Israel hostages forum calls for probe into secrets leak case
Gaza hostages group urges probe after ex-aide to Israeli PM Netanyahu allegedly leaked confidential documents, potentially hindering hostage release efforts. Ex-aide Eliezer Feldstein and three others detained Sunday, sparking opposition calls for Netanyahu’s accountability, which his office denies.
A Gaza hostages campaign group called Monday for an investigation into the alleged leak of confidential documents by an ex-aide to Israel's premier, which may have undermined efforts to secure their release.
A court announced Sunday that Eliezer Feldstein, a former aide to Binjamin Netanyahu, had been detained along with three others for allegedly leaking documents to foreign media.
The case has prompted the opposition to question whether Netanyahu was involved in the leak -- an allegation denied by his office.
"The (hostage) families demand an investigation against all those suspected of sabotage and undermining state security," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
"Such actions, especially during wartime, endanger the hostages, jeopardise their chances of return and abandon them to the risk of being killed by Hamas terrorists."
The forum represents most of the families of the 97 hostages still held in Gaza after they were seized in the unprecedented October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war.
The Israeli military says 34 of them are dead.
"The suspicions suggest that individuals associated with the prime minister acted to carry out one of the greatest frauds in the country's history," the forum said.
(AFP)
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