While Hamas fired 690 rockets at Israeli civilians during the recent flare-up, Israel is careful to warn civilians away from its own targets. As Hamas always places its warehouses of weapons, including rockets, and its fighters, too, in the midst of civilian neighborhoods, and even in the same buildings as civilians (including schools and hospitals) Israel has perfected the technique known as “knock on the roof.” This refers to the IDF’s practice of dropping non-explosive or low-yield devices on the roofs of targeted civilian homes or other buildings in the Palestinian territories as a prior warning of imminent bombing attacks to give the inhabitants time to flee the attack.The practice was employed by the IDF during the 2008–2009 Gaza War, Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, and Operation Protective Edge in 2014 to target the homes of police officers or Hamas political or military leaders. But it is also used for office buildings, schoolhouses, apartment houses. Sometimes the residents are given a fifteen minute warming, sometimes ten, sometimes five, sometimes 30 seconds. .
And sometimes, if the entire structure has been deemed to be full of enemy fighters, there may be no “knock on the roof”at all. Apparently that was what happened in the case of a building in the middle of a civilian area where Hamas’s group of cyberattackers worked (and possibly lived). The Israeli intelligence services determined that there were no civilians in the building, based on their recognition that cyber-attackers are just as much soldiers as any soldier in uniform.. The Israelis gave no warning, and leveled much of the building. Hamas has said nothing about the wiping out of its entire cyberattack fighters; it would be too humiliating. No doubt it will eventually claim that its cyberwarriors were located elsewhere, and remain unscathed.
The IDF has said that it successfully conducted an airstrike on Hamas’ cyberwar headquarters, and that Hamas “no longer has any cyberwar capability.”
This incident is an unprecedented, immediate, kinetic response to a cyberattack and is likely to be closely watched by cyberwarfare experts. Israel is already a world leader in cybersecurity and cyberwarfare, which makes its actions and techniques in this case likely to be emulated by other countries in the future. Hamas never expected a physical (“kinetic”)attack on its own cyberwarriors. To date, cyberattacks have always been responded to by cyber counterattacks, but not by physical removal of enemy hackers. That is what Israel has just accomplished, which should make its enemies think hard about conducting cyberwar against it. Even though Israel is a world leader in cyberwar (remember Stuxnet?), right up there with America, Russia, and China, it has apparently decided that retaliatory cyberattacks are not enough, and cyberwarriors are indeed not civilians but soldiers, and legitimate targets of attack. That should worry the cyberattackers in their offices in Teheran. They surely remember how many of the key Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated by Israeli agents several years ago. They now must worry about similar attacks, as they are walking to work, or driving along a street clogged with traffic, only to have an assassin on a scooter pull up beside them and eliminate them, once and for all, as a cyberwar threat, before speeding off.
This has immediately been recognized as a significant new development: a cyberattack from Gaza is met by an air attack from Israel. No “knocks on the roof.”As usual from the Israelis, there was pinpoint destruction of the building housing the cyberwar headquarters, leaving unscathed all the buildings around it. It is true that in the past the American military has killed several cyberwarriors working for ISIS, but never in real time, and always targeting individuals such as Junaid Hussain, not anything like the cyberwar headquarters Israel has just destroyed..
Israel’ s feat is extraordinary. It foiled the cyberattack, and then within minutes, launched its own counterattack on the cyber headquarters of Hamas. This was a real attack, with real bombs, on real people who made the mistake — as so many do– of failing to appreciate Israel’s shape-shifting ability to counter every new threat.
Anjuli Pandavar says
Brilliant! Mazel tov!
gravenimage says
Bravo Israel!
Charles Lutz says
Love Israel’s armed forces! Hebrews have always been the brainest.
Buraq says
Hamas are just a bunch of floppy dics! Please excuse the spelling error! :))
Anjuli Pandavar says
five and a quarter inch 🙂 AND they needed a fatwa before they could use them.
Jean Terry says
Israel has always needed to be one step ahead and as usual they are ten steps ahead while surrounded by enemies. God bless and protect Israel.
Sherry says
My sentiments exactly !! 🙂
Joe says
Amen! Israel does it right!
Pam says
There are many countries that should be thanking Israel, they took out a threat that is a threat to all non Islamic countries. God Bless Israel!
DP111 says
Strictly this is not a war but an operation to gather MSM support. If this was a genuine war, it would be Gen Patton rules.
Terry Gain says
The compassion, restraint and technological brilliance of Israel is breathtaking. The people who will not allow them to live in peace are the worst of people. Not being able to compete is not justification for continual attacks.
gravenimage says
Spot on about Israel, Terry.
Wellington says
Israel here is both humanitarian and smart.
Fortunately, Hamas never learns and remains immensely inhumane and perpetually dumb. Rather like the Islamic world in general.
dsinc says
“immensely inhumane and perpetually dumb”
A good description for the followers of Muhammad.
oldone says
Don’t you just hate it when that happens???….Let’s hear it for Israel!!!
Simo Hayha says
I just LOVE stories with happy endings! THIS Israeli response to an attack, cyber attack, to be sure, but an ATTACK against Israel nonetheless is a new beginning for the IDF heroes of Israel! Of course, when the mental midgets of hamas shoot explosive rockets into Israel, the IDF should make sure to cut off electricity, water, and fuel Israel supplies to these slimy murderers! One rocket fired into Israel? One DAY without these vital supplies. One HUNDRED rockets fired into Israel? ONE HUNDRED DAYS WITHOUT these.
SIX HUNDRED rockets……….? TaaaaaDAH!
na says
Israel has all the rights to exist in that region. Israel is Jewish ancestral home. If we have a God that is the God of Israel.
Xavier Basora says
Damn. I wonder if this gives the Americans ideas towards its own cyber enemies?
Rods from God attacks?
isabella123@hotmail.com says
God Bless Israel
Tom J says
And countries let Muslims in and support them with Welfare??? Then the Muslims perpetuate their Politics on the host country. Then they raise 8 to 10 kids to over populate the country in 2 generations. What is the matter with countries??? Why don’t we believe them when they say they will take us over and kill those that do not succumb? Kick them back to their countries and let them live in the HELL they want for the world.
Bella says
Amazing. We have a lot to learn from Israel.
Dr. Doom says
Well done!