The IDF now believes that Hamas’s military wing used a string of emojis as the coded order to initiate the October 7 massacre. The conclusion was reached after Israeli forces examined mobile phones taken from Nukhba terrorists during the assault.

Security officials said the same emoji combination discovered on those devices had appeared in two earlier episodes — in September 2022 and again in April 2023 — when Hamas had been preparing major attacks that were ultimately called off.

Investigators determined that in the hours leading up to the invasion of Israeli communities near the Gaza border, a prearranged message was distributed to operatives through WhatsApp. Only after reviewing the intelligence did it become evident that this message was the cue for militants to head to mosques and ready themselves for the operation.

According to the assessment, once the message was received, the terrorists gathered either at mosques or at other predetermined meeting locations, where commanders issued final instructions.

From there, some made their way to underground compounds to collect combat equipment, while others went to weapons depots, put on uniforms and tactical vests, and armed themselves with firearms and additional supplies.

The IDF stated that during the two prior instances in which the identical emoji sequence was detected, Hamas did not follow through with its plans, partly because of disagreements within the organization.

Senior military officials conceded that, before October 7, they would not have recognized preparations for a sweeping cross-border assault or the activation of Hamas’s so-called “Jericho Wall” strategy.