The Israeli military is operating a Telegram channel named “72 Virgins – Uncensored”, where soldiers of the apartheid state share gruesome killing of Palestinians to over 5,300 followers with captions like “Burning their mother”, a Haaretz investigation has found.
The channel is said to be run by the IDF Operations Directorate’s Influencing Department, which is responsible for psychological warfare.
The channel boasts of showcasing “exclusive content from the Gaza Strip” and has published over 700 posts, images and videos of Palestinians being killed and footage of the destruction of the besieged enclave. The IDF denies that it operates the channel, but a senior military official confirmed to Haaretz that the army is responsible for operating it.
“The messages there are problematic. It doesn’t look like an awareness campaign of an army like the IDF, but more like talking points for [far-right rapper] The Shadow, and the fact that soldiers operate such a problematic page is egregious,” the unnamed official is reported saying.
An 11 October post reportedly read: “Burning their mother … You won’t believe the video we got! You can hear the crunch of their bones. We’ll upload it right away, get ready.” Images of Palestinian captives were captioned “Exterminating the roaches … exterminating the Hamas rats … Share this beauty.” A video of an Israeli soldier allegedly dipping machine gun bullets in pork fat had the caption: “What a man!!!!! Lubricates bullets with lard. You won’t get your virgins.” And: “Garbage juice!!!! Another dead terrorist!! You have to watch it with the sound, you’ll die laughing.”
OPINION: On psychological warfare and political propaganda
Shockingly, the content encourages followers to share, emphasising a desire for everyone to witness what is described as the IDF “screwing them.” Each night, the channel posts IDF updates on Gaza, promising exclusive images and videos. A particularly disturbing video on 14 October showed an Israeli vehicle repeatedly driving over a terrorist’s body, with accompanying comments encouraging such actions.
The channel expanded its focus beyond Gaza, sharing footage of Israelis, including members of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team’s fan club, La Familia, engaging in violent riots at Sheba Medical Centre. The accompanying post praised the rioters as heroes “who came to screw the Arabs”.
Horrific revelation of the gruesome images and caption gleefully shared by Israeli soldiers are said to follow previous exposés of IDF psychological warfare operations targeting Israeli citizens. In 2021, occupation forces conducted a deceptive campaign during the Gaza onslaught, leading to admissions of error after being exposed. The Telegram channel also urges followers to share its content, claiming it to be exclusive.