Hamas used emojis as code for launching Oct. 7 assault, IDF claims
The Hamas terrorist organization reportedly used a sequence of emojis as a code to plan the Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre, Israel’s Military Censor allowed for publication on Monday.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the emojis were discovered on phones belonging to operatives of Hamas’ elite Nukhba Force, the unit responsible for the deadliest single-day attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
According to the report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) determined that the same emoji sequence had been used in two earlier failed large-scale attacks by Hamas in September 2022 and April 2023. The symbols instructed Nukhba operatives to switch to Israeli SIM cards in preparation for the invasion, Ynet reported.
At 2:45 a.m. on Oct. 7, Israeli intelligence detected dozens of Israeli SIM cards being activated in Gaza, but the activity was dismissed by the domestic security agency, Shin Bet, local media reported last year. This was not the first activation—another occurred the previous night around 9 p.m., and by Oct. 5, roughly 45 communication devices used by Gaza operatives had been activated.
A Shin Bet intelligence summary for southern Israel, circulated to intelligence and political officials, downplayed the activity:
“Today and yesterday, there were SIMs in certain areas of Gaza. This is not unusual, since similar tests were carried out by Hamas last year as well. According to the division and command, Hamas has not changed its routine. The information is preliminary and there are routine activities in Hamas. A discussion on the matter will be held by the Southern Command Intelligence Officer at 08:30 and by the Southern Command heads at 10:00.”
The anomaly was detected approximately three hours and 45 minutes before thousands of Hamas terrorists breached the Israeli security fence, killing around 1,200 people, wounding thousands more, and taking 251 hostages.
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