Israel bombs to fight Gaza hackers

Israel prides itself on its technological prowess. It produces tons of scientific research, has Nobel laureates, and over the years, seems to have become a major player in the global cybersecurity arena, both due to its government activities and its growing private sector, which exports everything from network security products to hacking tools from companies like NSO Group and Cellebrite.

Earlier this year, Israel's technological capabilities made headlines when it sabotaged Iran's nuclear program (again). No one has confirmed exactly what happened, but an explosion halted uranium enrichment at Natanz, Iran, when centrifuges malfunctioned.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu never confirmed that Israel was behind the attack, but he congratulated Mossad for a successful operation. Of course, the operation reminded many of the Stuxnet virus , which was used in 2010 to sabotage Iran's nuclear program again.

However, for Hamas fighters in Gaza, Israel's most "beloved" enemy, the Middle East cyber security superpower responds with conventional bombs, many of which are supplied by the United States. More than 200 people have been killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Some of these bombs, according to the Israeli Defense Forces, were used in retaliation against Palestinian cyber operations (!).

Last week, the Israeli Air Force tweeted that it had struck a site where Hamas was storing “cyber equipment” in the northern Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, it tweeted that it had struck three Hamas members in an apartment used for cyber operations.

"This attack is part of dozens of operations against Hamas' capabilities in cyberspace," the Israelis said.

It was even paid for by the Associated Press and other international media outlets, and according to the attackers, the target was “the electronic department of the military wing of Hamas.”

According to CNN, a senior Israel Defense Forces official said the building was used for research and development of high-level capabilities for sensitive cyberattacks against Israel. Israel said bombing the building was “the only way” to overcome this threat, according to CNN.

Even if we believe that every building that has been bombed by Israel in Gaza is a threat to Israel's security, where are the cyber-attacks by the imaginary Middle Eastern nation, which is secretly infiltrating Iran's carefully guarded nuclear facility?

Bombing one of the most populous parts of the world, which is under Israeli blockade and just an hour's drive from Tel Aviv, seems to be the only way for Israel to slow down its "cyber attacks". Hamas?

Israel just wanted to bomb the Palestinians with excuses, a cybersecurity analyst working in the defense industry who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the press, told Motherboard.

"I just have a hard time believing that Israel thought that Hamas's cyber operations were threats that they could not deal with and that they had to drop bombs."

Daniel Moore, a cyber researcher and former PhD student at King's College, Department of War Studies in London, said:

"I guess Israel's shrinking target bank had some entries that were labeled as being used by Hamas for cyber activities, but the bombings are unlikely to reduce cyber operational efficiency. "Hamas has some potential, mainly in gathering intelligence, but I doubt that this plays an important role in Israel's overall aggressive policy."

It is a war, and the goal of any war is the ultimate annihilation of the adversary. So it seems that Israel is willing to drop bombs to kill and does not seek to use sophisticated attacks on the supply chain, since there is no bloodshed.
Even if it means demolishing media offices and killing children.

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George is still wondering what he is doing here….