In its strategy of targeted assassinations against senior Hezbollah military officials, Israel combines technological advances with conventional human resources.
5 min
By our correspondent in Beirut
Despite the secrecy surrounding the military-security apparatus of the Hezbollahthe Israeli army has recorded significant successes since the start of the confrontation between the two enemies on October 8, 2023. Hezbollah has lost more than 500 fighters, including its supreme military leader Fouad Chokorkilled on July 30 in an air raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut, the party’s main stronghold in Lebanon.
Between mid-June and early July, the Israeli army managed to eliminate Taleb Abdallah and Mohammad Nasser, the leaders of two of the three territorial units deployed on the southern Lebanese front, which stretches 120 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast to the foothills of the Golan Heights, occupied and annexed by IsraelThese three senior military officials have ranks equivalent to those of generals in a traditional army.
In early January, three months after the start of the clashes, Israel recorded its first real success with the assassination of Wissam Tawil, a senior leader of the elite al-Radwan force, also deployed along the border with the Hebrew state. Well-informed sources tell RFI that twenty-three other military officers responsible for rocket-firing, drone-launching or anti-tank missile units have also been killed by the Israeli army in recent months.
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Exploitation of artificial intelligence
The striking fact is that most of these assassinations took place far from the front lines. Fouad Chokor was killed while visiting, for the first time in six months, a building where he owned an apartment and an office, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Wissam Tawil was making a discreet visit to his village to attend the funeral of a cousin. Taleb Abdallah and Mohammad Nasser were eliminated while returning from the front lines after spending months there.
These targeted assassinations show that the Israeli army knows perfectly well the identity of these military leaders unknown to the Lebanese public and has the means to locate them.
Lebanese military and security experts interviewed by RFI indicate that the success of the Israeli operations is due to good synchronization between intelligence collected on the Lebanese ground thanks to human resources and advanced technological means developed in recent years. Israelis use mobile phone surveillance, facial recognition techniques, drones and satellites in spying operations “, explains Riad Kahwagi, founder and director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (Inegma), in an interview with the Saudi daily Ash-Sharq al-Awsat in early August.
” In addition to all these technologies, the Israelis have developed artificial intelligence voice recognition software directly linked to air command and control centers responsible for operating surveillance and attack drones, says a Lebanese security official. This technology makes it possible to identify and locate the potential target and facilitates rapid intervention by drones that fly almost constantly over Lebanese airspace. “.
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The human factor remains essential
The experts interviewed agree, however, that the effectiveness of these technologies remains incomplete without personal data on the identity of Hezbollah members, their place of residence, their telephone number, the vehicles they use, the places they frequent. This type of information is mainly collected by networks of informants active on the ground and agents infiltrated within Hezbollah, hence the importance of the human factor. “, specifies the Lebanese security official.
To make things more difficult for the Israelis, Hezbollah revised and modified its security protocols regarding telecommunications, means of travel, and places of residence. Cell phones were strictly prohibited on the front lines, and mobilized fighters were ordered to refrain from social media even when on leave. Contact with family members was limited to a bare minimum, and travel by motorcycle was favored over cars and other vehicles.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese security services have also stepped up their efforts in recent weeks to try to identify and neutralize the networks of informants who provide the Israeli army with valuable information allowing it to locate and assassinate the party’s military leaders.
In late August, Lebanese security services arrested a former nurse at Hezbollah’s al-Rassoul al-Ahzam hospital on charges of providing the Israeli army with information on Hezbollah members and their places of residence. His interrogation provided insight into the means by which collaborators are recruited, the nature of the missions they are assigned, and their modus operandi.
Many other people suspected of collaborating with the Israeli army, including Syrian nationals living in Lebanon, have been arrested in recent months. The economic crisis that is hitting Lebanon has plunged an army of young people into precariousness. This has facilitated recruitment operations that are mainly carried out through social networks. Even if we have managed to neutralize collaborators with Israel, we are aware that many agents and networks remain active throughout Lebanon. ” concludes the security official.