How Israel Managed to Penetrate Hezbollah’s Intelligence in Lebanon

Much debate has arisen around the Israeli occupation’s ability to infiltrate Hezbollah and access critical details that helped them assassinate several of its top leaders, including the party’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah.

At the same time, Israel has not ceased targeting Hezbollah sites, continuously bombing locations it claims belong to the party’s intelligence apparatus in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.

So, how did Israel manage to strike Hezbollah leaders with such precision? And how is it able to locate the places where the party manages its intelligence operations? Arabi Post investigates, relying on Iranian sources to shed light on how this infiltration occurred, and looks into the recent developments within Hezbollah’s intelligence service.

Israeli Strikes

On the ground, developments consistently demonstrate the Israeli occupation’s ability to reach all of Hezbollah’s targets with ease. Following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, and the attempted assassination of senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safi al-Din, Israel managed to kill a significant member of Hezbollah’s intelligence arm, Hassan Khalil Yassin, during an airstrike on southern Beirut.

The Israeli army declared that it had targeted the headquarters of Hezbollah’s intelligence group in Beirut, and that it is assessing the damage caused by the attack, which took place after a series of strikes on high-profile Hezbollah figures.

In a statement, the Israeli military explained that its warplanes, relying on precise intelligence, struck sites linked to Hezbollah’s intelligence division in Beirut. The strikes targeted information-gathering units, command centers, and other infrastructure.

The Israeli army highlighted that Hezbollah’s “intelligence branch” is the central institution responsible for shaping Hezbollah’s intelligence picture concerning Israel and its military. This branch leads efforts to confront Israel with strategic information-gathering capabilities.

The military statement added: “A short time ago, Israeli Air Force fighter jets, based on military intelligence, struck targets belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut, including terrorist operatives, information-gathering equipment, command centers, and other terrorist infrastructure.”

The statement emphasized that this intelligence unit is Hezbollah’s primary body responsible for gathering information about the Israeli army and the State of Israel.

Penetrating Hezbollah’s Top Leadership

An Iranian source close to Iranian presidential advisor Massoud Bezkshiyan’s strategic affairs advisor, Javad Zarif, told Arabi Post that the infiltration of Hezbollah’s top leadership ranks by Israel was a highly sophisticated and cumulative process.

According to the Iranian source, the infiltration was achieved primarily through phone networks in Iran. He pointed out that Hezbollah’s leadership families all possess modern smartphones, which they use to communicate within their social circles. The first phase of Israel’s operation focused on hacking the phones of Hezbollah leaders’ families, including their wives, children, and cousins. Israeli intelligence monitored all conversations related to Hezbollah leaders and stored them for extended periods.

The second key factor mentioned by the Iranian source was the use of the WhatsApp application for communication between Hezbollah families and their social circles. Israel hacked the app, gaining access to all details within the conversations exchanged over the years.

The source added that Iranian officials, recognizing WhatsApp’s risks, widely banned it and advised all Iranian officials not to use the app for any work-related or sensitive matters, be they political or military.

However, Lebanon’s communication network, unlike Iran’s, remains under U.S. supervision, which makes it difficult for the country to counter these technological threats.

The source explained that after gathering all the data and messages from the leadership families’ phones, Israel moved into the second phase: tracking Hezbollah leaders based on family messages and using advanced technology to pinpoint their locations.

He further noted that security cameras installed in homes in southern Beirut contributed to revealing the party’s leaders. Hundreds of Lebanese expatriates had installed surveillance cameras outside their homes to monitor their properties while they were abroad. Israeli intelligence successfully hacked these cameras and extracted recorded footage.

However, the Iranian source indicated that Hezbollah’s entry into Syria led to a large expansion of its membership in both Syria and Lebanon, which opened the door for Israeli infiltration. Some recruits began providing intelligence to Israel by engaging with Hezbollah’s mid-level and lower-level ranks.

The source elaborated on the challenges facing Hezbollah due to its involvement in Syria, which strained its financial, human, and military resources. Since 2012, Hezbollah has been militarily active in Syria, causing significant losses. The party responded by opening large recruitment centers in Syria to replace lost personnel, which contributed to Israel’s infiltration.

Hezbollah expanded its ranks to include tens of thousands of new members, a move that allowed Israel to gather a wealth of information that ultimately led to the assassination of its senior leadership.

The infiltration of Hezbollah’s top ranks through mobile phones remains an unresolved crisis. According to the Iranian source, Hezbollah, being a non-clandestine organization, faces major difficulties ensuring its leaders can operate covertly in Lebanon.

Another Account of the Infiltration

Electronic surveillance technology plays a crucial role in these attacks. The Israeli army has previously stated that it employs security cameras and remote sensing systems focused on areas where Hezbollah operates. It regularly deploys surveillance drones across the border to spy on its adversaries, according to a report by Reuters.

Electronic eavesdropping by Israel, including widespread hacking of mobile phones and computers, is among the most advanced in the world, as reported.

Given the vulnerability of mobile phones, which can be used to track users’ locations, Hezbollah prohibited their use on the battlefield in favor of older communication methods like pagers and couriers who deliver messages in person.

Hezbollah also operates a private fixed-line communications network dating back to the early 2000s. In cases where conversations may be overheard, coded language is used for weapons and meeting locations, which are updated daily and delivered by courier, according to Reuters.

Hezbollah also suspects that Israel targets its fighters by tracking their mobile phones and monitoring security camera footage from buildings in border communities.