Cyber Attack? Network Outages Across Israel

A broad communications disruption struck Israel on Tuesday afternoon, knocking out internet and cellular services across multiple providers and briefly affecting critical digital infrastructure nationwide.

Technical sources said the outage simultaneously impacted Hot Mobile, Cellcom, and Partner, along with additional services that do not rely on a single network provider. The scope of the disruption led infrastructure officials to conclude it was not a localized malfunction but a large-scale event affecting core systems.

According to preliminary assessments, the failure appears to have originated at the DNS level, with suspected problems involving a Cisco forwarder used to route traffic. Engineers at affected data centers reported that switching forwarders restored access to some services, including cloud platforms, while other websites and systems continued operating without interruption. The role of content delivery networks and Partner’s internal server farms remains under review.

The Ministry of Communications confirmed earlier in the day that Partner’s cellular and internet services were down nationwide. The ministry said it immediately opened inquiries with relevant technical teams and continued monitoring the situation to ensure a full restoration of service.

Roughly an hour after the disruption began, Partner announced that its services had returned to full operational status. Other providers also reported gradual normalization, though technical checks were still ongoing late Tuesday to verify system stability.

In addition to consumer internet and mobile services, the outage briefly affected external systems linked to financial infrastructure. Sheba, which handles credit card transaction clearing, reported a temporary disruption to its systems, though services were restored shortly afterward.

While there is currently no official confirmation that the incident was the result of a cyberattack, cybersecurity and technology authorities are treating it as a high-sensitivity event due to its breadth and simultaneous impact across competing providers. Sources familiar with the response said the fact that multiple networks were affected at once has placed the incident under close scrutiny.

Officials emphasized that investigations are still in their early stages and cautioned against drawing conclusions. However, the disruption has renewed concerns over the resilience of Israel’s communications backbone and the vulnerability of shared infrastructure layers.

The Ministry of Communications said it would continue coordinating with service providers and security bodies to determine the cause of the outage and ensure safeguards are in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.