Hacker threat: Police warn Israelis not to answer unknown calls

Tel Aviv [Israel], October 27 : The Israeli Police and the National Cyber Directorate have advised people not to answer unknown WhatsApp calls coming from abroad, in a bid to warn citizens that such calls can be part of an attempt to hack phones, The Times of Israel reported.
Such calls, including video calls, are reportedly flooding Israelis' phones, according to authorities.
The Times of Israel, too, has received at least one such call from a Toledo, Ohio, area code.
"We recommend not answering them and not calling them back," police say.
The cyber directorate also noted that answering such calls itself will not lead to a phone being hacked or damaged, adding that the issue was being reported to Meta, WhatsApp's parent company.
Authorities have urged that WhatsApp users set their privacy settings to hush calls from unknown numbers.
The IDF also reported that fighters from its Shayetet 13 Naval Commando unit carried out what it described as a targeted raid from the sea in the south of the Gaza Strip during the night. As part of the operation, the forces destroyed the terrorist infrastructure of the terrorist organisation Hamas and operated in a compound used by the organisation's naval commando forces.
Additionally, vessels from the Israel Navy and IAF aircraft took part in the attack. The troops left the area upon completion of the mission.
The IDF did not reveal, however, any specifics of the attack or who was targeted, as reported by The Times of Israel.
Meanwhile, several rockets were launched on Friday evening from the Gaza Strip in the latest barrage landed in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, local authorities say.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said its medics are scanning for possible injuries.
Footage showed one rocket impact on a road in the city, and damage caused to the balcony of an apartment in a high-rise building, The Times of Israel reported.