IDF says it foiled bid to smuggle weapons from Syria into Lebanon for second time in a week

The IDF says it foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons from Syria into Lebanon in the Mount Hermon area last night.

Soldiers of the 595th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit, who operate surveillance cameras, spotted suspicious movement in the area and dispatched troops to the scene.

Troops of the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade and field interrogators of the Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 detained several suspects near the peak of Mount Hermon, the military says.

According to the IDF, the suspects were trying to smuggle several firearms into Lebanon. The suspects were taken for further questioning.

It marks the second time the IDF has foiled smuggling from Syria into Lebanon in the Mount Hermon area in the past week.

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries. Two posts are on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.

Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers (nine miles) deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces,” including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.