At least two Israeli media sites were apparently hacked early Monday with warnings from an Iranian propaganda video and linked to the second anniversary of the assassination of top general Qassem Soleimani.
The website of the Jerusalem Post showed a scene from an Iranian missile drill last month in which Tehran destroyed a mock-up of Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona.
In the picture, the rocket appears to be fired from the iconic ring of Soleimani, with the caption: “We are close to you where you do not think about it,” in English and Hebrew.
The Twitter account of the Maariv newspaper, which has the same owners as the English-language Post, briefly held the same message, but soon took it down.
The Post said it was working to restore its site.
“We are aware of the apparent hacking of our website, alongside a direct threat of Israel. We are working to resolve the issue,” the newspaper tweeted, and the site was back online about 2 hours after the hack.
Former US president Donald Trump sent shock waves through the region on January 3, 2020 with the targeted killing of General Soleimani, who was commander of the Quds Force, the foreign operation’s arm of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. The Quds force is designated by the US as a terrorist organization.
Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad ordered by Trump, along with his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, infuriating Iran and its allies.
Five days after Soleimani’s killing, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a US air base in Ain al-Assad housing American troops in Iraq, and another near Arbil in the north.
No US troops were killed in those strikes but Washington said dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries from the explosions.
Trump said at the time that the drone strike came in response to a wave of attacks on US interests in Iraq, warning he would hold Iran responsible if such assaults continued.
Iran is preparing to launch week-long activities to commemorate Soleimani’s killing. Authorities said the main event of the remembrance will be held on Monday, without elaborating.
They added that on January 7 a display of “Iran’s missile capabilities” will be held.
Iranian officials have pledged repeatedly that Soleimani will be avenged.
Last month Iran fired multiple ballistic missiles at the close of five days of military drills that generals said were a warning to Israel and included a mock strike on Israel’s nuclear facility.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards forces finished the drill by blowing up a target set up to resemble Israel’s Dimona nuclear complex. Iranian TV broadcast images of missiles striking the target structures and issued a threat to Israel.
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