{"id":538999,"date":"2026-07-13T09:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T09:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/538999\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T09:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T09:51:08","slug":"shin-bet-starts-investigation-into-wartime-intelligence-leak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/538999\/","title":{"rendered":"Shin Bet starts investigation into wartime intelligence leak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, on the recommendation of security officials, has instructed the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) to investigate the alleged leak of the start date of Operation Roaring Lion to an unnamed media outlet.<\/p>\n

During a recent cabinet meeting, Shin Bet chief David Zini clarified that the matter could be investigated, but it would be difficult because so many people were privy to the secret, adding that the chances of uncovering the truth were low.<\/p>\n

Following the meeting, the prime minister issued another directive to investigate the matter and present the findings to him.<\/p>\n

After an internal review by the Shin Bet<\/a>, the agency\u2019s legal advisers determined that Netanyahu\u2019s directive required the opening of an investigation.<\/p>\n

It was also determined that, since there was no intention to question journalists about the leak, but only members of the defense establishment, there is no need to obtain the attorney-general\u2019s approval. Instead, the investigation could be based on Netanyahu’s directive and the powers granted to the intelligence agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout confirming the accuracy of any particular report, it should be clarified that investigations into leaks of classified information are opened under the authority and at the discretion of the Shin Bet chief, only after an orderly process involving the agency\u2019s professional and legal officials, and pursuant to the Shin Bet\u2019s statutory responsibility to prevent leaks of classified information from the core of the defense establishment,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The agency further stressed that the purpose of the investigation is to seal the breach within the defense establishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny attempt to attribute professional decisions made by the Shin Bet chief in order to fulfill the agency\u2019s mission to discussions held with one person or another is entirely without foundation,” it added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision regarding the need for a leak investigation was made by the Shin Bet chief long before the meeting in question took place. It should also be noted that the Shin Bet chief periodically meets with journalists from a wide and diverse range of media outlets.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Walla learned that the reported leak had prompted criticism among US officials, who criticized Israel\u2019s conduct regarding information security and voiced their anger about the situation during conversations with their Israeli counterparts.<\/p>\n

The Defense Security Authority (MALMAB), after being asked by Defense Minister Israel Katz<\/a> to provide its thoughts on the matter, also recommended that it be investigated.<\/p>\n

The announcement came against the backdrop of Channel 14 commentator Yaakov Bardugo revealing on Galei Israel radio that he had met with Zini and his aide to advance an investigation into the leak to Channel 12 News<\/a> about the war with Iran.<\/p>\n

It was further claimed that Zini subsequently asked Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara for immediate approval to open an investigation into the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the recommendation of security officials, has instructed the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530913,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,19770,85,87,46,2723,32862,43,157283,73,1032],"class_list":["post-538999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-david-zini","tag-il","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-israel-katz","tag-leak","tag-news","tag-operation-roaring-lion","tag-shin-bet","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}