Jerusalem, Sep 3 (AP/UNB) — An Israeli businessman says he received calls and messages from senior Israeli and foreign military officials after he was assigned the former phone number of Israel's military chief of staff.

A report Monday by Israeli Army Radio identified the man only as Yossi. He said that when he began receiving messages, "a red light went on...if it got in the hands of another citizen I don't know what would happen."

It wasn't entirely clear how Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot's number was passed on to a private citizen.

The report said military phone numbers are often reassigned for security reasons.

It said the military returned the number to the mobile provider about a year ago. The provider said the number was not classified and was reassigned to another customer.