The hacker group "Handala," operating under Iranian sponsorship and identified with the "resistance" axis, made a rare claim today (Wednesday): they say they successfully infiltrated the personal phone of former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
According to the hackers, the infiltration was part of "Operation Octopus," a campaign led by the group.
The hackers, who have previously targeted Israeli government and military infrastructures, released a statement with direct messages to Bennett-mocking his security capabilities and describing the breach as a "simple conquest" of an iPhone 13 that was supposedly in his possession.
To support their claims, the group published a series of files said to have been extracted from the phone, including a contact list with names of senior Israeli officials, internal communications, sensitive documents, and personal photos.
Among the leaked documents are drafts of official letters, some dated July 2025. Additionally, political communications were released, including internal criticism of the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and claims that he poses a "political risk" to the coalition.
The leak also included documents with the names of senior ministers-such as Minister Orit Strock and Minister Gideon Sa'ar-pertaining to policies on security prisoners and economic tools against Hamas, like canceling banknotes in the Palestinian Authority territories.
In their statement, the group emphasized that the breach was not only a technological achievement but also part of psychological warfare, describing the information security of senior Israeli officials as "fragile." The group encouraged journalists to contact them on the X platform (Twitter) for additional materials.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett responded to the hacking of his phone by a group of hackers linked to Iran.
“The matter is being handled by the security authorities. Israel’s enemies will do everything they can to prevent me from becoming prime minister again. It will not help them. No one will stop me from acting and fighting for the State of Israel and the people of Israel.
“After further examination, it appears that my phone itself was not hacked. However, access was gained to my Telegram account through various means. Contact lists, as well as many images and chats - some real and some fabricated (including an image of me next to Ben-Gurion) - were circulated. This material was obtained illegally, and its distribution constitutes a criminal offense,” Bennett said.