Israel’s Jerusalem Post newspaper said on Monday its website had been hacked, in what it said was an apparent threat to the country.
Instead of displaying a main news page, the website showed an illustration that appeared to recall top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq on this day in 2020.
Instead of displaying a main news page, the website showed an illustration that appeared to recall top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq on this day in 2020. https://t.co/GbzCa0Goyq
— Syed Shahriyar (@shahriyarsyed1) January 3, 2022
The illustration showed a bullet-shaped object shooting out of a red ring worn on a finger, an apparent reference to a distinctive ring Soleimani used to wear.
The Jerusalem Post, an English-language daily, tweeted that it was working to resolve the issue.
“We are aware of the apparent hacking of our website, alongside a direct threat (to) Israel,” it said.
Read more: Qassem Soleimani’s assassination: Was it a plan to spread anarchy?
Its mobile app did not appear to be affected, and other major Israeli news websites were working normally.
Rally in Baghdad on anniversary
Chanting anti-American slogans, hundreds of people rallied in the Iraqi capital on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the killing of a powerful Iranian general and a top Iraqi militia leader in a US drone strike.
The crowd called for the expulsion of remaining American forces from Iraq during the demonstration commemorating the airstrike at Baghdad airport. Killed were Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Unit.
“We will not let you stay after today on in the land of the martyrs,” some of the placards read. American and Israeli flags were strewn on the ground, with people trampling on them.
Read more: Gen. Qasem Soleimani: Master of Covert Operations
The killing of Soleimani and al-Mohandes at Baghdad’s airport pushed Iran and the US perilously close to all-out conflict and sparked outrage in Iraq, leading parliament to pass a non-binding resolution days later calling for the expulsion of all foreign troops from Iraq.
Reuters with additional input by GVS News Desk