Israel’s Advanced Tech Used to Penetrate Lebanese Phones, Carry Out Assassinations

Men place a banner on a damaged building that was hit late on February 14 by an Israeli strike, in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Men place a banner on a damaged building that was hit late on February 14 by an Israeli strike, in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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Israel’s Advanced Tech Used to Penetrate Lebanese Phones, Carry Out Assassinations

Men place a banner on a damaged building that was hit late on February 14 by an Israeli strike, in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Men place a banner on a damaged building that was hit late on February 14 by an Israeli strike, in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Lebanon’s communication networks have become a source of profound concern for Hezbollah, particularly following successful Israeli intelligence operations that have penetrated the phones of key leaders and operatives, allowing for easy tracking and assassination.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has labeled mobile phones as “lethal informants” and urged party members to abandon their use.

Reports indicating Israel’s ability to infiltrate internet networks and access Wi-Fi systems have only heightened anxieties for the Lebanese group.

The reasons behind Israel’s effective execution of assassinations vary, including recruitment of local agents and possession of advanced technologies.

While ground agents have historically played a role, recent events raise questions about the extent to which Israel’s success is due to these operatives or its technological capabilities.

Communication and social media expert Omar Qasqas affirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel “has almost total control over Lebanese phone networks.”

According to Qasqas, Israel’s penetration of Lebanese phone networks occurs through malware attacks, phone calls, and exploiting vulnerabilities in phone networks, particularly transmission stations.

This allows Israel to eavesdrop on calls, access messages and images, and pinpoint device locations.

Mobile phone users often disable internet services and switch to Wi-Fi for security, but experts warn that Wi-Fi networks are not secure due to outdated technology.

Lebanon’s failure to invest in modernizing its communication infrastructure leaves it vulnerable to Israel’s advanced tactics.

Social media monitoring adds another layer of concern. Israel can access social media platforms to monitor user activity, even breaching profiles to track comments, likes, and friend requests.

This surveillance extends to all levels, posing significant privacy and security risks for users.

In light of these developments, Hezbollah’s call to abandon mobile phones underscores the gravity of the situation.



Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb

An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center on Sunday killed one soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said.

It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes that have killed over 40 Lebanese troops, even as the military has largely kept to the sidelines in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has said previous strikes on Lebanese troops were accidental and that they are not a target of its campaign against Hezbollah.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.

The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Hezbollah has continued to fire regular barrages into Israel, forcing people to race for shelters and occasionally killing or wounding them.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets into northern and central Israel on Sunday, some of which were intercepted.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating two people in the central city of Petah Tikva, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast and a 70-year-old woman suffering from smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire. The first responders said they also treated two women in their 50s who were wounded in northern Israel.

It was unclear whether the injuries and damage were caused by the rockets or interceptors.

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of UN peacekeepers.