IDF restricts social media use after probe links posts to Oct. 7 attacks

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has implemented updated media coverage protocols for all personnel, active-duty soldiers and reservists in order to tighten operational security. 

The move comes after the IDF’s probe into the events surrounding the Oct. 7, 2023, massacres found that Hamas gained extensive intelligence from social media posts by IDF soldiers, which it used to plan the attack against the Nahal Oz military base. 

The probe discovered that soldiers had posted so many markers to social media that Hamas was able to reconstruct the layout of the base, often knowing exactly where each unit was located. 

The IDF concluded that Hamas did not need to use any spy to construct their battle plan, all the information necessary to plan the attacks was available from social media posts. 

When the IDF operated in Gaza, they found Hamas had constructed models of various parts of the base from the material available online. 

Hamas had critical information, such as where the base’s generators and video cameras were, where the safe rooms were, where the officers quarters were, and how often the guard patrols made their rounds. 

Because the Nahal Oz base served as the “eyes and ears” of the Southern Command, once the base was overtaken, the IDF’s ability to mount a response in the area was significantly compromised. 

At the same time, posts on social media by active combat soldiers, showing themselves at various points throughout Gaza, have been used by pro-Palestine activists to attempt to wage law-fare against IDF soldiers vacationing in other countries.

The posts, which are already against IDF protocol, have sometimes depicted soldiers violating rules of war, engaging in harassing behavior, including rummaging through personal belongings in destroyed homes in Gaza. 

Political groups such as the Hind Rajab Foundation have attempted to have Israeli soldiers arrested for alleged war crimes. In a few instances, soldiers were quickly evacuated from foreign countries when the threat of being detained was imminent. 

According to the updated protocols, any filming in operational areas requires prior approval from the Military Advocate General’s Corps and the Information Security Department. 

Sagiv Steinberg, a media expert who serves as director-general and director of communications at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told The Media Line that he doesn’t know how effective the new protocols will be. 

“I’m surprised – not surprised, actually – that only now the IDF wants to implement restrictions on social media,” Steinberg said. “I don’t know if the IDF can even enforce it.” 

He said soldiers need to understand the consequences of their behaviors. 

“It’s lovely to see soldiers dancing; it’s humanizing, but they need to think twice before hitting ‘post,’” he said.