IsraelExposed OSINT Archive
IsraelExposed is an ongoing open-source intelligence (OSINT) campaign led by anti-Israel activists that aims to collect, archive, and disseminate digital content related to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. First publicized in March 2025, the operation has so far compiled more than 350 gigabytes of videos, photographs, and personal data—primarily sourced from publicly accessible social media platforms. Unlike conventional cyberattacks or intelligence breaches, the IsraelExposed project relies almost entirely on content uploaded by the soldiers themselves during military operations in Gaza and Judea and Samaria.
The project remains active, with its archive continuing to grow as contributors monitor new online activity. Its publication has sparked intense controversy within Israel and abroad, raising serious national security concerns over doxxing (exposing individuals’ private information for harassment), international legal targeting of IDF personnel, and psychological threats to Israeli servicemembers. Materials from the archive are reportedly being submitted to legal bodies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), with supporting efforts from multiple NGOs and activist groups worldwide.
Background
The IsraelExposed operation originated in late 2024 amid escalating global efforts by anti-Israel activist networks to target the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) through digital and legal means. Sparked by heightened international attention following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre and Israel’s subsequent military campaigns in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, a coalition of decentralized online actors began actively collecting and cataloging open-source content shared by Israeli soldiers.
Operating primarily through platforms such as Discord, Reddit, Telegram, and Twitter/X, contributors—many with affiliations to pro-Hamas, pro-BDS, and anti-Zionist movements—coordinated efforts to scrape, document, and archive materials posted online by active and reserve IDF soldiers. These included images and videos shared on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, often revealing operational details, personal identities, locations, and unit affiliations.
The project quickly grew from a loosely organized campaign into a structured intelligence-gathering network.
Security and Information Policy Concerns
The leak has prompted scrutiny of the IDF’s internal information security practices. Analysts, including Israeli tech journalist Revital Salomon, have accused the military of failing to enforce social media discipline among its soldiers. Although policies regarding operational discretion existed, enforcement was reportedly inconsistent. Many soldiers, particularly in frontline units, frequently posted from active zones, often unaware of the long-term implications.
Examples cited in reports include videos of soldiers mocking detainees, displaying scenes from combat zones, and sharing controversial commentary during operations. While some posts were deleted shortly after publication, many were archived and redistributed across hostile networks, making them effectively permanent in the digital space.
Impact on Dual Citizens
A notable dimension of the controversy involves IDF soldiers who hold dual citizenship. Activists have compiled “watchlists” of such individuals, particularly in countries with legal frameworks that permit the prosecution of foreign combatants for alleged war crimes. For example, Canadian journalist Davide Mastracci created a list of over 80 Canadian citizens with IDF service history, advocating for investigations and travel bans. Similar efforts have emerged in South Africa, Australia, and parts of Europe.
One South African-born IDF reservist, referred to in the media as “M,” reported near-arrest upon arrival in Johannesburg due to materials traced back to the IsraelExposed database. Jewish communities and diplomats have condemned these efforts, drawing parallels to historical persecution. Israeli consul Paul Hirschson described such lists as “dangerous escalations that echo anti-Semitic tactics of the past.”
Legal and Diplomatic Ramifications
The IsraelExposed archive has reportedly been submitted to the ICC and other legal bodies, with supporting documentation provided by groups such as the Hind Rajab Foundation, a Belgium-based NGO with reported ties to Hezbollah. These organizations seek to use the archive as evidence in legal proceedings against IDF personnel.
While Israel is not a party to the ICC, its citizens may still be subject to arrest or legal action when traveling to countries under ICC jurisdiction. The database includes detailed profiles of soldiers, with names, photographs, and alleged actions presented as potential war crimes.
In response, travel insurance companies like PassportCard have established emergency funds to assist at-risk soldiers, offering to cover flights home for those facing legal threats abroad—costs not currently covered by the Israeli government.
Involvement of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
The publication and promotion of the IsraelExposed OSINT database were bolstered by a coordinated network of anti-Israel non-governmental organizations (NGOs), many of which frame their activities under the umbrella of “human rights” or “peace activism.” These groups have played a central role in amplifying the archive’s reach, interpreting its content as evidence of Israeli war crimes, and submitting materials to international legal bodies. While the IsraelExposed collective itself operates anonymously online, its database has become a tool in the hands of formalized NGOs with longstanding records of antagonism toward the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the State of Israel.
