Overview
- Israeli media, citing IDF analyses, report that a Hamas intelligence unit of roughly 2,500 operatives spent about five years preparing for the attack starting in 2018.
- Hamas monitored nearly 100,000 Israeli soldiers and officers on social platforms, assembling granular profiles from posts, photos, and videos.
- Operatives used fake avatar accounts and social‑engineering tactics to infiltrate private accounts and closed WhatsApp groups, including those of combat recruits.
- Daily intelligence products reportedly mapped deployments, Iron Dome battery locations, troop movements between sectors, and detailed layouts of posts near Gaza.
- The collected data was converted into precise 3D simulations, full‑scale replicas, and VR‑based training tools for Nukhba units, with Israeli officials acknowledging prior awareness of mock sites but expressing surprise at their precision.