Thousands of Israelis receive ‘fake’ messages to go to shelters amid escalation with Hezbollah

JERUSALEM

Thousands of Israelis received "fake" text messages urging them to go to their bomb shelters, according to Israeli media on Thursday.

"You must enter a protected area," reads the message cited by The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

The Israeli army’s Home Front Command denied that it had sent the messages.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN said that Iran was suspected to have sent the false emergency messages.

Israel remains on high alert in anticipation of a response from Iran-backed Hezbollah following two waves of communication device blasts on Tuesday and Wednesday that killed dozens of Lebanese across Lebanon and injured thousands, including Hezbollah members.

The blasts came amid an escalation in cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 41,200 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas on last Oct. 7.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar