The Internal Security Directorate in Syria's Zabadani area, Damascus Countryside Governorate, thwarted an attempt to smuggle a shipment of weapons to Lebanon on December 17 during the 9:16 a.m. to 12:16 p.m. UTC window, according to a statement translated from Arabic and posted on X by user azelin. The directorate reported that the shipment was intended for smuggling towards the Lebanese Republic, as stated in the Arabic-language announcement shared on X. The X post described the incident as another Syrian interception of a weapons smuggling attempt to Lebanon aimed at Hezbollah. This development follows an earlier IDF confirmation this morning of a drone strike that killed a Hezbollah operative near Taybeh in southern Lebanon on December 16, who collected intelligence on Israeli troops and worked to restore Hezbollah infrastructure in violation of Israel-Lebanon understandings, according to an IDF statement posted on X.
