Thousands of Hezbollah “fighters” who were walking carelessly through the streets of Beirut and other major Lebanese cities saw the blasters they use to communicate with the extremist organization explode. At least 8 people died and almost 3,000 were injured.
It is unlikely that we will see Israel formally claim responsibility for this unprecedented attack. Nor did it do so for the assassination of Ismail Haniya in Tehran. However, there is little doubt about who was behind this coup. Analysts speak of a very serious and utterly humiliating breach of security within the terrorist organization.
The bells went off simultaneously. The Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist group has already said it will retaliate and has launched an internal investigation into the circumstances.
The entire security mechanism is being questioned
“This is unprecedented. Hezbollah prided itself on its rigorous security measures,” Emily Harding, a former senior CIA analyst, told the BBC. “A breach of this magnitude is not only physically damaging, but it will also make them question their entire security apparatus,” said Harding, who now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“I hope to see them conduct an intensive internal investigation that distracts them from a potential battle with Israel,” he adds.
Hezbollah vulnerable to Israeli technology
On the same wavelength, Lina Katib of Chatham House comments that the attack “highlights how deeply Israel has penetrated Hezbollah’s communications network.” He stresses that “the scale of the latest attack is deeply humiliating for Hezbollah, showing how vulnerable its security is in the face of sophisticated Israeli military technology.”
It is worth noting that so-called Hezbollah fighters have been using mobile phones to communicate for years, but it was decided to use buzzers instead, as mobile devices were believed to be vulnerable to hacker attacks.
