A new report reveals that intelligence agencies from the UK and US have, in the past, hacked into the video feeds of Israeli drones and jets. The resulting images depict military operations around Gaza and drones that appear to carry weapons.
The Intercept has published a series of images that are said to have been collected in 2009 and 2010 by the NSA and the UK’s GCHQ. It’s claimed that many of the images were collected as part of a program code-named “Anarchist” during operations conducted from a mountain top in Cyprus. The images appear to have been captured form on-board cameras on both fighter jets and drones.
Having consulted experts, The Intercept suggests that some of the images show a Heron TP drone — which is built by Israel Aerospace Industries — carrying missiles. “[T]he images offer rare visual evidence to support reports that Israel flies attack drones,” writes the website, “an open secret that the Israeli government won’t acknowledge.”
Elsewhere, the images appear to depict what the GCHQ referred to as “areas of interest” — which may include the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the borders between Israel, Lebanon and Syria.
It’s thought that the feeds beamed back from Israeli drones and jets were supposed to be heavily encrypted, according to The Intercept‘s sources. If these images come from feeds that were supposed to be secure, the country’s authorities may have some work to do.
Read the full story on The Intercept.
Images from The Intercept