The IDF has revived the IDF Intelligence Directorate's Hatzav Unit, its open-source intelligence (OSINT) division, which was closed in 2021 against professional recommendations, due to growing regional threats, Walla reported on Saturday.
The unit’s return is part of a broader IDF push to modernize intelligence collection in an age where critical information is often hidden in plain sight.
It was once one of the most unique units in the IDF's Intelligence Directorate. This entity collected open-source information from global media and networks, breaking it down into nuggets of intelligence gold.
Two years later, in a world where the line between classified and public information continues to blur, the then-head of IDF Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Aharon Haliva decided to revive Hatzav. Today, amid growing tensions with Iran, this unit is proving just how crucial its role is by revealing, connecting, and sometimes even cracking the walls of secrecy.
This is the new Hatzav Unit, the unit Israel can no longer afford to go without.
The profession was undervalued despite global trends
Hatzav focused on collecting and analyzing OSINT and was officially disbanded in 2021 after 72 years of service. The decision, made by then-IDF Intelligence Directorate head Maj.-Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman, contradicted a growing global intelligence trend: foreign intelligence agencies were increasingly investing resources in open-source intelligence collection. But IDF Intelligence thought otherwise.
Hatzav soldiers were reassigned to other IDF units. Many experts in fields such as Syria, Lebanon, and Palestinian affairs retired. Senior figures within the unit opposed the decision, but were unable to prevent it.
The IDF believed Unit 8200, focused on signals intelligence (SIGINT), could fill the gap using advanced algorithms. The idea was to move away from human analysis of speeches, books, articles, TV, radio, and social media, and instead rely on AI-powered machines capable of unprecedented data collection. Simultaneously, some open-source roles were integrated into 8200 and the Intelligence Directorate's Research Division. However, the profession was devalued, lagging behind global trends.
Meanwhile, human intelligence (HUMINT), especially in Gaza, diminished significantly as it became more difficult to maintain agents on the ground. Tracking Hamas's tactical communications also shrank, based on the mistaken belief that cyber intelligence was superior.
Over time, IDF leadership realized that shutting down Hatzav created significant intelligence collection and research gaps, and that open-source data had more to offer than they initially thought.
The struggle to interpret cultural and contextual information
Former Hatzav experts took into account linguistic and cultural nuances, such as biases, political context, and institutional memory, that the Intelligence Directorate’s AI systems failed to grasp in the vast sea of data.
This realization intensified with the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. US intelligence agencies demonstrated how open-source data could be turned into intelligence gold. They constructed an accurate picture of Russia’s intentions, especially Putin’s mindset, based heavily on OSINT.
According to Israeli security sources, American warnings based on open intelligence were remarkably accurate. It was later revealed that much of this intelligence came from social media content. A former US intelligence official at the MEAD conference in Washington last September stated that OSINT played a key role in the White House’s daily intelligence assessments during the war.
Ukrainian civilians became frontline reporters, posting videos, images, and texts that documented Russian movements. The US not only harvested this information efficiently but also understood the cultural context behind Russian rhetoric as the ground and air campaigns evolved.
Crucially, the Americans didn’t hesitate to make their intelligence public. Since it was based on open sources, it didn’t endanger human assets, unlike traditional espionage.
Tracking open information revealed what the enemy tried to hide
In early 2023, Haliva launched a strategic process named "Em Haderech" to examine internal processes within intelligence units. He emphasized the blurring of lines between intelligence collectors and analysts, arguing for a redefinition of intelligence work.
By March 2023, one major outcome was the re-establishment of Hatzav in a form adapted to current technological realities. Alongside this revival, the IDF also created a new department: Network Intelligence (Webbing), referencing both the internet and a spiderweb.
The goal of the department was deep research into defined high-priority mysteries and processes. Analysts connected data points such as people, events, and locations to form a picture that adversaries work hard to conceal.
Intelligence sources told Walla that the creation of this Webbing division included the integration of cutting-edge tools for mapping enemy networks, behavioral patterns, and hostile actions. Analysts began with a person or organization and expanded outward, linking locations, documents, and social media posts to uncover broader connections. In the military, this method was dubbed "spiderweb building."
Debate over where the unit belonged
The webbing process gained traction after the Mossad seized over 50,000 documents and 150 CDs from Iran's nuclear archive in 2018. The intelligence community then engaged in cross-referencing and validation that led to breakthrough discoveries. Analysts used Iranian media, IAEA reports, and interviews with Iranian officials to gain crucial insights, often through OSINT techniques.
Throughout 2023, the IDF debated whether to place the new Hatzav under the Research Division or 8200, seeking to preserve its distinct identity apart from units like 9900, 8200, and 504. Eventually, Haliva appointed Col. A., an officer experienced in force-building, HR, and digital strategy, to lead the reformation. However, the unit's exact organizational placement was never fully resolved.
Reservist experts mobilized within hours
The war that began on October 7, 2023, revealed a catastrophic intelligence failure, both in warning and in understanding well-known regional trends. The Intelligence Directorate was in the midst of setting up the revived Hatzav unit, focusing on manpower, collection methodology, and product delivery to key decision-makers, such as the prime minister, the cabinet, the defense minister, the IDF chief of staff, and more.
Walla News learned that within hours of the attack, reservist content experts volunteered to compile a complete picture based on open-source information, tracking geographic hotspots, missing persons, abductees, victims, and more via social media and news outlets, especially in Gaza and the Arab world.
“It started with a civilian initiative—just three people on Zoom. Quickly, 63 others joined, including tech professionals, academics, and others,” intelligence sources said. Their mission: identifying POWs and missing persons via eye color, tattoos, and other markers based on OSINT and data cross-referencing with Hamas social posts.
Later, some volunteers were drafted into reserve duty despite exemptions. Among them: D., a former 8200 analyst who specializes in OSINT and Webbing; A., who was appointed head of Webbing Intelligence; and N., the new Hatzav commander and a digital specialist.
Veterans of the original Hatzav were also recalled, like R., one of its most experienced officers.
IDF intelligence officials say the unit’s success will be judged by how well it delivers usable intelligence products. “This is the turning point. OSINT is a real profession with subject-matter experts. Language nuances—dialects, idioms, Islamic and cultural terms—can be integrated into broader intelligence work and analysis,” they said.
One of Hatzav’s recent successes came in Syria, where civilians flooded social media with content that allowed analysts to piece together a wide intelligence picture, including trends, actors, and potential regime threats. “It’s not just identifying patterns but knowing who’s involved, who can act, like identifying signs of regime collapse through hundreds of pickup trucks,” said security sources.
Personnel from the renewed Hatzav unit have said their work is changing how the IDF views open-source data: “We’re always on our toes—what did we miss? And what excites us? Being part of the warning model. It’s an orchestra: VISINT, OSINT, HUMINT, SIGINT—all working together. And then comes validation—fact-checking, verifying the source of a video, whether it’s recycled, created by bots, or part of an influence campaign.”
This initiative, which gained momentum in early 2023, recently received backing from the Defense Ministry's Directorate of Defense Research & Development. The aim: to develop cutting-edge collection tools in partnership with civilian and defense companies.
Current Intelligence Directorate head Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder has tasked the Operations Division with defining the unit’s collection priorities. He also launched a dedicated OSINT training track for soldiers, based on new technologies, including command pipelines that report directly to the directorate's top leadership.