A Christian Lebanese hacker group has allegedly targeted Beirut airport with messages condemning attempts by Iran and Hezbollah to draw Lebanon into a war with Israel, according to footage circulating online and a report by ABC News on Sunday.
BREAKING:Christian Lebanese hackers launch a cyber-attack against the Beirut Airport, forced it to close down.Messages appeared at all screens, condemning Hezbollah & Iran for trying to drag Lebanon into war with Israel.Message in comments ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/PWjcLc0jp7
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 7, 2024
Screens displayed at the airport, rather than sharing flight information, allegedly displayed messages from the group ‘Soldiers of God.’ The group has denied their involvement on social media, according to ABC News.
“Hassan Nasrallah, you will no longer have supporters if you curse Lebanon with a war for which you will bear responsibility and consequences,” the message read.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 7, 2024
Tensions between Lebanon and Israel have escalated as Hezbollah has launched a number of drone attacks into Israel’s northern border communities.
Only hours ago, Arab media had reported that Israel had launched 3 airstrikes into southern Lebanon, a known stronghold for Hezbollah. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, nor for the strike last week which killed Hamas deputy al-Arouri.
Hezbollah's leader Nasrallah previously warned his movement "cannot accept" the alleged Israeli assassination of deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, noting that "with certainty that this will not go without a response or punishment," he said. "Whoever thinks of war with us will regret it and the price of war with us will be very costly. If war is waged against us, then the Lebanese national interests require that we take the war to the end."
A new platform for war
Since Hamas’s October 7 terror attack in Israel, the use of cyber attacks by hackers has been a common tool used by every side.
In September, Iranian hackers hijacked numerous Israeli websites and compromised private data. In another attack only a month ago, data on IDF patients was stolen from the Ziv Medical Center by hackers from Iran and Hezbollah.
Israeli hacking groups have also claimed responsibility for hacking Iran’s oil infrastructure systems.