Israel-Iran shadow war: IDF arrested Iranian operatives in Syria & strikes Quds Force terrorists in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces revealed military operations against Iranian forces in Lebanon and Syria over the past two days, highlighting that, despite the end of the 12-day war, fighting between Israel and Iran has continued under the radar.

On Thursday, the IDF said it eliminated an operative who served both in the Iranian IRGC Quds Force’s “Imam Hussein Division,” as well as for the Hezbollah terrorist organization. Wasim Said Jaba’i was killed in an airstrike near Ayn Baal in southern Lebanon.

He “played a central role in operating the force and in the build-up of the division’s capabilities,” facilitating arms deals, and assisting in rocket and missile launch operations against Israel during the ground offensive against Hezbollah last year, the IDF reported.

Jaba’i was most recently involved in efforts to rebuild the unit’s capabilities, demonstrating that the Iranian regime would not easily give up on its assets in the region, despite the significant losses Hezbollah has suffered.

The Imam Hussein Division is an Iranian militia that supported the Assad regime during the Syrian Civil War and has previously launched rocket attacks against Israel, as well as American forces.

During Operation Northern Arrows, the Israeli ground offensive in southern Lebanon last September, the unit actively participated on the side of Hezbollah. The IDF has targeted members of the Imam Hussein several times in the past.

In other strikes, the IDF hit a Hezbollah site used for the production and storage of strategic weapons in the Beqaa Valley region of Lebanon, and other Hezbollah terror infrastructure near az-Zahiriyah.

“The presence of these terror infrastructures constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF emphasized.

In another report that highlights Iranian efforts to rebuild lost capabilities, the Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported o on Thursday that the Syrian government arrested a Hezbollah cell and confiscated 19 Grad rockets in the western suburbs of Damascus.

According to sources in the Ministry of Interior, the cell was trained in Lebanon and planning to carry out attacks in Syria.

Hezbollah's Public Relations Department categorically rejected the accusations, claiming, “Hezbollah has no activity or presence on Syrian soil, and it remains committed to its stance on preserving Syria's stability and the security of its people.”

However, in a separate announcement on Friday, the Israeli military revealed that two more Iranian operatives with connections to Hezbollah were the targets of raids deep within Syrian territory in April and May.

The operatives were identified as Zidan al-Tuwail and Mohammad al-Karyan from Iranian Quds Force’s Unit 840, who had been under ongoing surveillance by Israel's intelligence agencies for months.

“Their capture significantly deepened the IDF and Shin Bet’s understanding of the unit and exposed terror plots it had planned against Israeli forces,” the Israeli military noted.

Unit 840 is the “Special Operations Unit” of the Quds Force, the IRGC branch tasked with fighting Israel — often through proxy groups in neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan — in close cooperation with Hezbollah.

Israeli security has fought a systematic campaign to beat back and curb the activities of the unit, whose main task is to equip and operate several remotely directed terror cells.

In March 2024, the IDF foiled an attempt by the unit to smuggle advanced Iranian weapons into Judea and Samaria for major terror attacks.

In response, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck military bases in eastern Syria used by Unit 840 to facilitate weapon smuggling operations to various terror groups.

In November 2024, Israeli security forces foiled another shipment of “balance-breaking” weapons on its way to Jenin. The shipment included powerful explosive devices, mortar launchers, and various munitions that could have been used against Israeli forces in the area.

This past July, the IAF eliminated the Lebanese terrorist Qassem Salah al-Husseini near Beirut – a key operative in Unit 804.

Al-Husseini was involved in orchestrating attacks and weapons smuggling operations into the West Bank and had ties to both Syrian and Lebanese arms traffickers.

Together with several accomplices, including a lieutenant colonel in the Syrian army, Husseini and his cell managed several terror groups in Syria, which were captured in IDF raids this year.

According to security officials, some of the operatives were unaware they were ultimately working for the Iranian regime. Unit 840 often recruits without disclosing its identity or motives, instead using financial incentives to exploit the difficult economic and social conditions of local populations.

“The terror coordination from Israel’s northern borders is one of the Revolutionary Guards’ methods of stirring conflict between neighboring countries,” the IDF said.

“The attempts to harm Israeli forces operating in southern Syria aim to ignite unrest in the region. At the same time, Iran is also working to undermine Lebanon’s stability and the ceasefire agreements signed in November.”