Two residents of south arrested over theft of 26,000 bullets from IDF base

Two Israeli suspects were detained early Wednesday for the theft of tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition from an army base in southern Israel the previous night, the Shin Bet security agency said.

Some 26,000 bullets — mostly 5.56-millimeter rounds — were found missing from an ammunition bunker at the Tzeelim training base on Tuesday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The Shin Bet said the two men, residents of the Negev desert in southern Israel, were detained less than 24 hours after the burglary, during which they also allegedly damaged the bunker and a fence at the base.

The Shin Bet said all 26,000 rounds were recovered during the arrest of the pair.

The suspects were also being questioned over possible security offenses, the agency added.

For years, the military has struggled with thefts from its bases, both by soldiers — who have stolen everything from bullets and missiles to army jeeps — and by criminal gangs.

Ammunition boxes recovered by Israeli forces from two suspects who allegedly stole them from an army bunker in southern Israel, June 7, 2023. (Shin Bet)

In December, eight Bedouin suspects were arrested over a similar theft of 30,000 bullets from an army base in the south.

Security officials fear that stolen ammunition could be used in terror attacks. Last year, almost a thousand stolen IDF bullets were found on Islamic State-inspired gunmen who killed two Border Police officers in a terror attack in Hadera.

Thousands of stolen army bullets have also been seized at checkpoints from people heading from Israel into the West Bank in recent months.