Iranian media has, for the first time, publicly acknowledged that Yahya Hosseini Panchaki, the commander of the cyber unit known as Handala, was killed in a targeted strike during the latest war. The report said the killing took place during the last round of fighting on Iranian soil, and it is widely believed to have been carried out by Israel.
The disclosure came in a Telegram channel affiliated with the intelligence arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. It identified Panchaki as the leader of one of the most active and dangerous hacker groups operating against Israel, and confirmed that he is dead. Until now, Iranian officials had not publicly confirmed either his senior role or his fate.
Under Panchaki’s command, Handala treated Israel as a strategic target and carried out sophisticated cyberattacks over the past year. The group specialized in extracting sensitive and personal data from the phones of senior Israeli figures, including former prime minister Naftali Bennett, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Cabinet Secretary Tzachi Braverman, and other security officials.
The report said the killing is a significant blow to the Revolutionary Guards’ offensive cyber apparatus. Handala had been seen as one of Iran’s most effective tools in psychological warfare against the Israeli public and leadership, aimed at undermining the personal sense of security of senior officials. The article also placed the episode within the wider Israel-Iran cyber conflict, saying digital warfare has become an integral part of the confrontation and that the strike reflects Israel’s ability to reach strategically important Iranian targets even when they operate from behind keyboards in Tehran.
