Hezbollah's Unit 121 assassinated four Lebanese figures out of fear that they would expose links between the terror group and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, IDF Arabic Spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee claimed on Tuesday.
The explosion, which occurred in August 2020, is widely believed to have been caused by Hezbollah's storage of ammonium nitrate.
The four individuals allegedly assassinated were customs department officers and journalists who pointed to Hezbollah's connection with the deadly explosion, Adraee commented.
Hezbollah denied its involvement in the deaths of the four individuals.
Adraee provided IDF intelligence on each of the four deaths.
Joseph Skaff was the head of customs inspections at the port, who was allegedly thrown from a height by Unit 121 assassins in 2017 after he requested that Hezbollah remove their stockpiles of ammonium nitrate from the port.
Mounir Abou Rjeily headed the anti-smuggling division in the customs department and was allegedly stabbed to death by Unit 121 assassins in December 2020 after he provided information to the authorities concerning Hezbollah's link to the explosion.
Joe Bejjani was a photographer who was among the first to document the aftermath of the explosion and worked alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces to aid in the investigation. He was shot dead in his car in December 2020, assassins stealing his phone before fleeing the scene.
Lokman Slim was an outspoken political activist and journalist who frequently criticized the terror group. Slim was also shot to death in his car in February 2021, shortly after publicly accusing Hezbollah and Syria's Bashar al-Assad of responsibility for the explosion.
Adraee ties Hezbollah's Unit 121 to other assassinations, warns IDF has 'long list' of add'l murders
Adraee concluded his statement by noting that these four were not the only individuals assassinated by the terror group. Former prime minister Rafic Hariri, assassinated in 2005, and Christian Lebanese politician Elias Hasrouni, were also assassinated by the terror group.
The IDF is in possession of intelligence of a "long list we have yet to expose" containing additional instances when Unit 121 assassinated Lebanese officials and opponents of Hezbollah, Adraee warned.