A dozen people, including Israeli soldiers, charged with smuggling goods into Gaza

Israel charges a dozen individuals, including soldiers, with smuggling goods into Gaza and aiding Hamas during wartime.

Israel’s Ministry of Justice charged a dozen people, including Israeli soldiers, on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) with systematically smuggling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods into Gaza, according to a statement by Israel’s prosecutor.

The indictment charged the accused, some of whom included army reservists, with smuggling cigarettes, iPhones and batteries into Gaza and “assisting the enemy during wartime.” It said the accused committed their actions while aware of the possibility that the goods would reach the militant group Hamas and its operatives.

The statement also linked the brother of Israel’s chief of domestic security to the smuggling ring, although he was not named among those indicted.

In recent weeks, local media has reported that officials in Israel suspected that smuggling was ongoing in Gaza by active-duty and reserve soldiers, as well as others.

The Israeli outlet, Haaretz, attributed some of the smuggling to the army’s weak oversight at the border. Throughout the war, the entry of aid into Gaza has been tightly controlled by Israel, which has prevented items from entering that it deems beneficial to Hamas. Israel has also accused Hamas of siphoning aid and taxing goods for its survival.

It’s unclear how the goods were brought in.