As Israel prepares to bring nearly 3,000 people who participated in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas to a special Israeli military court, Israeli sources have revealed new information about how the attack was planned.
The sources said that Hamas used a series of emojis sent to the phones of its fighters as an encrypted signal to prepare to launch the attack that sparked a devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, Channel 12 reported.
The information indicated that this series of emojis was used to inform fighters of the so-called “Elite Force” affiliated with Hamas of the necessity of equipping their phones with Israeli SIM cards for use in the Gaza envelope area, gathering at the specific starting points, and preparing their weapons to carry out the attack.
At nine o’clock in the evening on October 6, 2023, the Israeli General Security Service, Shin Bet, monitored the activation of a number of Israeli SIM cards by members of Hamas. These segments were tracked before the data was shared with the Israeli army intelligence services. Later that night, more chips were activated, bringing the number to dozens.
According to the information, the Israeli army discovered on the phones found with Hamas fighters on October 7 the same series of emojis that had been used on two previous occasions when the movement intended to launch a large-scale attack, the first in May 2023 and the second in September 2022, according to the Times of Israel.
In May 2023, the Shin Bet also monitored the activation of dozens of Israeli SIM cards by Hamas fighters, but the movement did not launch the attack at that time.
Israeli military investigations into the October 7 events revealed that the use of these emojis to tell fighters to prepare for the attack was discovered retrospectively, without attention being paid to it in real time.
This information comes in light of the announcement by Israeli Attorney General Gali Beharav-Meara that Israel intends to try those accused of participating in the October 7 attacks before a special military court. According to Israeli sources, more than 3,000 members of Hamas and other armed movements who participated in the attack will be referred to this court.
