Israeli PsyOp Unit Runs War-Porn Telegram Channel Glorifying IDF Misconduct

To cultivate war fever in Israeli society, an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) psychological warfare unit has been secretly operating a war-porn channel that glorifies misconduct by IDF soldiers engaged in the invasion of Gaza, to include the abuse of dead bodies.  

The IDF denies that it runs the channel, but a senior military official who finds the tactic objectionable has blown the whistle — confirming the IDF role to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. 

The channel, called 72 Virgins – Uncensored, exists on Telegram, which is an instant messaging app. According to the senior military official, the IDF Operations Directorate’s Influencing Department is running it. That unit is tasked with operations against enemies and foreign audiences. The channel’s targeting of Israeli audiences seemingly runs afoul of Israeli law. 

The whistle-blowing senior official is troubled by the entire undertaking: 

“There is no reason for the IDF to conduct influence campaigns on Israeli citizens of Israel. 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.”

A member of the right-wing Likud Party, The Shadow is known for incendiary rhetoric, such as urging paramedics to harvest the organs of Palestinians so they can be used by Jews. 

Boasting of “exclusive content from the Gaza Strip,” the 72 Virgins – Uncensored has more than 5,000 followers and posts video and photos showing the killings and captures of Hamas militants, as well as images of the dead. The commentary accompanying the posts strikes a decidedly adolescent tone:

• “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.”
• “Exterminating the roaches … exterminating the Hamas rats … Share this beauty.”
• On a post purportedly showing machine gun rounds being dipped in pork fat:  “What a man!!!!! Lubricates bullets with lard. You won’t get your virgins.” 

The channel has also celebrated the abuse of Palestinian dead. In a video posted on Oct. 14, an IDF vehicle repeatedly runs over the corpse of Hamas militant. The caption: “Very good, Gershon!!! Run him over run him over!!!! Screw the bastards! Flatten them.” 

“The IDF is the most moral army in the world,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in October, amid mounting global scorn over the enormous number of Palestinian civilian casualties resulting from Israel’s Gaza campaign that was sparked by a Hamas murder and kidnapping spree in southern Israel on Oct. 7.  

In addition to violating its own laws prohibiting psyops directed at the Israeli populace, the channel may also run afoul of the Geneva Convention, of which the Zionist state is a signatory. “The Geneva Convention of 1949 stipulates that the deceased war victims should be protected and treatment of the corpses ‘inappropriate’ manner, including taking pictures with them and desecration is prohibited,” according to the Geneva Council for Rights & Liberties. 

The channel also rejoiced when hordes of far-right hooligans, including members of a notoriously racist soccer fan club, descended on a hospital near Tel Aviv, acting on rumors that Hamas militants were being treated at the facility:

עדכון: המשטרה קיבלה דיווח על קטטה בכניסה למיון, כנראה מדובר באירוע המצולם הזה.

לפי עדויות עובדים בבית החולים, זה היה רק אירוע אחד מבין כמה pic.twitter.com/fHWLRrfN2d

— רן שמעוני Ran Shimoni (@ran_shimoni) October 11, 2023

Describing video of the hospital riot, the IDF-run channel posted, “My brothers, the heroesssss, La Familia fans, love you!!!!!!! What heroes, came to screw the Arabs.”

The Israeli government continues to deny it has a hand in the channel. “If there was any connection by soldiers or other parties connected to the IDF with the page or its operation, this was done without approval and without authority,” an IDF spokesman told Haaretz.

Wink, wink.