Israel Declares War On Hamas Via Twitter, Hamas Responds Via Twitter

[Blue_Tires]

Israel launched an offensive this morning on "terror sites and operatives in the Gaza strip, chief among them Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets."

Except that's not what the release said: it said, "terror sites and operatives in the #Gaza strip, chief among them #Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets." Because this announcement was made on Twitter.

The Israeli Defense Forces has a spokesperson, and that spokesperson has a Twitter feed, and that Twitter feed is where information from the Israelis is being disseminated.It's a mix of news ("The IDF has seriously damaged Hamas' long-range missile capabilities (40 km/25 mi range) & underground weapons storage facilities.&quot and argument in favor of the strike ("Israelis living near the #Gaza Strip have been living under fire for the past 12 years.&quot . It's run extremely blandly and competently, like whoever's behind the feed was hired after proving their worth as the social media manager of Oprah Magazine. It hits all the right notes: hashtags, links to videos and articles, original photos. Hell, there's even a custom hashtag (#PillarOfDefense) created specifically for this event.

It'd be a very well-run Twitter campaign, except it's not announcing a new cellphone - it's announcing a barrage of missile strikes against a neighboring territory. Those pictures are of bombing sites. The videos are of Israeli generals explaining the bombings, or even videos of the bombings themselves. That hashtag? It's only #PillarOfDefense in English. In Hebrew, as Gawker found out, it's #PillarOfCloud - "a Biblical reference to the form God adopted in order to protect the Children of Israel and strike terror into the heart of Egyptians." And instead of Microsoft playfully interacting with Apple, or Domino's and Pizza Hut trading zingers about pizza, we have @AlQassamBrigade, the Twitter account of the Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian political party/terrorist organization Hamas, tweeting back:

IDF

✔

@IDFSpokesperson 14 Nov 12

We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead.

Alqassam Brigades @AlqassamBrigade

@IDFSpokesperson Our blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are (You Opened Hell Gates on Yourselves)
14 Nov 12

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Remember when Twitter was silly? When it was about what you ate for lunch, or when it was a launching pad for comedians, or an irritating tool for self-promotion? It's not that anymore. Now it's the place where one of the strongest militaries in the world tells us what they're bombing today. It's where the IDF and Hamas interact.

http://www.popsci.com.au/technology/israel-declares-war-on-hamas-via-twitter-hamas-responds-via-twitter-welcome-to-2012

[WCGreen]

1. The Twitter War...

[Posteritatis]

2. I was reading one of those between al-Shabaab and the Kenyan military last month

That's certainly one of those things nobody could have seen coming five years ago.

[Blue_Tires]

4. yeah, strange new world...

[Fozzledick]

3. Some of it is still silly.

https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23JihadiChickenBrigade&src=hash

[MrYikes]

5. I like it, let's go with it

The twitter war, the silly little playground scuffle between the bully and somebodys little sister.
and then we giggle. Not laugh mind you, just a giggle. maybe two for effect. giggle, giggle.

[longship]

6. Can hardly wait for the #armageddon tag.

Or the #rebuildthetemple tag.

Either one would do for the religious lunatics.

Jesus! Why can't we get along and agree that god doesn't give land to any religion, any people.

People are people. People is inclusive, not exclusive.

Israel can go fuck itself. There is no god to give land to you! You are the problem, not the solution. Whatever happened to the secular government you founded?