Watan-The sination of prominent Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, carried out by an Israeli operation in the southern suburb of Beirut, has raised questions about the precision of the operation. The remarkable accuracy of the operation has led to speculation about whether it was guided by precise coordinates provided by a spy or potential spies residing in the same area, who were aware of a meeting of Hamas leaders.
The explosion in the Msharafieh area, one of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, which is a stronghold of the armed Hezbollah group, occurred on Tuesday evening. The incident resulted in the martyrdom of al-Arouri and six other members of Hamas, with others sustaining injuries. A massive fire also broke out on Hadi Nasrallah Street in southern Beirut.
A photo shared by Lebanese journalist “Nazeih Al-Ahdab” revealed the targeted apartment with precision, along with another building just a few meters away that remained undamaged due to the missile strike.
What prompted the comment was the precise nature of the strike, indicating that the coordinates were provided with remarkable accuracy, likely by a spy or spies working for Israel in the same area. Activists did not rule out the possibility that the precise targeting of Saleh al-Arouri was based on coordinates given by spies working for Israel within the so-called “Lebanese resistance” and specifically in the southern suburb.
In the past few months, Lebanese security forces have arrested over 100 individuals allegedly involved in Israeli espionage networks. Among them were individuals tasked with photographing locations in the southern suburbs of Beirut, predominantly Shia areas and a stronghold of Hezbollah, as well as the Sunni-majority area of Tariq Al-Jadideh in the western part of the city.
الإصابة الدقيقة مذهلة، ما يعني أن الجاسوس أو الجواسيس أعطوا الإحداثيات بدقة متناهية pic.twitter.com/ZuYbhe8DyU
— نزيه الأحدب (@NAlahdb) January 2, 2024
According to a previous report by “The Cradle,” investigations conducted by Lebanese security agencies revealed that most of the detainees had applied for job opportunities online before being contacted by phone numbers belonging to Israeli citizens. Some of the accused were asked to purchase local SIM cards and send them to addresses abroad.
For months, Lebanon has been facing an unprecedented secret Israeli attack, during which the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad recruited hundreds of Lebanese citizens for its covert operations.
This surge in espionage activity in the country is not coincidental. Under the guise of private companies looking for employees, the Israeli Mossad exploits Lebanon’s severe economic crisis to recruit agents and assign them intelligence-gathering missions.
The mobile phones
The investigations indicate that one of the detainees was in the process of opening a mobile phone store containing spy applications planted by Israeli intelligence. Another detainee was working under the cover of a humanitarian association tasked with monitoring the apartments of Hamas members in the suburb.