Five members of an Israeli-Arab family from Nazareth were arrested over suspicions that they support ISIS and were planning to carry out terror attacks in Israel, The Times of Israel reported on Tuesday.

The cell’s members, all reportedly members of the same family, were arrested in October and November in a joint operation of the Shin Bet and Israel Police, according to officials. …

The five relatives held secret meetings and trained in the use of weapons ahead of planned attacks in Israel, according to the Shin Bet. Over the past year, the suspects became more religious and expressed support of the Islamic State and the so-called jihad against apostates.

Israeli authorities recovered two guns used by the cell for training.

On Monday, the Times reported that a senior Israeli defense official warned that an ISIS attack on Israel was only a matter of time. The IDF carried out surprise drills last week to address this and similar threats, such as an attack by ISIS on the Sinai border.

Last week, Shadi al-Menei, the commander of ISIS in the Sinai, reportedly met with Hamas officials in Gaza to coordinate the groups’ activities. The meeting underscored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s observation last year “that ISIS and Hamas are branches of the same poisonous tree.”

Hamas actively trains ISIS’ Sinai operatives, some of whom have been treated in Gaza hospitals. Al-Menei himself, at one point, hid out in Gaza under Hamas’ protection. In July, the group also claimed responsibility for launching a missile at an Egyptian naval vessel off the coast of northern Sinai, as well as the firing of rockets into Israel’s Eshkol region. At the time, an Israeli general confirmed that Hamas was assisting ISIS in the Sinai, including through logistical support and arms smuggling, while Times of Israel journalist Avi Issacharoff called the relationship between the groups as one of “close cooperation.”

In October, ISIS released a video of one of its terrorists threatening Israel in Hebrew, saying, “We promise you that soon, not one Jew will be left [alive] in Jerusalem or across Israel and we will continue until we eradicate this disease [Judaism?] from the world.”

[Photo: Wall Street Journal / YouTube ]