Two mid-ranking IDF officers and a civilian are set to be indicted on smuggling charges after allegedly trafficking cigarettes and electronic devices into the Gaza Strip.
The suspects are believed to have received hundreds of thousands of shekels in exchange for the goods, smuggled into the enclave via humanitarian aid trucks, according to a joint statement released by the Shin Bet and police.
Investigators believe that Nasser Abu Mustafa, from the Bedouin city of Rahat, contacted his associate, an IDF reservist with the rank of major, proposing the two smuggle goods into Gaza.
They contacted another soldier with the rank of lieutenant colonel and managed to loop him into the scheme.
According to the investigation, Abu Mustafa, apparently posing as a mechanic, arrived to repair several aid trucks that came to a halt due to a purported malfunction en route to Gaza.
While the trucks were idle, he snuck in the goods, among them hundreds of thousands of cigarettes and several cellphones, police say.
The State Attorney’s Office filed a prosecutor’s declaration against the trio today, meaning they are set to be indicted in the near future.
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
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