Day 958: WSJ Reveals Israel's Secret NILI Task Force — Full Database of All ~3,000 October 7 Participants Compiled by Shin Bet + Military Intelligence; 'Hundreds' Killed or Arrested; Campaign Continues Through Ceasefire

On May 21–22, 2026 (Day 958 / Ceasefire Day 225), the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel compiled a comprehensive database of all ~3,000 Palestinians who crossed into Israel during the October 7, 2023 attack and formed an elite task force called NILI — a Hebrew acronym for 'Netzach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker' ('The Eternal One of Israel does not lie') — to systematically kill or arrest every identified participant. The task force was created by Israel's Shin Bet internal security service and military intelligence (AMAN) shortly after October 7. The NILI database includes Hamas Nukhba commandos (the elite assault force), Palestinian Islamic Jihad and PFLP fighters, and ordinary civilians who followed through the breach points. The WSJ cited current and former Israeli officials on the methodology: facial recognition applied to perpetrators' own video and photo documentation (posted on social media during and after the attack), intercepted mobile phone calls made from inside Israel on October 7, seized documents recovered from Gaza operations, drone footage, and human intelligence. The classification standard: two independent pieces of evidence linking an individual to the attack triggers targeting. Mossad's involvement indicates the list extends to Hamas operatives and leaders outside Gaza. 'Hundreds' have been crossed off the list as of May 2026, including the May 15–16 killing of Izz al-Din al-Haddad — the Hamas military wing chief and last senior October 7 architect in Gaza — who had been the campaign's highest-value active target after the deaths of Yahya Sinwar (Oct 2024), Mohammed Deif (July 2024), and Ismail Haniyeh (July 2024). The NILI campaign continues through the October 10, 2025 ceasefire, operating in parallel with the formal military tribunal for the approximately 300 October 7 participants captured alive and held in Israeli detention (Knesset-passed May 12, 2026). No participant is deemed too insignificant, officials said. International legal experts noted the distinction between targeting active combatants posing an imminent threat and targeting past participants in an attack who are no longer engaged in active hostilities — a distinction the ceasefire potentially complicates. NILI represents one of the most technically advanced and comprehensive targeting campaigns in modern warfare history, combining biometric identification, intercepted communications, and cross-referenced OSINT.