This week, CFI hosted an online briefing for Conservative parliamentarians with Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, International Spokesperson and Head of International Public Affairs of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The briefing was chaired by CFI Parliamentary Chairman (Commons) Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP and attended by 17 parliamentarians.
Lt. Col. Conricus briefed MPs and Lords on Iran’s malign regional activities, including the increased presence in Syria of Iran-backed fighters. He detailed the extensive military capabilities of the Iranian proxy Hezbollah terror group in southern Lebanon, which is now estimated to have an arsenal of 130,000 rockets including precision-guided missiles. Iran is believed to provide almost $1 billion annually to regional terror proxies.
In the Gaza Strip, Iran has provided support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group as well as Hamas, which controls the territory.
The IDF has almost completed construction of a 55-kilometre (35-mile-long) underground sensory concrete barrier to locate and expose tunnels being built from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.
Hamas has developed a sophisticated network of underground tunnels in Gaza, which have been used in the past to infiltrate Israeli territory. Israel has destroyed around 20 tunnels since the 2014 conflict, when 32 tunnels were discovered – 14 of which crossed into Israel.
