Israeli ministers and officials have been inundated with threats and hate messages on their smartphones, emails and digital platforms since the war began, so much so that their phones and email services are sometimes disabled altogether.
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Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who received over 40,000 messages, was among those targeted, along with ministers Yoav Kisch, Gila Gamliel, Ofir Akunis and Shlomo Karhi.
Government spokespeople have also been targets of harassment, including government spokesman for international media Eylon Levy.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan was also on the receiving end of numerous threats after publicly disclosing the phone number of Hamas terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar during a speech.
While the messages originated from Indonesian numbers, their content suggests they were sent by Palestinians in the West Bank. The nature of these communications indicates they were not from private people, but rather part of an organized operation.
One official reported that upon answering their phone, they were met with a barrage of epithets and "free Palestine" chants. A message they received stated, "Do you know? Palestine will be freed, and you will be destroyed. Get ready, we will reach you soon with God's help."
Other messages read, "We will kill you and your family," "Enemy soldiers are coming for you, wait for your turn to die," and "We will pursue you until Palestine is freed."
Several ministers requested assistance from the National Cyber Directorate and the Shin Bet to address the issue. After some intervention, there was a reduction in video messages, but text messages continued unabated.
"We are a cyber superpower and cannot do anything to stop this?" ministers asked. "Why can't calls and messages from a given country code be blocked?" A senior official complained that the only recourse he was offered was to change his phone number.
Sources close to the situation indicated that the only effective solution would need to come from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram because the messages were generated by bots rather than being a consequence of cyberattacks.
The National Cyber Directorate said in a statement that Meta has been notified and that the problem could only be solved on their end.