IDF and Shin Bet Publicly Acknowledge 'Nili' Unit's Campaign to Hunt Down Every October 7 Perpetrator

The IDF and Shin Bet, in a first-of-its-kind report by Channel 12 published August 9, 2026, publicly acknowledged a joint special unit codenamed 'Nili' (after the World War I-era Jewish underground intelligence network Netzach Yisrael Lo Yishaker) that has spent nearly three years compiling and working through a list of roughly 5,000 people involved in the October 7, 2023 attack, hostage-taking, and captive abuse. Officers described using facial recognition software, AI-assisted analysis of video the attackers filmed of themselves, detainee interrogations, and human intelligence to identify targets ranging from low-level participants to senior Hamas commanders, then tracking their daily routines to plan precision strikes. Roughly 2,800 people on the list have been killed and the unit says it will continue 'until the last' name is found. The disclosure came as the manhunt was reported to have paused at the start of August after the US-led Board of Peace's Gaza roadmap called for a halt to Israeli strikes — even though Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly rejected the roadmap and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir vowed the military would keep 'operating proactively' against Hamas.