BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities have arrested 32 individuals in recent months on suspicion of spying for Israel.
A judicial official told AFP that the suspects allegedly provided Israel with information on Hezbollah that facilitated strikes against the Iran-backed militant group.
The official, requesting anonymity, confirmed that at least 32 people have been arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Israel.
Six of these arrests occurred before the November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Nine individuals have already been tried by Lebanon’s military court.
Twenty-three suspects remain under investigation by authorities.
Lebanon remains technically at war with Israel, making any contact punishable by imprisonment.
Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah included more than a year of clashes and two months of open war.
Israel conducted numerous strikes targeting Hezbollah’s arsenal and senior commanders during this period.
Strikes have continued despite the truce agreement reached in November.
In September last year, hundreds of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in an Israeli operation.
This operation paralysed the group’s communications systems and caused significant casualties.
Lebanon reported that the pager explosions killed 39 people and wounded thousands.
The following week, Israel killed longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a massive air strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
A second judicial official familiar with the investigations provided details on convictions.
Two convicted individuals received sentences of eight and seven years of hard labour respectively.
They were found guilty of providing enemy forces with coordinates, addresses and names of Hezbollah officials.
The court determined they knew Israel would use this information to bomb locations housing Hezbollah officials and leaders. – AFP
