundreds of kilos of explosive materials, including TNT and C-4, according to Lebanese officials. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Rubio presses Lebanon on confiscation of weapons from Hezbollahlist 2 of 3Qatar announces ‘massive’ solar plant project in Lebanonlist 3 of 3‘Trying to dominate’: In Cyprus, some fear Israel’s growing influenceend of listOn Thursday, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah released a statement saying that the explosives belonged to Hezbollah which had demanded their return, along with the release of the two people detained in the vehicle. “From the moment the vehicle was detained, the relevant bodies within [Hezbollah] immediately contacted the security and judicial agencies and informed them that the vehicle and its cargo belonged to the resistance,” Fadlallah said in his statement.

Lebanon’s president reaffirms the commitment to bring all arms under state control. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has discussed the confiscation of explosives intended for use against Israel during a telephone call with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Lebanese Presidential Palace has announced. Aoun received the call on Thursday, assuring Rubio that Lebanese security forces are fully carrying out their duties in confiscating illicit arms across the country. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How Israel’s ‘Yellow Line’ is reshaping southern Lebanonlist 2 of 3Israeli quadcopter drone drops bomb in Lebanonlist 3 of 3Suspected Israeli online operations cause alarm in Iran and Lebanonend of listLast week, an explosive-laden truck carrying 780kg (1,720lb) of explosives was intercepted on a highway between Beirut and the eastern Bekaa Valley. On Thursday, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah acknowledged the group’s connection to the shipment, stating that the materials were intended for operations against Israel.

Jerusalem Post/World NewsRubio urged Aoun to hold accountable those who ordered, financed, and directed the shipment of of hundreds of kilograms of explosives from Hezbollah. Follow us on GoogleUnited States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in New York, US, September 23, 2026.(photo credit: Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS)ByREUTERSOCTOBER 15, 2026 23:17Updated: OCTOBER 16, 2026 02:25US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun about the confiscation of hundreds of kilograms of explosives from Hezbollah, a US State Department official said on Thursday. Rubio urged Aoun to hold accountable those who ordered, financed and directed the shipment, and "underscored that returning explosives to (Hezbollah) should be out of the question," the US official said. Rubio urged direct military-to-military communication between Lebanese and Israeli forces "for deconfliction," the official added. A Hezbollah lawmaker said earlier the explosives seized last week by Lebanese security forces belonged to his group.

Israeli settlers have attacked European diplomats, including a French mayor, near the Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank. The delegation was visiting Palestinian olive harvesters on Saturday when the Israeli attackers confronted the group. The attack comes a day after settlers assaulted a US journalist north of Ramallah. In Saturday’s incident, the settlers targeted Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said. “A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged,” Prevot said, linking the attack to what he called Israel’s “illegal settlement policy” and pledging to push for further European Union sanctions. French mayor Bernard Baudoux, who was assaulted, told the AFP news agency that the violence suggests that “there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government” towards settler violence. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, said the settlers surrounded the diplomats’ vehicles, pelted them with stones and smashed their windows.