After months of GPS mishaps in northern Israel amid cross border fighting with Hezbollah, Israelis in the center of the country are now also experiencing similar problems amid concerns of an Iranian attack in response to the killing of its senior IRGC commander last week.
Israelis in Tel Aviv reported their Waze navigational app was showing them that they were in Beirut. Google Maps, and Moovit were also insisting they were in the Lebanese capital although they were seeing Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Rishon Lezion outside their car windows.
Israel's cybersecurity chief Yigal Unna told Ynet on Thursday that the disruption of the GPS apps was an effective tool to confuse weapons using the technology to reach their targets and suggests using maps like in the old days.
Reports of GPS mishaps began early in the war, mostly in the north although at times, apps in the center of the country insisted Israelis were in Cairo while walking the shores of Tel Aviv. At the time, Israel's Cyber directorate said that security agencies were purposefully disrupting GPS apps for security reasons and urged the public to be patient and aware of temporary location-based mishaps, calming concerns of cyber attacks.
"During the fighting, GPS jamming is activated for various operational needs in order to protect the security of the residents of the State of Israel," the IDF spokesperson's Unit said in December.
"We are aware that GPS disruptions are currently being activated throughout Israel and are affecting all location-based applications at this stage, Google, Waze parent company said at the time. "Due to the disruptions, there may be temporary inaccuracies in finding the location and navigation in the Waze application. As always, Waze monitors carefully to ensure that the map is as accurate and up-to-date as possible."