The Egyptian army has seized five vehicles carrying weapons into the country from Sudan. The arms were apparently headed for Gaza. Egyptian officials said the vehicles were intercepted on Sunday near the border with Sudan, following a shoot-out during which the truck drivers fled. The trucks had been carrying large quantities of mortars, rocket propelled grenades, rifles and explosives and were headed to Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip through smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.
Israeli intelligence officials say Sudan is a major route for Hamas weapons. Last year, the regime in Khartoum accused Israel of carrying out airstrikes on smugglers inside Sudan.
Meanwhile, Israeli leaders accused Iran of being behind a weapons shipment which the IDF intercepted on the Mediterranean on Tuesday. "We are currently collecting information and the one thing that is certain is that the weapons are from Iran, with a relay station in Syria," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following the seizure of the cargo ship 'Victoria'. The vessel’s huge weapons cache on board is believed to hold up to 50 tons of arms.
An Iranian official reacted angrily to the accusation, saying: “Israel is a regime of lies and fabrications. The Zionist regime will drown in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, God willing, after the collapse of the Egyptian pharaoh."