Sharvit confirmed that Israel had intercepted a number of arms shipments to Hezbollah. "We are very vigilant with weapons being shipped by sea, and whenever the shipment contains weapons and not something else, we act," he said.

Sharvit refused to discuss specific operations, but said that Israeli maritime activity in the Red Sea has increased "significantly" in the past three years.
 
"We have greatly increased our presence in the Red Sea," Sharvit said. "We operate there continuously with the main ships, i.e. frigates and rocket ships. What happened in the past for relatively short periods of time is now happening on a continuous basis. "

He also added that Israel is ready to respond more aggressively to direct attacks on its ships. "If there is an attack on Israeli shipping lanes or on Israeli freedom of navigation, Israel will have to respond," he said.