Arrests. Secret documents. And alleged leaks that may have damaged efforts to free hostages held by Hamas, critics say, provide public cover for Benjamin Netanyahu for not agreeing to a ceasefire deal. Israel's prime minister was embroiled in a scandal involving one of his aides on Monday that sent shockwaves across the country.

The firestorm, which emerged when an Israeli court relaxed a silence order on Sunday evening, angered Netanyahu's political opponents and hostage families. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and distanced himself from the case. But critics have claimed the Israeli leader risked the lives of hostages and national security to bolster his hardline position in the stalled ceasefire negotiations by leaking Gaza documents to friendly media.

In a ruling on Sunday, the Rishon Le-Zion District Court said an investigation had been opened after suspicions arose among the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Service Shin Bet that “secret and sensitive information” had been illegally seized by IDF- systems.

The action, the court said, may have not only caused “serious damage to state security and endangering intelligence sources” but also harmed “the goal of releasing the hostages” captured during Hamas' October 7 terrorist attack . 2023 terror Attacks.

The court identified the main suspect in the case as Eliezer Feldstein, who Israeli media reported was said to be one of Netanyahu's media advisers.

Next to Feldstein, Three other people who the court described as “inmates involved in the activities” were interviewed but have yet to be publicly identified by the court.

Israeli media have reported that the alleged leaked information formed the basis of several articles about Hamas' approach to the hostage crisis, including an article by the London-based Jewish Chronicle that was later retracted after widespread criticism. NBC News could not immediately independently confirm this reporting.

The Jewish Chronicle article suggested that Hamas was planning to expel hostages from the Gaza Strip via Egypt, while a separate article in the German newspaper Bild reported that Hamas was using negotiations for a ceasefire agreement as a form of psychological warfare against Israel delay.

Both articles drew skepticism from Israeli observers because they were timed and appeared to give Netanyahu cover when he was accused of deliberately sabotaging the ceasefire negotiations.

The Jewish Chronicle and Bild did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

The reports emerged as Netanyahu insisted on Israeli control of the Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, a demand that became a key point of contention in the ceasefire talks. The Israeli leader faced growing outrage from hostage families and much of the country's public over his failure to agree to a ceasefire deal.

In a statement on Saturday, Netanyahu's office said that the alleged leaked materials never reached the Prime Minister's Office from the Military Intelligence Directorate and that Netanyahu learned about the document in question from the media.

It added that the adviser implicated in the alleged leaks “never took part in security discussions, was not exposed or received confidential information and did not take part in secret visits.”

While Netanyahu's office appeared to downplay the impact of the alleged revelations, political opponents expressed outrage at the possible involvement of an aide to the prime minister.

In a statement issued on Sunday

“If sensitive security information was stolen and used as a tool for a political survival campaign, it is not just a criminal offense but a national crime,” he said.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid rejected claims from Netanyahu's office that he had no prior knowledge of the alleged leaked materials.

“If Netanyahu didn't know that his close associates were stealing documents, harboring spies within the IDF, forging documents, exposing intelligence sources and leaking secret documents to the foreign press to prevent the hostage deal, then what does he *know*?” Lapid said on Sunday in a post on X.