On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel and shocked Israelis around the world with the horrors of their attack. BBC finds, death counts in Israel are quickly surpassing 1,400 people, and 222 hostages are reported to have been taken to Gaza. As retaliation, the Israeli government’s military has launched an air raid on the Gaza Strip on schools, mosques, and hospitals, killing 4,300 Palestines. It’s an unprecedented tragedy.
As the ongoing conflict progresses, Hamas yields a new weapon.
Among the 222 hostages taken by Hamas to Gaza, many have become victims of social media hijacking. On many individuals’ Instagram, Facebook, and Whatsapp accounts, Hamas spread violent messages and death threats, pervading fear throughout Israel.
As reported by The New York Times, family and friends of Gali Shlezinger Idan were alerted to check her Facebook page shortly after the October 7th attack in which she was taken hostage to Gaza. On her account, she was broadcasting a livestream that would last 43 harrowing minutes. Although hopeful relatives frantically entered the broadcast, their optimism was quickly crushed as their confusion turned into realization and horror.
The Facebook livestream revealed Hamas members holding Ms. Idan and her family hostage. During the live broadcast, gunmen forced them to crouch on the floor as explosives bombarded their building.
In other instances, the Arabic word for death has been posted on hostages’ Facebook pages before being quickly taken down. For some Israelis, videos of faint Arabic voices shuffling and saying a derogatory term appeared before concerned families. The Hamas are propagating their new war tactic for the whole world to see.
Although Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp refrained from commenting on the incident, they report that they have established stronger bulwarks to prevent further terrorizing through social media platforms. Since then, the hijacked accounts have been deactivated, and the livestreams have been made unavailable for view.
As the century-long Hamas-Israel conflict persists, the innovative technology of social media is being monitored for the great harms it can bring. The world continues to become interconnected through the global networks of social media, and now, the tools of globalization are being utilized as destructive weapons.
