The U.S. government is reportedly asking Lebanon to turn over an unexploded bomb in Beirut out of fear that it could fall into the hands of Russia or China.
The munition in question, an unexploded GBU-39 small-diameter bomb, was launched by Israel last month as part of an operation to kill Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabtabai.
Tabtabai was killed in the strike, but the undetonated small-diameter bomb is now a priority for recovery, according to multiple regional reports. The Lebanese government has not yet responded.
The GBU-39 is an inexpensive, lightweight bomb manufactured by Boeing. The bomb does not utilize an engine — instead, the GBU-39 deploys wings and is capable of gliding toward targets up to 68 miles away.
Israel’s strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut followed weeks of similar attacks aimed at wiping out Hezbollah. The strikes killed at least five individuals and wounded at least 28 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Lebanon condemned the attacks, asserting that the national government has willingly undertaken efforts to dismantle Hezbollah itself.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been undeterred, claiming that continued international strikes are necessary to ensure the full destruction of the anti-Israel militia in the region.
“We will continue to do whatever is necessary to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its ability to threaten us,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet late last month.
Supporters of Tabtabai held a funeral for the fallen commander on Nov. 24. He was honored with a yellow Hezbollah flag draped over his coffin and buried in a cemetery traditionally used to inter militia members killed in combat.
Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon have stoked anger in Western allies who see the strikes as unnecessary and a threat to stability in the Middle East.
POPE LEO SAYS HE’S SPEAKING WITH TRUMP AND NETANYAHU ABOUT MIDDLE EAST PEACE PLAN
Pope Leo XIV, who visited Lebanon this week on the first apostolic journey of his pontificate, lamented the continued violence and prayed for hostilities to end in an appeal to 19th-century Lebanese monk St. Charbel.
“For the world, we ask for peace,” the pontiff said. “We especially implore it for Lebanon and for the entire Levant.”
