Israel Navy foils weapons smuggling attempt into Gaza

The Israeli Navy stopped a vessel attempting to bring weapons into the Gaza Strip to be used against the Jewish state. 

By World Israel News Staff

The Israeli Navy thwarted a naval smuggling attempt off the coast of northern Sinai three months ago, the Israeli Army announced on Tuesday after news of the operation was cleared for publication.

The maritime intelligence operators of the Israeli Navy located a suspected vessel and dispatched Navy troops to pursue it. Following a pursuit, the vessel was captured and two terror operatives aboard were apprehended and transferred to security forces for further questioning.

The investigation of the terror operatives indicated that the seized weapons were meant to be used by the naval commando unit of the Hamas terror organization.

“Thwarting activity of this kind assists in preventing the ongoing armament of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and degrade the force build up capabilities of Hamas’ commando naval unit,” the IDF said in a statement.

Israel’s Navy monitors terror activities in order to thwart smuggling attempts in their early stages and to prevent the force build up of Hamas’ naval terror capabilities.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has attempted to escalate tensions with Israel by launching missiles and incendiary devices into Israeli territory. Most recently, the organization has floated into Israel bombs tied to balloon clusters. Bombs have been disguised as soccer balls and books.

Israel has repeatedly stated it holds Hamas responsible for all terror activities coming out of the Gaza Strip.

However, the IDF’s aerial bombing targeting Hamas infrastructure in retaliation for its aggression has so far not deterred Hamas or the smaller terror groups in the Strip from carrying out further attacks.

In recent days, Israel’s south has been bombarded by nearly daily rocket attacks. Nine balloon bombs were found in the area on Monday. Most of the bombs were discovered near Sderot. The Israeli border town has been a frequent target of attack.