Israel has recently scored numerous hits against Hezbollah. They are the result of many years of preparation and an extensive network of informants.
Over the past few weeks, Israel has managed one strike after another against Hezbollah with unprecedented precision. The death of leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday was the culmination of numerous attacks against the Shiite terrorist organization. The short period of time and high density of success reports at times give the impression that Israel can attack and destroy Hezbollah’s structures at will.
After all, Israel had already eliminated other well-known Hezbollah actors before Nasrallah. Around two months earlier, Israel had eliminated Hezbollah military chief Fuad Schukr, then two weeks ago numerous pagers exploded – 37 people died. According to the New York Times, Israel had also been preparing this step for years and founded a shell company in Budapest that was involved in the production of the devices.
Shortly thereafter, an airstrike in Beirut killed a group of more than a dozen elite military leaders, including Ibrahim Akil. Then came Nasrallah’s death. Another Hezbollah commander died on Sunday, hit by a single bomb. But this is hardly noticed by the media anymore. Israeli attacks have become too normal.
But the fact that Israel has now precisely eliminated a large part of the leadership within just a few weeks is the result of years of intensive preparations. These have been carried out consistently and with great effort over the past two decades. The basis is a comprehensive reform of the intelligence services and the establishment of an unprecedented spy network. It all started in 2006, when Israel was hardly able to report any success in similar missions.
At that time, Israel was already at war against Hezbollah. The military tried to kill Nasrallah three times at the time, but always failed. Israel simply could not defeat Hezbollah. Finally, after 34 days, the United Nations brokered a ceasefire – and Israel subsequently began the work from which it benefits today.
Government officials report to the “Financial Times” about a comprehensive realignment of Israeli intelligence efforts against Hezbollah. Previously, the services had failed to obtain crucial information about the enemy. In particular, “Unit 8200”, an electronic reconnaissance unit of the Aman military intelligence service, intensified its efforts to spy on the terrorist group.
It developed programs to better intercept Hezbollah’s cell phones and other communications. In addition, new teams were formed within the combat troops to ensure that valuable information could be quickly passed on to the soldiers and the air force.
According to various media reports, surveillance using drones and state-of-the-art satellites was apparently an important instrument. Thanks to these technical tools, Hezbollah strongholds could be continuously photographed and changes to buildings documented. The recordings were compared again and again. A former Israeli intelligence officer described the work in the New York Times as “Sisyphean work.” But this now apparently paid off. The army recently attacked many of these monitored buildings.
The surveillance of individuals by the foreign secret service Mossad is also important. Once Hezbollah members have been identified, the secret services often enter daily movement patterns into a huge database, reports the Financial Times. The data comes from the wives’ cell phones, the odometers of the cars or the location of their own cell phones. They are supplemented by information from other devices such as drones, a hacked surveillance camera that they happen to pass by, or the microphone on the remote control of a modern television.
What is also special is that Israel’s secret services differ from those of other countries in that they are much more willing to take risks and face fewer legal hurdles. Former US and Israeli officials report this to the New York Times. Israel is said to have infiltrated covert command units deep into Lebanon to begin sensitive missions.
