A judicial investigation into a recently uncovered Hezbollah-linked cell in Beirut has revealed what Lebanese officials believe was a broader operational plan, rather than merely the existence of an arms cache hidden inside a residential neighborhood.

According to political and security sources cited by Erem News, one of the detainees admitted during questioning that he was a member of Hezbollah and acknowledged that the weapons found in his possession were not intended solely for storage. Instead, investigators were told the arsenal was meant to be used to seal off and control the surrounding area in the event of any security or military developments.

The alleged confession has significantly changed the course of the case, with authorities now treating it as a potential field deployment plan inside the capital rather than an isolated weapons-storage operation.

Sources familiar with the judicial investigation said the raid uncovered ammunition and a range of small and medium weapons, including firearms that could be used in street clashes, as well as equipment suitable for more sophisticated security operations, such as planting explosive devices in vehicles or buildings.

The seized weapons reportedly included assault rifles and RPG launchers.

Investigators believe the findings suggest preparations aimed at controlling key intersections and access points, rather than maintaining a purely defensive stockpile or a cache of personal weapons.

The testimony, according to the sources, has prompted security agencies to view the case as evidence of a potential operational network that could be activated under exceptional circumstances, reviving debate over illegal weapons in Beirut and how the Lebanese state should address them.

The Ras Al-Nabaa neighborhood occupies a highly sensitive position linking downtown Beirut with Basta, Mazraa, Tariq Al-Jdideh, and the approaches to the southern suburbs.

Security sources said control of the area’s main routes and access points could allow an armed group to restrict movement between major sections of the capital.

They also linked Ras Al-Nabaa, Basta, and Khandaq Al-Ghamiq to areas that previously served as deployment and movement corridors during the May 7, 2008 clashes, describing the district as a potential “confrontation reservoir” through which Hezbollah could organize operational cells.

The case has reopened discussions within political and security circles over how to complete efforts to make Beirut free of weapons outside state authority, including strengthening verification mechanisms and expanding the Lebanese Army’s role in locating any additional arms caches or armed cells that may exist.

As investigators continue working to identify the cell’s wider network and any groups connected to it, the Ras Al-Nabaa case appears to have become more than a routine security operation.

Officials say it has opened a broader debate over how the Lebanese state can move from pursuing isolated weapons caches to addressing what many regard as the root problem: the existence of armed organizations operating outside state authority.