A report by The New York Times expanded on earlier revelations that the Pentagon has elevated its counterintelligence threat assessment for Israel to the highest level, described as 'critical.' According to the report, U.S.officials became increasingly concerned about aggressive intelligence-gathering efforts allegedly directed at senior members of the Trump administration.One senior U.S.official reportedly characterized the activity as 'unhinged.

' The report identified several officials believed to have been targeted, including Steve Witkoff, President Trump's chief negotiator on Iran-related matters, Elbridge A.Colby, the Pentagon's top policy official, and Michael P.DiMino IV, Colby's deputy for Middle East policy.U.S.personnel working in Israel also reportedly discovered software capable of intercepting communications installed on their phones.The article emphasizes that certain practices by senior administration officials may have increased their exposure to surveillance.

These practices allegedly included conducting sensitive government business on personal mobile phones, traveling on private aircraft, and declining support from U.S.embassy personnel during foreign trips.

Current and former officials cited by the newspaper stated that such habits made senior figures easier targets for eavesdropping and intelligence collection.According to the report, Israel's current threat designation within Pentagon assessments is now higher than that assigned to any other U.S.ally and even exceeds that of some adversarial nations.The Pentagon declined to comment publicly on the allegations.The White House rejected the account and described it as false.Meanwhile, Israel's embassy denied the claims, stating that Israel does not conduct intelligence operations against American entities or U.S.government officials.