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Israel is connected to the White House’s secret chat mishap, which exposed sensitive discussions among Trump administration officials regarding American airstrikes in Yemen, two senior U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
According to the report, Israel had provided the U.S. with highly sensitive intelligence — sourced from an asset in Yemen — about a senior figure in the Houthi military network. This official was reportedly targeted in a strike described by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in the high-level chat to which a journalist was inadvertently added.
Shortly after the strikes began, Waltz informed members of a Signal group chat that a Houthi missile expert — one of the operation's targets — was seen entering his girlfriend’s house, which was then destroyed. One of the American officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal said Israeli officials privately expressed concern to their U.S. counterparts about the exposure of this information.
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National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and US President Donald Trump
(Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/ AFP, Alex Brandon/AP)
On March 15, at 1:48 p.m., Waltz sent a message to the group, apparently providing real-time intelligence on the results of a U.S. strike in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. The Signal group included Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
"Vice President, the building collapsed. We have some positive identifications," Waltz wrote to Vance.
Six minutes later, Vance, seemingly confused by the message—perhaps misinterpreting the line as referring to the vice president’s building—replied: "What?"
At 2:00 p.m., Waltz clarified: "I typed too fast. The first target—their senior missile expert—we have positive ID of him going into his girlfriend’s house, then it collapsed."
Vance responded: "Great."
CIA Director Ratcliffe added: "Good start."
Waltz then sent a follow-up message with emojis of a fist, an American flag, and fire.
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Secret chat between senior Trump administration officials about attacks in Yemen against the Houthis
The report highlights how Israel’s intelligence contribution to tracking the senior Houthi figure underscores the sensitivity of the leaked messages. It also raises questions about Trump officials' claims that the leaked messages did not contain classified information.
Waltz did not reveal the sources of the intelligence that led to the strike but later reiterated to the group that the U.S. had "several positive identifications," referring to intelligence confirming the successful targeting of key figures.
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When asked whether Israel provided intelligence used in the strikes described in the leaked Signal messages, White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes stated that the leaked thread "did not contain classified information." He added: "The messages did not include locations, sources, patterns or war plans," and emphasized that U.S. allies had been informed of the strikes in advance.
The leak has caused major embarrassment for the White House. The messages surfaced after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to the Signal group.