JERUSALEM: Israeli police on Monday said they had arrested a spy network of seven Israeli citizens who were gathering information on Israel’s military bases and energy infrastructure for Iranian intelligence.
The internal security agency and police “successfully dismantled a spy network involving seven Israeli citizens who were operating on behalf of Iranian intelligence,” the police said in a statement, adding that all seven had been arrested.
The seven Israelis were from the city of Haifa and northern areas of the country.
“This network was engaged in gathering sensitive information on IDF (military) bases and energy infrastructure,” it said.
Israeli investigations had revealed that the group carried out several missions under the direction of two Iranian agents known as “Alkhan and Orkhan” over a period of two years, the police said.
“The network members were aware that the intelligence they provided compromised national security and could potentially aid enemy missile attacks,” the police said.
“The network conducted extensive reconnaissance missions on IDF bases nationwide, focusing on air force and navy installations, ports, Iron Dome system locations, and energy infrastructure such as the Hadera power plant,” the police said.
It added that the group received hundreds of thousands of dollars for the work, often through crypto-currency payments.
The work often involved photographing and documenting strategic sites, with the collected data being handed over to Iranian agents, the police said.
“The investigation led to seizure of substantial materials compiled by the network members for Iranian agents,” an official from Israel’s internal security agency was quoted as saying in the police statement.
“These included photographs and videos of numerous IDF bases across Israel, ports, and energy infrastructure.
“It is assessed that these activities have inflicted security damage on the state.”
Members of the group were also tasked with collecting intelligence on several Israeli citizens at the behest of the Iranian agents, it said.
Israel is currently engaged in a multi-front conflict with Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
Israel has also vowed to retaliate over an missile attack by Tehran on October 1.
Israel police say seven Israelis arrested for spying for Iran
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Israel police say seven Israelis arrested for spying for Iran
- The seven Israelis were from the city of Haifa and northern areas of the country
- “This network was engaged in gathering sensitive information on IDF (military) bases and energy infrastructure,” police said
Iran tells UN: Biden has signaled US approval, support for attack on Iran
“The United States will bear full responsibility for its role in instigating, inciting and enabling any acts of aggression by Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran ... as well as for the catastrophic consequences on regional and international peace and security,” Iran’s UN mission said in a letter to the UN Security Council.
Biden, on a visit to Berlin, also told reporters he has an understanding of how and when Israel will respond to the missile attacks by Iran. He declined to elaborate.
Israel airport authority says Ben Gurion airport reopens after brief halt to flights
- Local media reported a “suspicious object” being spotted near the facility that led to its closure for about 30 minutes
- “The airport is open for landings and departures,” the airport authority said in a statement
JERUSALEM: Israel’s airport authority on Monday resumed operations at the country’s main airport, Ben Gurion, after briefly closing its airspace.
Local media reported a “suspicious object” being spotted near the facility that led to its closure for about 30 minutes.
“The airport is open for landings and departures,” the airport authority said in a statement.
The Israeli army later said in a statement that five drones had been intercepted “in the area of the Mediterranean Sea” and stressed that there were no security risks to the airport.
“The UAVs were intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” it said.
“In addition, it should be emphasized that there is no concern for a security incident in the area of Ben Gurion Airport,” which is near the commercial center of Tel Aviv.
The temporary suspension of the airport’s operations came weeks after Israel’s airspace was briefly closed when Iran targeted the country with around 200 missiles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later vowed to make Iran “pay” for its “big mistake,” while Tehran in turn warned of a “decisive and regretful” response to an Israeli attack.
Israel is at war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has previously claimed rocket fire toward Tel Aviv from Lebanon.
Another Iran-backed group, the Houthis of Yemen, in early October claimed a drone attack on Tel Aviv, after saying they had fired a missile at Ben Gurion Airport. The latter attack led to Israeli air strikes on Yemen.
Israel army says Hezbollah cash vault hit
- Israeli forces are now seeking to degrade the movement’s ability to fund its operations
- Military spokesman did not say whether all of the money was destroyed by the strike
JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said Monday its forces were pummelling Hezbollah’s financial arm, hitting more than two dozen targets including a bunker with tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold.
The strikes since Sunday night mark an expansion of Israel’s campaign against the Iran-backed group after a year of cross-border exchanges that escalated in late September into a full-blown war.
Israeli forces are now seeking to degrade the movement’s ability to fund its operations.
“The Israeli Air Force carried out a series of precise strikes on these Hezbollah financial strongholds,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing.
“One of our main targets last night was an underground vault with tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold. The money was being used to finance Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.”
He did not specify whether all of the money was destroyed by the strike.
Hagari then referenced a separate bunker also allegedly filled with cash and gold under a hospital in the capital Beirut, but said the vault had not been targeted yet by the Israeli military.
“According to the estimates we have, there is at least half a billion dollars in dollar bills and gold stored in this bunker,” Hagari said.
“This money could and still can be used to rebuild the state of Lebanon.”
Earlier Monday, Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said more than two dozen targets belonging to Al-Qard Al-Hassan — a financial firm linked to Hezbollah — were hit.
“We struck close to 30 targets across Lebanon,” Halevi said in a statement, after strikes began Sunday night against the US-sanctioned association that Israel accuses of financing “Hezbollah’s terrorist operations.”
The announcements came as the army said it continued to hammer an array of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon, including strikes against about 300 targets in the previous 24 hours.
Al-Qard Al-Hassan is a lifeline for mainly Muslim Shiite communities battling a years-long financial crisis that has locked Lebanese out of their bank deposits.