International Collaborators
Hind Rajab Foundation
Based in Belgium, the Hind Rajab Foundation has emerged as one of the central actors working to process and distribute the IsraelExposed archive to international courts, including the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Though it presents itself as a legal advocacy organization, the foundation has well-documented ties to pro-Hezbollah elements and operates in close coordination with radical Islamic activists across Europe. Its legal team is reportedly compiling dossiers to seek arrest warrants against IDF soldiers—especially those with dual European citizenship.
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)
Though based in the United States, Jewish Voice for Peace is deeply involved in promoting the IsraelExposed narrative and supporting legal actions against Israeli personnel abroad. JVP is one of the most prominent Jewish anti-Zionist organizations and a major proponent of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Through media campaigns, petitions, and lobbying, JVP actively legitimizes materials from the IsraelExposed leak, framing them as “evidence” of systemic IDF misconduct.
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)
With chapters across North American campuses and a growing global presence, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has adopted the IsraelExposed database as a mobilization tool. SJP members have staged protests using imagery from the archive, targeted Jewish and Israeli students, and called for the expulsion of dual-nationality IDF veterans from academic institutions. Their activism plays a critical role in popularizing the materials among youth audiences and linking them to broader anti-Israel narratives.
Israeli NGOs Involved in Promoting or Amplifying the Archive
While IsraelExposed originated outside Israel, several local NGOs have echoed its content, either by referencing the same materials, providing testimonial context, or supporting legal frameworks that could be used against Israeli soldiers.
Breaking the Silence
Founded by former IDF soldiers, Breaking the Silence collects anonymous testimonies from veterans about alleged misconduct in the territories. Though not officially linked to the IsraelExposed project, its publications often overlap thematically, and the organization has publicly cited similar materials in its reports. Critics argue that Breaking the Silence’s willingness to present unverifiable and context-free narratives has laid the groundwork for foreign legal attacks on Israeli soldiers.
B’Tselem
B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, is known for documenting alleged abuses in the West Bank and Gaza. While it has not formally endorsed the IsraelExposed archive, the group’s long-standing relationship with international legal bodies and critical portrayal of the IDF has helped normalize the framing of Israeli military actions as potential war crimes. Its data and reports have frequently been cited in UN resolutions and ICC discussions.
Gush Shalom
An Israeli peace movement led by former journalist Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom has supported the legal case for international scrutiny of Israeli military conduct. The group regularly collaborates with foreign NGOs and shares thematic alignment with those who seek to use the IsraelExposed archive as a basis for criminal prosecution.
Yesh Din
Focused on legal assistance for Palestinians, Yesh Din plays a unique role by submitting legal petitions and maintaining data on IDF investigations and prosecutions. The organization has supported efforts to open ICC cases and is likely to use the IsraelExposed archive as auxiliary material for legal advocacy.
Combatants for Peace
This joint Israeli-Palestinian initiative brings together former combatants who renounce violence. While its approach is more symbolic and dialogical, the organization’s condemnation of Israeli military actions and engagement with international forums has aligned it—if indirectly—with the objectives of lawfare campaigns that seek to criminalize Israeli soldiers.
Organizational Symbiosis and Tactical Lawfare
Together, these NGOs form a web of mutually reinforcing actors that legitimize the IsraelExposed archive under the guise of civil society. Although not all groups directly created or host the database, their publications, statements, and legal advocacy help insert its content into international discussions and judicial processes. The common thread is the framing of Israeli military self-defense as criminal aggression—while omitting the context of Hamas’ October 7 massacre, ongoing rocket fire, and the use of human shields.
These organizations often operate with significant foreign funding, including from European governments and international bodies. Many face criticism within Israel for undermining national security and distorting public discourse. However, their global networks—especially in Western academia, media, and diplomacy—make them highly effective at translating raw propaganda into mainstream narratives and legal initiatives.
Digital Infrastructure and Operational Methods
The IsraelExposed archive represents a highly organized digital operation that blends open-source intelligence (OSINT), decentralized data storage, crowdsourcing, and real-time collaboration across various online platforms. While the content of the archive was sourced largely from public social media accounts, the technical and organizational sophistication used to process, secure, and disseminate the materials reveals a multi-layered network of actors employing modern cyber tools for political warfare.
At the core of the operation was a global, loosely coordinated network of anti-Israel activists. Thousands of users were recruited through messaging apps and online communities, particularly Discord—a platform typically associated with gaming, but which has increasingly become a hub for activist and anonymous organizing.
Volunteers were given instructions on how to identify and scrape content from platforms such as:
- TikTok – A major source of short videos posted by IDF soldiers, often containing operational footage or commentary.
- Instagram – Used to extract geotagged photos, selfies in uniform, and metadata from stories and posts.
- Facebook – Provided access to personal details, friend lists, and group activity of soldiers.
