400% Increase in Arrests of Iranian Government Spies in Israel

The Israeli internal security service (Shin Bet) reported a 400% increase in arrests related to espionage for the Iranian government during the year 2024. According to Israeli media, Shin Bet added in its annual report that 13 plots related to the Islamic Republic of Iran were thwarted within Israel last year, and 27 indictments were issued. However, Shin Bet's annual report indicates a 40% decrease in successful terrorist activities last year, with 1,040 major terrorist attacks neutralized in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Additionally, 689 of the thwarted attacks involved firearms, while 326 others involved explosives. Knife attacks, vehicle attacks, suicide bombings, and kidnappings were other incidents that Shin Bet successfully neutralized last year. The report also indicates that in the Gaza Strip, 2,500 suspects were evaluated, and interrogations of 650 led to actionable intelligence. Shin Bet announced that last year, 1,350 individuals were arrested, including 40 senior Hamas commanders and 165 of their associates, as well as 45 militants involved in the terrorist attack on October 7 of the previous year in Gaza. Three successful operations to rescue kidnapped hostages to Gaza and several operations to recover the bodies of some hostages were also mentioned in Shin Bet's annual report. In another part of the report, it stated that last year, 20 terrorist cells composed of Arab Israeli citizens were discovered, and five imminent suicide attacks were thwarted. In Lebanon, 25 senior officials of Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, were killed. Regarding cyberspace, Shin Bet reported the neutralization of 700 cyberattacks, which represents a fivefold increase compared to 2023. Israel continued its war with the Islamic Republic and its proxies on seven fronts last year, and in addition to killing dozens of senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah, and Hamas, it was able to inflict heavy blows on the military capabilities of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in two direct retaliatory attacks on Iranian military positions.