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Munich To Exploding Pagers: Why Mossad Is Respected, And Feared

Munich To Exploding Pagers: Why Mossad Is Respected, And Feared

NDTV17-06-2025
Ask any expert or even a layman, which they think the world's premier and most effective spy agency is and the odds are that Israel's Mossad will be in their top three.
Formed in 1949 as the Institute for Co-Ordination, the Central Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, or Mossad, is known for its global reach, the commitment of its officers, the precision with which it carries out its operations, and the large amounts of time - often years - it spends planning them. The intrigue, spycraft and tools used in the operations have all the ingredients of a movie and it is, thus, no surprise, that several blockbusters - including 'Munich', 'The Impossible Spy' and 'The Angel' - have been made on them.
The image has been bolstered with Israel's operations this month in Iran in which several top military officials and scientists were killed and nuclear sites were targeted.
The success, however, has not been without some very big failures, notably Operation Sussanah or the Lavon Affair of 1954, under which the agency planned to conduct false-flag bombings in Egypt to destabilise the regime of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and stop the British from withdrawing their troops from the Suez Canal zone. The agency recruited a group of Egyptian jews to carry out bombings and planned to blame it on the Muslim Brotherhood and other elements within the country, but the group got caught when a bomb exploded prematurely. The fallout was so massive that Defence Minister Pinhas Livon had to resign.
Here are some of the agency's key successes:
Syrian Infiltration - The Eli Cohen Story
Between 1961 and 1965, Mossad agent Eli Cohen posed as a Syrian businessman and embedded himself in Damascus' elite circles. Cohen worked for the Israel Defense Forces as a counter-intelligence analyst and he tried to join the Mossad, but was upset when he was rejected.
Cohen began working as a clerk in an insurance company and did so for two years until Mossad began looking for an officer who could infiltrate the Syrian government. The then director general came across his file, and he was recruited.
Posing as a Syrian businessman under the name Kamel Amin Thabet, based in Argentina, Cohen moved to Damascus in 1962 and started building relationships with politicians and military officials. He also threw parties to which the elites were invited, gathering information by pretending to be drunk while conversations flowed around him.
Cohen gathered a large amount of intelligence data, travelled to Israel secretly, managed to scout Syrian installations in the Golan Heights and even became an adviser to the Syrian defence ministry. All the intelligence he gathered helped Israel defeat Arab nations during the Six-Day War in 1967.
Syrian intelligence officials arrested Cohen when he was sending a transmission in January 1965 and he was publicly hanged in May the same year. He remains a national hero in Israel.
Wrath Of God
A terrorist attack during the 1972 Summer Olympics in West Germany's Munich saw two members of the Israeli Olympic team being killed and nine others being held hostage. The nine hostages were also killed by the militants during a failed rescue attempt and the group behind the attack was the Palestinian militant organisation Black September.
To avenge the attack, the Israeli government asked Mossad to begin a covert operation, 'Wrath of God' to take out members of the organisation as well as the Palestine Liberation Organisation or PLO. The idea was to send a message and deter any such incidents directed at Israeli citizens in the future.
The operation, spanning years, saw Palestinian Wael Zwaiter being shot 12 times in Rome in 1972, followed quickly by a PLO representative in France, Mahmour Hamshari, being killed after a bomb was planted at his home in Paris and detonated through a telephone call. Both men, Israel said, were linked to the Munich attack, claims that were denied by Palestine.
In 1973, speedboats landed on the coast of Lebanon and military commandos were driven by Mossad agents to Beirut, where they killed the operations leader of Black September, Muhammad Youssef al-Najjar, and two key PLO members. Two Lebanese officers and an Italian citizen were also killed.
Operations went on for many years and several others, who Israel claimed were linked to the Munich massacre or other terror attacks, were killed.
Mossad was, however, heavily criticised for killing a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1973 after mistaking him for Ali Hassan Salameh, the chief of operations for Black September. Six Mossad team members were captured and convicted by Norwegian authorities.
Entebbe
Under Operation Entebbe or Operation Thunderbolt, Mossad provided intelligence to rescue hostages held by Palestinian and German hijackers, given cover by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, from Entebbe Airport in Uganda in 1976.
Four terrorists, from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary Cells hijacked Air France Flight 139 - from Tel Aviv to Paris - with 248 passengers and 12 crew members. 105 Jewish and Israeli passengers were separated and held hostage, demanding the release of 53 Palestinian and pro-Palestinian prisoners. The others were freed.
The hijacking occurred on June 27, 1976, and, on the intervening night of July 3 and 4, Israeli teams stormed the terminal and rescued 102 of 105 hostages in a 53-minute operation.
Stuxnet Cyberattack
While never confirmed, the Stuxnet cyberattack, which caused damage to Iran's nuclear programme, is believed to be a joint operation by Israel's Mossad and the United States' National Security Agency (NSA).
To delay Ira's uranium enrichment capabilities, which are critical to develop a nuclear weapon, the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant - one of the targets of this month's strikes - was targeted. The Stuxnet 'worm' was developed around 2005 and deployed from 2007 onwards to target controlling programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in Natanz's centrifuges.
The rotor speeds of a specific type of centrifuge were altered but sensor data was manipulated to give the impression that it was functioning normally.
Between 1,000 and 2,000 of Natanz's 9,000 centrifuges were destroyed and the Stuxnet attack is estimated to have turned back the clock on Iran's nuclear programme by about two years.
The worm was finally discovered in 2010.
Pager Bombs
One of Mossad's most audacious operations was revealed when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by the Iran-backed Lebanon-based group Hezbollah exploded in September last year.
Thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously on September 17 and, when Hezbollah was still recovering from the first-of-its-kind attack, walkie-talkies went off the next day.
At least 42 people were killed in the attack and more than 3,500 people were injured, including Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani.
Explosives were fitted with explosives in Taiwan. Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese firm, had placed the order and the pagers were tampered by Israeli agents before they arrived in Lebanon. Gold Apollo founder Hsu Ching-Kuang denied making the tampered pagers and said a Hungarian firm named BAC, which had the right to use his company's brand name, manufactured them.
Mossad also infiltrated the supply chain for the walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, using a web of shell companies to hide its involvement.
The entire planning reportedly took over a decade.
The use of everyday electronic items as bombs sparked fears, however, and Israel was criticised for the civilian casualties, including the death of two children. Human rights bodies and experts pointed out that there was no way for Israel to know who was around its targets, even if it managed to target only Hezbollah members in the first place.
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Amid violence in Syria, pressure on interim government grows

