World
Spain arrests alleged Hezbollah operatives
The three arrests in Barcelona were linked to an international police operation last summer against the terrorist group.
April 2, 2025 09:46
By, Jewish News Syndicate
1 min read
The three arrests in Barcelona were linked to an international police operation last summer against the terrorist group.
April 2, 2025 09:46ByJC Reporter, Jewish News Syndicate
Spanish security forces have arrested three people in Barcelona suspected of links to Hezbollah as part of an international counter-terrorism operation across several European countries.
The operation is linked to previous arrests made in July 2024, local news agency EFE reported, citing sources close to the investigation. Those arrests led to a Lebanese national being jailed for purchasing material to make weapons that “could be used against civilian and military targets in Israel and Europe”.
Last summer’s operation centred on suspicions the group was involved in the construction of over 1,000 explosive drones. Three suspects were arrested in Barcelona and Badalona, and another was detained in Germany.
The operation followed the discovery by Spanish authorities of large quantities of materials suitable for building such drones.
The ongoing investigation in Spain is being overseen by the state prosecutor’s office, and the arrests and searches are being carried out under court order.
On Tuesday, Israel’s National Security Council warned of a significant rise in terrorist threats against Israelis and Jews worldwide ahead of the spring holidays and summer travel season of 2025.
Terrorist groups directed by Iran and its proxies, including Hamas and other global jihadist groups, are increasing efforts to target Israeli interests abroad, particularly in light of the ongoing fighting in Gaza.
According to the council’s report, Iran remains the chief instigator of global terrorism targeting Israeli and Jewish individuals, both directly and through its proxies. It continues to use terrorism as a central tool of policy and as retaliation for the assassinations of senior Iranian, Hezbollah, and Hamas operatives, the council said.
Since the October 7 attacks, several operatives of Hezbollah and of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been arrested across Europe, as Western intelligence agencies identified Iran’s attempts to collaborate with criminal networks to conduct terrorist activity.