More than a year after the October 7 massacre, Israel and the U.S. are working together to gather evidence to support charges against Hamas terrorists. The two countries are preparing a request to an American court for a search warrant that would allow them to access servers of social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X. The goal is to retrieve deleted footage taken by Hamas militants during the attacks to strengthen evidence in ongoing cases.
Israel and the U.S. have been collaborating on this issue, with American officials traveling to Israel for meetings. The effort focuses on retrieving videos of the October 7 massacre that were deleted and some content that may still be stored on social media servers. Israel’s police have already shared investigative materials, including visuals, with U.S. authorities to assist in breaking cases and gathering intelligence.
The challenge lies in linking the captured militants to specific crimes. Many cases have faced significant evidentiary difficulties, primarily because the crime scenes were not treated with the same procedures as regular criminal investigations, complicating the gathering of proof.
U.S. authorities have the legal authority to issue such warrants, even for servers outside the U.S. This cooperation is seen as crucial in accessing important materials on social media servers, which could not only help with criminal cases but also provide intelligence benefits.
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Israel could have sought a search warrant in its own courts, but there are diplomatic and legal sensitivities when accessing servers located outside its borders. The U.S. law, however, allows for the compelled production of information from tech companies, regardless of where their servers are located. This legal difference has led Israel to seek American assistance in this sensitive investigation.
This collaboration is also part of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. into the October 7 attack, which involved American victims and hostages. The findings from this cooperation are expected to contribute to both legal proceedings and intelligence efforts.