TUNIS, March 24. /TASS/. Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has been waging a secret war against the Shiite organization Hezbollah in Africa for many years, the Jeune Afrique magazine reported.
Jeune Afrique quoted a source as saying that a large Lebanese diaspora lives in some African countries. "All Shiites from Lebanon, especially those from the country’s south, automatically come under suspicion as potential Hezbollah sponsors," a former operative who worked in Lebanon and Cote d'Ivoire told the magazine. According to an Israeli expert, many Lebanese-born entrepreneurs in West Africa make "voluntary donations" to the Hezbollah movement. "The Lebanese either pay this tax or are shunned from their community in some way," the expert added.
The magazine said Mossad was the most active in Gabon, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
While Gabon and other Gulf of Guinea countries often refuse to investigate the Lebanese diaspora, as they contribute hugely to their economy, they still want to maintain good relations with Israel.
According to the magazine, Mossad actively cooperates in the field of intelligence and surveillance with some African countries, including Cote d'Ivoire. "The deal is always the same: the Israelis give access to their technology, but demand access to the information gathered. They don't hide this: their goal is to keep an eye on the Lebanese community in Africa. That is why they equip the countries where it is most important with [technology]," an industry source told the publication.
The magazine writes that Israel is working in this way with a dozen African countries, ranging from Morocco and Nigeria to Kenya and Cameroon. In this way, the Israeli intelligence service "makes a map of Hezbollah’s financial networks and networks of influence."
Earlier in March, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the army had been ordered to hit dozens of targets in southern Lebanon in retaliation for the shelling of areas near the border village of Metula in northern Israel. A few hours earlier, the Israeli military registered attacks from Lebanon on the northern regions of the country for the first time since November 2024, intercepting at least three shells. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the army to take retaliatory measures.