Hamas used emojis to avoid surveillance on October 7th: ‘Israeli’ military

• The "Israeli" military revealed that Hamas used a specific emoji sequence sent to elite Nukhba Force members as a signal to activate "Israeli" SIM cards, a tactic that allowed them to communicate discreetly while evading high-tech surveillance.
• Although the same emoji string and SIM activations were detected on two previous aborted occasions (September 2022 and May 2023), and again on the eve of October 7, ‘Israeli’ intelligence officials dismissed the activity as "routine" until it was too late.

In a revelation cleared for publication more than two years after events of October 7, the ‘Israeli’ military disclosed that Hamas utilized a specific sequence of emojis as a covert signal to mobilize its fighters ahead of the massive attack on ‘Israel’.

The coded message, sent via phones to members of Hamas's elite Nukhba Force, served as an activation cue for final preparations.

According to the ‘Israeli’ military’s internal investigation, cited by Hebrew media, the emoji string instructed terrorists to equip their mobile devices with ‘Israeli’ SIM cards for use inside ‘Israel’.

This method allowed Hamas to communicate discreetly, evading detection through traditional surveillance.

According to the investigation, the same emoji sequence appeared on seized phones from two prior occasions when Hamas had planned but ultimately aborted large-scale attacks: in September 2022 and May 2023.

In the May instance, ‘Israeli’ intelligence noted dozens of SIM card activations, similar to what occurred on the eve of October 7, but dismissed it as non-threatening activity.

On October 6, 2023, at around 9 PM., the ‘Israeli’ internal security agency (Shin Bet) detected a handful of ‘Israeli’ SIM cards being activated by Hamas operatives in Gaza.

The number grew to several dozen later that night, prompting internal discussions among intelligence officials that extended until 11:30 PM.

However, the activity was assessed as routine, based on patterns observed in previous weeks.

The military probe highlighted this as part of broader intelligence failures, where years of misjudgments about Hamas's intentions led to inadequate warnings.

The emoji signals were only identified retrospectively during post-attack investigations

The disclosure was first reported by Hebrew Channel 12 and approved by the ‘Israeli’ Military Censor, shedding light on Hamas's low-tech evasion tactics.