Where did Operation Israel come from?

It kicked off on November 15, 2012, when the Anon Relations blog posted a communique accusing Israel of threatening to cut Gaza's internet, followed by a narrated YouTube video from user Gigabytedrop and the @Op_Israel Twitter account[3].

What does Operation Israel mean?

The name refers to an open Anonymous operation targeting Israeli infrastructure online, tagged #OpIsrael, that pairs DDoS attacks with a bilingual 'care package' of proxies and survival info for Gaza residents[3].

How do you use Operation Israel?

Participants use the #OpIsrael hashtag to coordinate targets, share defaced URLs on Pastebin and Twitter, and post 'Tango Down' style claims when a site goes offline[3].

Is Operation Israel still popular?

The original November 2012 wave was the peak; a united hacker follow-up in March 2013 kept the tag alive, but later annual reruns never matched that initial burst[2].

Operation Israel

Q: What is Operation Israel?

Operation Israel, or #OpIsrael, is an Anonymous hacktivist campaign of DDoS attacks and defacements against Israeli government, military, and financial websites launched to protest the IDF's 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza[1].

2012eventdead

Published September 19, 2026

Operation Israel, also known as #OpIsrael, is an Anonymous hacktivist campaign launched in November 2012 to protest the Israel Defense Forces' Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza. Hackers hit Israeli government sites with DDoS attacks and defacements, reportedly knocking hundreds of pages offline and turning the Gaza conflict into one of the first major real-time cyber battles fought alongside a shooting war.

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Overview

Operation Israel, also written as #OpIsrael, is a loose Anonymous-branded hacktivist operation that pairs a press-release video, a #OpIsrael hashtag, and coordinated DDoS attacks and site defacements against Israeli government, military, and financial targets1. Rather than a single group, it works as an open call any hacker can join, with participants posting damage claims and defaced URLs to Pastebin and Twitter using the shared tag2.

Alongside the offensive side, organizers pushed a defensive angle for Gaza residents: a bilingual English and Arabic "care package" bundling a press release, first-aid instructions, an IP-hiding proxy, and instructions for getting online if Israel cut Gaza's internet access3. That mix of DDoS activism plus civilian survival kit set the tone that later #OpIsrael waves in 2013 tried to copy4.

Origin & Background

Platform

YouTube / Anon Relations blog (viral spread on Twitter)

Creator

Anonymous

Date

2012

The catalyst was Operation Pillar of Defense, launched on November 14, 2012, when an IDF airstrike killed Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari and both sides began live-tweeting the escalation3. The next day, November 15, 2012, the Anonymous-affiliated blog Anon Relations posted a communique accusing Israel's government of threatening to shut off Gaza's internet and calling for attacks on the country's most important websites in retaliation3.

A narrated video version of the press release was uploaded to YouTube by user Gigabytedrop and quickly seeded across Anonymous social accounts, with Breitbart covering the launch on November 16, 20121. A dedicated @Op_Israel Twitter account and a #OpIsrael Facebook page went up the same day to coordinate targets and share defaced URLs3.

Operation Israel

Overview

Origin & Background

How It Spread

Frequently Asked Questions

References (4)