BEIRUT: A quarry explosion caused an earthquake in Lebanon that was felt by the residents of Zahle in the Bekaa Valley on June 3, according to the internal security forces.
They had opened a probe to determine the cause of the tremor and found that its epicenter was the Qaa Al-Rim region, 4 km from the city of Zahle.
According to the investigation, the quake at 2:15 p.m. was “caused by an explosion in quarries in the Tweiti area, owned by two people from the Abu Hamdan family.”
The quake measured magnitude 3 on the Richter scale, according to Marleine Brax, director of the National Center for Geophysics, who added that the tremor “was preceded by the sound of an explosion.”
Nasser Yassin, minister of environment in the caretaker government, said: “We had issued a decision to close this quarry, in particular, some time ago, and there is a judicial order to seal it with red wax.”
According to the investigation carried out by a technical expert, “the explosion was caused by the use of large quantities of explosive materials that were introduced deep into the ground in the area of these quarries.”
Geological expert Dr. Nelson Rizk told Arab News: “Those who carry out the work of blasting quarries use a type of dynamite that gives medium but consecutive explosions, which affects the geological layers. It has nothing to do with ammonium nitrate. This type of dynamite is considered very strong and is prohibited globally, but in Lebanon, all prohibited materials can be found.”
Rizk added: “The use of these prohibited substances generates vibrations, has a bad effect on the environment and leaves toxic substances that threaten health.
“The quarries violate areas that may be close to the Yammouneh fault, which is an active and movable fault. Explosions may affect it and increase seismic movements. So far, the effect is very limited, and moving the fault requires vibrations of about magnitude 4 or 4.5 on the Richter scale.”
The Zahle tremors follow the destructive earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria on Feb. 6.
Seismologist Dr. Tony El-Nemr said: “The tremor that occurred in the Zahle is suspiciously similar to the tremor that occurred in Keserwan (Mount Lebanon) on May 6 of last year in terms of timing (Saturday afternoon) and location (a quarry).”
The National Center for Geophysics, in collaboration with the National Institute of Earth Sciences in Grenoble, France, in a report on the movements of the earth’s crust in the eastern Mediterranean basin, drew the attention of geologists to “the concentration of earthquakes observed in Lebanon during the daytime and on official holidays.”
Minister Yassin said: “There are 1,235 sites where rock extraction is taking place on Lebanese territory, based on the survey conducted by the Lebanese army, dozens of which are in violation, and some are operating on critical seismic points. However, law enforcement on the ground is the responsibility of the security forces and local administrations.”
Yassin told Arab News that the quarries, crushers and sand quarries sector owed the state treasury at least $2.4 billion for materials extracted between 2007 and 2018, including about $1 billion in fees and taxes. “This does not include the cost of the suffering and encroachments that are left for the judiciary to determine, and what the affected individuals are supposed to claim in compensation,” he said.
He added that the Environment Ministry was working with the Justice Ministry “to study the most appropriate legal methods to pursue the case, as this is a fundamental step toward collecting treasury funds and stopping previous practices in this sector and thus reforming it.”
However, Ghayath Yazbek, head of the parliamentary environment committee, said that authorities were yet to decide 10 days after the quake “whether it was a natural earthquake or a human act.”
At a parliament meeting on Tuesday, the committee listened to representatives of the agencies in the Ministries of Environment, Public Works and Finance. It also heard accounts from the army and internal security forces.
Yazbek said: “The investigations are still underway, and we have not yet been able to know the nature of this explosion. Was it a seismic move or the product of human activity? What we heard is very disturbing, because the quarries in the Zahle area are supposed to be sealed with red wax.”
Quarry owners in the area were quick to deny that any work had taken place. But Yazbek said that an official in the internal security forces “confirmed intermittent activity.”
The National Authority for the Litani River was tasked by the government to prepare a report on sand quarries and mines within the Litani River Basin, revealing embezzled funds resulting from quarry operations.
