The Ultra-Secret 'Unit 8200' Redeems Itself with Hezbollah Attack

The attack on Hezbollah with a massive sabotage of their pagers and walkie-talkies is still shrouded in the fog of secret services, especially when the Tel Aviv government remains silent about all aspects surrounding the operation. The secrecy surrounding this action also extends to the units responsible for altering thousands of pagers and selling them to the Lebanese terrorist organization. Although all indications point to Israeli secret services, the Mossad, another group that could be involved is the so-called 'Unit 8200', the Israeli Army branch that has turned technology into the most dangerous weapon of war.

'Unit 8200', dependent on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and not on the government presidency like Mossad, is one of the most advanced technological organizations in the world. Any advancement a Hollywood screenwriter could imagine for a thriller, this unit has already created and is using it in the fight against terrorism and political action of the Israeli government. Its members are young people sought out in high schools and universities after demonstrating above-average technological knowledge and innovation capabilities.

Unit 8200 is based in ultra-secret facilities in the Negev desert. It is known to consist of several thousand soldiers, among whom are Arabists capable of understanding every nuance of all languages spoken in the region. Their function is to be able to listen in real-time to everything their enemies say, but their power does not end there. According to various sources, this unit can infiltrate enemy countries' cyber systems and take over all military capabilities of the rival. A technological capability demonstrated by Israel by simultaneously detonating over 3,000 pagers sold to Hezbollah.

The most famous case of technological intrusion involving Unit 8200 is 'Operation Orchard'. This mission completed in 2007 involved bombing a nuclear reactor in Syria, built by North Korea, where nuclear fuel was being processed. The Israelis managed to get five planes into Syrian airspace and destroy the facility. To carry out the flight safely, Unit 8200 hacked Syria's radar systems and introduced false information so that Israeli bombings would not be detected. Three years later, a computer virus destroyed the computers Iran used in its nuclear program. This massive and destructive infection was attributed to 'Unit 8200'.

The echo of 'Unit 8200' goes beyond the Middle East conflict. Being part of an elite organization in technological matters is equivalent to having a doctorate from any of the world's best universities, so soldiers who leave this service are highly sought after by leading innovation companies worldwide. In this regard, Pegasus, the remote control system used to spy on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles, was a spy program created by former members of '8200'.

Despite this aura of success, the great drama of 'Unit 8200' occurred on October 7 last year when their technological advances proved useless in detecting Hamas's attack on southern Israel, in which more than 1,700 citizens were killed. All their technological arsenal failed to foresee the plans with which the massacre was organized from Gaza.

Just a week ago, it was revealed that Yossi Sariel, the general in charge of the unit, had resigned after acknowledging his failure to stop Hamas's offensive. Sariel's resignation was accompanied by other commanders who also took responsibility for failing to alert about the terrorist attack. "On October 7 at 6:29 AM, I did not fulfill the task expected of me, as my subordinates and commanders expected from me and as expected by the citizens of this country I love so much," Sariel wrote in a letter to his subordinates published by Haaretz daily. This resignation, like those of other officials linked to secret services, aimed to calm a society increasingly dissatisfied with their spies' performance. The technological blow to Hezbollah has allowed secret services to vindicate themselves before citizens increasingly critical of their work.