RISHON LE-ZION, Israel, Nov 3 (Reuters) – An alleged leak of secret Gaza documents involving an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rocked Israeli politics and outraged the families of hostages held by Hamas, who their loved ones have pushed for an agreement back home.

Due to a gag order, details of the case have been slow to emerge.

But a judge's decision partially overturning the order has provided the first glimpse into the case, which the court said had endangered security sources and potentially damaged Israel's efforts to free the hostages.

“Confidential and sensitive intelligence information was stolen and illegally removed from IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) systems,” a Rishon Le-Zion District Court ruling said on Sunday, potentially “causing serious damage to the security of the state.” for information sources”.

The court said the leak could harm efforts to release the hostages.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing by his office staff and said in a statement on Saturday that he was only made aware of the leaked document by the media.

The four suspects – one a spokesman for Netanyahu and three of them members of the security apparatus – could not be reached for comment.

Details from the document in question were published on September 6 by Germany's Bild newspaper, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, one of the media outlets that appealed to the court to overturn the silence order.

At the time, the United States, Qatar and Egypt were brokering ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which would include an agreement to release hostages held in Gaza.

But the talks stalled as Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the stalemate. The article in question largely echoed Netanyahu's accusations against Hamas over the standoff.

On Saturday, some families joined Israeli journalists' call to lift the silence order.

“These people have lived on a roller coaster of rumors and half-truths,” said their attorney Dana Pugach.

“For a year they have been waiting to hear any intelligence or information about negotiations to release these hostages. If some of this information was stolen from Army sources, then we believe the families have the right to know all relevant information in detail,” she added.

In another session on Sunday about the investigation by the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, the police and the military, the court ordered the release of one suspect while others remain in custody, according to Haaretz.

When asked about the investigation, Bild said it would not comment on its sources. “The authenticity of the document known to us was confirmed by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) immediately after publication,” it said.

The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and returning 251 hostages to the enclave, according to Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensives have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and reduced swathes of the Gaza Strip to rubble.

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