Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida is reporting that the Israeli air force on Tuesday destroyed a shipment of missiles near the Syrian-Lebanese border and bound for the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah. If confirmed, the interception would not be the first time that Jerusalem has reportedly acted to enforce its long-declared red line against the transfer or capture of advanced Syrian weapons either by the Bashar al-Assad regime’s Hezbollah allies or by jihadist groups battling to overthrow the regime. U.S. sources confirmed to The New York Times in July that Israel had launched an air attack against a convoy of advanced antiship cruise missiles that had originally been provided to Syria by Russia. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week described Hezbollah’s arsenal as a “matter of grave concern,” and called on the group to demilitarize and place its weapons under Beirut’s direct control.

“I am also deeply concerned at the acknowledged increased participation in the fighting in the Syrian Arab Republic by [Hezbollah] and the risk of spillover in Lebanon,” the U.N. chief said in the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily Star Friday.“Of equal concern are threats by external actors to bring their fight to Lebanon in response to [Hezbollah’s] involvement and calls from inside Lebanon to engage in Jihad in the Syrian Arab Republic,” he said.

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