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 cyber security worldwide, both because of its government activities and the growing private sector, which exports everything, from network security products to tools invasions from companies like the NSO Group and Cellebrite.
Earlier this year, Israel's technology capabilities made headlines when sabotaged (again) Iran's nuclear program. No one has confirmed what exactly happened, but an explosion stopped uranium enrichment in Natanz, Iran, when centrifuges broke down.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu never confirmed that Israel was behind the attack, but greeted Mossad for a successful one business. Of course, the operation reminded many of the virus Stuxnet, which was used in 2010 to sabotage Iran's nuclear program again.
However, for Hamas militants in Gaza, Israel's most "loved" enemy, the Middle East's cyber security superpower is responding with conventional bombs, many of which are supplied by the USA. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 200 people have been killed. Some of these bombs, according to the Israeli Defense Force, were used in retaliation against Palestinian cyber operations (!).
Last week, the Israeli air force wrote on Twitter that it had attacked a site where Hamas was storing "cyber equipment" in the northern strip of Gaza. On Wednesday, he wrote on Twitter that he had attacked 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.
He still paid her and the Associated Press and other international media outlets and according to the attackers the target was "electronic part of the Hamas military wing".
According to CNN, a senior official of the Forces Defenseof Israel said the building was used for research and development of high-level capabilities for sensitive cyber attacks against Israel. Israel said bombing the building was "the only way" to defeat the specific threat, always 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 cyber security analyst who has asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the press. Reported on the 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 London's War Studies Department, 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."
This is war, and the goal of every war is the ultimate extermination of the enemy. So apparently Israel is willing to drop bombs to kill and is not looking to use sophisticated chain attacks supply, since no blood flows.
Even if it means demolishing media offices and killing children.
