Israel's Privacy Authority Probes Police Over Leaked Details of Mally and Lial Yahalomi

Israel's Privacy Protection Authority has launched an investigation into the Israel Police following media reports of sensitive personal information and videos concerning Mally and Lial Yahalomi being leaked.

Gilad Samera, the head of the Privacy Protection Authority, has written to Police Commissioner Dany Levy and the force's internal privacy supervisor, George Kiverkian. Samera instructed the internal supervisor to use his authority under the Privacy Protection Law to investigate the leaks, which he stated could harm the privacy of Mally and Lial Yahalomi.

The investigation was prompted by repeated media publications after the two women were located in Argentina on August 14, 2026. These publications included videos of them in vulnerable situations during their discovery on a bus and their questioning by police. Sensitive personal details from the investigation were also revealed, such as private correspondence, AI searches they conducted, financial information, location data, movement tracking, and their expected arrival time in Israel.

Samera indicated that the source of this information, at least in part, appears to be the Israel Police. He has directed the internal supervisor to conduct a thorough inquiry into how the videos and personal details reached the media, allegedly in violation of police procedures. The investigation will also examine the criteria, if any, considered by the police before allowing such publications.

Furthermore, Samera ordered the police to develop systemic conclusions and lessons learned regarding the protection of privacy when transferring information to the media in similar future incidents. The findings of this internal police investigation and the lessons learned are to be submitted to the Privacy Protection Authority.

"The importance of publishing the location and well-being of missing persons is clear to all, but there is a real difficulty in publishing videos of them in vulnerable moments and revealing their personal details, their movements, their location, and details of financial transactions after they have already been located," Samera stated. He added that these publications, apparently originating from the police investigation, "seriously harmed their privacy, without legitimate justification and apparently in violation of the police's own procedures." Samera emphasized that the Israel Police must conduct a deep investigation into whether and how the information leaked and draw the necessary lessons to ensure that citizens' basic right to privacy is not violated in such events.