Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Local Syrian sources: A doctor was killed while trying to reach the government hospital in the city of Sweida.
Syrian local sources: The National Hospital in Sweida is currently out of service due to the siege it is facing.
Syrian local sources: Medical staff at the National Hospital in Sweida appeal for intervention after it was besieged and its electricity, water, and food were cut off.
Syrian Rejal al-Karamah (Men of Dignity) movement: What happened was a dangerous escalation that threatens civil peace and undermines the trust that authorities have worked hard to establish.
Rejal al-Karamah (Men of Dignity) movement: We condemn in the strongest terms the brutal attack on the city of Sweida and Jabal al-Arab by the Damascus government.
Maduro: We reaffirm that Palestine has the right to exist, resist, and live freely in a fully sovereign state with East al-Quds as its capital.
Maduro: Every bomb dropped on a Palestinian hospital, school, or home not only kills innocent lives but also destroys the foundations of world peace.
Maduro: What we are witnessing today in Gaza and throughout Palestine is not a conflict between equal parties, but rather a systematic plan to destroy a people and eradicate their identity.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at the Bogota summit: We raise our voices firmly outraged at the world's silence in the face of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians.
Syria: Sources to Al Mayadeen: Israeli airstrikes target supply lines of military factions affiliated with the Syrian Interim Ministry of Defense outside Sweida and around Daraa.

Lebanon denies Telegraph claims, invites officials for airport tour

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Al Mayadeen
  • 23 Jun 2024 19:00
  • 2 Shares
3 Min Read

Following an unfounded report that Hezbollah receives and stores weapons at the airport of Beirut, the Lebanese Air Transport holds The Telegraph responsible for the safety of the civilian infrastructure.

Listen
  • x
  • Middle East Airlines jet grounded at the Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. (AP)
    Middle East Airlines jet grounded at the Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. (AP)

The Air Transport Union in Lebanon (UTA) denied in a statement The Telegraph's report in which it claimed that "Hezbollah stores missiles and explosives at Lebanon’s main airport," saying that these claims were made without any proof offered.

The UTA called The Telegraph's unfounded claims "mere illusions and lies aimed at endangering Beirut Airport and its civilian workers, as well as travelers to and from it, all of whom are civilians."

Moreover, the Air Transport Union held the media outlet, as well as "those who report on it and spread its falsehoods" responsible for the safety of those who work at Beirut Airport in all its facilities, "including the passenger terminal, departure and arrival, the apron, maintenance, and civil air cargo."

Additionally, in its statement, it called on all Lebanese, Arab, and foreign media outlets to come to Beirut Airport "with their camera crews and verify for themselves, otherwise, we consider what is being promoted by suspicious media outlets as incitement to kill us."

The Telegraph report 'ridiculous'

On his part, Lebanon's caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, proclaimed, in a press conference, that "Beirut Airport has been subjected to disinformation for years," adding that instead of publishing a "ridiculous" and baseless report citing anonymous sources, the British daily "should have opted for checking in with the British Department of Transport, which conducted a field visit of the airport on January 22, 2024."

"This is the primary authority responsible for transportation matters at the airport," he stated.

Related News

Suicide and PTSD addle the Israeli army since Oct. 7: Israeli study

Israeli airstrikes on Sweida, Daraa in southern Syria

Questioning the paper's credibility, Hamieh asked, "Is it conceivable that a reputable newspaper would change its sources within an hour?"

Additionally, the caretaker minister called on all media outlets and all ambassadors or their representatives to visit the airport tomorrow at 10:30 am for a tour of all airport facilities to make sure that the airport is strictly a civilian infrastructure and that no weapons are being smuggled through it.

"We have nothing to hide," he maintained.

Moreover, Hamieh informed the press, "We are in the process of filing a lawsuit against the newspaper and we will announce the details later."

Timing of Telegraph piece 'not innocent'

In a similar vein, Lebanon's caretaker Minister of Information, Zaid Makary, accused The Telegraph's article, in a post on X, of contradicting the principles and ethics of journalism and called on all media outlets not only to denounce the article but also to expose the goals behind its publication under today's circumstances.

طالعتنا صحيفة "التلغراف" البريطانية بمقال يفتقر إلى الصدقية تحت عنوان: "حزب الله يخزن صواريخ ومتفجرات في مطار لبنان الرئيسي، وفقاً لمبلغين".
من باب الحرص على أمن البلد وعلى سلامة المواطنين اللبنانيين والقاطنين فيه والوافدين اليه، وانطلاقاً من أن المقال ينافي مبادئ الصحافة…

— Ziad T. Makary (@ZiadMakary) June 23, 2024

The goals behind this article are "not innocent", he stressed.

Furthermore, he reiterated Minister Hamieh's invitation for a tour at the airport to verify first-hand the falsity of The Telegraph's allegations.

Read more: Mufti Qabalan: Half million missiles to be anticipated in all-out war

  • Lebanon
  • Air Transport Association - Lebanon
  • Beirut Airport
  • The Telegraph
  • Israel
  • Hezbollah
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025
An Israeli soldier abandons an excavator during an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades. Arabic text reads "The moment the soldier fled", July, 10, 2025 (Al Qassam Military Media)

Israeli media rue al-Qassam footage, alarmed by fighters among troops

  • Politics
  • 11 Jul 2025
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage after an Iranian attack at the al Udeid Airbase outside of Doha, Qatar, June 25, 2025 (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Satellite images show Iran attack damaged US comms dome in Qatari base

  • Politics
  • 11 Jul 2025
Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

  • Analysis
  • 11 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Syrian government forces deploy at the Mazraa village on the outskirts of city of Sweida, where clashes erupted between Bedouin clans and Druze factions, southern Syria, Monday, July 14, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Gulf-backed negotiations underway in Syria's Sweida to end clashes

UN: 798 Palestinians killed while trying to reach aid in Gaza
Palestine

UN: 798 Palestinians killed while trying to reach aid in Gaza

A damaged car is seen at a field that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Nabi Sheet village, in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, Wednesday, August 21, 2024 (AP)
Politics

Hezbollah condemns Israeli Bekaa massacre, urges action from Lebanon

Palestinians walk next to the closed humanitarian aid distribution center of UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli regime cuts electricity, water supplies to UNRWA Gaza offices

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS