The Associated Press reported that Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and witnesses in Netanyahu's corruption trial.

The Israeli Justice Ministry announced this in a brief message on Thursday, saying that the investigation will focus on a report by the investigative program "Uvda" about Sara Netanyahu.

The program revealed a series of WhatsApp messages in which Sara Netanyahu appears to have instructed a former aide to organize protests against political opponents and intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial.

The ad did not mention Netanyahu's wife by name, and the Justice Ministry declined to comment further.

But earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu slammed the report as "lies."