The intelligence that led to the airstrike in Yemen discussed in a Signal chat disclosed in The Atlantic was provided by Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two U.S. officials.
National security adviser Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have come under fire after Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, was added to a Signal group chat by Waltz that featured top officials in the Trump administration. The Atlantic's story showed Hegseth provided times of warplane launches, strike packages, and targets of Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Israeli officials have complained to their American counterparts that the texts from Waltz have become public, the Journal said.
The information came from a human source in Yemen. The U.S. also received intelligence from surveillance drones flying over Yemen, defense officials told the Journal.
Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council, stressed that no classified information was included in the Signal thread.
"The messages have no locations, no sources and methods, and no war plans. Foreign partners had already been notified strikes were imminent," Hughes said.
The Trump administration had reached out to the Saudis and Israelis for help in developing options to strike Houthi military and political leaders, the Journal reported.
The White House had previously dismissed claims that "war plans" were shared with Goldberg as a hoax.
"The Atlantic has conceded: These were NOT 'war plans,'" White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X. "This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin."
President Donald Trump called the scandal a "witch hunt" Wednesday, defending Hegseth.
"Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this," Trump said. "How do you bring Hegseth into this? Look, look it's all a witch hunt."
Trump previously said he was still backing Walz, saying he had "learned a lesson."