Arrests. Classified documents. And suspected leaks that may have damaged efforts to free hostages held by Hamas to, critics say, give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu public cover for failing to agree to a ceasefire -fire. Netanyahu was engulfed Monday in scandal over a case involving one of his aides that has sent shockwaves across the country.

The firestorm – which came into public view when an Israeli court imposed a gag order on Sunday evening – has enraged Netanyahu’s political opponents and the hostages’ families. Netanyahu has denied all wrongdoing and distanced himself from the case, but critics say he endangered the lives of hostages and national security to bolster his tough stance on stalled ceasefire talks by sending Gaza documents to friendly leak media.

In a ruling Sunday, the Rishon Le-Zion Magistrates’ Court said an investigation had been launched after suspicions arose within the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency, or the Shin Bet, that “secret and sensitive intelligence” had been illegally acquired from IDF systems.

According to the court, the action could not only have caused “serious damage to state security and endangering intelligence sources” but could also have harmed “the purpose of the release of the hostages” captured during Hamas’ October 7 . , 2023, terrorist to attack.

The court identified the central suspect in the case as Eliezer Feldstein, who Israeli media said was one of Netanyahu’s media advisers.

In addition to Feldstein, three other people the court described as “detainees involved in the activities” were questioned. The court has not yet publicly identified them.

Israeli media have reported that the allegedly leaked information formed the basis of several articles on Hamas’s handling of the hostage crisis, including an article published by the London-based Jewish Chronicle that was later retracted after widespread criticism. NBC News could not immediately independently confirm that reporting.

The article in the Jewish Chronicle had suggested that Hamas was planning to move hostages from Gaza through Egypt, while a separate article published by the German newspaper Bild reported that Hamas was working out negotiations for a ceasefire as a form of psychological warfare against Israel.

Both articles aroused skepticism among Israeli observers given their timing and the apparent cover they gave Netanyahu when he was accused of deliberately sabotaging ceasefire negotiations.

“There was something very suspicious about them. Also about the timing of everything,” Mairav ​​Zonszein, Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Israel, said in a telephone interview on Monday.

The Jewish Chronicle and Bild did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The reports emerged as Netanyahu pushed for Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt, a demand that became a major sticking point in the ceasefire talks. They also came as Netanyahu faces mounting outrage from the hostages’ families and much of the country’s public over his failure to agree to a ceasefire after six hostages were killed in the captivity of Hamas.

Although Israeli media had reported some details about the investigation and the gag order was partially lifted last week, crucial and explosive allegations only came to light on Sunday.

In a statement ahead of the ruling, Netanyahu’s office said the materials suspected of being leaked never reached the Prime Minister’s Office of the Military Intelligence Directorate and that Netanyahu learned about the document in question through the media.

It added that the aide involved in the suspected leaks “had never participated in security discussions, had not been exposed or received classified information, and had not participated in classified visits.”

But political opponents, hostage families and critics expressed outrage over the possible involvement of one of Netanyahu’s aides.

“I am once again disappointed but not surprised by this government,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.

“I feel completely betrayed, not only as a hostage father, but also as an Israeli citizen,” he said in a telephone interview on Monday.

Dekel-Chen said that if the investigation’s allegations are true, this would be the latest in a “long line” of moments when Netanyahu’s government has “come up with reasons not to move forward in the negotiation process.”

Gil Dickmann’s cousin Carmel Gat was one of six hostages killed in Hamas captivity – an incident that sparked national outrage not long before the media reports were published.

He noted the timing, but said that if the intention was to influence public opinion, “it didn’t work,” pointing to large demonstrations in the following days, with Netanyahu being pressured to call a ceasefire -enforce firing.

In a statement, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of those still in Hamas captivity, expressed “outrage and deep concern” over the possibility that at least one Netanyahu aide may have “worked to increase public support” to undermine a deal.” .

Benny Gantz, who resigned from Netanyahu’s now disbanded war cabinet in June, said on X that “if sensitive security information was stolen and used as a tool in a political survival campaign, this is not only a criminal offense; it is a national crime.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid rejected claims from Netanyahu’s office that Netanyahu was previously unaware of the materials that were allegedly leaked.

“If Netanyahu didn’t know that his close associates stole documents, planted spies within the IDF, forged documents, exposed intelligence sources and passed classified documents to the foreign press to stop the hostage taking, what *does* he know?” Lapid said on X.

Zonszein, Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Israel, said that even if Netanyahu was not directly involved, the suspected leak would have come from a “well-oiled machine that is already accustomed to taking sensitive information and manipulating it for political purposes.” ”

But she said that “wouldn’t come as a surprise at all.”

“I think for the people who are already convinced that Netanyahu was playing with the public consciousness and not interested in a hostage situation, this is kind of further proof,” she said.