Netanyahu at bay over alleged leaks of confidential information..."It's worse than Watergate".

Allegations are spreading that Israel's prime minister's office deliberately leaked confidential documents to create a favorable public opinion landscape related to the Gaza war.

Hostage families who called for an early ceasefire are criticizing the government for actually "fraudulent" and opposition parties are also raising the level of the offensive, saying Netanyahu should be responsible.

According to foreign media such as the Guardian of the United Kingdom and the New York Times (NYT), the leak of confidential documents began in early September when European media reported articles on Hamas' hostage negotiation strategy.

On September 5, British media outlet Juicy Chronicle reporter Elon Perry quoted Israeli intelligence documents as saying Yahya Sinwar was preparing to take Israeli hostages to Iran.

The next day, the German daily Bild reported that Hamas confirmed the documents of psychological warfare against Israel and that they were in no hurry to conclude hostage negotiations or end the war.

However, after the report came out, there were doubts about how the media obtained the documents and the authenticity of the contents.

Notably, the Juicy Chronicle announced on Sept. 13 that it had deleted Perry's article and ended its contractual relationship.

He also apologized, saying, "We will review internal procedures to prevent this from happening repeatedly," admitting that there were problems in the process of reporting and writing articles.

The scandal then spread further as it was confirmed on the 1st that Israeli law enforcement authorities were investigating related allegations.

Israel's Rishon-Legion district court says police, local intelligence agency Sin Bet and military authorities have launched a joint investigation into the leak of documents by the prime minister's office, and several suspects have been arrested and questioned.

He went on to add that in recent days, the prime minister's office spokesman, Ellie Feldstein, was accused of leaking top-tier confidential information affecting national security.

The court did not disclose the identities of the other three suspects but confirmed they were members of the military and security agencies.

Israel's prime minister's office has dismissed the allegations or denied any connection.

The Hostage Families Forum, a group of Israeli hostage families, issued a statement calling for a thorough investigation into the allegations.

"This allegation means that those involved in Netanyahu committed one of the biggest frauds in Israel's history," the forum said, criticizing it as "the worst immorality that can't be compared to anything else."

Benny Gantz of the opposition National Unity Party, which withdrew from Israel's wartime cabinet in June, pointed out that if sensitive security information was used in "operations for political survival," it would be a crime as well as a "crime against the state."

Israeli public health expert Hagari Levin, who is involved in the hostage repatriation campaign, said on his social media that the allegations "abandoned hostages, violated trust and undermined national security," adding that "the fraud in Netanyahu's office appears to be more serious than Watergate."