Israel Charges 12 With Smuggling Goods To Gaza

State prosecutors on Wednesday filed charges against 12 Israeli suspects, including reservist soldiers, for offences including “assisting the enemy in wartime,” over the alleged smuggling of prohibited goods into war-shattered Gaza.

The Times of Israel reports that the alleged smuggling ring is linked to Bezalel Zini, the brother of Shin Bet chief David Zini, who is thought to have helped the network’s members smuggle cigarettes, taking advantage of his IDF reserve service in the Gaza Strip.

A justice ministry statement said the smuggled goods were worth millions of Israeli shekels and included cartons of cigarettes, iPhones, batteries, communication cables, car parts and more, according to AFP.

Israel controls the entry of all goods and people into the besieged Palestinian territory, where humanitarian conditions remain dire despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect on October 10.

The Ministry described the operation as a “serious case of organised, systematic, and sophisticated smuggling of various goods into the Gaza Strip for profit,” which began in the summer of 2025, when war was still raging in Gaza.

Its statement noted that charges had been filed against 12 individuals and one company.

AFP reports that a joint statement from the police and Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency confirmed they had “arrested several Israeli citizens and Gaza Strip residents who smuggled goods prohibited from entering the Gaza Strip”.

It added that those arrested included reservists in the Israeli military.

It also stated that the suspects had been “willfully ignoring the direct contribution of this activity to the strengthening of terrorist organisations in the Strip,” notably Hamas.

“This morning (Wednesday), the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office filed indictments against 12 of the suspects for offences including assisting the enemy in wartime, performing actions with property for terrorist purposes, obtaining something by fraud under aggravated circumstances, bribery offences, and economic offences,” the statement said.