According to Bloomberg, Israel has been using spy programs, including Pegasus, to locate hostages in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government has reportedly requested developers of such programs, including NSO Group and Candiru, to upgrade their software to fulfill their objectives. Sources mentioned that this cooperation is mainly conducted on a pro bono basis.
Haaretz, another news outlet, also reported that Israel has been using spy programs to search for hostages since mid-October. The Israeli authorities have involved companies such as Rayzone, Paragon, Cobwebs, ActiveFence, and others in this endeavor. It is noteworthy that these developers usually do not collaborate with each other due to working in different domains or being competitors. However, they have united in recent weeks to work together.
Previously, the official spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, Daniel Haggari, stated that Israeli soldiers gather information about individuals who have been abducted at the border with the Gaza Strip.
On October 27, The Times of Israel, citing the Israel Defense Forces, reported that at least 233 hostages were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip on October 7.
Earlier, Israeli authorities announced that they would refrain from conducting a ground operation if Hamas unconditionally surrenders and releases the hostages. More details can be found in the article on “Gazeta.ru.”
