An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel’s attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel’s onslaught in Gaza, Reuters reports.

Netanyahu’s close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024. Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich’s attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client’s innocence would be proven beyond doubt.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild. Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

In his statement, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara’s announcement was “appalling” and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu’s government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu’s cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.

Read the full Reuters story here.