The financial firm, officially registered as a charity, has been offering customers credit in exchange for gold deposits on an interest-free basis since the 1980s.
Its beneficiaries are mainly Shiite Muslims, but in a country where a five-year economic crisis has forced many into desperation, Christians and Sunni Muslims have also turned to its services.
The United States has long sanctioned the association, accusing Hezbollah of using it as a cover to mask its financial activities and gain access to the international financial system.
On Sunday evening, Israel struck Al-Qard Al-Hassan branches in Beirut, the eastern Bekaa Valley and south Lebanon, Lebanese official media said.
Al-Qard Al-Hassan says it has more than 30 branches nationwide, mainly in Hezbollah bastions including Beirut’s southern suburbs, but also in central Beirut and in other major cities such as Sidon and Tyre.
Israel in late September widened the focus of its military operations to Lebanon after nearly a year of war against Hezbollah’s Palestinian ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken heads to Middle East for 11th time since Gaza war, truce prospects uncertain
- The latest trip comes as Israel intensifies military campaign in Gaza and in Lebanon against Hezbollah
- Blinken to discuss with regional leaders importance of ending Gaza war and ways to chart post-war plan
WASHINGTON DC: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading again to the Middle East, making his 11th trip to the region since the war in Gaza erupted last year and as Israel steps up attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The State Department said Blinken would depart Monday for a weeklong trip to Israel and a number of Arab countries on a visit that also comes as Israel weighs retaliation against Iran for a ballistic missile attack earlier this month. His other stops are likely to include Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, officials say.
The trip had been expected after President Joe Biden said last week he would dispatch Blinken to the region following Israel’s killing of Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar, a move that some believe could open a window for new talks on a ceasefire proposal that has been languishing for months.
In Israel on Tuesday, Blinken will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, according to Israeli officials.
“Secretary Blinken will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
In the region, Blinken will discuss planning for when the conflict ends and “the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives,” Miller added.
He said Blinken also would underscore the need for a dramatic increase in the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, something that Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear in a letter to Israeli officials last week. That letter reminded Israel that the Biden administration could be forced by US law to curtail some forms of military aid should the delivery of humanitarian assistance continue to be hindered.
In addition to the conflict in Gaza, Blinken will also raise the importance the administration places on reaching a diplomatic resolution to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and elsewhere.
“He will reaffirm the US commitment to work with partners across the region to de-escalate tensions and provide lasting stability,” Miller said in the statement.
Since the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Israeli response, Blinken has traveled to the Middle East 10 other times seeking an end to the crisis. His previous trips have yielded little in the way of ending hostilities, but he has managed to increase aid deliveries to Gaza in the past.
Since just last month, the situation has grown increasingly tense, sparking renewed fears of a wider regional war, particularly since Israel began ground operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah and killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah in a massive airstrike in the Beirut suburbs.
Iran has responded to Israeli attacks against its proxies with ballistic missile launches, the latest of which Israel has yet to retaliate for. Biden administration officials have cautioned Israel about its planned retaliation and believe they have won assurances from Israeli leaders that they will not hit nuclear or oil facilities.
However, Netanyahu has said repeatedly that while Israel will listen to American advice, his country will act in its own national interest. And previous US warnings about escalation have gone unheeded.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden was “deeply concerned” about the unauthorized release of classified documents on Israel’s preparation for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday. US officials said an investigation is underway.
France’s Macron to visit Morocco from October 28 to 30
- King Mohammed VI said the visit is an opportunity for “a renewed and ambitious vision covering several strategic sectors”
RABAT: French President Emmanuel Macron will head to Morocco next week for a three-day state visit, the Moroccan royal palace said Monday, following years of strained relations.
“This visit reflects the depth of bilateral relations based on a deep-rooted and solid partnership,” the palace said.
Macron, who will arrive on October 28, was invited to the North African country by Moroccan King Mohammed VI in late September.
The monarch had called the visit — the second since 2018 — an opportunity for “a renewed and ambitious vision covering several strategic sectors.”
Tensions between Paris and Rabat have risen in recent years over France’s ambiguous stance on the disputed Western Sahara and Macron’s quest for a rapprochement with Algeria.
A statement by the European Parliament in 2023 condemning a rollback in the kingdom’s freedom of the press also ramped up tensions, with some blaming Paris.
The two countries were also at odds after France in 2021 halved the number of visas it granted to Moroccans — a decision that was revoked the following year.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which in 2020 declared a “self-defense war” and seeks the territory’s independence.
Macron in July eased tensions between the countries, saying Morocco’s autonomy plan for the territory was the “only basis” to resolve the decades-old conflict.
“The present and future of Western Sahara are part of Moroccan sovereignty,” Macron said in a statement.
France’s diplomatic turnabout had been awaited by Morocco, whose annexation of Western Sahara had already been recognized by the United States in return for Rabat’s normalizing ties with Israel in 2020.
The United Nations considers Western Sahara a “non-self-governing territory” and has had a peacekeeping mission there since 1991 whose stated aim is to organize a referendum on the territory’s future.
But Rabat has repeatedly rejected any vote in which independence is an option.
After Macron’s statement endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan, the Polisario Front promptly withdrew its ambassador to Paris and has yet to replace him.
Rabat and Paris also hope that thawing relations will pave the way for economic deals — including in Western Sahara.
French engineering company Egis is set to extend the high-speed rail line between the Moroccan cities of Kenitra and Marrakech.
In Western Sahara, French energy company Engie has been contracted to build a water desalination plant and a wind farm.
