Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The courage and deadly impact of Hamas’ attacks against Israel, which has sophisticated weapons, is surprising. It turns out that Hamas does have military technology that has been prepared for a long time.

Analysis from Global Network Research looks at Hamas’ advanced military equipment, cyber strategy, and Hamas’ use of social media.

In terms of weapons, there is nothing revolutionary about Hamas’ attacks. The group relies mostly on readily available machine guns, AK-47s, and hand grenades.

But if you pay attention, over the last few years they have been trying to achieve technological progress. Hamas is famous for its self-produced Qassam rockets, which have high impact power despite low accuracy.

But in the last decade, Iran has begun to actively support, train and equip Hamas and its engineers with technological expertise. As a result, the group is now able to produce rockets that can reach the capital of Israel, Tel Aviv and its surroundings.

This is a huge improvement compared to previous decades. As of 2021, Hamas’ arsenal includes 30,000 missiles, according to IDF estimates. Therefore, it is not surprising that Hamas was able to launch more than 2,000 rockets capable of challenging the advanced Iron Dom system and covering ground attacks in southern Israel.

However, rockets were not the only air system that Hamas relied on in its initial attacks last month. Hamas uses drones that Iran supplies to friendly non-state actors, such as Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.

The main development seen during attacks on Israel is the group’s strategic use of weaponry.

The relatively cheap, home-made drones also targeted high-tech sensors and communications towers scattered throughout Israel’s fence, disrupting communications and surprising the IDF.

The fact that Hamas successfully targeted and disabled Israel’s advanced Merkava 4 tank on October 7 is an indicator of their increasing technical capabilities.

Hamas cyber forces

Hamas has changed a lot since its founding in 1987. Born in the context of the First Intifada, the group now has almost 40,000 members and is involved in a wide range of activities, including the management of hospitals, schools and other essential services.

What many people don’t know is that Hamas has its own cyber department that has waged war against Israel for at least a decade.

They carry out cyber attacks with the use of malware for cyber espionage and information gathering. In 2013, for example, the group ensnared Israeli government and critical infrastructure workers with pornographic material.

Starting in 2015, Hamas targeted IDF personnel with fake Facebook accounts. The fake accounts used credible images and liked well-known Israeli accounts, including news agencies, and the pages of companies and politicians, thereby adding credibility and authenticity.

After that, in 2018 Hamas’ cyber division hacked the devices of IDF soldiers who were jogging in a sensitive area via a fitness application.

They also infiltrated entire groups watching the 2018 Football World Cup from their base via the Gold Cup app.

Finally, in 2022, Israeli companies identified two unknown malware and used hidden systems to avoid detection.

In the end, Hamas is believed to have succeeded in hacking several cellphones, cameras and files of IDF soldiers who allegedly obtained details of military bases and armored vehicles in Southern Israel.

The group’s skills remain strong, and Israeli cyber defense companies describe Hamas’ capabilities as reaching new levels of sophistication.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(dem/dem)