JERUSALEM/GAZA/ISTANBUL - Israel's former chief military prosecutor was arrested after admitting to leaking video footage showing soldiers at a detention facility in southern Israel abusing a Palestinian detainee, officials said on Monday.
Major-General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned on Friday after taking responsibility for leaking the video.
The arrest followed a wide-scale search along Tel Aviv's coastline on Sunday night, launched after Tomer-Yerushalmi's family reported concerns for her safety and police found her car abandoned near the beach. Police said she was found soon afterward "alive and well".
On Monday, the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court ordered that she remain in custody at least until Wednesday. The police said she is suspected of fraud and breach of trust, abuse of office, and obstruction of justice.
Former military prosecutor Matan Solomesh was also arrested and remanded until Wednesday.
State-owned Kan TV reported that several officers from the military prosecution have been questioned by police. Tomer-Yerushalmi's mobile phone has not been located, and investigators are examining whether she may have thrown it into the sea to destroy evidence.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said she was being held under increased supervision.
The leaked video, broadcast by Channel 12 television, showed the assault of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility in August 2024.
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At the time, the military was investigating the incident and had detained several soldiers suspected of involvement, triggering anger among far-right activists who stormed the facility in protest. Five soldiers were later indicted.
According to the indictment, a copy of which was seen by Xinhua, the five beat, kicked and assaulted a Palestinian detainee from Gaza with a stun gun and sodomized him while he was blindfolded and shackled hand and foot. They caused him severe injuries.
In her resignation letter, Tomer-Yerushalmi said she leaked the video to counter a storm of public outrage in Israel directed at the military prosecution after the arrest of the suspected soldiers.
The military has a "duty to investigate whenever there is reasonable suspicion of violence against a detainee", she wrote. "Unfortunately, this basic understanding - that there are actions which must never be taken, even against the vilest of detainees - no longer convinces everyone," she added.
Israel rejected mediators' request to let militants leave Gaza tunnel
Also on Monday, Israel has rejected a request by mediators to allow about 200 militants to safely exit an underground tunnel in southern Gaza and return to an area not controlled by the Israeli military, an Israeli government official said.
The militants, holed up in a tunnel in Rafah, behind the "yellow line" that marks the Israeli army's withdrawal zone under the current ceasefire agreement, "must either surrender and be imprisoned or be killed", the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said in a statement that on Monday morning, after identifying militants allegedly crossing the "yellow line" and posing "an immediate threat", Israeli troops struck the militants from the air and on the ground.
Gaza receives 45 more Palestinian bodies from Israel
Meanwhile, Gaza health authorities said they have received the remains of 45 Palestinians from Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
This brings the total number of bodies received from Israel since the ceasefire in October to 270, according to a statement issued by the authorities.
They added that local medical teams are continuing to handle the bodies according to established medical procedures and protocols, in preparation for completing the examination, documentation, and handover to the families.
Foreign ministers meet in Istanbul
Separately, foreign ministers from seven countries met in Istanbul to discuss efforts to uphold the Gaza ceasefire and plan for the enclave's future, as Israeli strikes continued despite the truce.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Fidan said the ministers agreed on the need to maintain the ceasefire and prevent new violence. "All participants agree that we do not want the atrocities in Gaza to resume," he told reporters, adding that the group supports a two-state solution as the basis for lasting peace.
He accused Israel of repeatedly violating the truce and blocking humanitarian aid, which he said made enforcement difficult.
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On Gaza's post-war governance, Fidan said discussions were ongoing and stressed the need to first reach consensus on a draft plan. "This is a sensitive process, and we must proceed carefully. Any steps taken to resolve the Palestinian issue should not create structural problems for the future," he said.
