Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab media division of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, revealed on Wednesday that in recent weeks, the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Hezbollah terrorist organization have been exploiting Beirut's airport to smuggle funds through civilian flights.
Adraee stated that these funds are intended to strengthen Hezbollah and carry out terrorist operations against Israel.
He noted that the IDF is in contact with the ceasefire monitoring mechanism and is transferring relevant information to thwart these smuggling operations. However, the IDF estimates that despite these efforts, some of the money transfers have still been successful.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, senior members of the security cabinet reported that Israel has received approval from the United States to continue the IDF presence at several points in southern Lebanon beyond the expected ceasefire date of February 18.
Kan 11 News reported, citing senior officials, that the Israeli and American teams discussed the matter before and during the meeting last week between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. Preliminary understandings were reached, and further work is expected to close the details.
The senior officials noted that the IDF presence in parts of southern Lebanon was necessary to ensure the security of the residents of the north, and that the United States understood this.
Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, the IDF was supposed to transfer control of the territories it had captured to Lebanon on January 26. However, due to the fact that Lebanon did not bring enough forces, thus breaching the agreement, the White House announced that the ceasefire would be extended until February 18.