Iran’s New Front: Advanced Weapons Flood Judea and Samaria as IDF Warns Against Repeat of Oct. 7 War

Israeli intelligence officials and regional experts warn that Iran has sharply escalated its campaign to arm terrorist factions in Judea and Samaria, smuggling in advanced weaponry with the explicit goal of replicating the scale and brutality of the October 7 massacre. The regime’s objective is reportedly to transform the region into a launchpad capable of carrying out mass assaults similar to the initial Hamas assault, according to a Washington Free Beacon report.

The shift in strategy has been observed since the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, prompting Iran’s most active proxy in the area, Islamic Jihad, to reportedly make Judea and Samaria its primary operational focus. The group is now active in key cities including Hebron, Shechem (Nablus), Jenin, and Jericho, coordinating efforts with members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and local Hamas factions, a coalition totaling 28 organizations, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

Next-Generation Terror Arsenal

These terrorist organizations have obtained weaponry that was previously rare in Judea and Samaria, fundamentally escalating the threat. The new arsenal includes explosive-laden drones, anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and advanced rockets. The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center confirmed that following the October 10 ceasefire, Hamas publicly declared that Judea and Samaria "will continue to be a leading arena of resistance."

Israeli defense forces have recently intercepted multiple Iranian arms shipments, revealing the severity of the smuggling campaign. One interdiction involved a drone launched from Jordan carrying 10 firearms. A larger delivery from Iran's Quds Force in October was intercepted, revealing a cache of 15 anti-tank rockets, 29 explosive devices, four armed drones, and various firearms. Intelligence confirms Iran is aggressively seeking new smuggling routes through Jordan and Lebanon, with Israeli forces foiling two Quds Force attempts to transfer weapons from Lebanon in July alone.

Local Weapon Production and IDF Readiness

Worryingly, photographs seized from a weapons depot in Hebron revealed active missile production workshops. This suggests that local terror groups are rapidly gaining the capability to manufacture advanced weapons independently, a dangerous development that mirrors the growth of Hamas’s weapons development capabilities in Gaza after the 2005 withdrawal.

An earlier plot uncovered in February highlighted the sophisticated Iranian sponsorship, as Israeli forces dismantled a joint operation involving Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in the Nur Shams refugee camp. The plan involved placing explosives on buses in five separate locations targeting civilians, but a premature explosion exposed the plot. The David Institute for Security Policy validated the Iranian sponsorship and warned that Judea and Samaria represents Israel’s “soft underbelly” due to its critical proximity to major population centers and Ben Gurion Airport.

In response to this growing threat, the IDF recently conducted a major drill simulating dozens of “extreme” October 7-like scenarios across Judea and Samaria. The military stated that the entire exercise was "based on the lessons learned from October 7," emphasizing early airstrikes to preempt attacks, the rapid activation of standby forces and special operations units, and the full mobilization of the army’s network "to ensure decisive impact in the initial hours."