WSJ Reveals Israel’s Secret Hunt For Every October 7 Terrorist

Israel has created a special intelligence task force to hunt down every Hamas terrorist involved in the October 7 massacre, according to a new Wall Street Journal report.

The force, known as NILI, a biblical and Hebrew acronym for “Netzach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker,” (The Eternity of Israel will not fail)has compiled a list of thousands of terrorists, from Hamas leaders who planned the attack to those who crossed the border into Israel. Hundreds have already been killed or captured, according to the report.

The operation was formed right after October 7. Israeli officials view the campaign as both a security operation and a mission to settle accounts with those who took part in the massacre.

According to the report, NILI uses videos from October 7, facial recognition software, intercepted phone calls, cellular location data, social media footage, Hamas body-camera recordings and interrogations of detainees. The Wall Street Journal said Israeli officials require at least two pieces of evidence before marking someone for targeted killing.

The campaign does not focus only on senior Hamas commanders. Israeli intelligence has reportedly pursued lower-level terrorists, including the tractor driver who breached the border fence and terrorists seen in footage of Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or’s abduction. Israeli media said the terrorists filmed holding Or were later killed.

At the same time, Israel has eliminated much of Hamas’s senior leadership, including Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif. The campaign has also been linked in Israeli reporting to strikes against senior Hamas figures abroad, including Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut and Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

The latest major target was Izz al-Din al-Haddad, one of the last senior Hamas military commanders tied to October 7. The IDF and Shin Bet said al-Haddad helped plan the massacre, was involved in holding Israeli hostages in Gaza’s tunnel network and worked to rebuild Hamas’s military capabilities during the ceasefire.

After the strike, IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir said, “The IDF will continue to pursue our enemies, strike them, and settle accounts with everyone who took part in the October 7 massacre.”

The operation has drawn comparisons in Israel to the Mossad’s campaign after the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, when Palestinian terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. Mossad chief David Barnea said at the funeral of former Mossad chief Zvi Zamir, “It will take time, just as it took time after Munich, but our hands will reach them wherever they are.”

For some survivors and relatives of hostages, the campaign has raised a difficult question about revenge, justice and closure.

Former hostage Aviva Siegel told the Wall Street Journal, “I’m alive, and that is enough for me.” Yaakov Argamani, the father of former hostage Noa Argamani, said, “Revenge, I don’t know what it adds.”

Former hostage Emily Damari reacted differently after al-Haddad was killed. “He planned October 7, murdered my friends and many other dear people, planned my kidnapping and held me in Hamas tunnels,” she wrote, calling his death “a very, very, very important closure for many people.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, the NILI campaign has continued even during the Gaza ceasefire, though at a lower intensity. Israeli officials say the effort is not over, and that those still tied to the October 7 massacre remain targets for arrest or elimination.