‘The enemy teaches us how to operate’: Palestinian Hamas use of open source intelligence (OSINT) in its intelligence warfare against Israel (1987-2012)

Abstract

This article explores a new aspect of Hamas’s exploitation of the media: open source intelligence (OSINT). Based mostly on primary sources from within Hamas, the article describes how, through OSINT, Hamas has obtained valuable information for its operations and has successfully learned about various military and civilian aspects of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces in a readily available, simple, and inexpensive manner. The article goes on to analyze the pitfalls for Hamas of relying exclusively on OSINT within its strategic assessment efforts. This analysis sheds new light on the academic literature regarding intelligence of violent non-state actors and asymmetric warfare.