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Spy cockroaches and AI robots: Germany plots the future of warfare

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Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Public Policy Others others Operations Management Technology Data Analytics Project Management Management MBA Degree Leadership Design Thinking healthcare Data Science Healthcare CXO Digital Marketing Product Management Finance MCA Cybersecurity PGDM Data Science Artificial Intelligence Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Months IIM Calcutta Executive Programme in Public Policy and Management Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Economics for Public Policy Making Quantitative Techniques Public & Project Finance Law, Health & Urban Development Policy Duration: 12 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate Programme in Public Policy Management Starts on Mar 3, 2024 Get Details Now, that's the least of his problems. The Munich-based company more than doubled its valuation to $12 billion at a fundraising last month. 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Washington also began boosting defence tech startups in 2015 - including Shield AI, drone maker Anduril and software company Palantir - by awarding them parts of military contracts. European startups until recently languished with little government support. But an analysis by Aviation Week in May showed Europe's 19 top defence spenders - including Turkey and Ukraine - were projected to spend 180.1 billion this year on military procurement compared, to 175.6 billion for the United States. Washington's overall military spending will remain higher. Hans Christoph Atzpodien, head of Germany's security and defence sector association BDSV, said one challenge was that the military's procurement system was geared toward established suppliers and not well suited to the fast pace that new technologies require. Germany's defence ministry said in a statement it was taking steps to accelerate procurement and to better integrate startups in order to make new technologies quickly available to the Bundeswehr. Annette Lehnigk-Emden, head of the armed forces' powerful procurement agency, highlighted drones and AI as emerging fields that Germany needs to develop. "The changes they're bringing to the battlefield are as revolutionary as the introduction of the machine gun, tank, or airplane," she told Reuters. SPY COCKROACHES Sven Weizenegger, who heads up the Cyber Innovation hub, the Bundeswehr's innovation accelerator, said the war in Ukraine was also changing social attitudes, removing a stigma towards working in the defence sector. "Germany has developed a whole new openness towards the issue of security since the invasion," he said. Weizenegger said he was receiving 20-30 Linkedin requests a day, compared to maybe 2-3 weekly back in 2020, with ideas for defence technology to develop. Some of the ideas under development feel akin to science fiction - like Swarm Biotactics' cyborg cockroaches that are equipped with specialised miniature backpacks that enable real-time data collection via cameras for example. Electrical stimuli should allow humans to control the insects' movements remotely. The aim is for them to provide surveillance information in hostile environments - for example information about enemy positions. "Our bio-robots - based on living insects - are equipped with neural stimulation, sensors, and secure communication modules," said CEO Stefan Wilhelm. "They can be steered individually or operate autonomously in swarms. In the first half of the 20th century, German scientists pioneered many military technologies that became global standards, from ballistic missiles to jet aircraft and guided weapons. But following its defeat in World War II, Germany was demilitarized and its scientific talent was dispersed. Wernher von Braun, who invented the first ballistic missile for the Nazis, was one of hundreds of German scientists and engineers transported to the United States in the wake of World War II, where he later worked at NASA and developed the rocket that took Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. In recent decades, defence innovation has been a powerful driver of economic progress. Tech like the internet, GPS, semiconductors and jet engines originated in military research programs before transforming civilian life. Hit by high energy prices, a slowdown in demand for its exports and competition from China, Germany's $4.75 trillion economy contracted over the last two years. Expanding military research could provide an economic fillip. "We just need to get to this mindset: a strong defense industrial base means a strong economy and innovation on steroids," said Markus Federle, managing partner at defence-focused investment firm Tholus Capital. ESCAPING 'THE VALLEY OF DEATH' Risk aversion among European investors had in the past disadvantaged startups, which struggled to get the capital they need to survive the 'valley of death' - the critical early stage when costs are high and sales low. But a boost in defence spending by European governments following Russia's invasion of Ukraine has investors looking for opportunities. Europe now boasts three start-ups with a unicorn valuation of more than $1 billion: Helsing, German drone maker Quantum Systems , and Portugal's Tekever, which also manufactures drones. "There's a lot of pressure now on Germany being the lead nation of the European defense," said Sven Kruck, Quantum's chief strategy officer. Germany has become Ukraine's second-biggest military backer after the United States. Orders that might once have taken years to approve now take months and European startups have had the opportunity to test their products quickly in the field, several sources said. Venture capital funding of European defence tech hit $1 billion in 2024, up from a modest $373 million in 2022, and is expected to surge even more this year. "Society has recognized that we have to defend our democracies," said Christian Saller, general partner at HV Capital, an investor in both ARX and Quantum Systems. Venture capital funding has grown faster in Germany than elsewhere, according to a data analysis by Dealroom for Reuters. German defence startups have received $1.4 billion in the last five years from investors, followed by UK, the data shows. Jack Wang, partner at venture capital firm Project A, said many German defence startups - rooted in the country's engineering prowess - are good at integrating established components into scalable systems. "Quality of talent in Europe is extremely high, but as a whole, there's no better country, no better talent that we've seen other than in Germany," he said. 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Germany bets on AI robots, drones, and biotech to lead future wars
Germany bets on AI robots, drones, and biotech to lead future wars

India Today

time8 hours ago

  • India Today

Germany bets on AI robots, drones, and biotech to lead future wars

Germany is taking a leap toward modernising its defence system by heavily investing in advanced military technologies like artificial intelligence, autonomous robots, and even cyborg cockroaches. This could be a gamechanger amid security threats in Europe after Russia's invasion of has exposed Europe's military weaknesses and reliance on American security. For people like Gundbert Scherf, co-founder of defence tech startup Helsing, the war changed whose Munich-based company creates AI-based military tools and drones, struggled to get investors when he first started. But today, things have flipped. Speaking to Reuters, "Europe this year, for the first time in decades, is spending more on defence technology acquisition than the US." According to news agency Reuters, last month, Helsing's value more than doubled to $12 German government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz is now opening the doors of its military to collaborate directly with start-ups. The goal is to fast-track innovation and reduce dependence on traditional defence giants."We want to help give Europe its spine back," Scherf POWER GERMANY'S HIGH-TECH DEFENCE PUSHGermany is not just big firms like Rheinmetall and Hensoldt but also smaller companies working on futuristic ideas. These include ARX Robotics, which makes autonomous tank-like machines, and Swarm Biotactics, which is building insect-based spy tools."Our bio-robots -- based on living insects -- are equipped with neural stimulation, sensors, and secure communication modules," said Stefan Wilhelm, CEO of Swarm Biotactics. "They can be steered individually or operate autonomously in swarms."The German military's innovation hub is also seeing a sharp rise in interest. "Germany has developed a whole new openness towards the issue of security since the invasion," said Sven Weizenegger, who leads the Cyber Innovation Hub. He added that he now receives 20 to 30 LinkedIn messages a day with defence tech ideas, compared to just a few per week back in transformation isn't just about gadgets. Germany plans to nearly triple its annual defence budget to $175 billion by 2029 and meet NATO's 3.5% GDP defense spending goal. A new draft law will even make it easier for startups to get advance payments and win government Wietfeld, founder of ARX Robotics, described a turning point after meeting Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. "He told me: 'Money is no longer an excuse—it's there now'," Wietfeld AIMS TO LEAD EUROPE'S DEFENSE FUTUREIn fact, Europe's 19 largest defence spenders are set to outspend the US in military procurement this year: $180 billion versus America's $175 billion. Overall US military spending remains higher, but the gap in technology investment is narrowing has recognised that we have to defend our democracies," said Christian Saller, an investor in defence startups like ARX and Quantum capital funding in German defence tech has jumped from $373 million in 2022 to $1 billion in 2024. German companies have received $1.4 billion in the last five years—more than any other country in Europe."The startups just need the brains to do the engineering and prototyping," said Stefan Thumann, CEO of Donaustahl. "And the German Mittelstand will be their muscles."- EndsWith inputs from ReutersMust Watch

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