Looted Libyan arms flooding into Gaza
Libya’s uncertain future has led to a rise in the smuggling of arms from the country into the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli military officials.
The past months of unrest have already seen a flood of weaponry seized from Col Muammar Gadaffi’s troops and army stores into the increasingly volatile Egyptian Sinai.
Israeli military intelligence reports that much of the smuggled arsenal has been looted by jihadist elements and is making its way into Gaza through the tunnels at Rafah.
A senior Israeli official confirmed on Monday that while the majority of Gaza’s arsenal comes from Iran via Sudan, a rise in arms arriving from Libya is “an additional preoccupation”.
“Some of the weaponry coming from Iran enters Gaza by sea but all of the weapons from Libya are passing into Gaza by land, through the tunnels from Egypt.
“Obviously we will need tight co-operation with Egypt to crack down on the smuggling. Naturally, Egypt needs no more pressure from us to sure up its own borders with Libya.”