Hackers, believed to be affiliated with the Iranian government, have claimed responsibility for breaching the devices and accounts of former Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. They reportedly published dozens of photos and identification documents to support their claim of the intrusion.

In a statement posted on its website, the hacker group “Handala” said it had extracted “more than 19,000 confidential images and videos from the most secret meetings” of Helevi, who served as the IDF chief of staff between 2023 and 2025, The Caspian Post reports, citing foreign media.

“All your top-secret facilities, crisis rooms, maps, and even the tiniest details of your command centers have long been like an open book to us,” the statement said.

Dozens of examples of photos and videos were posted on Handala’s social accounts, showing Halevi during tours of military bases, high-level meetings and personal settings with his family. The leak also appears to include photos of the ID cards of Halevi and his wife, as well as images of him engaged in physical activities. An Israeli source familiar with the matter confirmed the authenticity of the photos to CNN, while Halevi’s representative declined to comment.

Handala is the hacking group behind the breach into FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal emails last month. It claims to have also targeted several senior Israeli figures such as former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz, and Tzachi Braverman, former chief of staff to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - all of whom had access to classified materials.