In irony of ironies, Israel army fears soldiers' phones being tracked by Hezbollah

The Israeli military is investigating claims that personal phones used by its troops in southern Lebanon, are being hacked by Hezbollah to locate and target the invading force.

The 36 Division's probe comes after soldiers in the elite Golani Brigade filmed themselves hoisting an Israeli flag in the village of Maroun el-Ras in Nabatieh.

Israel's top military brass are concerned that Hezbollah could be using Iranian-supplied equipment to locate the exact positions of Israeli soldiers via their mobile phone signals, enabling precision attacks on the troops.

The report noted that the Israeli military has ordered soldiers to leave phones in Israel during the invasion of South Lebanon, but that the order is not being followed or strictly implemented because of a decline in military discipline.

One Israeli military source told Yedioth Ahronoth that only verbal warnings have been given to soldiers disobeying the order, noting that this is a continuation of practices in Gaza.

Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip frequently post videos of themselves destroying infrastructure, spraying pro-Israel or anti-Palestinian graffiti on buildings, or ransacking Palestinian homes.

The incident in Maroun el-Ras saw Israeli soldiers destroy the so-called Iranian Garden which had images of former IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei displayed there.

The footage was broadcast by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.

Shortly after, a UNFIL spokesman said Israeli soldiers had left the area, but couldn’t confirm if there was a full withdrawal.

Hezbollah, however, released a statement saying it had targeted the the invading force with a missile at around 8pm on Tuesday, presumably after the Israeli flag raising incident took place.

Israel's invasion of south Lebanon that began on 1 October has seen four divisions - the 36, 91, 98, and 146 Division - cross the UN's blue line demarcating the border between the two countries.

According to the Israeli military 12 soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the invasion.

Israel's bombardment of Lebanon has killed 2,141 people and wounded a further 10,099 according to Lebanon's ministry of health.

Its evacuation orders have displaced 600,000 people across the country, according to UN data.