Report: Shin Bet staffer leaked hostage rescue plans

Hours before the operation was launched in June, security officials saw details about it on a Telegram group chat.

By JNS

An employee of Israel’s Shin Bet security service is on trial for allegedly jeopardizing the extraction of four hostages from Gaza in June by telling two of her relatives about secret plans for the operation, Hebrew media reported on Tuesday.

The report coincides with several scandals involving leaks and other practices within the domestic security service, whose director, Ronen Bar, is currently holding on to his post thanks to judicial intervention despite his dismissal last month by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the indictment against her, the employee shared with her brother and brother-in-law details about “Operation Arnon,” in which Israeli special forces rescued Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov from Gaza, where Hamas was holding them captive, Channel 12 reported.

Hours before the operation was launched in June, security officials saw details about it on a Telegram group chat.

The group was relatively small, and the operation was given the go-ahead despite the leak.

One or both of the employee’s relatives told another person, who told another person, who posted the information online, according to the report.

The employee was arrested and indicted for disclosing state secrets. She is under house arrest, according to Channel 12.

The report did not say whether the employee confessed to the actions attributed to her during the trial, which has been going on for nearly 10 months.