The Secret of Israeli SIM Cards: How Gaza Prisoners Connected with Their Families

In an unexpected display of cunning and tactical innovation, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades—the military wing of Hamas—transformed tools intended for surveillance into a humanitarian lifeline. According to Israel’s Channel 15, video calls were made between prisoners and their families on the day of their release, using Israeli SIM cards originally deployed by the army for intelligence gathering.

The Israeli army had strategically placed these SIM cards throughout Gaza in hopes of collecting information on Israeli captives held by the resistance. However, al-Qassam Brigade outsmarted the plan, enabling prisoners to connect with loved ones just hours before their handover—a move that surprised Israeli media when footage of these emotional exchanges went viral.

The Qassam’s Shadow Unit played a crucial role in orchestrating these calls, allowing detainees to speak directly with their families. Remarkably, a unit member even addressed a prisoner’s family in Hebrew, urging them to share the footage with media outlets and access Israeli public opinion.

The Shadow Unit has long operated under a veil of secrecy due to its vital mission: ensuring the security of Israeli prisoners in Gaza and keeping them in a “zone of uncertainty” to guarantee successful prisoner-exchange deals with Israel. The existence of this unit remained largely unknown until 2016, following its role in securing the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a highly publicized prisoner swap.