Lebanese man arrested in Germany for procuring drone parts for Hezbollah
Prosecutors say suspect joined Hezbollah in 2016, was collecting parts ‘to be exported to Lebanon and used in terrorist attacks on Israel’
A Lebanese man accused of being a member of the Hezbollah terror group and procuring drone components that were to be exported for use in attacks against Israel has been arrested in Germany, prosecutors said Monday.
The suspect, identified only as Fadel Z. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in Salzgitter in northern Germany on Sunday, federal prosecutors said in a statement. He is suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
He joined Hezbollah in Lebanon by the summer of 2016, prosecutors said.
This year, he allegedly started procuring components in Germany for the assembly of military drones, particularly engines, on the group’s orders. “They were supposed to be exported to Lebanon and used in terrorist attacks on Israel,” prosecutors said.
On Monday, Fadel Z. was brought before a judge, who ordered him kept in custody pending a possible indictment.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been trading near daily exchanges of fire since the Israel-Hamas war broke out nine months ago.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza during the war there.
Israel has been at war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza since October 7, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
So far, the skirmishes with Hezbollah have resulted in 12 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 17 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 366 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon, but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 66 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
Hezbollah has said that it is willing to stop fighting if Israel reaches a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza.
Israel has demanded that Hezbollah retreat north of the Litani River, in accordance with a 2006 UN resolution to end the last major war between them. Israeli leaders have said that they want a diplomatic resolution, but are willing and able to fight a war if necessary.