The pro-Iranian hacking group Handala claimed to have breached the phone of former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Herzi Halevi, according to a Thursday thread of posts on the group's X/Twitter.
The group claims that the hacking operation lasted years, resulting in the theft of approximately 19,000 sensitive files, including visual documentation of secret meetings, strategic maps, and personal footage from Halevi's residence.
The published footage also appears to include Halevi's personal identification documents, footage of him with his family, as well as with senior IDF officials, and other soldiers whose identities are classified by the military.
The group also published footage that appears to show Halevi holding meetings with senior Arab officials, including those from Qatar and Jordan.
This follows a threat shared by Handala on Wednesday, where they claimed that they were about to reveal information about Halevi.
"Handala is sitting at the chokepoint; all of you are under our intelligence umbrella," the initial post read.
Handala claims IDF's censorship, editing of photographs is redundant given hacks
"For years, Handala has had direct access to all the real, unedited images straight from your top commanders’ systems," the group said, alleging that the IDF's requirement to blur and pixelate photographs is redundant given such hacks.
Handala criticized Halevi, claiming that "His record is stained with genocide, the massacre of civilians, indiscriminate bombings, and war crimes. Many of the brutal bombings of Gaza, targeted assassinations, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure were conducted under his direct leadership and orders."
The group is named after the pro-Palestinian Handala cartoon character, created by political cartoonist Naji al-Ali, which serves as a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israel.