People are shopping at the Nabatieh market in South Lebanon, which reopened after being destroyed during the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, on May 19, 2025. Aziz Taher/Reuters
Facebook has become a gateway. WhatsApp, an operations room.As today’s wars extend far beyond the battlefield, social networks are proving fertile ground for intelligence work. Since the start of the Israeli offensive on Gaza and the subsequent escalation in Lebanon, cases of collaboration with Israel have multiplied, revealing an increasingly familiar modus operandi: a click, a contact, a transfer of information. Secret meetings and coded messages are no longer necessary.The case of Ahmad Ali Zakr is one of the most striking examples to emerge.Zakr, a 38-year-old Lebanese man from Arab Salim in southern Lebanon's Nabatieh district, was sentenced last week to eight years in prison by Beirut’s military court, presided over by General Wassim Fayad. He was convicted of collaborating with the Israeli enemy during the September 2024 war. ...
Facebook has become a gateway. WhatsApp, an operations room.As today’s wars extend far beyond the battlefield, social networks are proving fertile ground for intelligence work. Since the start of the Israeli offensive on Gaza and the subsequent escalation in Lebanon, cases of collaboration with Israel have multiplied, revealing an increasingly familiar modus operandi: a click, a contact, a transfer of information. Secret meetings and coded messages are no longer necessary.The case of Ahmad Ali Zakr is one of the most striking examples to emerge.Zakr, a 38-year-old Lebanese man from Arab Salim in southern Lebanon's Nabatieh district, was sentenced last week to eight years in prison by Beirut’s military court, presided over by General Wassim Fayad. He was convicted of collaborating with the Israeli enemy during the September 2024...