Reports of the hack began trickling in online just after midnight in Israel, with social media posts first indicating that the Maariv Online had had its Twitter account compromised. Initially, it appeared that three posts had been shared on the account, two of which included images of an explosion and a third including depictions of martyr Qasem Soleimani and martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
The image depicting an explosion appears to be an altered photo pulled from earlier video footage that appeared to show an Iranian strike against a mock-up of Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility. The figure in the photo is meant to be Soleimani, as the ring shown is similar to one worn by him.
The strike against Maariv Online did not affect the outlet’s homepage, but the same could not be said for fellow Israeli outlet The Jerusalem Post.
In a tweet, the Jerusalem Post acknowledged being the target of hackers.
“We are aware of the apparent hacking of our website, alongside a direct threat to Israel,” the English-language newspaper wrote. “We are working to resolve the issue; thank readers for your patience and understanding,” said in the tweet.