On Tuesday afternoon, a sudden explosion shook the southern village of Ain Qana, Lebanon shocking the country, once again. Echos of the blast were heard across the southern region in numerous areas and towns.
The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. However, it turns out the explosion took place at an arms depot belonging to Hezbollah.
According to a spokesperson for the organization, the building in which the explosion occurred belonged to a de-mining association affiliated with Hezbollah, and which stores leftover weapons from previous wars.
Details as to what caused the mysterious explosion were vague and were quickly attributed to a “technical error.” Journalists were even barred from getting near the explosion site as members of Hezbollah prompted to cordon the area.
In regards to casualties, the reports are also conflicting.
A Hezbollah spokesperson says no one was killed or injured. Whereas, citing a security source, local news outlet The Daily Star says there were four casualties.
Watching footage from the site, there is no doubt the damage was grave. The surrounding houses were totally destroyed or impacted.
This blast comes weeks after a massive explosion tore the Beirut port and its surrounding neighborhoods, killing countless innocents and injuring hundreds of thousands of people.
The cause of the explosion was the detonation of up to 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored irresponsibly at the port for nearly a decade.
The NNA pointed out that Tuesday’s Ain Qana explosion coincides with heavy Israeli activity over Lebanon, which even the UNIFIL condemned. However, the Israeli military made no comment.
Tuesday was heavy with disturbing events that put the people in Lebanon on edge. In addition to that explosion in Ain Qana, a paint factory in Beirut caught on fire and so did a ship anchored at the port of Tripoli in the north, not to mention the image that circulated Twitter of a boat assumed to be on fire off the coast of Dbayeh.
