TRANSCRIPT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing fresh political controversy after several people were detained for allegedly leaking documents that may have stalled Gaza hostage and ceasefire negotiations.
An Israeli court announced the arrests and say an investigation is underway after two newspapers, one in Germany and one in Britain, published articles based on the documents.
While the matter is still subject to a partial gag order, the court says that among those detained is Mr Netanyahu's former spokesperson Eliezer Feldstein.
Professor Dana Pugach is the head of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum legal team and says the gag order should be lifted.
“We are supporting the request for the removal of the gag order today, because the families that we represent, families of the hostages, they’ve been subjected to so much - misinformation during that last year that we think that the first priority of the court today should be to remove any hurdles so that the families can get the real situation, the real information.”
The reports claim the first document was alleging to show that Hamas was planning to smuggle then Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, as well as the remaining hostages, out of Gaza into Egypt.
The leaked document, which has now been established as fake, came at a time when Mr Netanyahu was insisting on the need for Israeli troops to remain in control of the Gaza-Egypt border.
The second document was alleged to be an internal memo from Mr Sinwar, outlining a strategy to hamper hostage release talks.
Following the initial reports in September, Mr Netanyahu told reporters about the document.
“Here is an instruction document that was found in the tunnel of senior Hamas officials by our soldiers, our soldiers found it. By the way, the media said it was Sinwar. I cannot guarantee that it was Sinwar, but I guarantee that it was senior Hamas officials."
Israeli media now say it was not a memo from the Hamas leader, but rather from low level Hamas members.
The Israeli court says the leak of the documents compromised the ability of security bodies to achieve a hostage release deal.
Critics say the leaks were aimed at shifting public opinion and giving Mr Netanyahu political cover while ceasefire negotiations failed.
Mr Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing by his staffers.
Dana Pugach says the families of the hostages deserve to know what has happened.
"If, according at least according to the media, some of the information has been made up or some of the information has been stolen from army resources or sources, then we think that the victims, the families have the right to learn about any relevant detail. Not even security issues can hide this information."
In Gaza, Palestinian medics say Israel killed at least 35 people in multiple strikes on Sunday.
Medics in the area say Israel bombed the neonatal and children's department of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
This follows recent Israeli strikes on clinics distributing the polio vaccine in Gaza, which the World Health Organisation says occurred during a humanitarian pause.
The strikes also hit vital water supplies in the north, as officials warn at least 100,000 people are suffering from critical food and water shortages there.
With no food in the markets and no accessible water, fishermen in Khan Younis are trying desperately to gather food for their families.
24 year old Waseem Al-Masry is a displaced fisherman from the north, he says even fishing for food is difficult and dangerous.
"We come to the beach because as you know, markets are empty and with no food, so we have to come here and risk our lives amid the danger of (Israeli) boats (at sea) and the shooting at us. However, we come and risk our lives to secure our livelihood, while living poorly in the tents. We fish, but don't catch anything. Fishing has been difficult, it's not easy."
Hamas officials say discussions held in Cairo between Hamas and the Palestinian National Liberation Movement have been positive but are not rushing to a conclusion.
The discussions on how Gaza will be governed post-conflict is working to form a committee of members who are not aligned to any particular group.
Meanwhile, Israel says it has carried out a ground raid in Syria to seize a man they claim is a Hezbollah operative.
While Israel his carried out multiple strikes in Syria throughout the year, this marks the first time they have deployed troops into Syria since this stage of the conflict began.
The raid follows a similar naval raid in Lebanon where armed Israeli troops kidnapped a trainee mariner from student housing in the Christian majority town of Batroun.
Israel claims the man was a Hezbollah operative.
After visiting the Lebanon border, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is determined to push Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon.
"With or without an agreement, the key to returning peace and security in the north, the key to returning our (evacuated) residents in the north safely to their homes is to push Hezbollah back beyond the Litani (river), to strike any attempt by it to rearm, and thirdly, to respond forcefully against any action against us."
The UN Agency for Palestinian refugees says its premises in Lebanon have been damaged by Israeli strikes.
The strike near Burj Shemali camp comes shortly after Israel passed legislation banning the critical aid agency from operating within Israel, designating the U-N body a terrorist organisation.
The World Health Organisation is condemning Israel after reports a raid in Lebanon killed two paramedics.
Also in Lebanon, a strike in Sidon has killed at least three people, with reports the Israeli army did not issue evacuation orders beforehand.
Sidon resident Mohammed Kwara says innocent people are being targeted.
This is a residential area that has no connection to the war or to missiles or to anything. They’re targeting innocent people, women and children, people that have nothing to do with any of this.”
