The Israeli military has for the first time acknowledged a joint operation with the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency to track down and kill Palestinians it says were involved in the October 7, 2023 attack.
The disclosure comes as Israel publicly reveals more about the methods used by the unit, known as “Nili”, which combines human intelligence, technology, artificial intelligence and facial-recognition tools, AlQahera News reported.
Details of the operation emerged in interviews aired by Israel’s Channel 12 with several officers involved in the unit, after Israeli authorities had previously declined to comment on reports of a broad campaign targeting participants in the attack.
According to the channel, cited by The Times of Israel, the unit spent the past three years compiling a list of thousands of names before beginning to locate and pursue those on it.
The list reportedly includes around 2,800 people whom Israel says have been killed, including individuals who died during the October 7 attack and others later targeted in Gaza during the war.
Earlier reports said the Israeli military had identified more than 2,700 people — out of roughly 5,000 it alleges took part in the attack or helped seize hostages — as having been killed. About 300 others were reportedly captured.
The list allegedly includes people who took part in the assault, those who helped seize hostages, and participants in hostage handover ceremonies.
Officers told Channel 12 that the unit examined large quantities of photographs and videos recorded by Hamas and circulated online. It developed facial-recognition tools to identify people appearing in the footage and used artificial intelligence to link and analyse the information.
The unit also relied on traditional intelligence-gathering methods, including field reports from military and Shin Bet personnel and information obtained during interrogations of Palestinians detained by Israel.
The officers said tracking targets could involve gathering detailed information about their movements, locations and daily routines.
The unit was named after Nili, a Jewish espionage network that operated during the First World War. Israel says it was established after the October 7 attack and includes experienced intelligence personnel from the military and Shin Bet, including serving soldiers and reservists.
Israel says the operation is aimed at pursuing those responsible for the attack and will continue until the last person it considers involved has been tracked down.
