US intelligence spotted a ship carrying weapons as it left Iran and alerted the Israelis, who sent commandos to seize the ship (on January 4th) and the 50 tons of Iranian weapons it was carrying. The weapons were in water tight containers, apparently ready to be tossed into the water, to be picked up by swimmers or small boats. The Palestinians first said the weapons were for Hizbollah in Lebanon, then the story was the stuff may have been for Hamas.