Pager attack puts spotlight on Israeli cyber agency

Published September 19, 2024
Ambulances arrive at American University of Beirut’s medical centre carrying injured people.—Reuters
Ambulances arrive at American University of Beirut’s medical centre carrying injured people.—Reuters

LONDON: The mass pager attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon has turned the spotlight on Israel’s secretive Unit 8200, the Israel Defence Forces’ intelligence unit, which a Western security source said was involved in planning the operation.

Israeli officials have remained silent on the audacious intelligence operation that killed 12 people on Tuesday and wounded thousands of Hezbollah operatives, and at least one person was killed on Wednesday when hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated.

One Western security source said that Unit 8200, a military unit that is not part of the spy agency, was involved in the development stage of the operation against Hezbollah which was over a year in the making.

The source said Unit 8200 was involved in the technical side of testing how they could insert explosive material within the manufacturing process.

The Israeli military declined to comment. The prime minister’s office that has oversight of Mossad did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yossi Kuperwasser, a former military intelligence official and now research director at the Israel Defence and Security Forum, said there was no confirmation that the military intelligence unit was involved in the attack.

But he said 8200’s members were some of the best and brightest personnel in the Israeli military, serving in a unit at the centre of Israel’s defence capabilities.

“The challenges they are facing are immense, very demanding, and we need the best people to get involved in that,” he said.

The unit — and its legion of young, hand-picked soldiers — develops and operates intelligence gathering tools and is often likened to the US National Security Agency.

In a rare public statement about the unit’s activities, the IDF said in 2018 that it had helped to thwart an air attack by Islamic State on a Western country.

At the time, it said the unit’s operations ran from intelligence gathering and cyber defence to “technological attacks and strikes.”

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2024

Opinion

From hard to harder

From hard to harder

Instead of ‘hard state’ turning even harder, citizens deserve a state that goes soft on them in delivering democratic and development aspirations.

Editorial

Canal unrest
Updated 03 Apr, 2025

Canal unrest

With rising water scarcity in Indus system, it is crucial to move towards a consensus-driven policymaking process.
Iran-US tension
03 Apr, 2025

Iran-US tension

THE Trump administration’s threats aimed at Iran do not bode well for global peace, and unless Washington changes...
Flights to history
03 Apr, 2025

Flights to history

MOHENJODARO could have been the forgotten gold we desperately need. Instead, this 5,000-year-old well of antiquity ...
Eid amidst crises
Updated 31 Mar, 2025

Eid amidst crises

Until the Muslim world takes practical steps to end these atrocities, these besieged populations will see no joy.
Women’s rights
Updated 01 Apr, 2025

Women’s rights

Such judgements, and others directly impacting women’s rights should be given more airtime in media.
Not helping
Updated 02 Apr, 2025

Not helping

If it's committed to peace in Balochistan, the state must draw a line between militancy and legitimate protest.