A Turkish hacker group published Thursday evening the mobile phone number of Defense Minister Israel Katz, and one of its members even managed to call Katz, who answered the video call. The hackers later shared a screenshot from the conversation.
During the call, the hacker hurled insults at the minister and took a screenshot before Katz immediately disconnected. Katz has kept the same phone number for years, and it has been circulated in various groups in the past.
Alongside the call, which the hackers publicized with an image, Katz also received thousands of hostile messages, including curses — some automated — and threats such as “We will kill you.”
In August of last year, while serving as foreign minister, Katz posted in Turkish on the social media platform X, sharply attacking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Katz accused Erdogan of turning Turkey into a dictatorship because of his “support for the murderers and rapists of Hamas.” The post included an AI-generated illustration of Erdogan against the backdrop of Istanbul and a burning Turkish flag, which sparked outrage in Turkey and made headlines in major local outlets.