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IDF investigates leak of hostages’ identities on social media

The Israel Defense Forces have launched an in-depth investigation to find out who, why and how the names of the hostages were leaked on social media last weekend before the Israel Defense Forces provided an official confirmation, N12 reported on Monday. Through the leak, the hostages' families learned of their loved ones' deaths via social media.

Israeli forces discovered the bodies of Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi and Alex Lobanov in a tunnel in Rafah and brought them back to Israel for burial. They had been killed in captivity shortly before their discovery. Hamas has since released videos of the hostages' final statements.

As mentioned in the N12 report, a few hours before the bodies of the six hostages were handed over to Israel, a wave of rumors spread on social media, including the names of the hostages.

In order to prevent the spread of rumors within the army, the Israel Defense Forces issued a special statement announcing the recovery of the bodies without revealing their identities.

“The Israeli forces discovered a number of bodies during the fighting in the Gaza Strip,” the military said at the time. “At present, the troops are still deployed in the area and are carrying out a recovery and identification of the bodies, which will take several hours. We ask that you do not spread rumors.”

Friends and family attend the funeral of the slain hostage Hersch Goldberg Polin at the Har haMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem. Goldberg-Polin was killed on September 1, 2024 while in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip. (Source: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

IDF investigates

Over the past week, the Israel Defense Forces and other authorities have been discussing the leak in an effort to prevent further classified information from leaking out, N12 reported. Authorities were trying to figure out how details of such a sensitive operation had come to light, causing great distress to the hostages' families.

The Israel Defense Forces spokesman said: “As soon as the serious leak occurred, the Israel Defense Forces' Information Security Department launched an investigation. Once it is completed, appropriate action will be taken. The Israel Defense Forces takes leaks of any kind very seriously, especially those related to the hostages.”



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