Israel's military said Sunday that a cargo ship it intercepted in the Red Sea last week was carrying 40 rockets with a range of up to 160 kilometres, according to the Associated Press.
Israel alleges the shipment was orchestrated by Iran and was intended for Islamic militants in Gaza, a claim denied by Iran and the rockets' purported recipients, the AP reported.
An Egyptian security official said Sunday the rockets might also have been intended for militants in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which borders Gaza, according to the AP. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to brief reporters.
Neither Israel nor Egypt provided evidence for their claims. Questions remain, including how the rockets would have been smuggled into Gaza, largely cut off from the world by a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt, the AP reported.
Israel's government has used the interception to bolster claims that Iran remains dangerous and that the world powers should break off negotiations with Tehran over the country's nuclear program, according to the AP.
Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon alleged Sunday that the weapons shipment "uncovered the true intentions of the regime in Tehran, a regime that is sly, dangerous and without restraint, that continues to train, finance and arm terror groups in the Middle East and beyond and whose aim is destabilize the area and the whole world," the AP reported.
The Panama-flagged KLOS C was seized last Wednesday off the coast of Sudan, according to the AP. It docked Saturday in the Red Sea port of Eilat under Israeli navy escort.
Israel's military said Sunday that 40 rockets of the type M-302, with ranges of up to 160 kilometres - or enough to reach Israel's main cities, were unloaded from the vessel, the AP reported.
It remains unclear to what extent the intercepted rockets would have raised the threat level against Israel, according to the AP.
Gaza's ruling Hamas and the smaller group Islamic Jihad already possess thousands of rockets, though apparently with a shorter range, the AP reported. During eight days of fighting in 2012, armed groups from Gaza fired 1,500 rockets into Israel, including several that reached the outskirts of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
From the north, the Iranian-allied Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah also is believed to have thousands of rockets and missiles that could reach deep into Israel, according to the AP.
