The seizure of a truck carrying hundreds of kilograms of explosives in Lebanon has revived concerns about a possible return of political assassinations, a dark chapter in the country’s recent history closely associated with attacks carried out using weapons beyond the State’s control.

The truck, intercepted in Dahr al-Baydar, was carrying a large quantity of explosives, including C-4, a powerful plastic explosive. The discovery has raised questions about who possessed the material, why it was being transported toward Beirut and what it was intended for.

The case has drawn particular attention amid mounting military, political and financial pressure on Hezbollah and reports suggesting that the group could resort to security operations to intimidate its political opponents.

Although the circumstances surrounding the shipment remain under investigation, the seizure has renewed scrutiny of the explosives used in previous assassinations and attempted assassinations in Lebanon, as well as concerns about the possible resurgence of politically motivated violence.

C-4 and RDX: What Previous Investigations Found

United Nations investigative reports and a ruling by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon have documented the types and quantities of explosives used in several major attacks in the country, providing a forensic record against which the latest seizure has drawn renewed attention.

In its fourth report, issued on June 10, 2006, under document number S/2006/375, the U.N. Independent International Investigation Commission said an explosive device used in the October 2004 assassination attempt against former minister Marwan Hamadeh contained an estimated six kilograms of RDX. The charge had an explosive force equivalent to approximately 10 kilograms of TNT, according to paragraph 81.

Paragraph 80 of the same report said the car bomb used to assassinate lawmaker and journalist Gebran Tueni in December 2005 contained approximately 35 kilograms of TNT.

The commission’s findings also pointed to the use of RDX in the September 2007 assassination of lawmaker Antoine Ghanem. In paragraph 77 of its ninth report, issued on Nov. 28, 2007, under document number S/2007/684, the commission said preliminary forensic findings indicated that the explosive had been used in the attack.

In the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon concluded in its Aug. 18, 2020, judgment that the bombing involved RDX, with an explosive force equivalent to between 2,500 and 3,000 kilograms of TNT, according to paragraphs 91 and 101 of the ruling.

The seizure of C-4 in Dahr al-Baydar has brought these findings back into focus because RDX is the principal explosive component of C-4, responsible for its destructive power. Other ingredients give the compound its plastic consistency, allowing it to be shaped.

The chemical connection is relevant to understanding the material seized in Dahr al-Baydar and the explosives documented in earlier investigations. However, the presence of C-4 in the shipment does not, by itself, establish any link to previous assassinations or identify who was responsible for transporting it.

Unit 121 and Fears of Renewed Political Assassinations

The seizure comes as warnings about a possible return to political assassinations have resurfaced amid growing pressure on Hezbollah and concerns about the erosion of its influence in Lebanon.

In an article published on May 23, 2026, the Lebanese newspaper Nidaa Al Watan examined the possibility under the headline “Unit 121 ... Is the Shadow of Assassinations Returning?”

The article cited assessments warning that Hezbollah could consider assassinating political opponents as a way to preserve its domestic influence. It also raised the possibility that Unit 121, which Israeli and security reports have accused of carrying out assassinations, could be used to conduct limited, symbolic operations designed to intimidate political rivals.

According to these assessments, such operations could potentially expand if pressure on the group intensified.

These scenarios, however, do not constitute evidence that assassination plots are currently being planned or carried out. Rather, they reflect concerns that political violence could return at a time when the future of weapons held outside State institutions has become an increasingly contentious issue.