Israel Targets Another Arms Smuggler for Hezbollah Lebanon

The Israeli army announced on Friday, March 1, that its air force had carried out an attack in the Hermel region of Lebanon, eliminating Mohammad Mahdi Ali Shahin, a Hezbollah terrorist responsible for coordinating terrorist transactions for purchasing weapons at the Syrian-Lebanese border. According to the Israeli army's Telegram channel, Shahin was a significant member of the terrorist group Hezbollah, previously responsible for the Bekaa region and later assigned to transfer weapons from Syria to Lebanon. The report stated that he was in charge of conducting purchase transactions for Hezbollah and sending weapons to various Hezbollah units to strengthen the group. Accordingly, Shahin was in contact with various brokers and traffickers at the Lebanon-Syria border. The Israeli army emphasized that Shahin's actions posed a threat to its government and constituted a violation of agreements between Israel and Lebanon. Earlier, on Wednesday, February 28, the Israeli army had announced that it targeted Mehran Ali Nasruddin, a 'key terrorist' member of Hezbollah and a principal figure in the smuggling of Islamic Republic weapons to this Lebanese militia group. According to the 'Times of Israel,' Mehran Ali Nasruddin, identified as a member of Hezbollah's Unit 4400, was attacked by the Israeli army in the Qusayr region of southern Lebanon after 'repeated violations' of the current ceasefire, including through arms smuggling for this Iranian-backed group. The report indicated that Nasruddin played a 'major' role in arms trafficking and was directly collaborating with traffickers active at the Syria-Lebanon border. The Israeli army described Nasruddin's activities as indicative of the transfer of weapons from the Islamic Republic of Iran to its proxy groups in the region, especially through Syria. Israel, which has recently targeted areas along the Syria-Lebanon border with airstrikes, has labeled arms smuggling for Hezbollah by Unit 4400 as a 'threat to Israel's security.' According to the Israeli army, Unit 4400 of Hezbollah continues to smuggle arms for this Iranian-backed group. The Israeli army reported that many senior members of Unit 4400, including its commander and deputy, have also been killed during the conflict. In recent days, Israel has conducted several airstrikes in southern Lebanon, particularly near the towns of Qalilah and Zibqin, around the coastal city of Tyre. The Israeli army announced that one of the targets of these attacks was a Hezbollah military base and described Hezbollah's military activities in this location as a 'violation of agreements between Israel and Lebanon.' Hezbollah Lebanon unilaterally began its rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel one day after Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In response, Israel has carried out severe attacks against this group's positions in Lebanon and Syria, killing hundreds of members of this major proxy arm of the Iranian government in the region, as well as many of its senior military leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, Fawad Shukr, Ibrahim Aqil, and Hashem Safi al-Din. Several countries, including the United States, Israel, Germany, Serbia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Australia, have recognized Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.