Jerusalem: The Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) announced on Wednesday that 517 cyberattacks have been carried out against universities and colleges in Israel since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October last year.
In a statement, the INCD noted that while some attacks were successfully thwarted, others caused significant damage.
The INCD on Tuesday held a national cybersecurity drill for Israeli higher education institutions amid a rise in cyber threats against Israeli targets.
The exercise, headquartered at the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo, aimed to increase the readiness of Israeli academic institutions to address the increasing challenges in cybersecurity.
Participants were presented with complex attack scenarios, requiring them to make real-time decisions, cooperate across departments, and respond quickly and effectively, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Tuesday, Hamas had said that reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and prisoner exchanges is possible if Israel stops setting new conditions.
In a statement, Hamas referred to the discussions on a ceasefire in Qatar’s Doha under the auspices of the Qatari and Egyptian mediators as “serious and positive.”
The indirect negotiations have gained momentum in recent weeks, to stop the fighting that has been ongoing for more than 14 months between Hamas and Israel.
Initially, several media outlets had reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Cairo for a ceasefire-for-hostage deal, which was denied later by Netanyahu’s spokesperson.
Netanyahu’s office issued an official statement, saying he had visited Mount Hermon, near the buffer zone where Israeli forces seized a Syrian army outpost before.
Egypt and Qatar, with the participation of the United States, are trying to mediate an agreement to end the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that claimed the lives of about 1,200 people.
Israel responded with a massive air and ground attack on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza-based health authorities.
