Israel’s Jerusalem Post website hacked on anniversary of Iran general’s assassination
- Hackers replaced content with image threatening Israel nuclear reactor, saying: ‘We are close to you where you do not think about it’
- Paper targeted two years after Qassem Soleimani was killed by a US drone strike in Iraq
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the hacking. The image posted on The Jerusalem Post’s website depicts a missile coming down from a fist bearing a ring long associated with Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed by a US drone strike in Iraq two years ago.
The caption reads: “We are close to you where you do not think about it,” in English and Hebrew.
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Also Monday, there were reports of an attack on a ship off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, a crucial route for international trade. Yemen remains mired in a years long war pitting Iranian-backed rebels against a Saudi-led coalition.
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Under its policy of nuclear ambiguity, Israel neither confirms nor denies having atomic weapons.
In a tweet, The Jerusalem Post acknowledged being the target of hackers.
“We are aware of the apparent hacking of our website, alongside a direct threat to Israel,” the English-language newspaper wrote. “We are working to resolve the issue & thank readers for your patience and understanding.”
The newspaper later restored its website. It noted Iran-supporting hackers previously targeted its homepage in 2020 “with an illustration of Tel Aviv burning as then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swam” with a life preserver.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli government. The hack comes after Israel’s former military intelligence chief in late December publicly acknowledged his country was involved in Soleimani’s killing.
Iran also did not immediately acknowledge the hack. However, the country has in recent days stepped up its commemorations of the slain Revolutionary Guard General. Memorial services were expected to be held on Monday marking his death.
As the head of the Quds, or Jerusalem, Force of the Revolutionary Guard, Soleimani led all of its expeditionary forces and frequently shuttled between Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. Quds Force members have deployed into Syria’s long war to support President Bashar al-Assad, as well as into Iraq in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, a long-time foe of Tehran.
Soleimani rose to prominence by advising forces fighting Islamic State group in Iraq and in Syria on behalf of the embattled Assad.
US officials say the Guard under Soleimani taught Iraqi militants how to manufacture and use especially deadly roadside bombs against US troops after the invasion of Iraq. Iran has denied this. Many Iranians to this day see Soleimani as a hero who fought Iran’s enemies abroad.
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Meanwhile, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it had received reports of an attack on a ship, giving its location as off the coast of Yemen, near the contested port city of Hodeida. The British military did not elaborate.
The coordinates it offered corresponded to the Emirati-flagged landing craft Rwabee, which had not given its location via satellite-tracking data for hours, according to the website MarineTraffic.com.
A statement from the Saudi-led coalition carried by state television in the kingdom later acknowledged the attack, saying Houthi rebels had committed an act of “armed piracy” involving the vessel. The coalition asserted the ship carried medical equipment for a Saudi field hospital, without offering evidence.
An employee at the vessel’s owners, Abu Dhabi-based Liwa Marine Services, said the Rwabee appeared to have been the target but said they had no other information.
