'Small Gift For Mossad,' Suspected Iranian Telegram Channel Doxes Israeli Spy Agency Chief

A Telegram channel, reportedly linked to Iranian groups, has published photos, documents and other details connected to David Barnea, the chief of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. The channel, named Open Hands, was allegedly created just hours before the details were leaked to over 30 followers.

A two-minute-long video released on the channel claimed it obtained the information through a lengthy intelligence operation against Barnea, which began in 2014, reported The Jerusalem Post. Barnea was then the head of Mossad's Tzomet department, which was tasked with the activation of the spy agency's international agent network.

"We've got a small gift for the Mossad; 'With LOVE for David.' Happy Purim," a post on the channel read. Purim is a Jewish holiday that began Wednesday night.

There are multiple versions of the video, in English, Arabic and Hebrew, on the page. It shows several personal photos, flight tickets under Barnea's name, his ID card and a satellite image of a home allegedly owned by him in the city of Hod Hasharon. The video, which has a clip of Barnea making silly faces during a private video chat, also accuses him of corruption and tax evasion. It also leaked a document sent to Barnea's wife to pay a five-figure sum in tax debt.

Open Hands claimed it began the surveillance operation against Barnea by breaking into the database of Hod Hasharon's local library. It claimed more information gathered on Barnea will be released soon.

In a statement on behalf of Mossad, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated that Barnea's phone was not hacked and the "materials in question are old and did not originate from the Mossad director's personal phone." It did not give any other explanations.

Though "Open Hands" has not revealed much about itself, the channel is believed to be linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, The Times Of Israel reported. Nour News, a website linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, also published such details earlier, the report said, quoting Hebrew-language media outlets.

In a similar incident, an Iranian-linked hacking group called "Black Shadow" targeted an Israeli hosting company last year. It had temporarily shut down a number of websites and stole user data from Atraf, an Israeli LGBT dating site, which were then leaked to the public.

The group also stole data from an insurance company two years ago, which they sold on the dark web after the company refused to pay them.