Bahrain government websites briefly inaccessible after purported hack claim over Israel-Hamas war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The websites of two government ministries in Bahrain have briefly became inaccessible after a statement claimed hackers took them down over the island kingdom’s stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. A statement posted online by a self-described group calling itself Al-Toufan, or “The Flood” in Arabic, claimed hacking the Foreign Ministry and the Information Affairs Ministry’s websites. Both later became accessible again Tuesday night. The statement said the purported hacks came in retaliation for “the abnormal statements issued” by the island’s Al Khalifa ruling family, without elaborating. Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa opened a summit last week in the kingdom with a call for a swap between Hamas and Israel for the hostages and a halt in the bloodshed.