On the second anniversary of the assassination of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani in a US-led strike, Iran has chosen to hack a number of Israeli websites in retaliation.
This morning, at least two major Israeli news websites reported being hacked by Iran, including the Jerusalem Post and the Hebrew-speaking Maariv newspaper.
The hackers' main message was "We are close to you where you do not think about it."
JUST IN - Website of the Israeli media outlet "Jerusalem Post" has been hacked and defaced. pic.twitter.com/NYMkVIozzO
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) January 3, 2022
Iranian hackers left several messages on the targeted websites, ones that included photos of the slain military leader Qasem Soleimani, in addition to Iraqi militant leader Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, both of which were targeted in a US airstrike near the Baghdad airport on the first week of 2020. The two men were portrayed as they "watched Israel closely," suggesting a continuation of their political ideologies even after their death.
Prior to his assassination, Qasem Soleimani was considered one of the strongest men in Iran as he led the Quds Force, which is a major division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, mainly in charge of extraterritorial and clandestine military operations.
BREAKING: Israeli Media Outlets Seem To Be Getting Hacked & Are Posting Threats To Israel & Tributes To Iran’s Late General Qassem Soleimani.
— Robert Inlakesh (@falasteen47) January 3, 2022
Maariv Online getting trolled & Jerusalem Post website down. pic.twitter.com/GGSTzqx5kF
Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis who was also killed in the same attack was the deputy chief of the Popular Mobilization Forces also known as Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi, which is backed by Iran.
In recent weeks, a former Israeli intelligence official publically revealed an active Israeli role in the January 2020 assassination of Iran's top commander Qasem Soleimani, which may have triggered this recent "revenge" cyberattack against Israeli websites.
