Hizbullah terrorist Sami Shihab appeared last week at a Hizbullah rally in Beirut after his escape from an Egyptian prison.
Shihab's network smuggled terrorists and weapons into Gaza and planned attacks on tourist sites along the Red Sea in Egypt, particularly those which attracted Israelis.
The rally was held February 16 to commemorate the deaths of three senior operatives – Ghareb Harb, Abbas Mussawi and Imad Mughniyeh. Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah provided the highlight of the event, speaking to the crowd through a video hookup from his hiding place. Shihab, seen mounting the stage and waving a Hizbullah flag at the event, was photographed by Al-Manar TV.
The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center noted that Shihab's public appearance showed “Hizbullah defiance of Egypt and might indicate Hizbullah-Iran self-confidence.”
Arrested by Egyptian authorities in April 2009, the terrorist ringleader confessed to working with Syrian, Sudanese and Egyptian nationals, as well as terrorists from Lebanon, in his 49-member unit. He planned attacks in revenge for the assassination of Hizbullah's second-in-command, Mughniyeh.
According to detailed information in Egyptian media, the network he led smuggled weapons into Gaza. The operatives used a route through Sudan and from there into Egypt, finally leading into Gaza through tunnels under Rafiah, at the border between the two.
Egypt considered the discovery of Hizbullah's network as “a sign of blatant Iranian intervention in Egypt's internal affairs and national security,” according to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
Watchful Israeli authorities are also presently guarding against a similar scenario to avenge Mughniyeh's February 2008 death in a car bombing in Damascus.
Four Israeli embassies were temporarily closed last week, with others placed on alert following intelligence warnings indicating potential attacks on Jewish and Israeli sites around the world stemming from Mughniyeh's death.