Will Ferguson, reporter
(Image: APAimages/Rex Features)
Cast in red with the word "ELIMINATED" embossed across his chest, Ahmed al-Jabari's portrait looks like an image torn from the pages of a graphic novel. But Frank Miller didn't have anything to do with this one.
The image was posted to nearly 80,000 followers on the Israeli Defence Forces' (IDF) official Twitter account, @IDFSpokesperson, yesterday to announce in its newest military endeavour, Operation Pillar of Defense. Al-Jabari headed the military wing of Hamas, the governing party of the Gaza Strip, and was purportedly hit by an Israeli missile during the early stages of the operation. The IDF claims al-Jabari directed attacks against Israeli civilians. A Twitter post was the first confirmation of the official military campaign.
The move seems to heralds a new era of warfare in which social media replaces press conferences and each attack comes with a tweet.
Operation Pillar of Defense comes after months of escalating hostility in the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials say that more than 100 rockets have been fired at Israeli civilian targets since the beginning of the month. The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, confirmed al-Jabari's death on their own Twitter feed, @alqassambrigade.
"We recommend that no Hamas Operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead," tweeted @IDFSpokesperson.
Unofficially, this is not a first. The US military raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, was tweeted by a confused bystander.
However, the US military's 2012 social media handbook states that sharing information on operations in classified areas is an operational security risk and is not allowed.
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