Alleged leak from Netanyahu's office 'may have harmed Gaza hostage deal'

An alleged intelligence leak from Benjamin Netanyahu's office has ballooned into a major scandal for the Israeli prime minister after a court partly lifted a gag order on the case, saying that the affair may have undermined efforts to reach a hostage deal in the Gaza war.

- Bethan McKernan

Four people have been arrested in connection with the joint investigation by the police, internal security services and the army, a court in the city of Rishon LeZion said on Sunday night. The central suspect was named as Eliezer Feldstein, whom the Israeli media said was hired as a spokesperson and media adviser in the prime minister's office shortly after the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. The other three arrested are members of the security establishment.

A partial gag order is still in place, but the case involves a "breach of national security caused by the unlawful provision of classified information" that "harmed the achievement of Israel's war aims", the court said on Friday.

The suspects are alleged to have been involved in leaking Hamas strategy documents found by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza, and manipulating or editing the material to make it seem as though the Palestinian militant group's leadership planned to drag out the talks as long as possible, as well as smuggle hostages to Egypt.