From Yossi Melman, well-informed intelligence reporter at the Haaretz, the Israeli news site.
The coronavirus emergency has forced Israel’s intelligence community – Shin Bet, Mossad and military intelligence (Aman) – to adapt themselves to the new reality. Thanks to travel bans and restrictions on face-to-face meetings, their collection methods have to be modified. They must minimize what is called humint (running agents) and expand the use of technological measures – digital devices, cyber, big data analysis and so on.
In Iran too, the Revolutionary Guards, army and police are mobilized for the battle against the virus. In Lebanon, the army and Hezbollah are also working hand in hand to contain the disease. Even in Hamas-ruled Gaza and in the Palestinian Authority – with their limited capabilities – the police, the military and security bodies play a dominant rule.
Source: Coronavirus ‘truce’: The guns falling silent across the Middle East – Middle East News – Haaretz.com
