A previously quiet file has resurfaced in Lebanon in recent weeks: reports that several senior Hezbollah officials have undergone cosmetic and reconstructive facial surgeries in Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran, in some cases under the supervision of teams linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Nidaa Al-Watan newspaper reported. 

According to media outlets and sources close to the group, the procedures involve not only fighters wounded in last year’s confrontations with Israel, but also political and field commanders who suffered no direct injuries. 

The renewed interest comes amid rising concerns over Israel’s growing use of artificial intelligence, biometric technologies, and integrated surveillance systems to track, identify, and target members of the Iran-backed group. During last year’s conflict, Israeli media reported that the Israeli military deployed an extensive suite of aerial surveillance tools, drones, and facial-recognition systems powered by artificial intelligence. These technologies are capable of identifying individuals through old photographs, recent images, or even footage captured by public surveillance cameras.

In southern Lebanon, where drones, cameras, and electronic monitoring have become woven into daily life, simply masking one’s face is no longer sufficient. The precision of these systems, combined with encrypted communication tracking, has reportedly contributed to several Israeli strikes that targeted Hezbollah leaders through visual and digital signatures.

Consequently, altering facial features has emerged as a protective measure; an effort to complicate Israeli detection and reduce the accuracy of targeted strikes.

A medical source told Nidaa al-Watan that while cosmetic surgery can adjust surface-level features, it cannot erase the underlying anatomical structure.

“Cosmetic procedures can modify the external appearance to varying degrees, but they cannot fully eliminate the original anatomical foundation. The bone structure, skull shape, and positioning of the eyes, nose, and mouth remain strong indicators that modern systems can still analyze," the source said.

He said surgeons can re-shape the nose, jawline, chin, cheeks, and forehead, and adjust the eyelids, ears, lips, and eyebrows.

“However, you cannot fundamentally change the relative distances between features, the skull’s configuration, or the structure of the forehead,” he added.

From a biometric standpoint, even extensive surgery does not guarantee anonymity.

“Advanced facial-recognition AI can still achieve 70–80% accuracy by analyzing deep facial landmarks, not just the surface appearance,” he said. “A person may confuse acquaintances, but not the cameras.”

Regarding iris identification, the source noted that no contact lens can alter the internal structure of the iris.

“Iris scanners detect infrared patterns inside the eye. Colored or reflective lenses might temporarily obscure them, but the system will flag that as an abnormal obstruction.”

For that reason, some military organizations reportedly resort to “facial obfuscation surgery,” highly complex operations designed specifically to disrupt biometric identifiers. Such procedures are costly, lengthy, and reserved for high-ranking officials.

Digital marketing and telecommunications expert Bashir al-Taghrini said facial recognition is only one component of Israeli targeting systems.

“Cameras in public areas, which many of them compromised, are capable of identifying Hezbollah officials,” he said. “Facial features are checked alongside voice analysis to confirm the target before an assassination strike.”

Speaking to Nidaa al-Watan, he said Israeli systems such as “Lavender” rely on aggregated datasets: voiceprints, phone communication metadata, Facebook activity, social-media patterns, and movement indicators.

“These integrated datasets gave Israel accuracy approaching 99% when selecting targets for drone strikes,” he said. “Direct facial-reading becomes more relevant in highly precise intelligence missions or field assassinations, where an operator confirms the target before the strike.”

Cosmetic alterations, he said, may “raise the difficulty slightly, but do not eliminate the ability to identify someone.”

“Even when fighters in Gaza covered their faces, targeted killings continued. Over the last two years, systems like Lavender have advanced further. Israel now uses voice tone, body heat, movement patterns, and frequency of public appearance," he explained. 

He noted that a personal escort to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was recently identified and killed “based on movement patterns, body-temperature readings inside a vehicle, social-media data, and published photographs combined together for confirmation.”

“Face covering alone is not enough,” he said. “Israel is among the most advanced countries in military AI and visual surveillance. Units like 8200 and Aman use high-resolution cameras, satellites capable of distinguishing human features, and software developed by companies such as AnyVision, Corsight AI, and BriefCam.”

Military sources tracking the issue said that although several Hezbollah commanders have successfully altered their facial features, the effect is temporary.

“Biometric and behavioral datasets are constantly updated,” the sources said. “A commander might still be identified through voiceprints, fingerprints, credit-card activity, or his geographic movements.”

“If someone changes his features, what about his voice? His fingerprints? His financial traces? His social environment? Aren’t they all still the same?” one source said. “Facial modification has limited and temporary impact. It does not guarantee escape from targeted strikes, especially since commanders continue to operate in heavily monitored regions. Detection algorithms will eventually find them.”