Revital and Benny Gantz
Revital and Benny GantzGili Yaari /Flash90

New details emerged Thursday evening in the case of the spy in the house of Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

The cleaner who used social media networks to reach out to an official associated with the Iranian regime, offering to assist him in various ways, Omri Goren, was employed by the Gantz family for a long time, going back before Benny Gantz became Defense Minister.

Goren was introduced to the Gantzes through mutual acquaintances.

Kan 11 reported that the cleaner and his wife worked at the Gantz residence twice a week on average. He and his wife managed their own cleaning company and Gantz paid them directly. Gantz's office stated that all payments to the cleaner were done legally and that all receipts were kept.

The Shin Bet admitted on Thursday that there had been security failures and that the backgrounds of those who work in close proximity to senior officials would be re-examined. The current investigation has revealed that Goren has a lengthy criminal record, including five convictions and 14 police cases between 2002-2013, including two bank robberies, burglary, theft and more. He was sentenced to prison four times, and most recently served four years behind bars for robbery.

Former Mossad chief Maj. Gen. Danny Yatom called the employment of Goren at the Defense Minister's home a "very serious failure."

"The relevant authorities must investigate this immediately. This is a very serious malfunction, more than people may realize," Yatom said in an interview with Kan Bet.

Adi Carmi, a former senior Shin Bet official, commented on the affair on Galei Tzahal: "Goren started working there before Gantz was appointed Defense Minister, and there is no doubt that this incident represents a failure of security. Lessons will be learned and conclusions will be drawn. It is important to note that from the moment he contacted the officials on the other side, he was located and his plans thwarted."