Watan-Israel was subjected to a cyber attack that caused a significant disruption in the emergency hotline for ambulance, firefighting, and rescue services at number 100.
Reports were made to the Israeli police about the failure of the emergency lines for the police, Magen David Adom (Red Star of David – Israel’s national emergency medical service), and the firefighting authority after the attack targeted the servers of the communication company “Bezeq,” leading to the collapse of the website and servers.
Statement from the Israeli Police Regarding the Cyber Attack
In a statement about the attack, the Israeli police claimed that the cause of the emergency lines’ outage is unknown, and efforts are underway to repair the malfunction and resolve the issue.
In turn, the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv stated that a malfunction in the emergency center made it impossible to contact the police, ambulance, and firefighters.
It added that following the cyber attack on several emergency centers in Israel, emergency centers clarified that Magen David Adom (ambulance) can be contacted via a short text message at the phone number 052-7000-101, and for contacting the firefighting department in emergencies: through a short text message at the phone number 050-596-0735.
Hebrew media reported that after a malfunction was recorded during the night in emergency centers, the Israeli police informed the public that at this stage, it is possible to contact the emergency center at number 100 for the Israeli police using the lines of all mobile phone companies.
The police added that experts from the technology department of the Israeli police have been working in the past few hours to find a solution to overcome the problem and provide a response to public services.
Increase in Cyber Attacks on Israel
It is noted that cyber attacks on Israeli websites and applications have escalated since the beginning of the “Operation Quds Flood” on the seventh of October last year.
Groups of hackers opposed to the Israeli narrative have managed to target the well-known Israeli site Jerusalem Post and disrupt its operation for varying periods in recent days.
Previously, a Palestinian group known as “Cyber Quds Flood” successfully infiltrated the Israeli Ministry of Defense’s website, obtaining sensitive information and delivering it to the Palestinian resistance.
The group claimed to have acquired highly dangerous and important lists belonging to the Northern Gaza Brigade. These lists include the names of over 11,000 Israeli soldiers and officers from the Northern Brigade.
فريق هاكرز"سايبر طوفان الأقصى" يخترق موقع وزارة الدفاع الإسرائيلية، ويؤكد حصوله على معلومات حساسة، وتسليمها للمقـــاومة pic.twitter.com/q66zJd4lf6
— وطن. يغرد خارج السرب (@watanserb_news) November 22, 2023
Additionally, it was stated that these lists contain extremely accurate and detailed information about Israeli officers and soldiers. The group affirmed that they now possess comprehensive knowledge about the occupying forces, including personal photos, phone numbers, email addresses, residential locations, military identification numbers, and their positions within the army.