The report provided a detailed account of all quarry, mine, and crusher sites in all Lebanese territories, revealing huge profits, damaged areas and widespread tax evasion.
According to the report, about 65,000,000 square meters across Lebanon has been damaged by activity from 1,356 quarries, crushers and sand mines. About 1.6 billion cubic meters of raw materials are estimated to have been extracted from the sites, resulting in profits of $24 billion.
Probe into Lebanon’s Zahle quake points to quarry blast
https://arab.news/8uq2e
Probe into Lebanon’s Zahle quake points to quarry blast
- According to the investigation, the quake at 2:15 p.m. was “caused by an explosion in quarries in the Tweiti area, owned by two people from the Abu Hamdan family”
- The quake measured magnitude 3 on the Richter scale, according to Marleine Brax, director of the National Center for Geophysics
Israel defense minister orders army to deploy forces to control fire near Jerusalem
JERUSALEM: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Wednesday to deploy troops to support firefighters battling rapidly spreading wildfires near Jerusalem, calling the situation a “national emergency.”
“We are facing a national emergency, and all available forces must be mobilized to save lives and bring the fires under control,” Katz said in a statement released by the defense ministry. Israel’s rescue agency MDA reported hundreds of civilians were currently at risk from the fires.
UAE, Egypt sign MoU in ‘significant milestone’ for Arab space cooperation
- Agreement covers joint projects and knowledge exchange in areas such as satellite technology, earth observation and space research
- Signing coincided with the African Space Agency’s headquarters opening in Cairo
DUBAI: The UAE and Egypt have signed a memorandum of understanding to boost collaboration in peaceful space activities, marking what Emirati officials described as a “significant milestone” in Arab space cooperation, state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 11th meeting of the Arab Space Cooperation Group and the “NewSpace Africa” conference in Cairo, with the UAE delegation led by Salem Butti Al-Qubaisi, director-general of the UAE Space Agency.
“The MoU represents a significant milestone in Arab space cooperation and reflects the UAE’s strategic vision, which sees space as a gateway to sustainable development, knowledge exchange and innovative solutions to shared challenges,” Al-Qubaisi said.
He highlighted that partnering with Egypt reinforced the UAE’s commitment to investing in people, localizing scientific expertise and developing a competitive, innovation-driven knowledge economy. He said that these goals aligned with broader regional ambitions for prosperity and stability.
The MoU establishes a long-term framework for cooperation in civil space programs, including the exchange of expertise, research and technology, and the implementation of joint projects supporting both countries’ sustainable development goals.
Planned areas of collaboration include communications technologies, satellite navigation and timing, Earth observation, remote sensing, space situational awareness, remote asset management and R&D in emerging and advanced technologies.
The UAE delegation also attended the opening ceremony of the African Space Agency’s new headquarters at Egyptian Space City, an event that drew senior officials, ministers and space-sector leaders from across Africa.
At least 12 killed overnight by Israeli strikes in Gaza
- The pre-dawn strikes hit three houses in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp
- Israel has carried out daily strikes on Gaza since ending its ceasefire with Hamas last month
At least 12 people including children were killed overnight in Gaza by Israeli strikes, hospital workers said Wednesday.
The pre-dawn strikes hit three houses in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, according to staff at the Al-Aqsa hospital, which received the bodies. Among the dead were three children, including two brothers whose bodies arrived in pieces, according to the hospital’s morgue.
Israel has carried out daily strikes on Gaza since ending its ceasefire with Hamas last month. It has cut off the territory’s 2 million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, since the beginning of March in what it says is an attempt to pressure the militant group to release hostages.
The strikes come after more than two dozen people were killed earlier this week in Gaza City and Beit Lahiya.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
UAE security services thwart attempt to illegally transfer weapons, military equipment to Sudanese Armed Forces
- UAE Attorney-General says security forces arrested a cell involved in unauthorized trafficking of military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces
ABU DHABI: UAE security services have foiled an attempt to illegally transfer weapons and military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces, the UAE's Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said on Wednesday.
