Police Probe Tel Aviv QR Flyers Linked to Threats Against Water and Power Sites

Israel Police opened an investigation on Monday, November 9, after residents reported finding flyers with QR codes in mailboxes at several addresses in northern Tel Aviv. Police said the codes led to a webpage suspected of containing threatening material. Officers from the Yarkon area visited the locations and collected evidence. Police said they were investigating the circumstances of the distribution. In their statement, they asked: “Anyone who encounters such a leaflet is requested to contact the police emergency hotline, 100.” The flyers directed recipients to a website presenting itself as the official site of the Handala hacking group, according to a report. The group reportedly claimed it had placed them in Tel Aviv mailboxes overnight. The message threatened Israeli power stations, oil refineries and desalination plants if Israel again attacked the energy infrastructure of what it called the resistance front. Shin Bet was also involved in the investigation, according to the report. On March 19, the U.S. Justice Department announced the seizure of four domains it said supported Iranian intelligence hacking and psychological operations, including two Handala sites. The department attributed those operations to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and said the sites had published stolen information and threats against journalists, dissidents and Israelis.