In the context of the ongoing war on the border between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon is experiencing jamming on frequencies associated with location-based applications, particularly GPS. Lebanese authorities assert that Israel is behind this, with military objectives linked to disrupting Hezbollah's operatives. Many Lebanese have reported their online location appearing at Rafik Hariri International Airport while they were actually elsewhere in the capital.
High-ranking sources in the Ministry of Communications told "Al Arabiya.net" and "Al-Hadath.net" that "the jamming has been ongoing for some time and primarily affects GPS and Google Maps in most areas of Lebanon." The sources indicated that "Israel is responsible for the jamming, and data analysis between different geographical areas confirms this. However, there is no technical identification of the source of the jamming."
Sources revealed that "Lebanon is considering replacing Google Maps with another location-based system, as jamming through it occurs easily since it is American." They emphasized that the Ministry of Communications has requested reports from the two telecommunications operating companies, "Alfa" and "Touch," regarding the jamming of GPS and Google Maps and the steps that can be taken to mitigate it.
The Ministry of Communications has taken several measures to maintain communication quality amid GPS jamming, particularly in southern villages where confrontations between Israel and Hezbollah are ongoing. According to sources in the Ministry of Communications, "frequency 2100 MHz has been activated as a replacement for the 900 MHz frequency, which is often affected when there is jamming on the GPS system in the south."
They added: "As for maintaining time synchronization on both networks that rely on the GPS system, this has not been affected up to this point, and we are working on advanced technical frameworks aimed at providing a stable solution to this issue." Many Lebanese complain about the quality of communications, often needing to call the desired number multiple times, especially if using the "WhatsApp" calling feature, amid fears that Lebanon's communication system may now be at the mercy of breaches and jamming from the Israeli side.
In this context, high-ranking sources in the Ministry of Communications confirmed that "there is no breach of communication systems in Lebanon due to the jamming, as this relies on intercepting waves on a specific frequency with jamming waves affecting only the quality of the connection without being able to breach communication systems in Lebanon."
Moreover, the jamming operations have not been confined to the battlefield, extending to various institutions, including Rafik Hariri International Airport, which uses GPS technology. Earlier this year, the airport's departure and arrival screens were subject to electronic hacking, displaying messages directed at "Hezbollah and its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, in the name of God and the people," urging them not to involve Lebanon in the war and accusing them of smuggling weapons through the airport.
On March 22, Lebanon filed a complaint with the United Nations Security Council, denouncing "Israel's violations of Lebanese sovereignty by jamming navigation systems and civil aviation safety in the airspace of Rafik Hariri International Airport since the start of the war on Gaza."