Al Shamsi stated that the security services succeeded in preventing the transfer of a quantity of military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces following the arrest of members of a cell involved in unauthorised mediation, brokering and illicit trafficking of military equipment, without obtaining the necessary licences from relevant authorities.
The defendants were arrested during an inspection of ammunition in a private aircraft at one of the country’s airports.
The plane was carrying approximately five million rounds of (54.7 x 62mm) Goryunov-type ammunition.
Authorities also seized part of the financial proceeds from the deal in the possession of two suspects in their hotel rooms.
Al Shamsi said the investigation revealed the involvement of cell members from the Sudanese military leaders, including former intelligence Chief Salah Gosh, a former officer of the intelligence agency, a former advisor to the finance minister, and a political figure close to General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy Yasser Al-Atta. Several Sudanese businessmen were also implicated.
According to investigators, the cell members completed a military equipment deal involving Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition, machine guns, and grenades worth millions of dollars.
The arms were transferred from the Sudanese army to an importing company in the UAE using the HAWALADARS’ transfer method.
The transaction was facilitated through a company owned by a fugitive cell member working for the Sudanese Armed Forces, in coordination with Colonel Othman Al-Zubair, who is in charge of financial operations in the Sudanese military.
Fake contracts and commercial invoices were used to falsely claim the payments were for a sugar import deal.
The investigation concluded that these deals were carried out at the request of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ Armament Committee, chaired by Al-Burhan and his deputy Al-Atta, with their full knowledge and approval. The cell members were directly assigned to broker and finalise the transactions by Ahmed Rabie Ahmed Al-Sayed, a political figure close to the Sudanese Commander-in-Chief and responsible for issuing end-user certificates and approvals.
Investigators confirmed that Salah Gosh played a central role in managing illegal military equipment trafficking within the UAE, in coordination with other cell members.
The group earned $2.6m in profit margin above the actual value of the two deals, which was distributed among themselves and several accomplices. Gosh’s share was found in the possession of suspect Khalid Youssef Mukhtar Youssef, a former intelligence officer and Gosh’s ex-chief of staff.
The seized shipment had arrived at a UAE airport aboard a private aircraft from a foreign country.
The aircraft had landed to refuel and officially declared it was carrying a consignment of medical supplies.
However, the military cargo was discovered under the supervision of the Public Prosecution, based on judicial warrants issued by the Attorney General.
Authorities also seized copies of the contracts related to the two deals, forged shipping documents, as well as audio recordings and messages exchanged among the cell members.
The investigation uncovered several companies owned by a Sudanese-Ukrainian businessman, including one operating in the UAE.
These companies were found to have provided the Sudanese army with weapons, ammunition, grenades, and drones, in collaboration with the cell members and the military’s financial officer.
One of the companies is listed under US sanctions.
The ongoing investigations revealed that the group’s financial interests and profits are closely tied to the continuation of internal conflict in Sudan.
The Attorney-General stressed that this incident represents a grave breach of the UAE’s national security, turning its territory into a platform for illegal arms trafficking to a country experiencing civil strife, in addition to constituting criminal offenses punishable under law.
He concluded by stating that the Public Prosecution is continuing its investigation procedures in preparation for referring the suspects to urgent trial proceedings.
Final results will be announced upon the completion of the investigation.
US official tells UN top court ‘serious concerns’ over UNRWA impartiality
THE HAGUE: A US official on Wednesday told the International Court of Justice there were “serious concerns” about the impartiality of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
ICJ judges are holding a week of hearings to help them formulate an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations toward UN agencies delivering aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
“There are serious concerns about UNRWA’s impartiality, including information that Hamas has used UNRWA facilities and that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7th terrorist attack against Israel,” said Josh Simmons from the US State Department legal team.
