US EditionEmojis, SIM swaps: How Hamas greenlit October 7 massacre, undetected by Israel
Hamas used emoji sequences on WhatsApp to covertly coordinate the October 7, 2023 attack, directing fighters to use Israeli SIM cards and specific assembly points, Israeli Military Intelligence found.
- On October 7, 2023 the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate revealed Hamas used emoji-laden WhatsApp messages as a coded signal to launch the invasion, discovered weeks later while analyzing thousands of captured phones and cleared for publication by military censors.
- Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades relied on innocuous emoji patterns with preset meanings to direct operatives and signal the Nukhba force to use Israeli SIM cards.
- At 9 p.m. on October 6, 2023, dozens of SIM cards were activated in Gaza amid rising cellular traffic, with officials discussing this until 11:30 p.m. and requesting increased surveillance overnight.
- Unit 8200 had shut down listening and monitoring capabilities well before the war, no alert was raised, and Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were not awakened despite attackers preparing at border breach points.
- Technical limits like WhatsApp encryption hindered real-time detection, as the Shin Bet identified unusual activity and updated the Military Intelligence Directorate, which notified Southern Command; MID later termed this oversight 'intelligence without content.
17 Articles
17 Articles
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Sueddeutsche Zeitung
Die PresseHamas fighters have been mobilized for the brutal attack on Israel, according to media reports about simple mobile phone symbols. The Israeli army has not yet confirmed the reports.
The 'Emoji Code' – The Encrypted Language Hamas Used on Oct. 7
JERUSALEM (Israel Hayom) – Hamas terrorists used emojis they sent via WhatsApp to communicate with each other in encrypted form during the night between October 6 and 7, 2023. The emojis – primarily hearts and stars – were designed to signal to the terrorists that the time had come to launch the attack on the […]
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