Vehicles carrying assist and provides line up subsequent to Egyptian ambulances, earlier than transporting provides into the Gaza Strip by means of the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian facet, in Rafah, Egypt, on February 4, 2026. Image taken with a cell phone.
| Photograph Credit score: Reuters
Israel’s Ministry of Justice charged a dozen folks, together with Israeli troopers, on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) with systematically smuggling tons of of hundreds of {dollars} price of products into Gaza, in response to a press release by Israel’s prosecutor.
The indictment charged the accused, a few of whom included military reservists, with smuggling cigarettes, iPhones and batteries into Gaza and “helping the enemy throughout wartime.” It mentioned the accused dedicated their actions whereas conscious of the chance that the products would attain the militant group Hamas and its operatives.
The assertion additionally linked the brother of Israel’s chief of home safety to the smuggling ring, though he was not named amongst these indicted.
In current weeks, native media has reported that officers in Israel suspected that smuggling was ongoing in Gaza by active-duty and reserve troopers, in addition to others.
The Israeli outlet, Haaretz, attributed a number of the smuggling to the military’s weak oversight on the border. All through the struggle, the entry of assist into Gaza has been tightly managed by Israel, which has prevented objects from getting into that it deems helpful to Hamas. Israel has additionally accused Hamas of siphoning assist and taxing items for its survival.
It’s unclear how the products have been introduced in.
An inner PowerPoint presentation from Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce from December and seen by The Related Press mentioned that particular coordination permitting the entry of “sealed closed Israeli” vans loaded with high-value items are organized by means of direct contact with “unknown channels” in Israel exterior of the crossing system. The presentation mentioned that unlawful charges to get items throughout might be within the hundreds of thousands of {dollars} per cargo.
The prosecutor’s assertion mentioned that along with helping Hamas throughout the struggle, the entire defendants have been charged with financing terror exercise, fraud and bribery.
It mentioned Bezalel Zini, brother of Shin Wager chief David Zini, was complicit in serving to smuggle cigarettes into Gaza after being “provided bribes” by one of many defendants.
The assertion says that Mr. Zini served in reserve responsibility on the time and “had authorization to convey convoys of automobiles” into Gaza. Mr. Zini, nonetheless, was not charged on this indictment. Earlier this week Mr. Zini’s lawyer mentioned that his consumer denies all “suspicions” attributed to him.
The assertion mentioned the accused smuggled the products throughout a number of months main as much as and after the October ceasefire when Gaza was a closed army zone and management over incoming items was of “paramount significance” to Hamas. A key smuggled good was tobacco and cigarettes — which Israel has barred from Gaza — a commodity that’s earned Hamas hundreds of thousands of {dollars} because the begin of the struggle.
The indictment mentioned the accused smuggled objects corresponding to communication cables and automotive elements, which entered Gaza beneath false pretenses, showing as if it was associated to military exercise. After crossing the border into Gaza the products have been positioned at an agreed-upon supply level contained in the strip that was coordinated with somebody there earlier than the smugglers returned to Israel.
The prosecutor’s assertion mentioned its workplace has filed a request to grab the defendants property, together with automobiles, actual property and cash.
Printed – February 05, 2026 05:44 am IST