Italian police capture arms cache based on Israeli intel

A shipment of weapons through Naples, likely headed to Egypt, was intercepted on Saturday by the Italian government, acting on information provided by Israel, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

According to the report, which cited police sources, the Naples police arrested an Egyptian national on suspicion that he had attempted to smuggle five shipping containers, one of which contained a rocket launcher.

“The operation that foiled the smuggling was carried out based on information received from Israel, and at the moment the containers are being examined by police forces that were called to the scene,” police said.

The containers were captured in the Naples harbor by undercover agents.

Israel has in the past foiled various shipments of arms meant for Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Most Gaza-bound arms shipments are routed through the Sinai Peninsula and into the Strip through a network of smuggling tunnels in the city of Rafah, which straddles the border between Gaza and Egypt.