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Hamas ‘catfishing’ to lure Israelis into delivering explosives

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Participating in the catfishing operation were terrorists released in exchange for IDF captive Gilad Shalit in 2011.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, uncovered strategies employed by Hamas terrorists to lure Israelis on social media into delivering packages, often containing explosives.

Using fake profiles on Facebook, Hamas convinced unwitting people that they were fellow Israelis who were willing to pay to have packages delivered.

Inside many of these packages were explosives intended for “quality targets” inside Jerusalem as well as Judea and Samaria.

They also intended to cultivate a connection with the other person to encourage them to make multiple deliveries.

Hamas terrorists used fake profiles of men and women with Israeli names and communicated with Israelis in Hebrew.

This type of fraud known as “catfishing” involving the use of fake identities to fool victims, was used by Hamas before the war.

A number of terrorists active in the catfishing operation were Palestinian terrorists released to free IDF captive Gilad Shalit in 2011.

The operation was discovered with the IDF and Shin Bet raided Hamas offices in the Gaza Strip and recovered computers and documents outlining details of the plan.

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Many of these catfishing tactics were carried out as recently as September 2023, a month before the beginning of the war.

“The Israelis were asked to perform tasks including transferring shipments, receiving money, purchasing gifts and leaving them at various points, without coordinating a meeting with the recipient of the package,” Shin Bet explained.

“Among the places where they were asked to leave the gifts – a synagogue, a cemetery and the doorsteps of private apartments throughout Israel,” it added.

This revelation comes days after a hospital raid on Jenin to target Hamas terrorists who were plotting an attack “inspired by the October 7th massacre.”

In the raid, during which IDF troops were disguised as nurses and patients, Mohammed Jalamneh was killed along with two brothers in Islamic Jihad, Mohammed and Basel Al-Ghazawi.

Mohammed Jalamneh was deeply involved in terrorist activity and was found with a pistol inside the hospital.