BEIRUT, Lebanon – A Lebanese military court on Friday charged 13 people for their alleged involvement in shipping explosives to Hezbollah, a judicial source told AFP, after authorities seized the half-tonne cargo earlier this month.

The charges come as pressure mounts on the group, which has been weakened by back-to-back wars with Israel and faces a push from authorities in Beirut to disarm its military wing.

Hezbollah on Friday called the charges "unjust".

Only two of the 13 have been detained and only eight have been identified, with the remaining five known only by their noms de guerre.

Proceedings have been opened "against 12 members of Hezbollah, and one of their spouses," a judicial official told AFP.

They were charged with "violating government decisions, possession of arms and explosives, and criminal conspiracy to undermine the authority of the state," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The case has been transferred to a military judge who is authorised to issue arrest warrants, the judicial official told AFP on Friday.

Two suspected Hezbollah members were arrested on October 8 in a vehicle headed towards Beirut from eastern Lebanon.

In a rare admission, the Iran-backed group said the vehicle and its cargo "belong to the resistance" against Israel and demanded the shipment be returned.

"These accusations are unjust and unfair," Hezbollah member of parliament Hussein Hajj Hassan said.

Those charged "did not undermine the security or integrity of the state, but rather confronted the Israeli enemy that threatens Lebanon's existence," Hassan said.

Two Hezbollah officials were called in for questioning by a judge last week over the incident, a judicial source previously told AFP.

Lebanese authorities have announced the seizure of three large shipments of explosives this month alone.

The country's prime minister, Nawaf Salam, has vowed the authorities "will deal with weapons outside the legal framework with the required firmness".

In June, Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement which included the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from territories it occupies in the south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the area.