Syrian Hezbollah agent indicted for spying, terrorism after capture in Israel

A Syrian Hezbollah agent was indicted for espionage and terrorism, the Attorney-General’s Office announced, after the suspect was caught in an IDF ambush when he infiltrated Israeli territory on January 27.

Ayat Abdullah and another man, Abed al-Rahman, were recruited and paid to observe and report on troop strength, vehicle types and amount, operational hours and routes of IDF forces by a Hezbollah operative who initially posed as a Syrian state security officer.

The duo would spy on IDF forces along the fence, and meet with their handler bimonthly for reports and payment. According to the announcement, Rahman was killed in an explosion in May 2022, which Hezbollah claimed was caused by an Israeli missile assassination.

Rahman’s widow and family continued to receive a salary of 180,000 Syrian pounds, the same as Abdullah’s wages. The handler also gave Abdullah 4.5 million pounds to give to the widow, who was also his sister. The Attorney-General’s Office indicated that such rewards beyond death for service were intentionally made obvious to Abdullah.

Abdullah continued to spy on IDF activities from Syrian territory even after his partner’s death, using a new camera to document the Israelis.

The attorney-general said that during these operations, Abdullah was fully cognizant that the information would be used to harm Israel.

In January, the suspect entered Israel, though the announcement didn’t elaborate on the operational reason.