Watan-Amid a wide-ranging wave of debate and ongoing analyses related to the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri, the Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, by the Israeli occupation through an airstrike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
The latest contribution comes from Omani academic Dr. Hamoud Al-Nofli, who pointed to the possibility of executing this operation and reaching Al-Arouri’s location by the Mossad hacking into the phones of intermediaries who communicate with Hamas leadership.
The assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri in Lebanon sparks controversy
And “Al-Nofli” posted a tweet on the (X) platform that included images showing a set of news published by media outlets discussing preliminary results of negotiations between the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas and the occupation through intermediaries.
The Omani academic cited these previous news reports as evidence of the possibility of Mossad’s infiltration into the phones of intermediaries, aiding in the execution of the assassination by pinpointing Al-Arouri’s location.
The images included three pieces of news from a media source. The first one stated that Hamas had informed intermediaries of freezing any negotiations with Israel until further notice. The second conveyed, from unnamed sources, that intermediaries are currently working to prevent any possible major escalation following the assassination of Al-Arouri.
الظاهر كان الموساد يراقب تواصل الوسطاء مع القيادات، وطبعا الوسطاء معظمهم من أجهزة المخابرات، يا ترى هل اخترقت الهواتف عند التواصل، أم مرر رقم التواصل للصهاينة.
الخلاصة أن الاختراق تم عن طريق التفاهمات لوقف الحرب، ويجب وقف التواصل من أي قيادي مع أي وسيط.#المقاومة_التي_لا_تقهر pic.twitter.com/8V9tUNPvXN— د.حمود النوفلي (@hamoodalnoofli) January 2, 2024
As for the third piece of news, it indicates that Al-Arouri was communicating with intermediaries to reach larger understandings regarding the ceasefire, a point commented on by Al-Nofli, who tweeted: “Apparently, the Mossad was monitoring the intermediaries’ communication with the leadership.”
The Omani academic added, “Of course, most of the intermediaries are from intelligence agencies,” and he wondered, “Did the phones get hacked during communication, or was the contact number passed on to the Zionists?”
The associate professor at Sultan Qaboos University concluded that the essence lies in “the penetration happening through agreements to stop the war, and there must be a cessation of communication from any leader with any mediator.”
Possibly, Arab intelligence involved!
One commentator suggested that Lebanese intelligence might be implicated in the operation. Another mentioned that if Arab intelligence agencies were involved in those talks, or if any media outlets had a role, such as Al-Arabiya and Sky News, they might play a role.
Badr Al-Rashidi commented on the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri, stating, “This type of targeting with drones is often through the hacking of the communication devices of the target, accurately determining the location.”
It’s worth noting that Saleh Al-Arouri is one of the founders of the Qassam Brigades, the deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, responsible for financing and supplying the Qassam Brigades with weapons from abroad. He was also a senior negotiator in the Shalit deal.