As the escalation and fighting between Hezbollah and Israel continue amid fears of a widening war, the Israeli Air Force is executing airstrikes aimed at assassinating party leaders. Israel has carried out numerous operations since the onset of the war on Gaza, targeting key Hezbollah leaders, including Wissam al-Tawil, Talib Abdullah (commander of the Nasser Brigade), and Muhammad Nasser (commander of the Aziz Brigade), who have played essential roles in managing the group's operations in the south.
In light of this situation, analysts and experts agree that the Israeli breach of Hezbollah cannot be attributed solely to technological superiority but also to a significant human element involved in monitoring and tracking the designated targets.
Are there spies? Despite reports suggesting that Hezbollah has recently resorted to using older technologies, such as the mobile "pager" device for receiving encrypted text messages, and has banned mobile phone usage since February to prevent Israel from infiltrating and revealing the movements of fighters, drones continue to carry out attacks in southern villages and deep within Lebanon. This raises questions about whether Israel's advanced surveillance technology is effectively being utilized in the field or if human elements are playing a role, especially after the phone ban.
In this context, sources close to Hezbollah explained to "Al-Arabiya.net" that the Israeli breach is not exclusively linked to mobile phones, despite their fundamental role in tracking fighters' movements. They pointed out that there are other means at Israel's disposal that should not be underestimated, linked to technological superiority, in addition to collaboration with foreign intelligence agencies. The sources noted that these targeted operations focus on specific members of the party who have a presence and role in the field.
Nevertheless, the sources did not dismiss the human element in targeting Hezbollah fighters, referring to "spies," especially given that each targeting operation undergoes evaluation and scrutiny before investigation. They further noted that the number of targeted operations has recently decreased due to measures taken by Hezbollah, asserting that the coming days will witness more effective impacts of those measures in the field. They revealed the existence of an Israeli technical breach of Hezbollah's private communication network in a southern village that has been recently addressed.
Spies Among the Displaced
In addition to the technical breach, the sources confirmed a human breach of the party through Syrian displaced persons who remain in southern villages, tasked with conducting surveillance and reporting Hezbollah targets. They are currently undergoing investigations by Hezbollah's specialized unit responsible for interrogating and trying spies.
For his part, the editor-in-chief of "Janoubia" website, Ali Amin, told "Al-Arabiya.net" that technological superiority and the use of artificial intelligence techniques along with reliance on voice recognition are key factors contributing to Israel's breach of Hezbollah, especially since Israel has benefited from the 2006 war experience to enhance its intelligence and technological capabilities for information gathering. He also considered it plausible to rely on human elements, but the foundation remains the technological advancement in information collection, asserting that Hezbollah has managed to protect its security personnel from infiltration, as evidenced by Israel's inability to reach its precise missile bases thus far.
It is noteworthy that after the assassinations of several key leaders in recent weeks, Hezbollah has begun using codes in messages and landline communications and pager devices to attempt to evade Israel's advanced surveillance technology. The group has also started utilizing its own technology, including drones, to study and attack Israel's information-gathering capabilities.
