Israel's spy agency Mossad worked with Brazilian security services and other international agencies to foil an attack in Brazil planned by the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday.
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It said the cell was operated by Hezbollah to carry out an attack on Israeli and Jewish targets in Brazil, adding: "This was an extensive network that operated in additional countries."
Brazil's Federal Police on Wednesday arrested two people in a group suspected of being financed by Hezbollah that was allegedly preparing domestic attacks and looking to recruit Brazilians, three sources with knowledge of the probe told Reuters.
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The Federal Police said in a statement they arrested two people, who they did not name, on terrorism charges in Sao Paulo. They also carried out search and seizure warrants in Sao Paulo, Brasilia, and Minas Gerais states. The police statement did not mention Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group in Lebanon.
"The Federal Police is carrying out an investigation based on the hypothesis of a terrorist network that was trying to install itself in Brazil," Justice Minister Flavio Dino said at an event in Rio de Janeiro.
Jewish leaders told Reuters in October that they had noticed a rise in antisemitic discourse online, amid a broader global surge in antisemitism since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel and subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military.
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