Israeli military accuses Hezbollah Unit 121 of assassinating four key Lebanese figures to conceal Beirut Port blast details

The Israeli military said that Unit 121 of Hezbollah allegedly assassinated four prominent Lebanese figures out of fear they would expose background information concerning the August 2020 Beirut port explosion, which was linked to the storage of ammonium nitrate by Hezbollah.

The statement indicated that the victims were customs officers and journalists who had pointed to Hezbollah's connection to the blast. 

They are identified as follows: Joseph Skaff, the former Head of the Customs Department at Beirut Port, who was reportedly thrown from a high place by Unit 121 elements in 2017 after requesting the removal of Hezbollah's ammonium nitrate quantities. 

Mounir Abou Rjeili, the former Head of the Anti-Smuggling Unit in the Directorate General of Customs, was allegedly assassinated by stabbing by unit elements in December 2020 following information he provided. 

Joe Bejjani, a photographer who was among the first to document the scene of the explosion, was reportedly shot and killed in his car in December 2020 by Unit 121 elements, who stole his cell phone before fleeing the scene. 

Lokman Slim, a political activist and journalist, was also reportedly shot and killed in his car in February 2021 by elements of the unit, shortly after accusing Hezbollah and the Assad regime of responsibility for the explosion.

The Israeli military clarified that Hezbollah has denied its involvement in these four assassinations, and investigations into none of these cases have been completed.

The military noted that these events are in addition to the assassinations of Rafic Hariri and Elias Hasrouni, in which Hezbollah's involvement was previously exposed, along with a long list of other incidents yet to be revealed.