What Does The Upside-Down Red Triangle Emoji Mean? Memes About Hamas' Al-Qassam Fighters And Red Triangles Explained

Israel began its ground invasion of Gaza on October 27th, 20 days after Hamas launched its initial attack on Israel that set off the recent conflict.

Numerous viral videos have emerged over the last two weeks since the incursion began of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) using tanks and other vehicles in Gaza, oftentimes appearing to have no infantry support alongside them, and Hamas' military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) has capitalized on a new opportunity through this propaganda footage.

As video upon video of Hamas fighters attempting to destroy vehicles using explosives and other weapons emerge, sympathizers and supporters are latching onto how the footage typically uses a small red triangle to indicate enemy positions, which has since become a piece of iconography for the group online.

Here's a recap and explanation of the "Red Triangle Emoji 🔻" and its usage in memes amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

What Does The Upside-Down Red Triangle Mean?

Following Israel's ground invasion of Gaza, Hamas' military wing al-Qassam Brigade began posting videos to Telegram channels showing how their fighters target enemy vehicles. The videos often used upside-down red triangles to indicate or mark enemy positions, as seen in a compilation posted by Al Jazeera Arabic's X account on November 4th.

#الجزيرة تحصل على صور تظهر استهداف كتائب القسام دبابات وآليات إسرائيلية توغلت شمال #غزة#حرب_غزة#الأخبار pic.twitter.com/PYCZDn3bj3

— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) November 4, 2023

Another example of the triangle being used in Hamas footage can be seen in a clip posted by X account @IranObserver0 on November 7th.

Hamas published another video of the ongoing battle with the invading Israeli forces

Hamas will end up destroying more Israeli armored vehicles than Hezbollah did in the 2006 war pic.twitter.com/i0tJuZlfhq

— Iran Observer (@IranObserver0) November 8, 2023

How Does Hamas Use The Red Triangle Symbol?

Following the viral spread of videos from al-Qassam fighters' bodycams, Hamas began sharing artwork and propaganda posters showing red triangles destroying tanks and APCs. One such poster uses the red triangle in the Palestinian flag, meant to honor Palestinian martyrs, to point to an IDF tank.

How Did The Red Triangle Become A Meme?

Internet users began posting memes using red triangles soon after the spread of Hamas fighter footage in early November, with X user @jackfromohio posting a Confused Mr Krabs meme with the caption, "When you’re driving through Gaza and a red triangle appears above you 🔻."

X user @GeoInt_MY posted a different SpongeBob meme to reference red triangles, showing 105mm al-Yassin explosive shells threatening a tank with a red triangle above it.

For the full history of the red triangle emoji 🔻, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.