The al-Aqsa TV channel run by Hamas was reportedly hacked on Thursday in order to call on Palestinians in Gaza to seek shelter.
The alleged hack, as reported by the Jerusalem Post, is said to have warned residents about an impending attack on the city that would be “fatal.”
“Hamas destroyed the Gaza Strip and smuggled its leaders to safe places,” the message reportedly said. “Now you have to protect yourselves, evacuate your homes, and go to safe places because the blow will be fatal.”
Footage circulating on social media purports to show the broadcast, which includes the message over footage of Gaza being attacked.
A translation by the Daily Dot of the text featured in the video shows the tail end of the message regarding calls to seek shelter.
Gazan officials, according to the Jerusalem Post, blamed Israel for the hack.
The incident would not be the first time that al-Aqsa has been commandeered to promote such content.
In just one example in 2019, Israeli military forces were accused of hacking the TV station in order to air anti-Hamas content.
At the time, viewers were reportedly shown footage of Hamas’ leadership being gunned down alongside a message in Arabic stating that “Time is running out.”
Hacks against digital infrastructure in both Palestine and Israel have seen a noticeable uptick amid the ongoing conflict. At least 58 different hacking groups have taken part, mainly conducting DDoS attacks against websites.
Other hacking groups have vowed to join forces in order to carry out more large-scale attacks, primarily against Israel.
The conflict has seen over 1,200 people killed in Israel after a surprise attack by Hamas and over 1,000 in Palestine.
