(Credit: AFP/Illustration)
BEIRUT — Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday filed a complaint with the U.N. Security Council and U.N. Secretary-General, requesting that member states condemn the "Israeli cyber attacks on Lebanon," the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
These attacks, "pose a serious threat to civil aviation services, threaten the security and safety of communications networks, devices, applications and electronic data in Lebanese vital facilities and installations," the ministry said in a statement.
The complaint, filed through the U.N.'s permanent mission in New York, was discussed yesterday during the cabinet meeting.
Additionally, the ministry filed a complaint with the headquarters of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, requesting "technical measures to stop these attacks and help Lebanon ensure the smooth functioning of its communications networks."
According to a report from the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications, interference from northern Israel has been causing a decline in the accuracy of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in Lebanon. This interference has disrupted transportation and communication services and triggered repeated alerts from the "Network Time Protocol Server" (NTP Server), which is used to synchronize computer clocks within a network. The report suggests that the GPS signal loss is also affecting the quality of service for mobile network operators.
Lebanon condemned these "continuous Israeli attacks on its sovereignty, territorial integrity and citizens," considering them a "cyber war that threatens communication networks, the safety of transportation and a blatant violation of international laws and regulations."
The country also called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop these "destructive practices."
Meanwhile, on Monday, caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib indicated that he sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council, as a response to a complaint sent the same day by his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, in which he denounced the "serious consequences" of the strike on Majdel Shams, which Israel attributed to Hezbollah, despite the party denying its involvement.
In his letter, Bou Habib accused Israel of using this narrative to "divert attention" from its violations of international law, referring to its "prolonged occupation of Gaza and the Syrian Golan." The two ministers called on the Security Council to give a positive response to their respective requests.
