Israel's Defense Forces use social media to battle Hamas

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Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have taken to social media -- Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and a blog -- to make announcements regarding Wednesday's military strikes that led to the killing of top Hamas commander Ahmed al-Jabari.

UPDATE: Their first post just 16 hours old, the IDF has created an official Tumblr, uploading graphics that highlight attacks on Israeli citizens by militant Palestinians. A Pinterest account also features photos of IDF soldiers.

From Wednesday: The IDF's official Twitter account, @IDFSpokesperson, has been updating followers with details about the strikes under the hashtag, #PillarOfDefense, using the networking service to publicize and defend their reaction to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. Their initial post about the strike accompanied a YouTube video showing a birds-eye view of the strike on al-Jabari's car and a satellite photo of the targets.

The IDF followed their announcement with a blunt warning to other leaders of Gaza's governing political party, along with the threat of a ground operation:

They also defended the decision to strike as retaliation for "a month of frequent rocket attacks" on Israel, as well as their choice of target, Ahmed al-Jabari, the commander of Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades:

As spokesman for a militant Palestinian group in Gaza said that "the occupation started the battle," and that they would "respond very fiercely to their crimes." Al-Jaabari's al-Qassam Brigades tweeted this message to the IDF: