Hezbollah's intervention in Syria: A turning point in exposing its cards to Israeli intelligence

Hezbollah's intervention in Syria: A turning point in exposing its cards to Israeli intelligence
Hezbollah's intervention in Syria revealed new vulnerabilities in its organizational structure, highlighting the strategic risks of regional expansion for non-governmental armed groups
October 1, 2024, 2:02 am

حمص.. حزب الله اللبناني/ ليفانت نيوز

Western media reports have revealed a radical shift in Israeli intelligence strategy towards Lebanese Hezbollah, enabling it to achieve a deep penetration that ultimately led to the assassination of the party's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

According to the Financial Times, this shift came as a result of a wide-ranging redirection of Israeli intelligence gathering efforts after its failure to deliver a knockout blow to the party in 2006.

The newspaper indicated that Israel's advanced signals intelligence unit 8200, along with other teams, has over the past two decades extracted vast amounts of data to create a comprehensive map of Hezbollah.

This new approach went beyond focusing on the party's military wing to include its political ambitions, increasing ties with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, and Nasrallah's relationship with the Syrian regime.

According to reports, Hezbollah's intervention in Syria marked a crucial turning point, revealing many of its cards and making its forces vulnerable to intelligence penetration.

The newspaper quoted Randa Slim, program director at the Middle East Institute in Washington, as saying, "Syria was the beginning of Hezbollah's expansion that weakened its internal control mechanisms and opened the door for infiltration on a large scale."

The Guardian explained that the intelligence penetration of Hezbollah was so deep that Israel was aware of Nasrallah's movements and plans to meet with other leaders at a secret location. The newspaper, citing Le Parisien, reported that the spy who informed the Israelis of Nasrallah's movements was Iranian.

This Israeli intelligence success contrasts sharply with its failure to anticipate Hamas's attack on October 7th. This disparity points to the importance of continuous adaptation in intelligence work and the need to keep pace with technical and field developments.

Levant-Agencies

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