Lebanon says it arrested 3 spies working for Israel — report

Lebanon says it arrested 3 spies working for Israel — report

Officials tell local newspaper the men were gathering information on Hezbollah and conveying it to Mossad
Illustrative photo of Lebanese troops (photo credit: AP/Hussein Malla)
Illustrative photo of Lebanese troops (photo credit: AP/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese security services in recent days arrested three men who were allegedly spying for Israel, a local newspaper reported Saturday.

According to Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar, the three Lebanese citizens were gathering information on Hezbollah and transferring it to Mossad, Israel’s spy agency.

There has been no independent confirmation of the newspaper’s claims.

Lebanon has from time to time claimed to arrest spies working for Israel within the country. Israel has not commented on such accusations.

Israeli officials have expressed concerns over Hezbollah and it’s ally Iran’s growing presence and arms-buildup along the Israeli borders with Lebanon and Syria.

Israeli military assessments last month said Tehran is working tirelessly to outfit the terrorist group with more accurate missiles for a future war with Israel.

The army also believes that Iran will continue with its efforts to establish a presence in Syria through proxies, with which it can support Hezbollah and potentially open a second Syrian front against Israel.

In August the United Nations extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon and gave its forces widened powers to address Hezbollah’s weapons buildup in the area.

The changes approved by the UN Security Council will see UNIFIL increase its oversight activities in southern Lebanon, including by entering villages where the terror group operates.

The resolution highlights that UNIFIL has the authority to “take all necessary actions” in areas where its forces are deployed and must ensure that its area of operations is “not utilized for hostile activities of any kind.”

Israel has accused the international body of failing to prevent arms from being smuggled to Hezbollah.