The Ministry of Interior in the Damascus caretaker government announced the seizure of a shipment of weapons that were prepared for smuggling into Lebanese territory from the Syrian province of Tartus.

The ministry stated via its Facebook page today, Friday, January 17, that a smuggling operation of weapons was thwarted in Tartus, just before they were set to approach illegal crossings into Lebanon.

It added that the operation came in coordination between the ministry and the intelligence agency in the province, including ongoing monitoring and surveillance. The security operation involved the seizure of weapons, including missiles, before entering Lebanese territory.

The ministry’s official Facebook page published photos showing the seized weapons and missiles.

Israeli attacks on border points between Syria and Lebanon have recurred in attempts to stop the smuggling of weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah from Syria.

About a month before the fall of the regime of ousted president Bashar al-Assad, Washington expressed its acceptance of the possibility that the regime itself could play a role in cutting off supply routes for Hezbollah to obtain weapons through Syria, especially since the supplies to Hezbollah constitute a major factor of concern for Israel amid the war it launched against it in Lebanon.

It was stated in a press briefing by US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on November 25, 2024, “Theoretically, Syria could play a role in preventing the smuggling of weapons through its territory.”

Before the fall of the regime, Syria was considered a route for supplying weapons to Lebanon, as Israel made clear through a video recording published by its military, illustrating through maps how Hezbollah obtained funds.

After the announcement of the fall of the regime on December 8, 2024, Syria became outside the Iranian sphere of influence, something that the head of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, reiterated recently, considering that there was no justification for Israeli intervention in Syria as long as its concerns no longer existed.

Since the escalation of Israeli tensions against Hezbollah in September 2024, Israeli strikes have expanded into Syrian territory, targeting Hezbollah’s interests in Syria and its supply routes to Lebanon.

Official Israeli statements during that period frequently indicated the involvement of the Military Security (the military intelligence of the previous regime) in supporting the activities of Hezbollah and Iran in Syria, making its outposts susceptible to these strikes.