Lebanon’s military court has taken a tougher legal stance against Hezbollah members arrested while transporting weapons in southern Lebanon, following controversy over the recent release of three detainees who admitted they were armed members of the group despite a government ban on its military activity.

In the latest case, the Lebanese army seized heavier weaponry than in previous incidents. Judicial sources cited by Al-Modon said rockets were found with newly detained suspects who were moving the weapons through the Jezzine district toward battlefronts in the south.

Government commissioner to the military court Judge Claude Ghanem has filed charges against four Hezbollah members arrested by the army while transporting unlicensed weapons and rocket shells toward the southern front lines. The cases have been referred to the military court’s investigating judge after the detainees admitted during questioning that they belonged to Hezbollah and planned to travel south to fight against Israel.

According to sources familiar with the case, two of the suspects have been charged with the misdemeanor offense of transporting unlicensed weapons. The other two face more serious felony charges for violating neutrality measures adopted by the Lebanese state in the ongoing war and for exposing Lebanon to the risk of hostile acts, under Article 288 of the Lebanese penal code.

The two suspects facing felony charges were identified as M.G., born in 1989, and M.Z.N., born in 1995. They were arrested at a Lebanese army checkpoint in the town of Kfarhouna in the Jezzine district.

The men were traveling in a pickup truck when soldiers searched the vehicle and discovered 21 Grad rockets with a caliber of 122 millimeters, along with several hand grenades and other military equipment. During interrogation, both men admitted they were Hezbollah members.

Judicial sources told Al-Modon that the new charges mark a different legal approach from the earlier case in which three Hezbollah members were released by the military judiciary. Because the latest accusations include felony charges rather than minor offenses, the suspects are unlikely to be granted release.