Infamous and loosely assembled hacking group Anonymous has launched a series of cyber attacks against websites in Israel, defacing some with Pro-Palestinian messages and taking others offline completely with DDOS attacks.
Anonymous announced the “OpIsrael” hacking campaign in retaliation for Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza, and as an antidote for the digital propaganda being pushed by the Israeli military through “shareable” slogans and images on Twitter and Facebook and social engagement tools such as “achievements” and “badges” for regular visitors to their official sites.
On the AnonRelations website, Anonymous said that they finally decided to launch the cyber attacks after threats by the Israeli government to cut all Gaza’s telecommunication links, warning that further attacks would be launched if such action was taken, saying:
“We are ANONYMOUS and NO ONE shuts down the Internet on our watch”
The group warned the Israeli government not to cut off telecom and web links and urged it to end military operations in Gaza. If the attacks did not end, Israel would feel the group’s “full and unbridled wrath” although they gave no information of what that may include.
Anonymous posted a list of 87 sites it claimed had been defaced or attacked as part of OpIsrael, with the group also producing an information package detailing alternative ways for people in Gaza to communicate with each other and the world if their telecommunication links were severed.
Some pro-Israel organisations in the US have used this hacking attack by Anonymous in support of the Palestinians as terrorism and claiming that Anonymous is a terrorist organisation. To this charge, Anonymous responded that they are a non-violent organisation saying:
Anonymous does not in any way support the use of violence. Anonymous is a world wide collective of individuals whose means pursue human rights, justice, and universal equality for the citizens of every nation.
Currently both the IDF and HAMAS are giving running commentaries on the mortar and rocket attacks on Israel, and the Israeli bombardment of Gaza on Twitter.