Daijiworld Media Network – Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Jul 14: In a major development amid the ongoing Gaza conflict, Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara announced on Sunday that a top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing indictment on national security charges, pending a hearing.

Jonatan Urich, one of Netanyahu’s closest advisers, is accused of leaking classified military information to Germany’s Bild newspaper during a critical phase of the Gaza war in late 2024. Urich has strongly denied any wrongdoing, while Netanyahu has dismissed the investigations as a politically motivated “witch-hunt.”

According to the attorney general's statement, Urich and another aide obtained sensitive Israeli military intelligence and shared it with Bild with the aim of shaping public perception in favour of the Prime Minister. The leak reportedly pertained to the highly sensitive case involving the killing of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in August 2024, an incident that had sparked nationwide outrage and protests.

The attorney general alleges that the leaked information was intended to influence the narrative, particularly regarding claims that Netanyahu’s political motives had obstructed ceasefire talks that could have saved the hostages. Netanyahu has firmly rejected the allegations, insisting that Hamas was responsible for the collapse of talks, while the militant group has pointed the finger at Israel.

At the time of the incident, four of the six slain hostages were reportedly on a release list negotiated during truce discussions—adding to the public anger over their deaths. The Bild article in question, which was published shortly after the hostages’ bodies were discovered in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza, detailed Hamas’ strategy in the indirect negotiations and aligned with Netanyahu’s stance.

Bild, responding to news of the investigation, stated it does not comment on its sources, maintaining that its reporting was based on authentic documents.

Though a brief two-month ceasefire in January resulted in the release of 38 hostages, the conflict has since resumed. Indirect negotiations are currently underway in Doha in hopes of securing a fresh truce.

This case adds yet another layer of political and legal complexity to Netanyahu’s embattled administration, already under fire from multiple directions amid the ongoing war.