The Lebanese authorities has accused Israel of jamming satellite tv for pc indicators, disrupting floor and air site visitors within the nation.
Uber driver Hussein Khalil battled site visitors in Beirut when he discovered himself within the Gaza Strip – in keeping with his on-line map, anyway – as location jamming blamed on Israel disrupts life in Lebanon.
“We’ve been dealing with this problem a lot for around five months,” mentioned Khalil, 36.
“Sometimes we can’t work at all,” the disgruntled driver instructed AFP on Beirut’s chaotic, car-choked streets.
“Of course, we are losing money.”
For months, whacky location information on apps have induced confusion in Lebanon, the place Hezbollah has been engaged in cross-border clashes with Israel.
The near-daily exchanges began after Hamas, Hezbollah’s Palestinian ally, launched the Oct. 7 incursion, triggering Israel’s genocidal conflict on Gaza.
In March, Beirut lodged a criticism with the United Nations about “attacks by Israel on Lebanese sovereignty in the form of jamming the airspace around” the Beirut airport.
Khalil confirmed AFP screenshots of apps displaying his places not solely within the Gazan metropolis of Rafah – round 300 kilometers (185 miles) away – but additionally in east Lebanon close to the Syrian border when he was truly in Beirut.
With on-line maps crazy, Khalil mentioned “one passenger phoned me and asked, ‘Are you in Baalbek?'” referring to a metropolis in east Lebanon.
“I told her: ‘No, I’ll be at your location (in Beirut) in two minutes.'”
Numerous residents have reported their on-line map location as showing at Beirut airport whereas they have been truly elsewhere within the capital.
Since launching the Gaza conflict, Israel has taken measures to disrupt Global Positioning System (GPS) performance for the group and different opponents.
Drones, guided missiles
The Israeli military mentioned in October that it disrupted GPS “in a proactive manner for various operational needs.”
It warned of “various and temporary effects on location-based applications”.
Specialist website gpsjam.org, which compiles geolocation sign disruption information based mostly on plane information studies, reported a low degree of disruption round Gaza on Oct. 7.
But the following day, disturbances elevated across the Palestinian territory and likewise alongside the border between Israel and Lebanon.
On June 28, the extent of interference displaying on the location was excessive above Lebanon and elements of Syria, Jordan and Israel.
An AFP journalist in Jerusalem mentioned her location appeared as if she was in Cairo, Egypt’s capital about 400 kilometers away.
The interference has at instances prolonged to European Union member Greek Cypriot administration, some 200 kilometers from Lebanon, the place AFP journalists have reported their GPS location showing at Beirut airport as an alternative of on the island.
“Israel is using GPS jamming to disrupt or interfere with Hezbollah’s communications,” mentioned Freddy Khoueiry, world safety analyst for the Middle East and North Africa in danger intelligence firm RANE.
It is “also using GPS spoofing … to send false GPS signals, aimed at disrupting and hindering drones’ and precision-guided missiles’ abilities to function or hit their targets,” he added.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah has “a large arsenal” of such GPS-assisted weapons, he famous.
The cross-border exchanges have killed greater than 490 individuals in Lebanon – largely fighters – in keeping with an AFP tally, with 26 individuals killed in northern Israel, in keeping with authorities there.
Fears have grown of all-out battle between the foes that final went to conflict in 2006.
‘Compass and paper map’
Asked about GPS jamming in northern Israel, the place Hezbollah has concentrated its assaults, a spokesperson for Israel’s Defense Ministry instructed AFP’s Jerusalem workplace that “currently, we are unable to discuss operational matters.”
Lebanon’s civil aviation chief Fadi el-Hassan mentioned that since March, the physique has requested pilots flying in or out of Beirut to “rely on ground navigation equipment and not on GPS signals due to the ongoing interference in the region.”
Ground navigation gear is usually used as a backup system.
Hassan expressed frustration that “in this technological age, a pilot who wants to land at our airport cannot use GPS due to Israeli enemy interference.”
Lebanon is making certain “the maintenance of ground navigation equipment at all times in order to provide the necessary signals for pilots to land safely,” he mentioned.
Avedis Seropian, a licensed pilot, mentioned he had stopped utilizing GPS in latest months.
“We got used to the situation. I don’t rely on (GPS) at all … I fly relying on a compass and paper map,” he instructed AFP.
But he mentioned not having GPS, at the same time as a fallback, was disconcerting.
When geolocation information is fallacious and visibility is poor, “you can suddenly find yourself in a state of panic,” he mentioned.
“That could lead to an accident or a disaster.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com