Israel has confirmed that it carried out an airstrike in Lebanon, as a result of which a member of the "Fatah" movement was killed, who was helping Iran in smuggling weapons to Palestinian groups, the Israeli news agency TPS reported, quoted by BTA .
The killing has drawn attention to the smuggling of Iranian weapons into Judea and Samaria via Jordan, which one analyst says has increased to dangerous levels.
In an airstrike in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Sidon, Khalil Khalil al-Maqdah was killed. The Israel Defense Forces said Makdah and his brother Munir were leading terrorist activity in Judea and Samaria from Lebanon on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
„The two cooperate on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and participate in directing terrorist attacks, as well as smuggling weapons and funds intended for terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria,”, the IDF said.
In March 2024, it was revealed that weapons were being smuggled into Judea and Samaria and distributed among terrorist cells recruited and directed by Khalil and Munir's terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon.
According to the IDF, the arms smuggling and terrorist attacks were directed by two Revolutionary Guard officers. Both are heads of special operations units in the Revolutionary Guard.
Analyst Benny Sabti told TPS that Iranian arms smuggling through Jordan has been going on for years, but has increased sharply since October 7. Sabti is a researcher on Iranian affairs at the Institute for National Security Studies, which is affiliated with Tel Aviv University.
„It has reached dangerous levels. Iranians are arrogant. They consider October 7 a victory and will continue to smuggle weapons”, Sabti told TPS.
„Iran has a network of supporters in Iraq, Syria and Jordan. The Jordanians are afraid, but they cannot fight because their borders are too open, he explained.
Meanwhile, Israeli security services are investigating the possibility that the bomb attack in Tel Aviv on Sunday night was organized by Iran, and not by “Hamas”, which claimed that the attack was carried out in conjunction with the Palestinian group “Islamic Jihad”.
Security cameras captured a man with a blue backpack in southern Tel Aviv, which exploded not far from a synagogue. The explosion killed the suspect, identified only as a man in his 50s.
A 43-year-old bystander suffered moderate shrapnel injuries. According to Israeli media reports, the bomber, whose name has not been released, had no known ties to either terrorist group.
According to the Israeli TV channel "Channel 12" and the Public Broadcasting Corporation the complexity of the explosive device points to Iran and “Hezbollah”.