by Alexis Hachem·the961.com –– In a recent case of espionage involving Hezbollah members, the Lebanese Information Branch has documented the confession of Amir Zaghieb, who served as an official in the Nabatieh area and was part of the electronic surveillance unit, according to Hezbollah-affiliated Al Akhbar newspaper. Janoubia noted that Zaghieb had close ties with Jawad Hassan Nasrallah, the son of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah. In 2016, Zaghieb (born 1997) received a nursing degree from the Rasul Al-Akram Institute and worked at Al-Zahraa University Hospital until 2021. Later, he joined a company selling cosmetic products and barber supplies in the southern suburbs of Beirut as a sales representative. However, Zaghieb admitted to working for Israel since 2017 when he applied for a job advertised on Facebook for a money transfer company. Shortly after applying, he received an email explaining the job’s nature, which involved transferring money to other individuals for a commission.
A few days later, Zaghieb was contacted by a person through Facebook Messenger, who informed him that he would be the liaison with the company. This individual transferred $750 to Zaghieb, instructing him to keep $100 as commission and send the remaining amount to specific recipients. After completing the task, the same person requested more personal information from Zaghieb, particularly verifying whether he lived in the southern suburbs of Beirut. When Zaghieb confirmed his residence in Hay al-Salim, the contact inquired if he would provide information about Hezbollah locations in exchange for payment. Zaghieb agreed.
During his confession, Zaghieb said, “The next day, he transferred $2,500 to me. We started chatting on Messenger about three times a week. He asked me about all my relatives, their names, addresses, jobs, and party affiliations… He also asked about the party affiliations of my community and my own affiliation. When I told him that I was a member of Hezbollah‘s Educational Mobilization and was attending a Soldiers and Supporters course within the party, he showed even greater interest…” The Israeli operative sought information on two residential complexes in the southern suburbs and the home of Sheikh Ali Salim. Although Zaghieb was not part of the Educational Mobilization or any other Hezbollah-affiliated body, he falsely claimed this to gain the operative’s trust and increase the financial rewards he could receive for information.
Zaghieb exaggerated the information to create the illusion that he knew many details, which led to the development and expansion of the relationship and the operative’s demands. Zaghieb informed the investigators that the operative asked him about two residential complexes in the Haret Hreik area with iron barriers at their entrances, whether Hezbollah leaders lived there, and if there were other entrances. “I told him there were other entrances used by party members with security clearance… He then asked me for the names of nearby businesses and if I could take photos of the entrance and the intercom box with the residents’ names.
I went there on a motorbike, observed the area, and gave him the names of the businesses but did not take any pictures fearing exposure,” Zaghieb stated. The detainee also revealed that the Israeli operative inquired about the locations where Hezbollah holds its celebrations, specifically the Sayyed al-Shuhada complex, and whether there were other entrances besides the main one. “I told him there was a hidden, unknown entrance, and he insisted on getting more details about it,” Zaghieb shared. He was asked about various security checkpoints and barriers, as well as whether the personnel manning them are armed or not. Amir confirms that the checkpoints typically consist of unarmed personnel on the ground, supported by armed personnel in parked vehicles nearby.
Amir was also tasked with filming specific areas and streets in the southern suburb as dictated by his operator. The operator asked Amir about Hezbollah centers and affiliated branches in the region. Amir informed the operator about cultural and religious courses held in mosques and other venues affiliated with the party. The operator also inquired about a hospital, its entrances, and security personnel, as well as whether there was any tunnel connecting it to another facility. Amir mentioned a tunnel linking the hospital to a heart center located 300 meters away.
Amir further disclosed that the Israeli operator offered him $15,000 for providing information about Hassan Nasrallah and $10,000 for information about Sheikh Naim Qassem. The operator also inquired about various other locations, car license plates, and other specific details related to local Hezbollah-affiliated religious figures. It was revealed that Amir had publicly accused, on social media, the protestors of the 2019 Lebanese revolution of being “Israeli agents” – a common and overused narrative by Hezbollah supporters to discredit critics and opponents.
