Israel suffered widespread power failures on Thursday, including in Tel Aviv. Reuters
Israel suffered widespread power failures on Thursday, including in Tel Aviv. Reuters
Israel suffered widespread power failures on Thursday, including in Tel Aviv. Reuters
Israel suffered widespread power failures on Thursday, including in Tel Aviv. Reuters

Major power failure in Israel after suspected cyber attack


Thomas Helm
  • English
  • Arabic

Cities across Israel were hit by a huge power failure on Thursday afternoon in a suspected cyber attack.

The Anonymous Sudan hacker group said it was responsible for the incident, boasting on its Telegram channel that "the electric attack was just for fun. We'll show you more".

In a later post, the group threatened more attacks: "Israel, we are still playing with you ... soon you will be without the internet. We are working to down the internet in Israel like electricity."

Israel's Electric Company told The National that a fault in a production unit caused the failure.

In a statement, the company said: "Due to a glitch in one of the Haifa power plants, power outages are being felt in a number of areas around the country ... regular power supply was renewed to a number of areas and will be fully renewed in the next few minutes."

The outage caused major traffic jams in Tel Aviv, as right-wing protesters prepared to attend a rally to show support for the country's government.

During recent months Anonymous Sudan has been behind several cyber attacks in Israel, including during Wednesday's celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Israel, in which two news sites and Israel's Defence Ministry and Shin Bet security service were claimed to be attacked.

The Facebook account of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also targeted. The page was briefly full of Arabic-language Quranic verses.

Earlier in April, a series of hacks hit important websites, including those of Ben-Gurion Airport and a number of universities.

Israeli authorities later blamed some of them on Iran, including one on Haifa's prestigious Technion Institute, in which hackers demanded millions of shekels as a ransom.

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The essentials

What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

When: Friday until March 9

Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City

Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.

Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.

Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
 

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Places to go for free coffee
  • Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day. 
  • La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
  • Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
  • Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
Updated: April 27, 2023, 2:56 PM