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- Unit 8200: Israel's Intelligence Startup
In his speech on Sunday evening, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stated that the "primary target of the operation" conducted by his group was "the Glilot base, the main Israeli military intelligence base." This facility, located 110 kilometers from the Lebanese border, is home to Unit 8200, the technological wing of the Israeli military.
In response to the killing of its top military leader, Fouad Shokr, in an Israeli strike on July 30, Hezbollah launched an attack early on Sunday morning against 11 Israeli military bases. According to a statement from the pro-Iranian group, "over 320 Katyusha rockets" and "a large number of drones" were used in the assault. One that Israel claims caused minimal damage, but which highlights the importance of the Glilot base to Hezbollah.
Military Intelligence Headquarters
The Glilot base, located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, houses the headquarters of several army intelligence units, including the Mossad, Israel’s external intelligence agency.
It is also home to the renowned Unit 8200 (pronounced 8-200), an elite Israeli intelligence service specializing in cyber surveillance and cyber warfare. Similar to the US National Security Agency (NSA), Unit 8200 operates under Aman, the Israeli military intelligence.
According to various experts, Unit 8200's personnel numbers range from 5,000 to 10,000 members, with about half being active at any given time—accounting for nearly 80% of Aman’s total workforce. It is the largest unit in the Israeli military.
Regarded as one of the largest listening facilities worldwide, the unit operates a SIGINT (signals intelligence) base in the Negev Desert. According to an investigation by Le Monde Diplomatique, this base can monitor telephone and internet communications throughout the Middle East and Europe. Additionally, listening centers are reportedly situated in Israeli embassies around the world.
A Predominantly Young Unit
Mandatory military service allows the unit to enlist young Israelis from the age of 17. Proficiency in mathematics, computer science and foreign languages, particularly Arabic, is highly sought after. However, the ability to learn quickly is deemed as an important attribute.
The unit offers its recruits extensive training in these fields. A 2017 article in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps quoted a former member of the unit who described the demanding nature of the work, stating that recruits should be ready to "work 18 hours a day, seven days a week."
Early on, the young recruits are entrusted with significant responsibilities, due to the unit's minimal military hierarchy. They are encouraged to work as a team and to improvise in order to advance their missions. These skills are highly sought after by cybersecurity companies and in the entrepreneurial sector after their service. For example, a quarter of the employees at the Israeli NSO Group, known for its Pegasus spyware program, are former members of this unit.
Controversial Operations
The unit is often criticized for its mass surveillance of millions of Palestinian civilians. Numerous instances of blackmail have been reported, especially involving members of the LGBT community, who are coerced into cooperating under the threat of having their sexual orientation exposed to their families.
This widespread surveillance of the Palestinian population has been condemned by several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International. The organization highlights the use of the Red Wolf facial recognition system to restrict Palestinians' freedom of movement. According to Amnesty, "Red Wolf is a facial recognition system used by the Israeli military at checkpoints in the city of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank," and it "uses biometric data to determine whether an individual can pass through the checkpoint."
Moreover, the unit is suspected of having been involved in the creation of the Stuxnet virus, which infected several computers in 2010, including those of high strategic importance at Iranian nuclear facilities. One of its most notable achievements was intercepting a conversation between King Hussein of Jordan and Gamal Abdel Nasser at the onset of the Six-Day War.
Additionally, Unit 8200 is reported to use an advanced AI system known as Évangile, which analyzes data from mobile and internet networks to identify potential targets. This system has faced significant criticism in Gaza for its lack of accuracy and the potential errors that impact civilians.
The Failure of October 7
On October 7, the unit faced criticism for its failure to anticipate the Hamas attack. This oversight is deemed one of the most serious since the founding of Israel. In September, several members had warned of the imminent Hamas operation, but their warnings were dismissed by their superiors.
Moreover, according to the Israeli television channel KAN, Unit 8200 was not operational that morning due to a decision to reduce staff during nighttime and weekends. This decision hampered the effectiveness of the Israeli response to the attack and the targeting of infiltrated Hamas militants.
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