Fox News reported that an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among five individuals who were arrested earlier this month for leaking state secrets.

Prosecutors alleged this past weekend that the leaks were done in order to prevent a ceasefire in Gaza and scuttle a hostage deal. 

Classified material allegedly passed to Netanyahu aide by soldier

According to CNN, that contention was put forward on Sunday to a magistrate's court located in the Israeli city of Rishon Lezion.

Authorities maintain that a non-commissioned officer with the Israel Defense Forces absconded with "classified and sensitive intelligence information" in April.

Netanyahu aide leaked classified document to influence public opinion on hostage negotiations, court says
Source: CNN

To read more, click the image below. https://t.co/jAbUD4QELF

— AOL.com (@AOL) November 17, 2024

The non-commissioned officer is said to have in turn provided this information to Eliezer Feldstein, who works for Netanyahu's administration.

Feldstein is accused of having distributed the material to Israeli media outlets in September "with the aim of influencing public opinion on the ongoing negotiations concerning the hostages."

Material passed on to foreign media outlets

The alleged move came shortly after the Israeli military revealed that six hostages were killed by the terror group Hamas despite four of the hostages being slated for release as part of a potential deal.

When Israeli media outlets were blocked from publicizing the information, Feldstein allegedly passed it on to foreign news contacts.

Allegations that the leaked material was part of a conspiracy to influence hostage negotiations were put forward last month by opposition figures Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz.

Lapid heads the centrist Yesh Atid party while Gantz is leader of the liberal Israel Resilience Party, with the latter having been a member of Netanyahu’s wartime cabinet before his resignation in June.

Opposition leaders call for investigation

CNN quoted a joint statement issued by the two men on November 3 which read, "It is suspected that Netanyahu’s team published secret documents and faked secret documents to torpedo the possibility of a hostage deal."

"This affair came out of the Prime Minister’s own office, and the investigation must examine if it wasn't at the Prime Minister’s orders," the statement added.

CNN noted that Gantz spoke up again following the most recent revelations, referring to the case as being a "national crime."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office issued a statement of his own earlier this month, asserting that Feldstein never "participated in security-related discussions."