Overview[1]
- IDF forces in the Gaza Strip captured thousands of Hamas documents, including those relating to the routes Iran used to smuggle weapons to its proxies in the “resistance axis.”[2] One of the documents described the smuggling routes for weapons, technological information and money from Iran to Lebanon and Syria, in order to examine the measures taken by Israel and the United States to prevent the smuggling.
- An examination of the data showed that a significant portion of the information in the captured document, including the maps, was based on and copied from publications by the Alma Center, an Israeli research institute. It is noted that the captured document contained less information than the original document.
- Documents published by Israeli research institutes are used by Hamas to understand to what extent its capabilities and those of the “resistance axis” are exposed, and it is entirely possible that on occasion the information is presented as Hamas insights without references to the original source. The author of the document in question pretended to have written it, presenting information as if he had acquired it himself, apparently to make it seem as though he were an authority.
Further Information
- In July 2021, the Alma Center published a document about the radical Shi’ite axis drug industry, with an emphasis on Hezbollah and south Syria.[3] In October 2022, the Alma Center published a document about the Iranian corridor to Syria and Lebanon.[4]
- A document was captured in the Gaza Strip entitled “Smuggling routes of the resistance axis and the measures taken to prevent them,” which dealt with the air, sea and overland routes used by Iran to supply its “friends” in Syria and Lebanon with weapons, money and technology. It included images of the routes and examined the measures taken by the Americans and Israelis to prevent smuggling along them.[5] The document was sent to a person referred to as “Brother Malik,” whose identity is unknown. The document was undated, but had to have been written in September 2023 or later, as it mentioned an event which occurred then.
- A comparison of the two Alma Center documents and the captured document shows that a significant portion of the data was copied from the Alma Center’s documents, including the maps. In some cases, information appearing in the original Alma Center document was omitted, while sometimes the author combined the original information with his own insights or data. The maps were copied without crediting the source.
Maps
- Maps of the Iranian smuggling routes were copied from the original documents, without “Alma” and the center’s logo, which appeared in the bottom right corner of the document. Apparently no attempt was made to translate the original into Arabic.
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Right: The map as it appeared in the captured Hamas document. Left: The Alma Center map

Right: The map as it appeared in the captured Hamas document. Left: The Alma Center map
Contents
- Information on the captured document was also copied from the Alma Center’s original document. The data which appeared in the original document:
- Appendix C – The air-land smuggling corridor from Iran through Syria and Iraq:
- Stage 1 – flight from Isfahan air base in Iran to Baghdad airport.
- Step 2 – transfer of the cargo from Baghdad to Karbala.
- Stage 3 – Transfer of the cargo from Karbala to the airport in Deir ez-Zor.
- Stage 4 – Flying the cargo from Dir ez-Zor to Blay Airport in southern Damascus.
- Stage 5: Transfer of the cargo from Blay Airport using camouflaged vehicles, such as ambulances, to the town of al-Qasir in the Yarmouk Basin in order to produce various narcotic pills.

- The information as appeared in the captured document:
- Translation of the captured document, which summarizes the document:
The aerial supply line begins at Iran’s airports in Isfahan [and from there] to Baghdad Airport. From there, the equipment is transported overland to the Iraqi city of Karbala, then transferred by air to the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor and from there to Damascus, or via direct flights between airports in Iran, Syria and Lebanon.
[1] Click https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en to subscribe and receive the ITIC's daily updates as well as its other publications.
[2] Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, the Palestinian organizations, the Shi'ite Houthis in Yemen and the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.
[3] https://israel-alma.org/iran-hezbollah-drug-industry-in-southern-syria/
[4] https://israel-alma.org/the-iranian-corridor-to-syria-and-lebanon/
[5] For the full document, see https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/app/uploads/2025/01/document_008_25_eng.pdf. For further information, see the December 2024 ITIC report, "Captured documents reveal how Iran smuggles weapons via Syria and Jordan."