Hezbollah Exploited International Project to Deploy Private Communication Network in Beirut

An international organization operating in Lebanon has identified the deployment of communication cables belonging to Hezbollah in Beirut as part of a project it funded, the Saudi channel Al-Arabiya reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the details.

According to the sources, the matter is being monitored by Lebanese security agencies, and the information has been passed to US intelligence to determine the identity of the company owners who carried out the work and those responsible for it.

Furthermore, Hezbollah exploited the project to deploy communication lines for a private network intended solely for its operatives. The network is similar to the infrastructure the organization established in southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley, and Dahiyeh, and it now extends to areas within Beirut.

According to the sources, the work was carried out by a company owned by a businessman considered one of the senior contractors in Lebanon. The company deployed the communication infrastructure alongside the international organization's power lines as part of a project in the UNESCO area, extending to the vicinity of the Rafik Hariri Hospital in Bir Hassan.

The investigation is also focusing on whether the company carried out similar work in other areas of the capital. This comes against the backdrop of reports that it received support from senior figures in the "Shiite duo" — Amal and Hezbollah — who helped it secure large projects and contracts.

One of the Lebanese security agencies is handling the case and examining the security violations and irregularities attributed to the company. According to estimates cited in the report, the company's owners may be interrogated in Lebanon and could even be subject to sanctions by the US Department of the Treasury.