Hamas tracked nearly 100,000 IDF soldiers on social networks for years before the October 7 attack, gathering intelligence in preparation since 2018, Army Radio reported Sunday morning following an independent Jerusalem Post report from March.
As many as 2,500 terrorists were involved in Hamas’s intelligence system. They monitored IDF soldiers' personal accounts for years, using their posts to compile daily reports on base layouts, company locations, and security weaknesses.
Hamas terrorists also created fake “avatar” accounts to enable them to become Facebook friends and Instagram followers of soldiers and officers whose accounts were private. Using ‘shadow” accounts, others were able to infiltrate WhatsApp groups related to the IDF.
This way, terrorists could track individuals from the day they were recruited until they became a commander, receiving information on a wide range of IDF locations and battalions.
Preparing models from social media data
Using photos and videos taken inside bases, from TikTok clips by soldiers, footage from discharge ceremonies, and release parades, Hamas was able to build accurate models of military bases, including exits and entries, security camera positions, armory locations, and the location of the quick response unit.
Using these models, Hamas built maps and simulations, using 3D simulation software and VR headsets to allow Nukhba terrorists to rehearse their infiltrations into Israeli bases.
Hamas also built physical models of bases along the Gaza border to train terrorists. While Israel did have intelligence on the models, their accuracy came as a surprise.
“We did not imagine how accurate they were,” one senior officer said. An air force officer said, “Hamas knew this base better than I did, and I served there for many years.”
The Post's Yonah Jeremy Bob previously reported that IDF soldiers left so many markers on social media that Hamas invaders on October 7 had a complete breakdown of nearly every unit, sub-unit, and building within the Nahal Oz IDF base.
So complete were the social media descriptions, often simply from photos that soldiers snapped next to different buildings on their first or last day in a position, that the IDF official probe of the battle has concluded that Hamas did not need a single spy to pull off its highly specific infiltration plan.