Israel announced on Monday that its forces had thwarted a major Iranian operation aimed at smuggling advanced weaponry to Palestinians in the West Bank. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) said an investigation into known Hezbollah and Iranian operative Munir Makdah had uncovered the smuggling scheme.

“In recent months, Iranian agents have been attempting to smuggle weapons, including advanced arms originating from Iran, into Judea and Samaria with the intention of carrying out terror acts against Israel,” the IDF and ISA said in a joint statement.

The operation was exposed and thwarted by the ISA and IDF while investigating detained Palestinian operatives who had attempted terrorist attacks against Israeli targets. The confiscated cache included a significant amount of advanced weapons, including anti-tank mines, grenade launchers, rifles, and pistols.

The cache included 2 BTB15 peripheral shrapnel charges, 5 Iranian anti-tank mines model YM-2 and 5 detonators, ⁠4 M203 grenade launchers, ⁠15 kg of C4 explosives, 10 kg of Semtex explosives, 13 shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles, ⁠15 RPG launchers, ⁠16 RPG-7 rockets + explosives, 25 hand grenades, ⁠33 M4 rifles and 50 pistols, the Israeli agencies said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation comes as Israel is looking to close out its campaign against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza. However, the U.S. has warned against an invasion of Rafah, Hamas’ southern stronghold, citing the massive civilian population in the area. Netanyahu has vowed that an offensive is imminent but has also agreed to send a delegation of officials to Washington to determine whether a compromise can be made.

“As part of the ISA operation against Munir Makdah, a significant amount of advanced weapons that had been smuggled into Judea and Samaria were seized,” the statement added.

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