IP Surveillance to Command Control: How Israel Leveraged Lebanese Telecom to Track and Disrupt Hezbollah

By Elijah J. Magnier

Over the years, Israel has systematically mapped and monitored Hezbollah’s movements, communication networks, storage facilities, command centres, and operational sites across Lebanon. Utilising drones, satellite imagery, surveillance, and collaboration with Western and regional allies, Israel has gathered extensive intelligence on Hezbollah’s infrastructure. Numerous individuals within and outside Hezbollah’s inner circle have been apprehended, many of whom confessed to spying for Israeli intelligence agencies, including Mossad, Unit 504 (Aman), and Unit 8200. Despite these security breaches, Hezbollah has remained largely unaware of the full scope of Israeli espionage. Over time, Israel has leveraged insights from compromised Lebanese and Hezbollah communications networks, resulting in targeted assassinations of leaders and the destruction of key storage sites.

One of Israel’s most significant espionage successes occurred in 2010, when it gained comprehensive access to the Lebanese communications infrastructure after the arrest of a senior engineer within Lebanon’s government communications department. This engineer, responsible for key sectors like IP networks, microwave links, VPNs, firewalls, and base transceiver stations (BTS), provided Israeli intelligence with server keys and other sensitive data. This access gave Israel unprecedented insight into Lebanon’s wired and wireless communication systems, delivering a major intelligence advantage over the communications of Lebanese citizens and Hezbollah operatives.

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