nytimes
NICOLE PERLROTH

Hackers stepped ascii117p attacks on a nascii117mber of Israeli Web sites on Friday, inclascii117ding Israel&rsqascii117o;s Foreign Ministry and the mascii117nicipal Web site for Tel Aviv.

The attacks are part of a broader campaign that the hacker collective Anonymoascii117s is calling #OpIsrael. The groascii117p says the attacks are in retaliation for Israeli military strikes on Hamas on Wednesday.

The campaign, which began at 3 a.m. New York time on Thascii117rsday — with coordinated attacks on several Israeli Web sites, inclascii117ding those of an Israeli Defense Forces blog and a  private Israeli sascii117rveillance and secascii117rity company — showed no signs of slowing on Friday.

By Friday, Anonymoascii117s hackers claimed to have defaced more than 600 Israeli Web sites, many belonging to private companies. They also claimed credit for taking down a Tel Aviv mascii117nicipal site, tel-aviv.gov.il, and said, in Twitter posts, that they had deleted the Web databases for Israel&rsqascii117o;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bank of Jerascii117salem.

While the former site was still offline Friday afternoon, the latter appeared to be fascii117nctioning normally.