Hamas’s military intelligence unit, numbering about 2,500 terrorists, spent five years systematically collecting information in preparation for the October 7 attack, Army Radio reported.

According to IDF assessments, Hamas began this effort in 2018, monitoring nearly 100,000 soldiers and officers on social media.

Hamas didn’t limit itself to public accounts. It created fake “avatar” profiles using sophisticated social engineering—infiltrating private accounts and even private WhatsApp groups—including groups of IDF combat recruits.

Hamas terrorists closely tracked individual IDF recruits, following them from their first steps in the IDF as new recruits until their promotions to higher positions, such as company commanders—gaining an almost complete picture of every platoon or battalion.

The terror group produced daily reports on IDF deployments, Iron Dome battery locations, and troop movements, piecing together a detailed intelligence picture by cross-referencing thousands of posts, photos, and videos. The picture included the physical layout of bases, emergency alert squads, security cameras, and armories.

The information was used to build precise models of IDF bases near Gaza, both 3D simulations and physical replicas of IDF bases inside Gaza. Hamas purchased advanced simulation software and built full‑scale simulators. Nukhba terrorists then trained on the replicas using virtual reality (VR) headsets, with every detail of IDF soldiers’ and commanders’ routines serving as material for the models.

Israel was aware of these models.

A senior officer admitted, “We never imagined how accurate they were.”

An Air Force officer said about the base he served on for many years, “Hamas knew the base better than I did.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)