IDF seizes hundreds of weapons in southern Syria

Israeli troops seized more than 300 weapons and detained several individuals suspected of involvement in arms trading and smuggling during a targeted raid on commando outposts of the former Syrian regime on Wednesday.

The operation took place on the slopes of Mount Hermon in southern Syria, part of ongoing military activities near the border with Israel’s Golan Heights since the fall of the Assad regime and the rise of the new Sunni Islamist regime in Damascus.

The suspects apprehended and questioned were engaged in weapons trading and smuggling from Syria to neighboring Lebanon, according to the IDF.

“The brigade’s troops continue to work in the area to protect the security of the citizens of the State of Israel and the residents of the Golan Heights in particular,” the IDF statement said.

Four IDF soldiers were lightly wounded when a “combat device” exploded during operational activity in southern Syria on Wednesday, the military said.

The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital and their families notified. The IDF is investigating the circumstances of the incident.

On Monday, a group of some 10 Israeli Jewish activists from northern Samaria briefly crossed into Syrian territory before being escorted back across the border by Israeli soldiers.

On Aug. 10, Israeli forces arrested a weapons trafficker during an overnight operation in southern Syria.

The arms dealer was apprehended in the Tarangah area of the Quneitra Governorate following intelligence-gathering and surveillance, the military said. The suspect was interrogated and forces confiscated weapons found at the site.

Paratroopers from the 226th Brigade, operating under the 210th Division and in coordination with field investigators from Military Intelligence Unit 504, carried out the operation.

The region has seen several recent Israeli military incursions aimed at keeping hostile elements away from the Golan Heights border. Earlier this month, the IDF completed an operation targeting weapons trafficking networks in the Hader area. Acting on intelligence information and an in-depth field investigation, IDF soldiers simultaneously raided four locations, uncovering a cache of weapons.

Troops from the 210th Division remain deployed in the area to prevent the entrenchment of terrorist elements in Syria, with the stated goal of protecting Israeli civilians—particularly residents of the Golan Heights.

In addition to ground forces, the Israeli Air Force is active on the Syrian front. It recently conducted a strike on a vehicle carrying a heavy machine gun in southern Syria. This strike followed the targeted killing in Lebanon of two senior terrorists linked to attacks originating in Syria.