HACKTIVISTS ATTACK KEY ISRAELI WEBSITES OVER GAZA OFFENSIVE

Tel Aviv, 29 Syawwal 1435/25 August 2014 (MINA) – Hacktivists from the Anonymous group have attacked key Israeli websites in retaliation for Tel Aviv’s current offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The websites of Israeli military, Bank of Israel, and the Israeli prime minister’s office were taken down, RT reported on Monday.

The websites of Israel’s ministry of finance, the embassy of Israel in the United States, the Central Bureau of Statistics and Israeli Immigration were also hacked by the Anonymous group.

The attack came following the closure of various Anonymous social media accounts that focused on the Tel Aviv regime’s ongoing attacks in Gaza.

The group has been targeting Israel’s key websites since the regime started its military attacks on Gaza on July 8. The cyber attacks intensified after Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, which is a symbol of the group.

Israeli officials say military and intelligence agencies could foil the cyber attacks.

But reports suggest many of the websites remained down hours after the news was made public.

The group’s first cyber attack against Israel was launched during Tel Aviv’s assault on Gaza in November 2012.

Some 700 websites, including the foreign ministry and the Israeli president’s official websites, were hacked at the time and the personal data of some 5,000 Israeli officials were posted online.

Anonymous also hacked hundreds of websites belonging to Israeli ministries and organizations, including those of the ministry of education and airports authority, on April 7.

The hacktivist group carried out similar attacks on April 7, 2013, when the websites of the Israeli parliament, ministries and other government organizations stopped functioning for some time. (T/P002/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)