- WhatsApp/Telegram – Select leaks were traced to screenshots and group message content that found their way into public or semi-public channels.
Once acquired, users were instructed to tag and classify content using standardized metadata protocols—focusing on unit names (e.g., Givati, Golani), weapon types, locations (e.g., Gaza, Jenin), and behavior themes (e.g., “abuse,” “desecration,” “civilian mistreatment”). Several Discord servers included collaborative folders and templates for contributors to follow.
This method allowed activists to accumulate thousands of media files in a matter of weeks, leveraging the IDF’s own digital footprint for adversarial purposes.
One of the key innovations of the IsraelExposed operation was the use of blockchain-based storage systems to preserve the archive. Activists employed Ethereum-based decentralized file-sharing protocols, such as:
- IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) – A peer-to-peer system used to store and share hypermedia in a distributed fashion, making it nearly impossible to delete files from the network once uploaded.
- Blockchain Anchoring – File hashes and metadata were encrypted and recorded on blockchain ledgers to provide proof of authenticity and prevent manipulation.
By anchoring the database to a blockchain network, the creators ensured that even if governments or social media companies tried to censor or remove the materials, mirror versions would continue to exist across the decentralized internet.
This technological choice was inspired by earlier OSINT projects during the Russia–Ukraine war, where similar methods were used to collect and preserve battlefield footage. In this context, however, the technology was turned against IDF soldiers—without any formal verification process, trial, or right of reply.
As part of the weaponization of the materials, IsraelExposed transformed its archive into a searchable, streaming-style interface. Categories were labeled similarly to consumer media platforms, such as:
- “IDF looting homes”
- “Mocking detainees”
- “Desecrating religious sites”
- “Child abuse by soldiers”
- “Givati Brigade footage”
Users could filter videos by alleged offense, IDF unit, or type of weapon shown. This design was deliberately built to mimic user experiences from platforms like YouTube or Netflix, making it easier for international audiences and activists to locate footage aligned with anti-Israel narratives.
Each file was also tagged with personal details of the soldier involved (when identifiable): name, photo, location, social media handle, and—where available—citizenship details.
Psychological Operations and Deepfake Amplification
While most of the archive consists of authentic content, intelligence reports suggest that a subset of files may include manipulated footage—such as deepfakes or edited clips that misrepresent context. For example, segments showing IDF soldiers joking among themselves were overlaid with inflammatory audio or subtitles to portray malicious intent.
Additionally, pro-Iranian and pro-Hamas digital networks used these clips as part of broader psychological warfare campaigns, flooding social media platforms with edited videos designed to provoke outrage or sympathy. These efforts were especially visible after high-profile incidents, where “viral” video dumps would circulate through Telegram, Reddit, and even Arabic-language news outlets.
Operational Summary
| Tool/Platform | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Discord | Coordinating contributors and distributing instructions |
| TikTok, Instagram, Facebook | Primary sources of media content |
| Ethereum/IPFS | Permanent and censorship-resistant hosting |
| Deepfakes/AI tools | Content manipulation and narrative framing |
| Encrypted messaging (Telegram) | Dissemination of archives and legal files |
| ICC submission channels | Formal integration into lawfare strategies |
Ongoing Dissemination and Legal Integration Efforts
As of 2025, the dissemination of the IsraelExposed archive remains an active and evolving campaign. Rather than concluding with a single release, the database continues to grow, updated regularly by contributors who monitor new uploads by IDF soldiers and track emerging content across social media platforms.
Distribution occurs through:
- Onion links and TOR browsers, providing anonymous access to mirror copies of the database.
- Encrypted zip files circulated through private Telegram channels and Discord servers.
- Community forums and semi-open activist networks where collaborators upload new material and share it in real time.
These efforts are not limited to raw data sharing. Legal advocacy organizations—particularly in Belgium, South Africa, and Canada—are actively compiling dossiers based on selected footage from the archive. These dossiers are being tailored to align with international legal frameworks, especially those used by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and sympathetic national jurisdictions under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction.
Although the ICC has not officially confirmed receipt of the archive, reports indicate that organizations like the Hind Rajab Foundation are in the process of preparing legal submissions. Activist lawyers involved in these initiatives have stated their goal is to pressure Western governments into detaining Israeli soldiers—particularly those with dual nationality—if they enter jurisdictions where legal cases have been initiated or filed.
Additionally, advocacy groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) are incorporating elements from the archive into public campaigns, protest materials, and university-based lawfare toolkits, ensuring continuous visibility for the IsraelExposed narrative across multiple fronts.