Hamas targeted the soldiers via groups on the social notworking site Facebook and lured them into long chats. The soldiers were convinced enough by the honey trap to download fake applications which enabled Hamas to take control of their phones.

It is not clear how the army determined that those behind the scheme were from Hamas. Hamas is not saying anything about it.

However, the Israeli spokesman made a bit of a slip when he stated “The enemy knows the language of young people” and installed viruses that can control the telephones of dozens of soldiers”.

The implication is that the kids of Hamas are the same as the kids of Israel and they all speak the same consumer tech  language. This would be a terrible thing, particularly if they met and liked each other. Of course, there would be the small problem that one side would be expecting to meet someone rather less beardie to be overcome.

The actual damage done to the army was limited and the virus has been dealt with, the official added, but the army has decided to raise the issue publicly to warn soldiers of the potential dangers of social networks.

"The existing potential threat can turn into a real threat to the security of Israel," the source quivered. "We will disseminate and denounce the false profiles of Hamas, impose stricter rules for soldiers who are on social networks and train military personnel to react to attacks before it is too late."