The official insignia of the Israeli Mossad.
Early in May a scandal unraveled in Lebanon as authorities arrested Mohammad al-Saleh, a religious singer close to Hezbollah, on the suspicion of spying for Israel.
Al-Saleh is alleged to have worked with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. He is reported to be the brother of a Hezbollah fighter killed during the recent confrontation with Israel and the son of one of the group’s commanders.
Lebanese authorities confirmed the arrest but released few details. A military court judge charged al-Saleh with “collaborating with the Israeli enemy and involvement in the killing of Lebanese civilians for money.”
Initially, al-Saleh was questioned over financial fraud allegations. While examining his phone, authorities found suspicious communications with Israeli agents, leading to the espionage charges.
Al-Saleh, an amateur trader, suffered major financial losses in the stock market and fell into debt, according to Arab media reports, including ones from Saudi-owned Al-Hadath and Lebanon’s Janoubia website, which is known for its stance against Hezbollah.
Financial troubles were apparently what pushed him to cooperate with the Mossad. His relationship with Israel is said to have begun in October of 2024, around the time of the Israeli military’s ground operations in southern Lebanon.
First contact with him was reportedly made in Iraq. At the time, he claimed to have been a member of Hezbollah’s Unit 4100, undergoing training and carrying out missions in Lebanon and Syria.
He allegedly provided sensitive information about Hezbollah in exchange for roughly $23,000, paid in several installments.
Al-Saleh used his close ties with the children of senior Hezbollah officials to gather intelligence on their activities. He reportedly gave Israel locations of Hezbollah command centers targeted in the war, contributing to strikes that killed dozens of fighters and commanders.
Furthermore, it was reported that al-Saleh discussed with Mossad the types of motorcycles used by Hezbollah fighters, information that could help carry out assassinations or even large-scale targeted operations like the pager attack from September of 2024.
A message attributed to al-Saleh, revealed in reports, described the types of motorcycles used by Hezbollah members and noted restrictions on their use in mountainous and border areas to access secret locations.
The arrest sparked outrage among Hezbollah supporters, who shared photos of al-Saleh alongside Hezbollah fighters and commanders killed by Israel in the recent fighting. Some even claimed that he was involved in as many as 40 assassinations, without presenting any evidence.
Hezbollah was always viewed as a very solid group on the ideological level. However, the group’s security apparatus have apparently failed to adapt with new trends and challenges, giving the Mossad, and possibly others, a chance to penetrate.
The assassination of nearly all of Hezbollah leadership, including its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, showcased just how deep Israelis were able to penetrate the group’s ranks.
Negligence is also to blame for Hezbollah’s security troubles. This was very evident in the pager attack, where the lack of any background checks and proper technical inspection allowed the importing of boody-trapped devices that caused some 3,500 casualties.
Some observers even believe that Hezbollah’s involvement in the war in Syria, a country with a fractured security structure, also played a key role in exposing many of the group’s secrets.
Hezbollah came out of the last round of fighting with heavy losses and is still struggling to actually end the war, with Israel launching attacks on a near-daily basis. The priority of the group will not likely be the reorganization of its military wing, but rather the rehabilitation of its security apparatus. This will not likely be possible without scaling down in size. Overall, the group will have to reshape to survive.
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