An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing indictment on national security charges, pending a hearing, after allegedly leaking classified military information to a German newspaper during Israel’s war in Gaza.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara announced late Sunday that Jonatan Urich, a senior adviser to Netanyahu, and another aide had “extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to Bild newspaper.” The leak reportedly aimed to sway public opinion in favour of the Prime Minister and shape discourse around the killing of six Israeli hostages by Palestinian captors in August 2024.
“The goal was to influence public perception of Prime Minister Netanyahu and affect the national conversation surrounding the deaths of the six hostages,” Baharav-Miara said.
The deaths of the hostages, whose bodies were found in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza, triggered widespread public outrage and mass protests across Israel. Families of the victims accused Netanyahu of deliberately sabotaging ceasefire negotiations in the weeks prior to their deaths for political gain.
Netanyahu has firmly rejected these accusations, insisting that Hamas was solely to blame for the collapse of the talks. “It is Hamas that walked away from the deal,” the Prime Minister has said. Hamas, for its part, has blamed Israel for the failure of the negotiations.
At the time, Israeli defence officials confirmed that four of the six hostages were among more than 30 captives Hamas had agreed to release under a potential ceasefire agreement.
The article in question, published just days after the hostages’ bodies were recovered, detailed Hamas’ negotiation tactics and closely mirrored Netanyahu’s claims about the militant group’s intransigence. The paper said the report was based on “authentic documents”, but after news of the legal probe broke, stated it “does not comment on sources.” The publication did not respond to requests for further comment on Monday.
Urich, who has denied any wrongdoing, is expected to fight the charges. His legal team said on Monday: “These accusations are completely baseless. Mr Urich has committed no crime, and his innocence will be proven beyond doubt.”
Netanyahu has also come to his adviser’s defence, dismissing the allegations as politically driven. “Jonatan Urich did not harm state security in any way,” the Prime Minister said in a statement. “This announcement by the Attorney General is appalling, and the timing raises serious questions.”
The Prime Minister has long accused the judiciary and legal authorities of waging a politically motivated campaign against him and his allies. His government has for months sought the removal of Baharav-Miara, who was appointed by the previous administration and has frequently clashed with Netanyahu’s cabinet over the legality of key policy decisions.
Despite the controversy, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are ongoing in Doha, aimed at brokering a new ceasefire. A previous truce in January this year led to the release of 38 hostages before Israeli military operations resumed in Gaza.