Israel’s military and domestic security service have publicly acknowledged a special intelligence operation dedicated to finding every person accused of participating in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack or helping hold Israeli hostages in Gaza.

The joint Israel Defense Forces–Shin Bet unit is known as NILI, a Hebrew acronym for Netzach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker, commonly translated as “The Eternal One of Israel Will Not Lie.”

The name was previously used by a Jewish espionage network that assisted Britain against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. For the modern task force, it represents Israel’s promise that those responsible for the October 7 attack will not be forgotten.

According to an August 9 report by The Times of Israel, NILI officers have assembled a database containing thousands of names. The list includes people accused of crossing into Israel during the attack, planning the operation, abducting Israelis, guarding or abusing hostages, and participating in staged hostage-release ceremonies.

An earlier Israeli estimate said more than 2,700 people on the list had been killed. A subsequent report by Israel’s Channel 12 placed the number at approximately 2,800, including roughly 1,200 attackers killed by Israeli forces inside Israel on October 7 itself.

The figures come from Israeli security agencies and have not been independently verified.

Israeli authorities estimate that between 5,000 and 6,000 armed men from Hamas and other Palestinian groups entered Israel during the assault. Approximately 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and 251 others were abducted and taken into Gaza.

Building a Target List From the Attackers’ Own Recordings

Many of the attackers recorded the assault with body cameras, cellphones and GoPro-style devices. Videos were uploaded to social media or recovered by Israeli forces, giving investigators an enormous amount of visual evidence.

NILI personnel reportedly use specialized facial-recognition systems to identify people appearing in the footage. That information is combined with artificial intelligence, intercepted communications, location records, intelligence gathered in Gaza and interrogations of Palestinian detainees.

Released hostages have also helped investigators identify people who allegedly guarded, transported or abused them during captivity.

Former senior Shin Bet official Adi Rotem described the accumulated intelligence as an “endless pile of material.” Officers said the unit created a spreadsheet containing thousands of suspected participants and then began the painstaking process of identifying and locating them.

One NILI officer told Israeli television that the targets range from senior Hamas commanders to lower-level participants, including the driver of an earthmover used to break through the border barrier.

In some cases, the unit reportedly followed suspects’ daily routines in extraordinary detail, studying where they shopped, when they prayed and even what they ate for breakfast before passing targeting information to military commanders.

Those reportedly killed through the broader campaign include individuals accused of abducting hostages Yaffa Adar, Yagil Yaakov, Yarden Bibas and Avinatan Or. Israeli officials have also said that Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Marwan Issa—all accused of central roles in planning or directing the attack—were killed during the war.

Hundreds Await Special Tribunal

Israel is also holding an estimated 200 to 300 Palestinians captured during or after the October 7 assault. They are accused of crimes including murder, kidnapping, rape, torture and other atrocities.

In May, Israel’s parliament approved legislation establishing a special military tribunal to prosecute them. The measure passed by a 93-0 vote in the 120-member Knesset, although some lawmakers were absent or did not vote.

The tribunal will consist of a three-judge panel sitting in Jerusalem. Major proceedings are expected to be public and broadcast, while survivors and victims’ relatives will be permitted to attend.

Defendants could face charges involving crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and crimes against the Jewish people. Some convictions could carry the death penalty, although any death sentence would receive an automatic appeal. Israel has not executed anyone since Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was hanged in 1962.

No date has been announced for the trials, and the identities of many detainees remain classified. Reuters reported that the court could also prosecute suspects captured later in Gaza who are accused of participating in the assault or holding and abusing hostages.

Supporters say the tribunal will create a legal record of the October 7 atrocities and give victims a formal measure of justice. Critics, including some legal and human-rights experts, have raised concerns about due process, the military-court setting and the possibility of politically charged proceedings.

Legal Questions Surround the Killing Campaign

The Israeli government says operations against NILI targets are carried out within established legal and operational rules. However, legal experts have noted that participation in a past attack does not automatically make someone a lawful military target forever.

Under the laws of armed conflict, Hamas commanders and active members performing military functions may generally be targeted. The legal question becomes more complicated when a suspect is no longer participating in hostilities or has left an armed organization.

A Just Security analysis concluded that many NILI-related strikes may be lawful if the targets remain active members of an organized armed group. The authors warned, however, that past participation in the October 7 attack alone may not provide a sufficient legal basis for killing someone who no longer poses a military threat.

Israel has rejected descriptions of the campaign as unlawful revenge. An IDF spokesman said the military follows an orderly process consistent with international law when acting against participants in the massacre.

Hamas has condemned the campaign as a program of extrajudicial killings.

A Mission Designed to Continue for Years

NILI was established soon after the October 7 attack and includes experienced intelligence personnel from the IDF, Shin Bet, the standing military and the reserves.

Its mission has been compared inside Israel to the long-running campaign against people connected to the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The unit reportedly became smaller after the October 2025 ceasefire, with a limited number of operatives continuing to track suspects and provide intelligence to Israeli military commanders. The campaign itself, however, did not end.

An Israeli official said the work would continue regardless of how much time passes.

For NILI, the list remains open—and Israeli security officials say the effort to find those still on it is far from over.

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