On Friday, the Iraqi Security Media Cell announced the killing of three “terrorists” and the arrest of a fourth in a security operation in Kirkuk (250 km north of Baghdad).
The Security Media Cell said in a press statement: “Our security forces in the Kirkuk Operations Command were able, this evening (Friday), to carry out a qualitative duty and a precise air strike in the Alton Kubri area (northwest of Kirkuk Governorate) by army aviation within the sector of responsibility of the 32nd Infantry Brigade of the 8th Mechanized Division.”
She added, "This operation resulted in the killing of three terrorists, and the terrorist carrying them was arrested," stressing that the security forces are currently continuing searches and careful inspections in the area, according to what was reported by the German News Agency.
She indicated that this comes in implementation of the directives of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, a continuation of proactive qualitative operations and an effort by the Directorate of Military Intelligence to pursue the remnants of “terrorist” gangs and dry up their sources.
The mother of the 15-year-old Palestinian boy, Izz al-Din al-Lahaliya, embraced her son, who looked small and dazed in the gray prison uniform intended for adults, after spending a month in an Israeli prison.
The boy, who was accused of throwing stones, was reunited with his family on Thursday night in a touching scene documented by an Agence France-Presse photographer.
Ezzedine's mother held back her tears as she kissed his cheeks, while other children and women greeted men who had been released with him.
A scene interrupted by tear gas canisters fired by Israeli forces.
Al-Lahaliya, who is from the town of Sa'ir in the southern West Bank, met his family in the village of Al-Jib near Jerusalem, where the Israeli authorities usually release Palestinian detainees on Thursdays.
Since 1967, Israel has occupied the West Bank, where about 3 million Palestinians and 500,000 settlers live.
Izz al-Din's mother, Rania Jaradat, told Agence France-Presse: “After the Israelis took the prisoners out, and after we received them, they fired tear gas,” adding that the scene brought to mind the moment the soldiers took the boy from the family home on October 14, 2026.
She continued: “They were afraid that families would gather near the gate and celebrate.”
She pointed out that after Lahaliya was released, “the first thing he asked for was stuffed cabbage and shawarma,” noting that she rushed to fulfill his request.
The boy was released after the family paid a bail of 5,000 shekels (about 1,500 dollars).
As the eldest son among five siblings, his absence had a major impact on his younger siblings.
Ezz El-Din said: “They are happy with my return, but they were suffering throughout my absence from them.”
According to figures from the Addameer Foundation for Prisoner Care and Human Rights, 9,300 Palestinians are currently detained in Israeli prisons, including 350 minors.
Earlier this week, the Israeli army confirmed that it shot a 14-year-old boy who was part of a group of boys suspected of throwing stones at a passing car in the northern occupied West Bank.
Relaxing the rules for shooting at individuals suspected of throwing stones in 2022 resulted in a rise in the death toll among Palestinians, according to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem.
The Lebanese army raided a warehouse of weapons and military ammunition in the Mushrifiyah area in the southern suburb of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. Although the warehouse is not affiliated with the party, as suggested by the army’s statement, which said that the raid was carried out after “a process of monitoring and following up on movements related to the transfer and trade of weapons,” its importance lies in the army’s movement within the area affiliated with the party in a step that brought back to the forefront the issue of the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the state, and raised questions about the sources of the seized items and who they belong to.
The army reported that the operation resulted in the seizure of “a large quantity of weapons and military ammunition,” and that the seized items were handed over, while an investigation began with the detainee under the supervision of the competent judiciary.
The statement did not specify the identity of the warehouse owner or his affiliation to any party, leaving the determination of responsibilities and the direction of use of the weapons dependent on the results of the investigation. The army arrested a citizen whose name was coded with the letters “A.A.” Asharq Al-Awsat information said that the owner of the warehouse was from one of the families of the Chiyah region and he immediately disappeared from sight.
Proactive process and two messages
Retired Brigadier General Fadi Daoud, in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, said that the raid expresses a proactive security action, saying that “the army is working proactively, an operation built on monitoring and follow-up and not a reaction.” He stressed that “the statement talks about trafficking and transporting weapons, and does not attribute the warehouse to any party,” adding: “So we cannot place responsibility on a specific party pending the end of the investigation.” He pointed out that “the southern suburb is a crowded area, and an ammunition depot contains an immediate danger to the residents.”
Dawoud placed the raid in a broader context, noting that “this raid comes in the context of a fragile ceasefire, and the issue of the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the state is being discussed internally and externally,” considering that it “carries a double message: to the inside that weapons are the sole jurisdiction of the state, and to the outside that the army is serious and capable.” Regarding the nature of the warehouse, he stressed that “it is true that there is no certainty about the identity of the owner, but this is not possible before the investigation, and the two hypotheses (a commercial network or an organized stock) remain open.” He included the process within a process that began with the government’s decision to monopolize weapons, stressing the importance of waiting for the results of the investigation and applying the same standard in all regions.
He added: “The army has proven its ability again, and it will continue this approach continuously and transparently. The state’s performance is a cumulative work that is measured over long periods, not a single process.”
Various weapons and possible sources
On the other hand, Mustafa Al-Asaad, a follower of military affairs, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, started from the pictures of the weapons displayed to assess the nature of the seized items. It is likely that it reflects the activity of an experienced arms dealer, and not direct preparation for a military confrontation, ruling out that it is part of military weapons shipments that arrived from Iran to Lebanon.
He said, “The diversity of the weapons on display and their sources indicates that the merchant does not depend on a single source, but rather has a wide network of relationships that allows him to obtain different types of weapons.” He pointed out that some of the pistols shown in the photos were imported into Lebanon legally through well-known parties, while other pieces, according to his estimation, appear to be smuggled or stolen from Iraq.
He pointed out that some Glock pistols, especially the beige ones, resemble models used by the Iraqi security and military services, including the police, army, and special forces, which opens the possibility of their arrival via a smuggling route from Iraq to Syria and then Lebanon. But he warned against being certain about the source, saying, “It is not possible to determine the source of these pistols without examining the serial numbers and markings on them.”
He stopped when a gold-plated Kalashnikov rifle appeared, suggesting that among the merchant’s customers were enthusiasts who acquired distinctive weapons, not people necessarily seeking to use them in confrontations. He believed that the diversity and size shown in the pictures suggest long experience and extensive relationships in the arms trade, which he pointed out has had well-known networks in Lebanon for decades.
Bombs and night vision equipment
Al-Asaad pointed out the appearance of hand grenades and materials that can be used in manufacturing explosives, considering that the apparent quantities do not suggest an exceptional stock of explosive materials. He also pointed out that binoculars and night vision equipment are used militarily, but they are not alien to the arms market.
He talked about small machine-gun weapons that resemble pistols, including “Scorpion” models, that were historically used in assassination operations, including during the 1980s, but he stressed that their presence does not prove preparation for assassinations, as they may appeal to weapons collectors.
He compared the seizures shown in the photos with weapons seized by the army in previous raids in the Bekaa, which included missile launchers and anti-armour weapons, which is equipment more clearly linked to direct military use. He said that, in his estimation, the current photos do not show exceptional weapons that are difficult to find in the Lebanese market.
