Sites which the annual "#OpIsrael" hack succeeded in blocking access to were those of the Israeli Center for Excellence through Education, the Israeli Urological Association and popular Israel singers. As well as attacking websites, the group claimed to have hacked thousands of email addresses and Facebook accounts.
Most of the hacks took the form of Denial of Service attacks, making repeated requests for access to sites and overloading its servers with traffic. Defacing the website, the hackers posted slogans such as "Muslims are everywhere – We will enter to Palestine soon … Expect us!" and "Greetings world we are AnonGhost We are always here to punish you!"
Prior to Tuesday's attack Israeli hackers told Israeli news media that they expected the attempt by Anonymous to pose little real threat to security. "We’re talking about amateurs, that love to threaten, but can’t carry out the work," a hacker known as FTS told Israel’s 0404 News.
"Just like with every one of their attacks they’ll succeed in hacking a few sites with easy security, which can be done by any amateur."
Announcing their plan on March 30, Anonymous hackers published a video in which its masked representative in a suit and tie warned of an "electronic holocaust," on April 7 "to erase Israel from cyberspace… in solidarity with the Palestinian people."
The Anonymous hacking campaign, which began four years ago, drew a response from the Israeli Elite Strike Force group of hackers, who in turn claimed to have carried out attacks on sites in Palestine and Syria.
