An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing possible indictment on national security charges for 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 official had “extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to Bild newspaper.” The alleged leak aimed to bolster Netanyahu’s public image and influence discourse surrounding the controversial deaths of six Israeli hostages 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 bodies of the six hostages were found in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza, prompting widespread anger and mass protests across Israel. Victims’ families accused Netanyahu of intentionally derailing ceasefire negotiations in the weeks before the hostages were killed, allegedly to serve political interests.
Netanyahu has consistently denied those claims, blaming Hamas for walking away from the proposed truce. “It is Hamas that walked away from the deal,” he has stated. Hamas, in turn, has accused Israel of undermining the talks.
Israeli defence officials later confirmed that four of the six hostages had been included on a list of captives Hamas had agreed to release under a proposed ceasefire agreement.
The Bild article, published days after the hostages’ bodies were recovered, echoed Netanyahu’s narrative and included detailed accounts of Hamas’ negotiating tactics. The publication claimed its reporting was based on “authentic documents,” but has refused to comment further following the announcement of the legal probe.
Urich has denied any wrongdoing. His legal team issued a statement Monday, calling the charges “completely baseless” and vowing to contest them. “Mr. Urich has committed no crime, and his innocence will be proven beyond doubt,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has also defended his aide, calling the Attorney General’s announcement “appalling” and politically motivated. “Jonatan Urich did not harm state security in any way,” he said, adding that the timing of the announcement “raises serious questions.”
Netanyahu has repeatedly accused Israel’s judiciary and legal institutions of targeting him and his allies for political reasons. His government has been at odds with Attorney General Baharav-Miara—appointed by the previous administration—over legal challenges to key policy decisions and judicial reforms.
Meanwhile, indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are continuing in Doha. A previous truce in January resulted in the release of 38 hostages before military operations resumed in Gaza.
