What we know about the secret Gaza documents allegedly leaked by Benjamin Netanyahu’s advisor

A controversy is unfolding in Israel over the leak of classified military documents to international media that prosecutors say may have harmed efforts to free hostages held by Hamas.

An adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been charged.

He is accused of transmitting top secret information with the intention of influencing public opinion and damaging state security.

An Israeli soldier was separately accused of handing over the documents, which were allegedly recovered from Gaza.

Netanyahu has not been charged, but opposition politicians, Israeli media and families of hostages have raised questions about his involvement.

There has been speculation that the leaks were aimed at giving the prime minister political cover over the failed ceasefire talks in September.

The information emerged days after six hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza, sparking mass protests in Israel and outrage from the hostages’ families.

Netanyahu’s office has denied any wrongdoing, downplaying the matter and publicly calling for the gag order to be lifted.

The prime minister said the person in question “never participated in security discussions, was not exposed to or received classified information and did not participate in secret visits.”

A full picture of the case is not yet known, but the indictment and other legal documents tell part of the story.

This is what we know.

How it all started

At the center of the case is an article published in the German tabloid Bild on September 6.

It was labeled exclusive and claimed to describe Hamas’ hostage-taking plans.

The report cites documents that were allegedly taken from the computer of the organization’s then leader, Yahya Sinwar.

The documents detailed how the militant group was allegedly prolonging the ceasefire and hostage talks as a form of psychological warfare to increase public pressure on the Israeli government.

The article came out as the United States, Qatar and Egypt were mediating ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which also included an agreement to release the hostages.

Hamas rejected the demand and accused Netanyahu of deliberately sabotaging the talks.

Israel blamed Hamas for the stalemate.

Netanyahu referred to the article after its publication, saying it vindicated his hardline position on a hostage deal.

“Last weekend, the German newspaper Bild published an official Hamas document revealing its plan of action: sow discord between us, use psychological warfare against the families of the hostages… separate us from within and continue the war until new notice,” he said in remarks before a cabinet meeting.

Another article had previously appeared in the London-based Jewish Chronicle newspaper, claiming that Sinwar planned to smuggle himself and Israeli hostages out of Gaza through the border area with Egypt known as the Philadelphia Corridor.

In the ceasefire talks, Netanyahu also called for lasting Israeli control over the Philadelphia Corridor.

The Jewish Chronicle later retracted the article.

Then the arrests

An investigation into the articles was launched, conducted jointly by the domestic Shin Bet intelligence agency, the Israeli police and the military.

Little was known about the case until the Rishon Le-Zion Magistrate’s Court partially lifted a gag order late last month.

He revealed that several arrests had been made and identified the central suspect in the case as Eli Feldstein.

Feldstein was one of Netanyahu’s media advisors, according to Israeli media reports.

The magistrate’s ruling said classified and sensitive intelligence information was illegally taken from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) systems, which may have caused “serious harm to the security of the State and posed a risk to intelligence sources.” information”.

“As a result, there could have been damage to the ability of the security forces to achieve the objective of releasing the hostages, as part of the war objectives,” he said.

The court referred to Feldstein as a “civilian” and said three other suspects in the case were members of the military and security apparatus.

They have not been named publicly.

Media reported that Feldstein was hired weeks after October 7, 2023 and previously worked as an advisor to far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Netanyahu has said that the person in question “never participated in security discussions, was not exposed to or received classified information, and did not participate in secret visits.”

The indictment reveals more details

An Israeli state prosecutor has now charged Mr. Feldstein.

He has been accused of leaking classified information with the intent to harm state security and obstruction of justice.

An Israeli soldier, accused of transmitting the documents, was also charged.

Both men deny the charges, which carry long prison sentences.

The prosecution identified two other Netanyahu aides as being connected to the incident, but they were not charged.

Instead of leaking the information to the Israeli media, Feldstein is accused of giving it to Bild to bypass local censors, who would have banned its publication.

The indictment said the two suspects had created a mechanism to transmit information that circumvented accepted protocols for sharing such documents.

“The two accused suspects acted to extract information that was classified at the most sensitive level, while taking on the concrete risk of causing serious harm to critical national security interests,” he said.

He added that the leaks were aimed at “creating media influence on public discourse in Israel regarding the handling of the hostage situation, following news of the murder of six hostages.”

When asked about the investigation earlier this month, Bild said it did not comment on its sources.

“The authenticity of the document we know about was confirmed by the IDF immediately after its publication,” he said.

The country reacts

Netanyahu has faced criticism from families of hostages in Gaza, who blame him for failing to reach a deal.

They were among tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets, accusing the prime minister of torpedoing ceasefire talks for political reasons.

Hamas has said there will be no hostage-for-prisoner exchange deal with Israel unless the war in the Palestinian enclave ends.

The militant group, which Australia classifies as a terrorist organization, stormed southern Israel on October 7 last year and took about 250 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

Around 1,200 people died in the terrorist attacks.

Israel’s subsequent attacks on Gaza have claimed the lives of more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Some 97 people captured by Hamas on October 7, 2023 remain in Gaza.

At least a third of them have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing many of the families of hostages still held in Gaza, has called the leaks “one of the biggest frauds in the country’s history.”

“The families (of the hostages) demand an investigation against all those suspected of sabotage and undermining state security,” the forum said in a statement.

The Bild article appeared six days after Hamas killed a group of hostages as Israeli troops closed in on them.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu was either incompetent or “complicit in one of the most serious security breaches” on record.

In a video posted on social networks, the prime minister He described the investigation as a “witch hunt” targeting him and his advisors.

ABC/Cables