IDF officer indicted for smuggling prohibited goods into Gaza in exchange for $1.6 million

A lieutenant in the IDF has been indicted for smuggling contraband into the Gaza Strip in exchange for some 5 million shekels ($1.6 million), the military announces.

Military prosecutors charge the officer, who served as a deputy company commander, with “aiding the enemy,” taking a bribe, smuggling goods under aggravated circumstances, and other offenses, following an investigation by the Military Police.

According to the indictment, in September 2025, the junior officer and others planned to smuggle a truck containing contraband into Gaza.

The lieutenant, who was stationed at the Kerem Shalom border crossing at the time, agreed to “exploit his military position, familiarity with procedures, and operational authority to allow the truck’s entry into the Strip, in exchange for payment of millions of shekels,” the military says.

On the evening of September 19, the truck arrived at Kerem Shalom. The lieutenant, who arrived in an army jeep, ordered soldiers at the crossing to allow the truck through as he escorted it into Gaza.

The military says the truck contained mobile phones, cigarettes, tobacco, silicone, solar panels, and “large quantities” of electric bicycles, all of which Israel currently bans from entering Gaza.

Following the smuggling, those involved “received significant sums of money,” which was divided among them, with the lieutenant receiving approximately 5 million NIS, according to the IDF.

The military says it views the phenomenon of smuggling into Gaza “gravely, as it poses a risk to state security in general, and especially in cases where IDF personnel in the standing army or reserves are involved.”

In February, state prosecutors filed charges against 15 suspects, among them IDF reservists, accused of taking part in a major smuggling ring that trafficked goods into the Gaza Strip.

That 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.