IDF says it thwarted Hamas cyber attack amid rocket barrage

The Israeli military says its soldiers thwarted a cyber attack by the Hamas terror group, without elaborating on the nature or target of the attack.

The commander of the IDF’s Cyber Division, who can only be identified by his rank and first Hebrew letter of his name, Brig. Gen. “Dalet,” would only say that the cyber attack occurred in the past day and was aimed at “harming the way of life of Israeli citizens.”

The military says much of the information about the attempted attack cannot be published as it would reveal to Hamas details about Israel’s cyber capabilities.

In addition to Israeli technology soldiers thwarting the cyber attack, the Israeli Air Force also bombed the headquarters of Hamas’s cyber unit.

According to the officer, the attempt by Hamas was not a particularly advanced one. “We were a step ahead of them the whole time,” he says.

However, Dalet says this was one of the first times where Israeli soldiers had to fend off a cyber attack while also fighting a physical battle.

“What’s special here is that we thwarted this threat under fire,” Dalet tells reporters.

The general says Hamas likely knows by now that its effort failed.

“I believe that they know they didn’t succeed in doing what they intended to do,” Dalet says.

— Judah Ari Gross