(Bloomberg) -- Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah is operating a missile factory in Beirut just meters away from a gas company.

Speaking by video, Netanyahu urged residents of Jnah -- a Beirut suburb and Hezbollah stronghold -- to protest the “secret arms depot,” warning that an explosion there could lead to “another tragedy” for Lebanon. The claim was quickly denied by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah during a televised address.

“Iran and Hezbollah have deliberately put you and your families in grave danger,” Netanyahu said, referring to the Lebanese people as he displayed maps purportedly showing a Hezbollah site adjacent to a gas storage area and residential buildings in Beirut. “The international community must insist that Hezbollah stop using Lebanon and Lebanese civilians as human shields.”

The presentation was in line with the Israeli leader’s history of making dramatic presentations and accusations at the UN General Assembly. In 2012, he unveiled a poster board with a cartoon drawing of a nuclear bomb, which he used to illustrate the threat he saw from Iran’s nuclear program. In 2018, he waved a photo purportedly showing a secret Iranian nuclear facility.

The latest volley comes as Lebanon struggles to recover from a devastating explosion at its main port last month. About 300,000 houses were damaged in the Aug. 4 blast caused when a vast consignment of stored ammonium nitrate exploded and ripped through the capital.

Nasrallah, in denying the latest Netanyahu revelation, invited reporters to visit the site and “look for themselves right now,” saying he was only responding to the Israeli leader’s latest allegations because of sensitivity following the Beirut blast last month. “We don’t store rockets at the port or near a gas station, and we know very well where to store our rockets,” he said.

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