IDF Spokesperson in Arabic: Some money successfully smuggled to Hezbollah

IDF Spokesperson in Arabic Avichai Adraee posted a statement tonight (Wednesday) on X, warning about Iranian efforts to use flights to Beirut International Airport to smuggle money to the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

In his post, Adraee said that:

"The Iranian Quds Force and the terrorist Hezbollah have been exploiting Beirut Airport international flights over the past few weeks in an attempt to smuggle funds allocated to arm Hezbollah with the aim of carrying out attacks against the State of Israel.

"The IDF remains in contact with the ceasefire monitoring mechanism and continuously transmits specific information to thwart these transfers. Despite the efforts made, we estimate that some of these money smuggling attempts have succeeded.

"The IDF will not allow Hezbollah to arm itself and will act through all means at its disposal to enforce the implementation of the ceasefire understandings in order to ensure the security of the citizens of the State of Israel."

During the war against Hezbollah and especially during the ground operation in southern Lebanon, the IDF Air Force openly threatened any Iranian plane attempting to land in Beirut and trying to resupply Hezbollah with much-needed money and weapons.

With the fall of Bashar Assad, a client and ally of Iran and Hezbollah, to Turkish-backed Sunni rebel forces hostile to both, Hezbollah lost an easy smuggling and resupply route via that country. Previously, planes from Iran regularly landed in Damascus Airport with weapons and materials for Hezbollah. Now, no such planes are landing.

As Adraee said, Israel has repeatedly warned of efforts by Iran to send money and other needed material to Hezbollah via planes taking off from either Iran or its neighbor Iraq, which contains many pro-Iran elements. According to Lebanese media, these planes are undergoing inspection, though it did not say who was doing the inspecting.