Weapons smuggling

Israel thwarts smuggling of weapons supplies into Gaza

Israeli security forces were able to thwart the smuggling of a Gaza Strip-bound shipment of supplies used in projectile manufacturing, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.

The shipment, meant for the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, was supposed to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing. It was intercepted at the Hebron-adjacent Tarkumia checkpoint by a joint taskforce comprising Shin Bet security agency officers and their counterparts at the Defense Ministry's Crossings Directorate.

The contraband included hundreds of four-inch steel pipes used by weapon mills producing mortar shells, as well electric engines and engine parts, used by Hamas in its efforts to rebuild its grid of terror tunnels.