The Lebanese government says it foiled an Israeli plot to carry out assassinations and bombing attacks in the country, as Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.
The Lebanese General Security Directorate, a national intelligence agency, said on Friday that it dismantled “a network working for the Israeli enemy that was preparing terrorist attacks, bombings and assassinations” inside the country.
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The statement appears to confirm earlier reports by several Lebanese media outlets that a group of Israel collaborators were working to place bombs inside cars and motorcycles at a commemoration ceremony for slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The reports said the foiled attacks aimed to cause as many casualties as possible.
The General Security Directorate said it arrested several people as part of the operation, including a Lebanese-Brazilian suspect and a Palestinian national.
“As a result of the investigation, one of the detainees admitted that this network was responsible for previous assassinations of party officials in al-Jamaa al-Islamiya,” it said.
Over the past two years, Israel has killed several officials from al-Jamaa al-Islamiya – a Lebanese group allied with Hamas.
Thwarting the alleged Israeli plot represents a rare counterintelligence success for Lebanon after Israel was able to penetrate Hezbollah, and identify, locate and kill many of its top political and military leaders, including Nasrallah, last year.
Israel also rigged thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members last year with explosives, killing at least 12 people and injuring thousands of others, including children.
The news outlet Lebanon Debate reported on Thursday that the recently arrested suspects planned to use similar explosives as the ones used in the pager incident to carry out bombing attacks.
The Lebanese intelligence operation comes as Hezbollah faces growing pressure to disarm.
Earlier this year, the Lebanese government issued a decree to remove Hezbollah’s weapons, but the group said it will treat the decision “as if it does not exist”, arguing that its arms are needed to protect Lebanon against Israeli expansionism.
Tensions have been growing between Hezbollah and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who has been a vocal advocate of the disarmament push under a United States-sponsored plan.
Despite the ceasefire it reached with Lebanon in November of last year, Israel has been carrying out air strikes regularly across the country, killing hundreds of people.
Critics argue that the bombardment is aimed at preventing residents from border villages from returning and rebuilding their towns.
Last month, an Israeli strike on the southern town of Bint Jbeil killed five civilians, including three children from the same family.
