UN peacekeeping force vehicles patrol near the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon along the concrete wall erected by Israel in 2018. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — The Israeli army announced on Saturday that it had foiled an “attempted smuggling operation on the border with Lebanon” and seized weapons and drugs.
Here’s what we know:
• The announcement was made by the Israeli military’s Arabic-speaking spokesman Avichay Adraee via his official Twitter account.
• “Our forces thwarted a smuggling attempt at the border with Lebanon, after having observed last night [Friday] a number of suspects in the region of Metoulla,” Adraee’s tweet read.
• During the operation, the IDF found two handguns and a box containing nine kilograms of drugs “for a total value of almost NIS 350,000,” or the equivalent of nearly $110,000. The soldiers “are investigating the parties which instigated this trafficking and which were aided by Hezbollah,” he added.
• The Israeli army made a similar announcement last July, reporting that it had thwarted arms trafficking from Lebanon.
• While border security incidents between Lebanon and Israel, which are still technically at war, are relatively frequent, smuggling operations are much less so.