Victor Ostrovsky, in his book “By Way of Deception: The Making of a Mossad Officer”, argues that Mossad literal motto is “By deception, thou shalt do war”. Israel established its first psywar unit after the second Intifada (Palestinian uprising) circa 2000-2005. The unit was named “Malat” in Hebrew, meaning “the Center for Consciousness Operations,” and it became operational at the time of the second Lebanon war in 2006.

Malat was made operational for the three main purposes: Hamas militants, the civilian support base of Hamas, and general Palestinian citizens living in the Gaza Strip. Although the main purpose of Malat was to target the Palestinian population, it now conducts psychological and sabotage operations in other countries along with “Mossad,” Israel’s premier intelligence agency.

Malat was made operational for the three main purposes: Hamas militants, the civilian support base of Hamas, and general Palestinian citizens living in the Gaza Strip.

The recent sabotage operations that Israel conducted, such as the assassination of Ismael Haniyeh in Tehran as well as the pager and walkie-talkie explosions to target Hezbollah members, were a preparation of the foundation for something substantial. These were followed by the air campaign that targeted Hezbollah-dominated regions of south Lebanon and the capital Beirut. The Israeli air campaign was also successful in killing the chief of Hezbollah, Syed Hasan Nasrallah, last week on Friday night at his bunker in Beirut. Israeli air force used American-made BLU-109s 2000-pound bombs to kill the Hezbollah chief. These bombs are also known as “Bunker Busters” which can penetrate deep into the ground to take out the target. At least 15 BLU-109s were fired on the target location.

Meanwhile, the earlier operation involving the explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies – just days before the killing of Nasrallah – is a perfect example of inflicting psychological terror. Twenty people were killed and more than 450 wounded in Wednesday’s attack, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. And a day before, thousands of Hezbollah pagers exploded, killing at least 37 and wounding more than 3000 people, including some children. The primary target of those exploding electronic devices were Hezbollah-dominated regions such as Beirut and its southern suburbs – Hermel, Baalbek, Saida, Nabatieh, Tyre, Naqoura, and Marajayoun.

The earlier operation involving the explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies – just days before the killing of Nasrallah – is a perfect example of inflicting psychological terror.

Reportedly, people across Lebanon after those explosions are feeling traumatized and nervous. People using non-military walkie-talkies in civilian spheres have also abandoned using them due to the fear of being booby-trapped.

Amid the rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of the latest conflict on October 7, both parties are engaged in sub-conventional level conflict.  This sabotage operation serves two purposes for Israel. First is that Israelis may have intel about a potential operation that Hezbollah was about to conduct against Israel. The successful execution of this operation has thwarted Hezbollah’s plans to conduct any military venture against Israel because their communication medium is almost choked. The second purpose is to inflict the fear of being surveilled all the time by the Israeli intelligence network. This operation would have certainly sent shockwaves into the operational command of Hezbollah, making them appear vulnerable to Israeli sabotage operations.

Hezbollah would now be looking inward to solidify its operational command and communication systems rather than focusing on the threats emanating from Israel. The Israeli security apparatus uses such tactics with utmost precision and has achieved credible success in going forward with such misadventures.

The assassination of Hamas political chief Ismael Haniyeh happened just a month ago in a similar mysterious way. Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He was killed in an explosion at a state guesthouse in Tehran on July 31, 2024. The fact that how Mossad carried out this operation is yet to be ascertained, but there are different theories that revolve around Haniyeh’s murder.

According to BBC, the killing was carried out using the “short-range projectile,” fired from outside, which caused the explosion and killed the Hamas chief along with his bodyguard. The New York Times investigative story claims that the bomb was smuggled into the Tehran guest house two months ago.

Israeli sabotage operations have almost become routine in Iran, and Tehran seems helpless in countering it.

The fact of the matter is whether the explosion was caused by the explosive installed within or from a projectile launched from outside is not important here. What is important is that Israel was successful in assassinating one of the top commanders of Hamas in Iran. This assassination also raised some serious questions about the capability of the Iranian security establishment. Israeli sabotage operations have almost become routine in Iran, and Tehran seems helpless in countering it. That’s a success of Israel’s military cum psychological operations.

The assassination plot of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsin Fakhrizade was hatched in a similar manner by Mossad. Top Iranian nuclear scientist Fakhrizade was assassinated in November 2020 in a sophisticated hit led by a Mossad team that reportedly deployed a computerized machine gun. It required no on-site operatives, took less than a minute, and did not injure anyone else, including the scientist’s wife who was with him at the time. The weapon and its mounted device were smuggled into Iran in bits and pieces months before the operation. The Mossad team handled the whole operation from a command center outside the country.

Israel is a textbook example of a security state, and its attitude toward security is not normal.

A report, based on the interviews of American, Israeli, Iranian, and two intelligence operatives involved in the operation, says Mossad has been following the movements and career trajectory of Fakhrizade since 2007.

Fakhrizade was a physicist by profession and was considered to be the father of the Iranian nuclear program. Mossad and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hatched the assassination plot in late 2019 and early 2020. The time of execution of this operation was chosen to serve the purpose of both country’s administrations. Former US President Donald Trump wanted re-election, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to sabotage the possibility of revival of the Iran nuclear deal. The operation went in the favor of Israel but proved fatal for Trump, as he lost the 2020 presidential elections to Joe Biden.

Israel is a textbook example of a security state, and its attitude toward security is not normal. It inflicts psychological terror on its opponents to keep them at bay. They justify their actions based on Zionist ethos and deem those steps necessary for the survival of a Jewish state. The ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, which has now expanded into Lebanon, is a perfect example of “how Israel deals with the security threats”. Israel is willing and ready to violate any article of international law and diplomatic norms to safeguard its security interests. Similarly, in dealing with Iran, Israel will use any tactic available in its arsenal with no regard for its legality, morality, and acceptability.

The Israeli sabotage operations that are followed by the fierce air campaign of south Lebanon and the ground invasion will prove catastrophic for the region. The looming clouds of a regional war in the Middle East are on the horizon. Israel is looking for a direct military confrontation with Iran because it knows that Iran lacks the conventional wherewithal and relies more on the network of its proxies. So much now depends on the reaction of Iran, as Israel has pushed them almost to the point of no return. If Tehran doesn’t restore the deterrence equation, Israel’s next target could possibly be the Supreme Leader of Iran.